Sunscreen

Jul 14, 2021

"I felt it.
Perfect.
It was perfect."

PINNED: this newsletter started as a way to highlight movies coming to theaters (see: the name). Then, "the bullshit" happened. And I started featuring movies in theaters, VOD or streaming (see: the +). Point is, if there's a movie worth checking out, you'll probably find it here.

Black Widow made lots of money during its opening weekend ($80 million - the biggest during "the bullshit" so far). Shocking, I know. But like any good Marvel movie, Disney had a nice post-credits sting by announcing the movie made an additional $60 million worldwide via the Disney + Premier Access option - at $30 a piece, that's about two million accounts paying to watch the movie at home (vs the roughly 8 million who saw it domestically in theaters). Note: that $60 million goes directly to Disney vs just roughly half of the theatrical revenue.

Lots of people were a bit surprised by this openness, since studios don't release VOD numbers publicly; the only other somewhat comparable time was last year when Universal gave a big $100 million number for the total Trolls 2 VOD sales. But that wasn't opening weekend, which is the cultural moment for a movie.

So why'd they do it? Well, Disney said Black Widow was the biggest domestic Marvel "origin story" debut outside of Captain Marvel or Black Panther. But as Variety points out, the studio needs to "steal" a solid chunk of the sixty mill VOD revenue to have Widow top the purely theatrical numbers of the rest of the Marvel crew. And why do they want it to be bigger than the other movies? Perception.

Disney obviously wants B Dub to be a success. But just as much, they want it to be considered a success. Because the more of a "thing" the movie is, the more that people will want to jump on the ride - and the better the headlines will be. Or that's how the thinking goes. I'm fairly familiar with this notion as I wrote plenty of emails that were sent to filmmakers, where I was asked to find comparisons that made the most positive narrative. One could say that's a bit cynical, deceptive even, and it might be, but perception is an important game in an industry where very few things are certain.

But what it's born from is an industry that doesn't have much to grasp onto. Theatrical box-office numbers are one of, if not the only, solid thing the movie industry (including the media covering it) can be sure of.

But with each company having, and more importantly, somewhat randomly releasing numbers, that previously firm ground is shifting, quickly.

(from top, left to right)

SPACE JAM: let's get this one out of the way, shall we? It's the most high-profile movie to be coming out this weekend and thus I am dooty bound *ahem* duty bound to let you know of its existence.

Now, I admit that's kind of a shitty way to present a movie when I often note that movie-going is inherently subjective. Because really, who is to say unequivocally this is a "bad" movie? Hell, the original it's jumping off from is not well loved by most critics. But those are critics, not children, certainly the "core demo," as the studio peeps would say. And I know plenty of people who saw the Jordan version growing up and remember it fondly.

Is this another step for LeBron James towards a post-NBA career in Hollywood as well as yet another brand building opportunity for the guy? For suuuure. Is the movie a two hour shill for Warner intellectual property, even beyond the Looney Tunes characters, including the likes of The Matrix, Casablanca and even the Droog dudes from A Clockwork Orange? Uh, I mean, wait, jesus, really? The Droogs?? Aren't they like, kinda not ok in a kids movie?? *breath*

But right, you know who won't be aware they're being shilled to, or recognize the Droogs*? It's rhetorical, because of course you do. And if you have any, you might understandably give this one a shot. Plus, we're at a point in culture where self-promotion is not only accepted, but encouraged. Who else is going to advocate for you, if not you, is probably the moral here, if not the stated one.

But if you don't have impressionable young ones and you choose to partake?  Well, you could fund yourself muttering "man, that was a bad movie." Just remember, it's only bad, to you. 😉

*if your kid does know them, you've got some splaining to do...

Vibe: BUY OUR SHIT TO HELP REMIND YOU TO BUY OUR SHIT

Out  Friday
Watch  Theaters & HBO Max
The Trailer | 1 hr 55 mins | PG | 🍅: 32%

THE LONELIEST WHALE: Human beings are very good at a lot of things. One of them is  the tendency to view the natural world through our human lens, that is to say, we love to anthropomorphize it. Take the title of this movie, The Loneliest Whale, for example. We literally can't know if a whale is suffering in isolation, but we might think it so if a fellow animal has been communicating for decades at a frequency no other known species of the world's largest mammal is thought to communicate - 52 Hz.

