Secrets, secrets are no fun. Secrets, secrets are for everyone!

Aug 28, 2019

GUESS THE QUOTE
"I scored on LeBron James.
I'm never playing basketball again.
Lunch is on you baby!"

This weeked is not what you'd call "stacked." Yes, there are new movies, but only one wide release and it's not getting an overly warm reception from reviewers. I.e. you might want to check out what's already in theaters or streaming. And speaking of...

...Netflix was trying to get Scorsese's The Irishman a "wide" theatrical release (i.e. in major theater chains), but apparently couldn't find a compromise of theaters' traditional/desired three month gap between theatrical and "home" release and Netflix's want to have it piping through the internets ASAP. The longest they've waited is around three weeks with last year's Roma - which is what they'll do with The Irishman, as well as their other Oscar hopefuls, including: Marriage Story (which we mentioned last week), The King and The Laundromat. FYI the latter two are in this week's trailers section.

And since we didn't know Marriage Story's release pattern we didn't add to the calendar; we solved that and you can now add it to yours:

Apple Google Outlook

Cutoff? Go here, click "most recent edition."

DON'T LET GO

AKA
"when you're in yoga
and you gotta toot"

R / 1 hr 47 mins

Suspense-Mystery-Thriller / OTL

WHAT'S THE DEAL

In One Line: A time traveling movie (of sorts) that doesn't involve Terminators, but instead a thought to be murdered niece and her police officer uncle trying to find her killer(s).

There is an old adage that time travel in movies is always confusing. Ok, there's not, but there should be, because have you ever not walked away from a movie messing with the space time continuum and been like "But what about the..? And the... Oh, also, how does...."?

Don't Let Go doesn't seem to solve that problem, but instead tries to make you forget about those issues and focus on the emotional relationship between an uncle (Jack - Selma's David Oyelowo) and his niece (Ashley - Storm Reid), with whom he's taken an active role in raising since her father (Atlanta's Brian Tyree Henry) and mother are often negligent (drugs). Which makes her and her parents' murder that much more painful for the LAPD officer. Death though, is not quite final as Jack gets a call from Ashley, still sitting pretty (and unaware) a few days before her impending demise. You can imagine how it plays out from here - disbelief, discounting from those around Jack, desperate hope pushing to feverish action etc. etc. Reviews aren't great, but the two leads are good actors so if the cheeky premise sounds intriguing enough, you might get some fun out of it. But if not, rewind your life two hours and skip it.

Just don't run into yourself, cuz that could..... ah, screw it, see what happens!

REVIEWS

"The future -- or, in this case, the past -- might be unwritten, but Don't Let Go, like so many generic thrillers before it, operates by the book." Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, AV Club

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%
(23 reviews @ publish)

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: you thought Groundhog Day was cool and all, but would've been better as a crime thriller

(Not): you actually thought Groundhog Day was a crime thriller

SHARE THIS FLICK W/ FRIENDS

LIMITED RELEASE SPOTLIGHT
OFFICIAL SECRETS

AKA
"what you tell friends when they ask
what you did last Friday night
and it was actually just this for six hours"

R / 1 hr 52 mins

Drama / IFC

WHAT'S THE DEAL

In One Line: A fairly straightforward "whistleblower movie" starring Keira Knightley that tackles the UK government's involvement in some shady dealings leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Keira Knightley likes to play dress up. Or she must, because an inordinate amount of her movies see the actor donning some less than modern day garb. Which, why the hell not, right? You're an actor, have some fun with it. We only bring this up because it's almost novel when Knightley plays a now-a-days character. And her role is certainly one of the most current of archetypes - that of the government whistleblower. Hell, these movies are almost a genre unto themselves at this point, and Official Secrets harbors no intention of reinvention, it merely looks to highlight a story most of us know little about. Which is that of Katharine Gun, a British government translator who leaked details of the United States' illegal desire to bug the UN offices of nations voting on its effort to invade Iraq. Big no no. And so is leaking those facts, per the UK government, which saw Gun get arrested and well, if you're interested, watch the movie (or if you're not, maybe just read the Wikipedia entry).

But if you do go, can you please dress up in early 1800's ball attire? Partly because we're sure Ms. Knightley would approve. But mostly because we want pictures of it.

