Nothing good happens after midnight, except this email.

Aug 27, 2020

"Though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of no food, I will fear no hunger.
We want you to give us this day our daily bread.
And to the republic for which it stands,
and by the power invested in me,
I pronounce us ready to eat.
Amen."

PINNED: this newsletter is supposed to be a friendly recapping of the movies in, and coming to, theaters. But things be real weird right now. So until that changes in earnest, 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.

Last weekend saw the first legit wide theatrical release in 28 years ago (...ok, just feels that way). Russell Crowe's road rage rampage Unhinged managed to pull in four million dollars. Assuming the average ticket price is around nine bucks, that means 444,444 people saw Crowe crush some sedans in theaters. That's not none people! But is it enough people? We'll see as weeks progress. Worth noting that the highest grossing theaters were not theaters at all, but drive-ins.

This weekend has a number of "limited releases," but next weekend is the big show, aka Tenet - which had a new trailer released (don't watch if you'd prefer to go in fresh) accompanied by its very own custom song . How very Bond like.

This week's theme is.... here is nowhere. Blame a quick sojourn to Mammoth Lakes, CA. Which most certainly is on-grid (see: me sending this email), but it is a place from whence you can easily become gridless (if for a brief moment - or ya know, forever if you go and get yourself lost).

LEAVE NO TRACE
(2018)

I've been keen on seeing this one since it came out (what? I'm a great procrastinator). In part because very few movies stick a 100% recommendation on RT. Leave No Trace did.

But the more interesting aspect is that this, like so many movies, looks to give a view into lives one may not be familiar with - or lives that one would even judge harshly if given only surface level information. The two on societal trial here are a father and daughter who are purposefully "homeless," if only in the lack of a physical structure. But their world is broken up by outsiders, who push for the family to assimilate into regular culture - which affects father and daughter in varying ways.

The director, Debra Granik, also made Winter's Bone (Jennifer Lawrence breakout movie), another glimpse at people rarely depicted on screen (in a generally empathetic way).

Give It a Shot For: a chance to stand in someone else's shoes, without having to worry about catching their athlete's foot

Details: 100% on RT (233 reviews)
PG, 1 hr 49 mins, Bleecker Street

JEREMIAH JOHNSON
(1972)

Some of you might be thinking, "Is he trolling me right now? I'm pretty sure he's trolling me." Nay great reader, troll I do not. This image, which has come to be known in our current meme-ified culture as a text ready "bro nod" in the affirmative actually has its origins in that of a 1970's Robert Redford movie about a man who decides to depart from society and live amongst the trees and the stars. But it wouldn't be a movie if everything went just as he'd planned, now would it?

Give It a Shot For: a chance to see a deep cut from one of Hollywood's most notable stars and the chance to pursue a solitary life from your couch.

Notes: don't trust the rating, pretty sure it has a decent amount of violence in it. Also unsure of its depictions of Native Americans, so be prepared for a less than modern take.

Details: 95% on RT (20 reviews)
PG, 1 hr 48 mins, Warner Bros.

MERU
(2015)

From the (married) co-directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, before they made their Academy Award winning doc, Free Solo.

Documents Chin, who happens to be an amazing climber himself, and two other badass (crazy?) mountain scalers as they try and reach the peak of Mount Meru on a route they previously failed.

Give it a Shot For: amazing locals and photography, plus probes into why people risk their lives for "unnecessary" challenges.

Details: 89% on RT (76 reviews)
R, 1 hr 27 mins, Music Box Films

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