New reboot idea... Pacey's Creek.

Aug 12, 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.

You're familiar with the Paramount Decree of 1948 right?

......!

Phew, good. Because if you weren't, I'd obviously need to tell you it was the outcome of a hugely significant Supreme Court case that, among other things*, disallowed the major movie studios (at the time) from owning theater chains, thus fundamentally changing the entire film business. And since you already knew all that, the news that a federal judge allowed the Justice Department to toss out the decree this week will make way more sense.

And since you're one of the cool kids, you'll totally get that while the world is appreciably different than in 1948, what with streaming, smartphones, video games etc., it'd still be quite interesting if a major studio (or relative newbies Netflix / Amazon) decided to buy say, a struggling AMC. Now, it may not be imminent or even likely (and because they're new, Netflix & Amazon, weren't actually bound by the decree so they technically could've tried this a while ago), but the the fact it's now a legit possibility? Spicy. 🌶

From the anecdote vault - I remember (naively) bringing up buying, or creating some fundamental shift in how studios worked with, theaters when I worked at Paramount, in part because the experience at many theaters can be kinda trash, and that experience directly effects people going to see a studio's output. The response was... not great. I didn't get yelled at (at least not that time), it was just that the two were viewed as so separate (even to the point of acrimony) that to think of combining activities in anyway was laughable. Well ha. ha. ha. (I don't know why I'm laughing, but it seemed fitting).

We'll see what happens, but even if nothing does, it's still a symbolic example of how, in some ways at least, the world has materially changed.

And in yet another example of the shifting of earthly events, Nia DaCosta, the director of Little Woods (featured here ) and the upcoming Candyman reboot, was just announced as the director of the Captain Marvel sequel. She'll be the first director of a Marvel movie that also is a black female (worth noting that Ava DuVernay has been set to direct DC's New Gods since 2018). Rad.

One more thing.... trailers!

I haven't been featuring many since the beginning of "the bullshit" because well, there really haven't been many (of note at least). That's changing. I should've already been doing this, but I started a YouTube channel for WIT where I'll upload a playlist each week of all the trailers worth watching (FYI I'll be featuring streaming trailers until there are legit numbers of theatrical releases - or maybe always, everything is tbd) . No choosing, just one click.

So go on, check out this week's trailers worth watching.

*(e.g. banned "block booking," where studios would make theaters buy a "block" of movies, including ones they may not want, to get the ones they do - not unlike what media conglomerates with their channel bundling)

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

This week's theme is.... "movies I know I'll probably never watch if I don't watch 'em now." You know the movies I'm talking about. The ones you hear about and you're like, "oooh that looks good," I wanna see that. They come out, for some reason or another you miss them. Cut to three years later, you happen upon their trailer in iTunes or Netflix and exclaim "oh yeah, that movie. I wanted to watch that!" You shrug, knocking a few chip crumbs down your shirt and then proceed to re-watch your favorite sitcom for the 7th time.

Re: last week's movies - I caught Yes, God, Yes and She Dies Tomorrow. Liked em both! Yes, God was so light it could've flittered away in the wind, but that was also kinda part of its charm. Plus, anything knocking down silly culture stigmas is doing gods work in my book... but probably not in God's book.

She Dies Tomorrow is totally absurd, but in a good way. It makes the anxiety many people feel funny (because if you can't laugh at death what can you laugh at?), but a traditional comedy this ain't. It also creates anxiety to be clear. It's a trip. Many people may hate it if they watch, but that's a fact that I hope would make one even more interested.

Btw, I'm still here, still waiting for your emails. So feel free to email me your take(s)!

SELAH & THE SPADES
(2020)

Selah & the Spades kinda reminds me of the classic black comedy Heathers, noir-inspired Brick and the more recent nihilistic-twinged Thoroughbreds. I say reminds me not because I think it's trying to be them (even if my guess is director Tayarisha Poe has seen those movies), but because it looks like it's trying to do its own thing in the non-specific genre of "teen movies."

