Heart, and those that love to eat them.

May 19, 2021

"Where's my dog?"

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.

So this week AT&T admitted what a lot of people knew from the beginning - that it was probably a bad idea for them to buy WarnerMedia (ie WarnerBros, CNN etc.). They're merging the company with Discovery, with the head of Discovery running one entity with two big streaming services, Discovery+ and HBO Max. It'll be a while before there are legit ramifications for customers (the deal would finalize middle of next year), but it may push other companies to get bigger themselves.

And while one Hollywood outsider is selling, another, Amazon, is looking to go deeper, by potentially buying MGM. MGM is not nearly as big the other traditional studios in movies produced each year, but they have a big library and franchises like Bond and Rocky/Creed. Amazon's content play has always been a bit odd, casual almost, but this would seem to indicate they're trying to go exclusive. 💘

Btw, I sometimes hesitate to highlight things like this because, honestly, I'm not sure if people actually care (see: my note last week on all the Globes stuff). Not that it's bad to care, but I get if all you're here for is some movie reccs. So if you're strongly opinionated one way or the other, please, let me know.

(from top, left to right)

North Hollywood: if there's one thing that the North Hollywood (NoHo) trailer conveys, it's that this movie has a vibe. Of course all movies technically have one, but the music, the shots and overall aesthetic choices (including plenty of 50's shoutouts) setup the feeling of a world like few movies often do. It seems akin to movies like Dazed and Confused, Clueless , or hell, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, that have this strong sense of identity and what they want to be (I'm not directly comparing this to Tarantino, just to be clear).

But it makes sense when the movie was written and directed by someone (Mikey Alfred) who comes from the world - skating - he's trying to sculpt into a narrative. Alfred is behind Illegal Civ, the skate group / clothing brand / production company that he started when he was 12 (he's 26 now). His own story somewhat follows that of the main character of NoHo, as he pushed against the traditional path his father wanted him to follow and the one he felt he needed to take. He started in the skate community, then found himself shooting concert footage and a doc for Odd Future, the music collective co-created by Tyler, The Creator, then acting as a producer / creative influence on Jonah Hill's Mid90s, which starred a bunch of Illegal Civ skaters, including Noho's lead, Ryder McLaughlin.

Even with his street cred and traditional cred, he still couldn't get his own movie financed, so he did it himself, eventually adding Pharrell Williams as a producer. And yet, still no distributor or streaming service picked the movie up, so he's been selling tickets on the Illegal Civ website (you can also rent on all the traditional services).

Now, even if a movie has style, it's necessary to have some substance for people to latch onto - especially when you're looking to expand beyond the niche of skating. Which Noho also looks to have, with a notable and grounded looking performance from Vince Vaughn as the father of the story.
There are limited reviews, but they highlight the authentic connection McLaughlin and Vaughn have, plus the legitimate struggle of finding your path while balancing it with other things you care about.

People always talk about how everyone's story is unique, which they inherently are, but it sure is nice when you can make your own story look sick while telling it. 🛹

Out  Now
Watch  VOD
The Trailer | 1 hr 33 mins | N/R | 🍅: 88%

Army of the Dead: now, this movie also has a vibe. Well, multiple vibes to be honest. One of which is the "I got that Netflix monaaaaay. And Imma spend it. Watch me." Or maybe that was director Zack Snyder's vibe when he was filming Army of the Dead. Which, good for him. This is his first full movie since he originally shot / then re-cut the Justice League, plus The Flix gave him creative control, so you're gettin 100% Snyder beamed directly into your 👁👁 and 👂👂.

Now, Netflix is sure to hype the shit out of this one, so I don't need to do much beyond give you some context. The first bit is reviews; they're solid, saying the movie is exactly what you'd think it is, aggressive, gory, stylish in a big budget action movie sorta-way and just fresh enough to not reek of rotting flesh (but there will also be plenty of that).

The second bit is that the concept for the movie had apparently been percolating in Snyder's dome for a while (his first movie was a Dawn of the Dead remake), but no one had given him the cash to make it. But since Netflix loves them some broad action movies, and is in need of franchises (which they hope this turns into), they reportedly gave Mr Snyder the equivalent (as of this writing) 2,432 Bitcoin to make it happen.

And just like there are only so many ways you can explain the work of Mr Nakamoto before you want to lop your tongue off, there are only so many "the world has turned to zombies and we're the only ones left" fight fests you can tell. So instead of going that route, Snyder switched it up and combined a zombie movie with an Ocean's Eleven movie by, ahem, quarantining the living dead in Vegas, with a rag-tag crew having to infiltrate and grab the cash. That is to say, the zombies are Andy Garcia and Drax (aka Dave Bautista) is Danny Ocean.

Yup, that should about cover it. Oh, and if you're wondering if there will be all the Vegasisms in a movie set in Vegas, you can bet that a director not known for subtlety will deliver.

Out  Today!
Watch  Netflix
The Trailer | 2 hrs 28 mins | R | 🍅: 76%

Together Together: there's a solid chance you could look at this movie and think, "Ed Helms? Quips? Co-leads? Cool. Yet another quirky rom-com. Seen it. NEXT." But just as quickly as I'd tell you to avoid telling me the ending of Game of Thrones (ya ya, I know. Don't bother, blah blah), I'd ask you to reconsider.

Not because Together Together (Tx2) is likely to change your life, but because watching others go through big changes in their lives, might add a little happiness to yours. Yay! As discussed, traditionally it's been the romantic endeavor that draws so much of our cinematic attention, but the collective "we" are telling more and more diverse stories. Double yay! This one in particular sees Helms as a single guy in his forties who wants a kid and decides to do it alone. Instead of adopting, he opts for a surrogate --> comedian Pattie Harrison.  Harrison is also alone, by choice, but in her twenties. While the story highlights their individual decisions, its focus is on the one they made together - to make a new life, as two strangers.

While Harrison's character planned on nine months of life as is, just with one inside her, Helms is SO excited for the baby he sometimes becomes SO annoying with his hovering. But critics say it's in an understated and endearing way that conveys more heart than cringe. Plus, reviews add that the script treats Helms' choices as not sad, but honest. But while Helms' qualities as an actor are quite well known, this is probably Harrison's biggest starring role and they say she kills it (it 🙅‍♂️ the baby!).

I guess the overall gist here is, if you've enjoyed the lightness and heartfelt attitude and tone of romantic-comedies in the past, but have become a bit bored by the repetitive subject matter, you should take a look at Tx2.

Out  Now
Watch  VOD
The Trailer | 1 hr 30 mins | R | 🍅: 91%

NOTABLES
(from top, left to right)

Snake Eyes - Henry Golding takes on the (most?) beloved G.I. Joe character in his origin story. Is this wiping away the previous G.I. Joe movies? Yeah, probably, but it's not entirely clear.

Dear Evan Hansen - movie version of the broadway hit. Yup, Ben Platt reprises his role as high schooler Evan. Also yes, Platt is 27 and looks it. Knowing that in advance will help (some).

The Nowhere Inn - an awesomely weird meta looking doc on / from St. Vincent with help from Carrie Brownstein (the band Sleater-Kinney / the show Portlandia). Almost looks David Lynch inspired.

Respect - second trailer for the Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson (was delayed from last year).

Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - second trailer for the snark-cum-action fest.

PS additional trailers for a couple of animated movies, Hotel Transylvannia: Transformania and Wish Dragon, that I can't add to the playlist cuz they're "kids movies." (YouTube restrictions)

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