REVIEWS

Straightforward for some may mean "dry" for others.

"A straightforward, solidly old-fashioned slice of real-life espionage, journalistic and legal intrigue that gets the job done in engrossing, clear-eyed fashion even if it lacks much in the way of stylistic verve." David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%
(23 reviews @ publish)

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: You have a subscription to The NY Times, WSJ, The New Yorker and The Economist

(Not): you have a subscription to every member of the Kardashians' / Jenners' Instagram

SHARE THIS FLICK W/ FRIENDS

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

1) Angel Has Fallen ($21.4) NEW
Gerard Butler threequel action movie
40% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

2) Good Boys ($11.6 / $42)
Superbad Jr.
78% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

3) Overcomer ($8.1) NEW
Christian sports movie
33% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

4) Hobbs & Shaw ($8.1 / $148)
The Rock and Jason Statham F & F spinoff
67% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

5) The Lion King ($8.1 / $511)
Live action(?) remake
52% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

6) Ready or Not ($8 / $11) NEW
Bride in deadly game of hide and seek
88% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

7) The Angry Birds Movie 2 ($6.4 / $27)
The app turned movie gets a (better) sequel
76% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

8) Scary Stories To Tell... ($5.9 / $50)
Creepy books turn into creepy movie
81% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

9) Dora and The Lost City... ($5.3 / $43)
Bilingual kiddie adventurer comes to life
82% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

10) Once Upon A Time... ($5 / $123)
Tarantino's take on Hollywood 1969
85% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

IT:
CHAPTER TWO

The Losers Club gets all growed up and convene back in Maine to try and finally rid their town of their "friend" Pennywise, for good (while getting terrified in the process of course).

WATCH THE TRAILER

THE LAUNDROMAT
September 27, 2019

Steven Soderbergh directs Meryl Streep who investigates insurance fraud, keying in on two Panama City lawyers (Gary Oldman and Anthony Banderas). Based on the Panama Papers. Note: this is a Netflix joint and will be on there a few weeks after the limited theatrical release.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

LUCY IN THE SKY
October 4, 2019

Full trailer. 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. "Loosely" based on real life story of astronaut Lisa Nowak.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

JOKER
October 4, 2019

Final trailer. One off origin story about The Joker, played by Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Todd Phillips - as in Old School & The Hangover movies. Also starring Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2 / Atlanta) and Robert De Niro.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

JEXI
October 11, 2019

Kind of a weird one. Basically a goofy comedic version of HER with Adam Devine (Workaholics) dealing with his clingy AI (Rose Byrne). Cast has a bunch of other funny people you know.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

THE KING
October 11, 2019

Teaser. Timothée Chalamet plays Henry V who abandoned the royal life, but has to figure out how to rule after his father dies and he becomes king - with the help of an alcoholic knight (Joel Edgerton) who is one of the few people he trusts. Based on Shakespeare. Directed by David Michôd (Animal Kingdom, The Rover). Note: this is a Netflix joint and will be on there a few weeks after the limited theatrical release.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

FRANKIE
October 25, 2019

A women who's dying brings her family together (including husband and ex-husband) on a vacation in Portugal. Isabelle Huppert (Elle, Greta) plays the famous matriarch, and machinator. Other cast includes: Marisa Tomei, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN
November 1, 2019

Written/directed by and starring Edward Norton. Basically a classic noir set in the 50's where Norton plays a gumshoe who has Tourette Syndrome and is trying to solve the murder of his mentor (Bruce Willis). Also has Willem DaFoe, Alec Baldwin and lots of other recognizable faces.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

THE REPORT
November 15, 2019

Looks good. Adam Driver plays a Senate staffer who investigates the CIA's detention program where they tortured people involved in 9/11 or those they thought might be connected. Pretty solid reviews. Note: will be a limited release, but on Amazon Prime a couple weeks after.

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

STAR WARS:
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
December 20, 2019

A "special look" from Disney's D23 where they celebrate well, themselves (basically a Disney specific Comic-Con). The saga of the Skywalker family comes to an end. PS guess who's back? No, not him. Him!

ADD TO YOUR CALENDAR
Apple Google Outlook

What's In Theaters +

Discussion about this post