But one of our other great abilities, is storytelling. And it's essentially through stories we understand our world, or maybe better put, come to care about it.

As a direct consequence of both these great abilities, you'll be able to follow a documentary filmmaker and his crew in their search for the mysterious titular ocean dweller, dubbed "52." And along the way learn about the changes to the world's waters that affects not only 52, but the rest of their Cetacea family (ie other whales).

But what if 52 has no interest in being "found," and the search and our collective tendency (need?) to understand the unknown only aggravates, thus adding to the creature's difficulties?

And yet, if we don't understand, how can we determine what's cause for concern? Because as as one of those involved in the search rightly points out,  "When people care, they can change the world." Let's just hope that change is for the better.

Vibe: cinematic meditation on nature, and our connection to it

Out  Friday
Watch  VOD
The Trailer | 1 hr 36 mins | PG | 🍅: 95%

FEAR STREET: PART THREE - 1666: Look. Imma be honest. If you haven't watched the first two parts, you shouldn't watch this movie.

Yet.

Because if you're even somewhat interested in the "experiment" Netflix is running here - which is to release three horror movies across three successive weekends, all directed by the same director, who stylized each movie using different cinematic influences - you should go back and watch the first two parts and then come back and watch this, the trilogy's finale.

Personally, I've enjoyed the first two parts immensely (and I'm not alone). Taken on their own, they're fun homages, with enough freshness to not be that solely. But combined with the overarching narrative, and unique release pattern, they feel like something almost entirely new. I say almost, because one could argue these are essentially just "episodes," but each one really does have its own arc.

Now, the third film will have to satisfy in its own right for the trilogy to be wholly satisfying, but so far so great. While the first one had influences like Scream and the second pulled from Halloween / Friday the 13th, Part Three pulls far more from movies like The Witch, although director Leigh Janiak says her influence was Terrence Malik's The New World (... but I'm sticking with The Witch).

One fun aspect of this third entry is that it recasts many of the actors from the two movies in new roles, since it takes place centuries before. So even if your favorite character died already, you may get to see them (well, the actor) again.

Just expect them to die (again)!

Vibe: It's the witches fault! Burn the... oh wait, maybe she's just being persecuted for her... daaaaamn, I didn't know a human body even had that much blood!

Out  Friday
Watch  Netflix
The Trailer | 1 hr 52 mins | R | 🍅: TBD

ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN: I have to confess, I've never watched the TV shows that made Anthony Bourdain famous. But when he died in 2018, his death was palpable. I felt it through the numerous personal expressions of how he affected people; it was clear Bourdain wasn't just famous, he was beloved. It seemed so many people weren't just inspired by him, but wanted to be him, or at least live something akin his life. But it was a life that ended well before we thought it would, and by suicide, even in spite of all the amazing adventures he undertook. Which begs the question of, why? How? Not sure we can ever understand the inner workings of a person, but this documentary looks to try, or at least come to a better place of understanding of the man, by drawing on interviews from those close to Bourdain as his own words.

Reviews love it for its introspection, but a number of them do bring up an issue near the end of the film that seems to imply Asia Argento, Bourdain's girlfriend around the time of his death, was maybe somewhat responsible. Which, is next to impossible to really know, but most say, even in spite of that questionable take, the movie helps people appreciate Bourdain such that they can move on, and keep the inspiration they derived from him as they do.

Vibe: reflective, if yet still investigatory

Out  Friday
Watch  Theaters (Limited)
The Trailer | 1 hr 59 mins | R | 🍅: 95%

(called out from top, left to right)

Lots of trailers to check out this week. We have a teaser for Pixar's next, Turning Red, which looks kinda like The Hulk except w/ a girl who turns into a puffy adorable creature when she gets angry. Disney proper didn't wanna be left out so they dropped one for Encanto, which has songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda. Both look fun.

STX released a weird, but pretty fun looking...comedy? yeah, it's a comedy, where two women (Kristin Bell & Kirby Howell-Baptise) start an illicit coupon ring. I'm kind of into it. Oh, apparently Deadpool may have joined the MCU via a pseudo trailer for Free Guy?

Ema is a movie about, um, just watch.

And will leave you with Blue Bayou, which is playing at Cannes, stars Alicia Vikander and Justin Chon as a man adopted from Korea when he was three, and is still under the threat of deportation.

You can check out all the trailers worth watching from this week, by clicking below.

What's In Theaters +

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