In Selah, as in the other movies mentioned, the kids look like kids, but they sure as hell don't act like many I know. But maybe it's normal at other high schools for their to be factions (what cliques are called in the movie) that control distinct and separate avenues of teenagedom (drugs & booze, running adult interference etc.) as they vie for total control of the school. 🤷‍♂️

Selah btw, is leads of The Spades, one of the factions, and also happens to be the most powerful adult acting child in school. But she's a senior, her reign is almost over, and she wants to hand off control to a hand picked successor. Only problem is, her choice might just be too good - i.e. she may want control now.

Reading reviews, the movie isn't all machinating, it apparently gets at legitimate power dynamics and issues of insecurity. Wait a minute, maybe this isn't just for kids...

And I'll keep noting it until it's no longer noteworthy, but this is a debut film from a black female director and as NPR called out in their review "For all its genre dressing, in the end Selah and the Spades (along with other strikingly original recent debuts like Pariah, Little Woods and Moonlight) represents the voice of a fresh new generation of black filmmakers that has moved on from tales of inner city poverty or sidelined them for a more introspective spirit. With that, they claim their right to make films about whatever floats their boats."

Details: 88% on RT (100 reviews)
R, 1 hr 29 mins, Amazon Studios

COLOR OUT OF SPACE
(2020)

If you've been reading about culture and politics in the United States over the last few years, you may have run across the phrase late-stage capitalism. While this really isn't the forum to get into such things, I propose we discuss another context whereby "late-stage" is applicable. And that, my friends, is Mr. "not the bees" himself, Nicholas Cage.

See, "late-stage Nic Cage" (beyond sounding awesome), is the unfettered Nic Cage - free to dig into his acting excesses (yes, even more than... normal?), his box office burden relinquished in order to create some of the weirdest movies brought to VOD (cuz you know most of them ain't going to theaters, even pre "the bullshit").

I mean, the man has been on a tear (and terror!) recently, releasing six movies a year over the past three years. Sure, most of them are not great, but some of them are legitimately well received. Take Color Out of Space. It looks like peak late-stage Nic Cage. Gonzo storyline (based on a H.P. Lovecraft story) about a meteor that causes Cage, a farmer who milks alpacas, and his family to descend into madness as colors start making really weird shit start happening. What kinda weird? How about a mother's body trying to suck a child back into the womb. Yup. Weird.

The other nice thing about late-stage Nic Cage - beyond all the yelling, screaming and blood spurting - is that it's not very hard to understand if you're in, or you're out.

Btw, it's directed by Richard Stanley, who made the notorious (ly bad?) The Island of Dr. Moreau, starring Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer (side note: I actually saw Stanley's first movie Hardware at waaaay too young of an age. Thanks dad!).

Details: 86% on RT (189 reviews)
NR, 1 hr 50 mins, RLJE

SHIRLEY
(2020)

Sometimes in describing a movie I wanna say that it just looks good. And you should probably watch it.

But that's lazy.

So I tell you it's a really well reviewed non-biopic about Shirley Jackson, the influential horror/mystery author. I also tell you it stars the very good actor Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men, Invisible Man) where she gets to go full bonkers fighting with her husband (a la Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf) and manipulating a younger couple staying in her house. Which is a little less lazy. But still, kinda lazy.

So then I grab a snippet from the (positive) NY Times review of the movie. Which is still lazy, but... smart lazy?!

"They are both victims of a hypocritical, repressive, male-dominated world, though the actual men in their lives are weak, preening mediocrities. That fact, and the libidinal current that runs between the women, are the most potent and convincing aspects of “Shirley.” Moss, brazen and witty and seeming to push herself to the very edge of control, is a galvanizing presence, convincingly wild even as she’s trapped in a hothouse of sometimes dubious ideas."

Now, if you're intrigued, I respond with, "see, sometimes it pays to be lazy."

And if you're not intrigued, I say, "Look! Over there!"

.....🏃‍♂️.....

Note: also available to rent for a couple bucks from most normal rental spots (e.g. iTunes).

Details: 87% on RT (191 reviews)
R, 1 hr 47 mins, NEON

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