"All things change lady.
The dreams of youth
are the regrets of maturity."
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.
This is usually when newsletters, articles, or podcasts put out their "Best Of" recaps; you've probably read or listened to a bunch already. I'm not going to do that.
In part because I haven't seen every movie that came out this year, so it'd be a bit unfair to those movies I have yet to see. But it's also just that the "best" is so damn subjective. Best is depending on who's watching or even what mood someone is in. We had a great case of the subjective last week with the release of Wonder Woman 1984. Even though it initially got pretty good reviews, as more people saw it, the critiques became louder and more abundant. Personally, I was... not a fan. To be clear, I liked the first movie lots and parts of this sequel. I admired some of the things 84 was going for too (namely giving the villains a reason to be villainous), but alas, it would not make my non-existent Best Of list (or, hell, even my just ok list 😬).
And while it wasn't even released this century, maybe the movie I most enjoyed watching in this, the year where time had no meaning, was released 57 years ago - Hitchcock's The Birds. It's an oddly appropriate matchup, considering the movie and this year have an airborne menace forcing us to stay in our homes far more than we would've liked. Good chance I wouldn't have watched it without the "bullshit." #smallwins
So instead of a Best Of list, I'm going to do a "Not Yet... Until Now" list - movies released this year that I've been wanting to feature, but just haven't. It's also kinda fitting since three of the movies are from first time directors. I'll do it in the same format as last week, because I kinda liked it.
Hope y'all are able to have an enjoyable NYE and NY day in these circumstances.
Until next year. ❤️
PS no trailers this week.
NOT YET... UNTIL NOW
(starting left side top to bottom)
The Vast of Night: First of this list's "debut directors" is Andrew Patterson who goes with the ol' stalwart - aliens. Or the possibility of aliens. Because sometimes the fear and anticipation is scarier than the real thing. Reviews say Patterson does a great job (on a limited budget) of setting up the circumstances - a switchboard operator and a DJ in 1950's small-town New Mexico become involved in what may be an alien visitation, a Russian invasion or nothing at all. But it's the not knowing that always get ya isn't it?
Watch On: Amazon Prime
Trailer | PG-13 | 1 hr 30 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% (Certified Fresh)
Lucky Grandma: tell me if you've heard this one before. A grumpy grandma risks gambling all of her life savings to retain her independence, which leads to her being chased around by gangsters in New York's Chinatown such that she needs to hire a very large, but friendly, bodyguard. *silence* Exactly. So risk two hours of your time and you could end up discovering a movie you find quite delightful.
Watch On: VOD Rental
Trailer | PG-13 | 1 hr 40 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (Certified Fresh)
His House: This one is on many Best Of lists. Not surprising considering it's sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. What will be surprising is all the scary shit our next first time director, Remi Weekes, throws at you. The movie's premise is fairly simple as it follows a couple who are seeking refugee status in England after escaping a harrowing situation in South Sudan. But the apartment the government houses them in, and won't let them leave, starts to be scarier than the circumstances they fled...
Watch On: Netflix
Trailer | PG-13 | 1 hr 33 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (Certified Fresh)
Forty-Year-Old Version: another on many of those year end lists, the third of our debut director movies, and maybe the most talked about pick on this list. It was written and directed by Radha Blank, who plays a version of herself a, yup, artist in her forties trying to make it work in New York after some early career success. The details and dynamics are many in this story as Blank is a playwright who starts rapping at an age many people have started yelling at kids to "turn that shit down." She also has to navigate the complexities of possibly adjusting her play to fit more conventional (read: white) tastes. Conventional, in all the the ways, her story isn't, and that's what reviewers say makes it all the more enjoyable.
Watch On: Netflix
Trailer | PG-13 | 2 hrs 3 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% (Certified Fresh)
Kajillionaire: this is considered a comedy. Some people would probably be confused if they watched this movie after reading that. But what one finds weird, another may find hilarious. Evan Rachel Wood (Westwood) plays a daughter whose parents have spent every moment of her life grifting, and teaching her how to do the same - which she sees as normal. This is not normal. And neither will the movie be, but that's the point. Well, it's not THE point, the point is to make you feel, like any movie. But let's just say the lack of normalness is less an adornment and more of the entire structure.
Watch On: VOD Rental
Trailer | R | 1 hr 44 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 89% (Certified Fresh)
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