We'll compare 🍎🍎 & 🍊🍊 if we want to goddamnit.

Mar 20, 2019

GUESS THE QUOTE
"I said, I'm not gonna hurt ya.
I'm just gonna bash your brains in."

Big week for trailers - full ones for Avengers: Endgame and Toy Story 4 as well as the teaser for Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood pairing Pitt & DiCaprio.

Btw, speaking of trailers, anyone catch that the same song was used in the trailer for Booksmart and Good Boys? Awk-ward.

You also hear the news James Gunn is back directing Guardians of the Galaxy 3? Excite.

NOTE: Julianne Moore's Gloria Bell is expanding nationwide this weekend.

Gettin cutoff? Go here, click "most recent edition."

AKA
"them?"

R / 2 hrs 1 min

Horror-Thriller / Universal

WHAT'S THE DEAL

We're all dualistic. Some of Us have a flowery outward disposition that contrasts with a deep melancholy about life. Some of Us are hardcore nihilists who can't help but love up on kittens. Hell, there are even those amongst Us who can can gorge themselves on guacamole and straight up hate raw avocados (<--monsters).

But Us takes this to another metaphorical, and physical, level, as in there are literally two of the same person - or at least they look the same (are they?). And that's where Jordan Peele, director of Get Out really gets at it with his next horror movie - and be clear, this is a horror movie. There are old school cinema nods, subtext and social critiques aplenty, but first and foremost, you're going in for that "it's so creepy I 🍑💩myself" vibe - along with some dad jokes to break the tension.

The whole cast (including Elizabeth Moss in a smaller role and Winston Duke from Black Panther) gets to play "themselves" and their dopplegängers, but Nupita Lyong'o is the core of it all and she apparently murders it (them?).

And a last note that while this movie isn't explicitly about race like Get Out was, it will be discussed, and there's a compelling snippet from a New York Times piece/interview with Nupita Lyong'o that we thought was worth highlighting...

"Us, in which the race of the central characters — though affirmatively black — is never depicted as remarkable, gave her a chance to take that shift a step further.

“It’s really not exceptional to be black, or to be African, and I think that’s a powerful statement in and of itself,” she said. “We can be seen and perceived as part and parcel of the global experience, because that is the truth."" Quote is Lyong'o's.

REVIEWS

Three reviews from "perfect," it's gonna be another banger. Nyong'o is getting a loooot of praise for her ability to shift so starkly between characters (rest of the cast too). And apparently her voice as "Red" is straight nightmare in auditory form.

"It's a satirical doppelgänger nightmare of the American Way, a horrified double-take in the mirror of certainty, a realisation that the corroborative image of happiness and prosperity you hoped to see has turned its back, like something by Magritte." - Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
(110 reviews @ publish)

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: for people who like to almost pee their pants out of fear, who may actually pee their pants 💦

(Not): proooobably should stay away if you get scared of the dark every time you blink - otherwise, buck up and bring a strong wrist to grip and a ever so slightly expanded set of fingers

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LIMITED RELEASE SPOTLIGHT

HOTEL MUMBAI

AKA
"not just a movie"

NR / 12 hrs 3 mins

Thriller-Drama / Bleecker Street

WHAT'S THE DEAL

Dramatization of 2008 Mumbai attacks that culminated at the Taj Hotel where some of the terrorists ended up after enacting their awful bullshit elsewhere in the city. Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) plays a hotel staffer and Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name) a guest, but are just the chosen anecdotes of the ordeal that affected hundreds.

Similar to other movies of this ilk (e.g. United 93) it looks to humanize an incomprehensibly terrible situation that we see on the news, but may not fully "feel." And based on reviews, it seems to have done fairly decent good job, but as noted last week, there's always going to be debate about profiting off of stories like these. Plus, as "entertainment," it's clearly going to be different than your typical two hour butt rest.

NOTE: For what it's worth the writers/director reportedly did extensive interviews with people who lived through the experience.

REVIEWS

"Whatever else it may offer to audiences - vicarious thrills, emotional catharsis - "Hotel Mumbai" clearly serves as a testament to those remarkable individuals." - Peter Debruge, Variety

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
(35 reviews @ publish)

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: those who want to see a true "horror movie"

(Not): for those who think the awfulness of the news is already enough

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ALREADY IN THEATERS + BOX OFFICE
(3-Day Weekend / Domestic Total - $ = millions)

1) Captain Marvel ($68 / $265)
Lucky 21?
79% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

2) Wonder Park ($15.9) NEW
Girl's imagination powers amusement park
30% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

3) Five Feet Apart ($13.2) NEW
Dying (or are they?) teens fall in love
53% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

4) How To Train Your Dr... ($9.3 / $136)
Culmination (maybe) of the well liked series
91% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

5) Tyler Perry's A Madea... ($7.8 / $ 59)
Madea makes one last(?) appearance
13% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

6) No Manches Frida 2 ($3.8) NEW
Sequel to Spanish language comedy
N/A -  Trailer - Showtimes

7) Captive State ($3.1) NEW
Alien overlords / battle between humans
49% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

8) The Lego Movie 2: The S... ($2.2 / $101)
Pretty self explanatory
86% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

9) Alita: Battle Angel ($1.9 / $82)
Future set sci-fi, cyborg girl turns weapon
60% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

10) Green Book ($1.3 / $83)
Two men (one black/white), unlikely friends
78% RT -  Trailer - Showtimes

DUMBO

Since you know the story, let's just... oh wait, it's not the same story at all? Well, then. Yes, Dumbo will still fly, but this one focuses more on the humans, less the talking animals. But per the cast, still gets across the "core message" of accepting yourself for your differences.

Directed by Tim Burton, so you can expect lots of his visual style, and plenty of his favs, including: Danny DeVito (aka The Penguin), Michael Keaton (aka Batman), Eva Greene (aka Miss Peregrine).

The Trailer

LIMITED RELEASE SPOTLIGHT
BEACH BUM

Next one from Harmony Korine, who made Spring Breakers and also wrote the mid 90's Kids, aka "OMFG what the hell happened to the youths, we're all doomed" to adults at the time.

Bum seems like a joke / hyper version of what you think Matthew McConaughey's life is actually like. And based on reviews (which are split almost 50/50) it kinda is.

The Trailer

AVENGERS: ENDGAME
April 26, 2019

Full trailer. Although you won't get much beyond retrospective clips from previous movies, epic hero shots and a lot of moping from the team that's left over. But do you need much more? #BringOnTheCapTears

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

TOY STORY 4
June 21, 2019

Full trailer. The crew, now toys to Bonnie (to whom Andy bequeathed them, if you don't remember) gets another member, Forky - a toy made by Bonnie. Forky doesn't understand why he's a toy and well, adventure, crises, jokes ensues.

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Apple Google Outlook

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
July 26, 2019

Teaser. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt play actor / actor's stunt double respectively, Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate (plus a buttload of other famous actors) in Quentin Tarantino's tale set in 1969 Hollywood.

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Apple Google Outlook

LUCY IN THE SKY
TBD

Teaser. First movie directed by Noah Hawley, who created TV's Fargo and Legion. Natalie Portman as astronaut who returns to earth, starts an affair with another astronaut, but being in space seems to have affected her and things get weird - looks more psychological than sci-fi. Note: originally titled "Pale Blue Dot."

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
N/A

What's In Theaters +

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