Can we FF to the good parts, please? ⏩

Jul 22, 2020

PINNED: this newsletter is supposed to be a friendly recapping of the movies in, and coming to, theaters. But those movies don't exist right now. Until that changes, I'll either be suggesting old favorites to revisit, pointing out recent flicks you may have missed or calling out notable new VOD / streaming options.

It's been a bit so let's do a quick Industry Update, shall we Chuck (who the hell is Chuck.... idk, just go with it)?

Christopher Nolan's Tenet, which was to be the first big movie when theaters opened back up (and had already been moved back twice before this), is officially unscheduled - as of two days ago. Warner Bros. says they'll announce a new date "imminently," which, sure I guess they can do, but does it matter? A theatrical movie release at this point is like your childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. Over time, they'll both fade into nothingness and you'll still be shackled to your earthly prison (home), bound by by gravity ("the bullshit") and you'll be left wondering where it all went so damn wrong (space camp, space camp is where it went wrong). Ahem. Moving on. Other notable movies are still scheduled (.e.g. A Quiet Place II, Mulan), but we can imagine they'll follow Tenet's lead soon enough.

But this is all in regards to US release dates. The current thinking is that studios may start opening movies in other big markets before the states, which is uncommon, but not unheard of. It's yet another reminder of how much of a bummer (<-- understatement) the situation in the US is.

Now, it's possible some of the currently scheduled will move onto streaming services, which will suck for theaters, but doesn't seem to suck for said streaming services. Both Apple TV+'s Greyhound and Hulu's Palm Springs apparently set records. These are internally kept and service only records mind you, but hey, it's still a news story! But seriously, it does show large numbers of people are willing to give a shot to movies at home they may have been more cautious about at theaters (neither were likely to be massive hits in theaters).

In what is not a solution, but a small salve for "theatrical" moviegoing, Walmart announced a partnership with Robert De Niro's Tribeca film festival earlier this month to do drive-in screenings at 160 of its stores. Tribeca was already doing their thing outside of this, but the combo will expand it to a much broader audience.

Oh, I also watched The Old Guard this last week. It was not my favorite movie, but I didn't hate it by any means. And I was mentioning to a friend that I enjoyed how it was almost nonchalantly progressive - both in the cultural sense and also how it handles "superheroes" (more realistic than fantastical). I'd still recommend a watch if you were curious, but it's worth noting it's pretty gory (in a sorta purposeful way though - so as to show the character's immortality). Even though I wasn't stoked on it, I am curious about a sequel, which, while not officially announced, is a near certainty considering it is on pace to be the 6th most watched original film released on Netflix. Over 70 million people are likely to watch it in the first four weeks. Scoreboard: Streaming +1

Fun Fact: Bad Boys for Life is still the highest grossing theatrical movie of 2020.

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

I'm focusing on relatively recent (within last 5 years) movies I missed, but are still on my mental list. Chose mostly "smaller" movies so good chance you might've missed them too. If you're into any, watch 'em and email me your take(s), I'd love to know what you thought.

THE EAGLE HUNTRESS
(2016)

Hard to get more heartwarming than the true story of a young girl working to become the first female eagle hunter in her family in twelve generations. Doesn't hurt that the cinematography is reportedly out of control gorgeous either.

I could've just said you get to watch a doc on people partnering with eagles and left it at that. I mean, how badly do you want to have an eagle land on your hand when you call it? ....Oh, that's not a universal desire? Hm, ok. Well, even if you're not in the massive bird hugging camp, I still think you'll enjoy this documentary (narrated by Daisy Ridley from Star Wars fame). It seems to have all the inspiring and uplifting themes of a Disney documentary, without being a Disney documentary. I.e. kid safe! In fact, kids encouraged.

Details: 94% on RT (126 reviews)
G, 1 hr 27 mins, Sony Pictures Classic

FIRST REFORMED
(2018)

Liiiiitle heavier this one. Ok, a lot heavier. I mean, when you take on faith, eternity and deities it's bound to get a bit weighty eh? It's also likely to get "hard." In movie terms at least. That is to say, this isn't a movie I expect to give one answers as they watch it. The New York Times review noted that the movie "wrestles with contemporary reality, but it isn’t a work of realism in the way that term is conventionally understood. The dialogue is delivered with formal, almost stiff cadences, and the images are crisp, graceful and plain."

...yeah, a blockbuster this ain't. But while we're stuck in doors, I figure it may be worth contemplating existence every once and a while.

Details: 93% on RT (234 reviews)
R, 1 hr 48 mins, A24

BODIED
(2018)

Feels like a natural switch from religious treatise to... rap battles, where offensive stereotypes abound, no? Riiiiight.

While this movie may seem far more superfluous than a movie taking on religious certitude, I encourage a deeper look. First off, it's supposed to be real funny, and apparently takes on racism, misogyny and even *gulp* "P.C. culture." Which, even though this movie only came out two years ago, I'm super curious how its take holds up. Reviews have noted that while most of its jokes are offensive if taken at face value, in context of the movie they make a broader point (we'll see!).

And while it stars a white dude spitting rhymes in a predominately black cultural event, that seems purposeful in getting points across (again, have yet to wach).

Noteworthy that the movie was directed by Jospeh Kahn, a very prolific music video director (also happens to be Korean-America) and written by Alex Larsen who is a part of the rap battle world (he's a white guy on whom the movie is loosely based).

Details: 90% on RT (80 reviews)
R, 2 hrs, NEON

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