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Mar 04, 2020

GUESS THE QUOTE

Had a group of new signups over the past few weeks and wanted to say thanks for joining. 😊 I'm always open to questions, thoughts and find it fun to trade opinions on what you thought about movies you've seen recently, so please feel free to hit reply!

Emma. (yes, there is a period) is expanding nationwide Friday for those who've been unable to check it out.

Correction: last week I kept spelling the star of The Invisible Man as EliZabeth Moss. That's wrong! It's with an sssssss. Oops.

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

ONWARD

AKA
"most awkward thing to scream and
turn to see there's no one behind you"

PG / 1 hr 54 mins

Adventure-Family-Fantasy-Comedy
/ Pixar (Disney)

WHAT'S THE DEAL

In One Line: That new new from Pixar.

One problem with being really good at something, is people assume you'll keep being really good at it. They're called expectations, and audiences have them, especially for Pixar movies - audiences, we're just the worst. But it makes sense! Pixar has made some of the best movies in the last two plus decades (Wall-E, UP!, Toy Story 1-4, Inside Out) and we all want more of that!

Onward definitely seems to have all the usual trappings of a great Pixar flick going for it: big name voice cast (Christ Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer), a cheeky setting (a world like ours except there are centaur cops, bratty trash eating unicorns, dragons as pets and monster run restaurants), the emotional pull (Pratt and Holland are brothers who seek out magic to help bring back their dead dad so they can spend one more day with him).

So yeah, this is a Pixar movie, but reviews are saying it's not quite a Pixar movie - ya know the kind you mention with a bit of wistful reverence in your voice? That's not to say you won't enjoy yourself, you probably will lots - cuz even off-peak Pixar is still a good amount higher than most movie mountains. But as the brothers seem to be learning in the movie, magic, as much as we want it to always be there, is hard to come by.

REVIEWS

Not being considered one of Pixar's strongest, but not down to the Cars level 😜. Most reviewers are still recommending and indicate there's a good chance you'll get to moisten them cheeks!

"The film is a brightly rendered, sentimental ode to adolescence that hits all the right emotional buttons, even as it risks being forgotten itself." - Ben Kenigsberg, NY Times

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%
(133 reviews @ publish)

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: you love that Pixar magic (even if when it's not at it's most ultra sparkliest) / want a good little sob

(Not): you're protesting any Pixar movies until they make A Bug's Life sequel #JusticeforHeimlich

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THE WAY BACK

AKA
"where the thing you need
in the fridge is every. damn. time."

R / 1 hr 48 mins

Drama-Sports-Underdog / Warner Bros.

WHAT'S THE DEAL

In One Line: Ben Affleck in a story about addiction disguised as a sports drama.

This is a movie about alcoholism and addiction, starring a real life human who is an alcoholic dealing with addiction. Say what you will about Ben Affleck, but this could not have been an easy movie to make. Now with that said, you might be wondering, does that mean this won't be an easy movie to watch? And I say to you, sports! ......? Yes, sports, the great distractor.

See, if this movie was exclusively about addiction it could've been a bit hard to watch (hell, for many it still may be), just like real life substance dependency can be. But as it does for Affleck's - self-loathing, former standout athlete, separated from his wife construction worker - character, sports provide a welcome and hopeful salve at moments to an otherwise difficult journey. One that includes a private school basketball team Affleck's character used to play for, and now returns to coach. As alluded to above, Affleck himself has dealt with drinking issues for a long time, but is more recently talking about them openly (along with his famed back tattoo - which, like, idk, I feel like people should probably lay off about? ) so yeah, you can imagine his performance pulls from his experiences (and reviews say it shows).

And just like in sports with athletes, people talk about addicts "beating" their addiction. Thing is, addictions don't really go away, they're not something to be defeated with a last second three or vanquished like an evil orc. But it's a story, a narrative that humans like - the embattled hero rising up to save the themselves and the world around them. Yet battling addiction isn't a game, because it never ends. And yet ultimately that's what The Way Back looks to do, use the stories we're comfortable with, to tell the ones we're not.

Note: directed by Gavin O'Conner who also made Miracle and the "better than you thought it'd be" Warrior.

REVIEWS

Pretty darn solid. Affleck getting lots of nods for one of his best jobs acting in a while.

"It's a reminder that the most trite material-in this case, getting a second chance at making good-can be powerful when handled honestly." - Charles Bramesco, AV Club

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

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: you love a good redemption story, no matter the context or topic

(Not): you're not a #sportsball person, no matter the context or topic

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FIRST COW

AKA
"what is way more exciting
to milk than your 237th"

R / 2 hrs 2 mins

Drama-Period / A24

WHAT'S THE DEAL

In One Line: A movie your friend who's into all that "indie stuff" would love.

