Maybe WE'RE the monsters. 👹
"The worms are in their brains!"
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.
Have you watched Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar yet? If you haven't, you definitely should. Ya know, unless you hate laughing.
And a reminder that Godzilla vs Kong is out TODAY and is in theaters if that's your comfort level vibe. Otherwise, find someone with an HBO Max account to snuggle up next to.
(from top, left to right)
Godzilla vs Kong:
*six bajillion production company logos*
FRA FRA FRA FRA! VARWOOSH! RWWAAARRR! KABOOM! PEW PEW PEW! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! KERPLANG! BUUUEEEWWWW! SKADOOSH! KREEEEEE! AAAH! PEW PEW PEW! ROOOAAAR! THUMP THUMP THUMP! RUUUN! GAPANG!
*single tear*
*credits*
What? You expected more?
I mean, at least it's apparently a good version of the one thing it is (see RT score below).
Releases: Today!
Watch: Theaters & HBO Max
Trailer | PG-13 | 1 hr 53 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Shiva Baby: mourning the deceased can be awkward enough when you don't really know the person who died, but toss in prying family that ask about your plans post college (you don't know what they are) and offers "advice" and, shit, the high school ex-girlfriend you may still have feelings for is here too and she keeps flirting / throwing barbs, jesus what do you... nuh. uh. your sugar daddy, whom you just boinked prior to coming to this shiva (a Jewish post funeral gathering for us gentiles out there), is here with, his wife and baby?!?! You didn't know he had a wife and friggen baby. Why didn't he tell you he was married with a kid?? Who cares that you lied to him about needing money for college cuz your parents pay for rent and tuition. And crap, you need to ask your mom who died again...
If you started feeling a bit anxious reading the above. Good. Because slightly strung out is likely how you're going to feel when watching Shiva Baby, kinda making it sound like a comedy Uncut Gems (the Adam Sandler "this is how I win" anxiety fest). Which, to me at least, sounds amazing. Oh and the score was intentionally made to sound like a horror movie, with strings ratcheting up the tension tighter and tighter.
But remember, there will be jokes, cuz this is a comedy. So think of it as a commiseration vs torture while you follow Danielle (Rachel Sennott) as she navigates her unique, and yet probably quite relatable, coming-of-age story.
Releases: Friday (April 2)
Watch: VOD
Trailer | NR | 1 hr 17 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 96% (Certified Fresshh)
Concrete Cowboy: the title here indicates what you might think is an oxymoron. Cuz when most people think of where a cowboy lives, it's likely western deserts or rolling hills filled with sheep. But it sure as shit ain't in Philly. You know what most people also think of when they think of a cowboy? Whiteness. It's hard not to, considering actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood typify the commodified ranch workers. But *shock* there were / are Black cowboys (some estimates put it at 25% in the late 1800's) beyond the ones in Mel Brooks movies.
Cowboy hones in on a cultural facet of the US most aren't aware of (I certainly wasn't), which is that of an area outside of Philadelphia, Fletcher Street, where horses and their Black riders have built a home for a hundred years. The movie is based on a book about the community and centers on a father (Idris Elba) and his estranged son (Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things) who is sent to live with his dad after getting into some trouble.
You can probably imagine how the movie will go plot-wise, and you'll likely be right, but what you won't know is the context in which the story takes place. Elba actually had a quote about the movie where he said “I’m very open to telling stories that have a common truth but a unique perspective.” Which is kind of like saying, you might have heard this story told before, but you haven't heard it from this voice.
Releases: Friday (April 2)
Watch: Netflix
Trailer | R | 1 hr 51 mins
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Highlights
The Suicide Squad - James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) gives a new coat of paint to the baddies turned kinda-sorta goodies. It looks good on them.
Zola - the (in?)famous twitter thread about a waitress getting caught up with a sex-worker and her cohorts is turned into a movie. It looks crazy af. And great.
The Night House - Rebecca Hall in a fright flick where she discovers her recently deceased husband had built a second, but opposite in every way, lake house before his demise.
In the Earth - next one from Ben Wheatley, who some might describe as a bit of an auteur, where he takes on unsettling dystopian horror.
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