Are you that friend who's always recommending the movies no one has ever heard about? The kind that end up in articles like "The Best Movies No One Saw This Year." Or are you a friend of that friend who loves their recommendations? Cool, this movie is probably for you.

It's basic storyline centers on a soft spoken white dude recently out of indentured servitude who can make a mean baked good and a Chinese immigrant who's got strong business acumen and aspirations; the two meet, (covertly and illicitly) milk a cow, bake some tasties, sell 'em, profit and become friends along the way. Thing is, it ain't their cow, it's some rich guy's, and it's the, ahem, first cow in the area, so you know it's coveted. 😬

That's the rough plot outline sure, but as you can guess, this movie isn't about a bovine, or it's milk (ok, not completely). The director, Kelly Reichardt, is known for doing a lot with a little and reviews say she does it again here (all of her movies have seen more than satisfactory reviews). Critics say Reichardt does well in using two lonely humans in 1820's Oregon as a way to get at notions of history, individualism, connection, violence, "the myth of the west" and lots of other obvious and less so notions.

Who knew a cow could say so much without saying anything at all?

REVIEWS

Lots of effusive reviews and yet still probably not for everyone, but for those of a certain ilk, seems like it'll be enjoyed.

"With First Cow, Kelly Reichardt, America's foremost chronicler of small stories rooted in meticulously-crafted geographical expanses, has delivered another slowburn heartbreaker." - Sophie Monks Kaufman, Little White Lies

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%
(30 reviews @ publish)

WHO'S IT (NOT) FOR?

For: you enjoy the quieter ones

(Not): if the cow doesn't explode, get shot from a catapult, turn into a zombie, you ain't interested

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

1) The Invisible Man ($29) NEW
Elisabeth Moss fights unseeable abusive ex
90% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

2) Sonic the... ($16 / $128)
Blue blur gets his own movie (franchise?)
64% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

3) Call of the Wild ($13.6 / $46)
Harrison Ford in Jack London tale retelling
61% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

4) My Hero Academia ($5.1 / $8) NEW
Anime TV series gets full length movie
92% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

5) Bad Boys for Life ($4.3 / $197)
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, they back
78% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

6) Birds of Prey ($4.1 / $79)
Harley Quinn spinoff of Suicide Squad
80% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

7) Impractical Jokers ($3.5 / $7)
TruTV show full length movie
29% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

8) 1917 ($2.7 / $156)
WW I one shot
89% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

9) Brahms: The Boy II ($2.6 / $10)
Creepy doll + kid movie w/Katie Holmes
11% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

10) Fantasy Island ($2.3 / $24)
Horror version of old TV show
10% RT - Trailer - Showtimes

THE HUNT

The movie whose release was "cancelled" after a mass shooting is now, in fact, coming out. Written by Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers, Watchmen), it's apparently a satire where liberal "elites" hunt "everyday conservatives."

WATCH THE TRAILER

BLOODSHOT

Vin Diesel is a super soldier who's being controlled and has to figure out what's real. Based on a popular (shock... gasp... ) comic book.

WATCH THE TRAILER

MY SPY

Dave Bautista seems to be aping The Rock's early movie career era and partnering with small child in hopes for some contrast comedy.

WATCH THE TRAILER

I STILL BELIEVE

Basically a Nicholas Sparks type movie with a religious bent. Stars Britt Robertson and KJ Apa, Archie from Riverdale.

WATCH THE TRAILER

NEVER RARELY
SOMETIMES ALWAYS

Girl dealing with a pregnancy she's not ready for gets support from her cousin as they travel to an abortion clinic in NYC. Looks good and apparently is - 100% on RT (40+ reviews).

WATCH THE TRAILER

THE HIGH NOTE
May 8, 2020

Tracee Ellis Rosse (Black-ish) plays a big deal singer who's career is at the "Vegas residency" stage, but she wants to keep pushing; gets some help from her overqualified (aren't they all?) personal assistant Dakota Johnson.

SET A REMINDER!

ARTEMIS FOWL
May 29, 2020

Delayed Disney flick based on popular YA books which looks like a combo of Agent Cody Banks, Harry Potter and most of the Marvel movies.

SET A REMINDER!

CANDYMAN
June 12, 2020

Jordan Peele co-written (but not directed) new take on the classic horror villain. The C man returns to the same, but now gentrified, neighborhood.

SET A REMINDER!

CONNECTED
September 18, 2020

For starters, produced by Chris Miller and Phil Lord who made Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse; uses a similar animation style too. Shows a family dealing with technology like any other, but then there's an actual tech uprising.

SET A REMINDER!

What's In Theaters +

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