TBD

Jul 28, 2021

"TBD - Stand by Me?"

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.

You know you've done well when you can name you next movie Nope.

That's it, that's all I got for you this week.

(from top, left to right)

THE GREEN KNIGHT: The amount of words used, not only in the original 15th century poem the film is based on, but also scrounged up in college English courses trying for some new analysis on the text is surely quite numerous. Add dozens of written reviews, whose goal it is to conjur up the the scenarios Sir Gawain encounters (endures?) over the course of his adventures, and well, we have a lot of words!

But if you watched the trailer, it feels like a movie where descriptions may fail, and experiencing it is the only way through. Which feels fitting since Sir Gawain (played by Dev Patel) is a young knight who has yet to achieve the honor of that position, and to do so, he must go through his own trials. I could describe how he accepts the challenge of The Green Knight, in an effort to start down his knightly path, but seeing his sword slice through a head made of bark would likely be far more enjoyable, and impressive.

What I can tell you, outside of plot details and scenario descriptions, is that the movie was directed by David Lowery, whose previous movies won't help a ton in setting this one up (A Ghost Story, Pete's Dragon). I can also tell you the movie is being put out by A24, which has a knack for producing / buying / supporting (see: this explainer video) movies with a "singular vision." I can also note that the reviews I mentioned above are almost universal in praising the movie, saying it goes beyond being visually impressive in its ability to stoke thought.

I guess what I'm getting at is, you should probably ignore all this and just see the damn thing for yourself.

Vibe: the visual splendor of a Lord of the Rings movie crossed with the dread of a thoughtful horror movie, soaked in the contemplativeness of an indie film

Out  Friday
Watch  Theaters Only
The Trailer | 2 hrs 5 mins | R | 🍅: 95%

JUNGLE CRUISE: Emily Blunt is very charming. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, also quite charming! Ergo, vis-á-vis, a movie starring two charming people should also be charming, no? Um... did I mention how charming Emily Blunt is?

Maybe it's better to frame it like this - you know sometimes when you know you're being sold, but gosh, you just don't care, because the person selling "it" is just so damn good? But then you probably also know those other times you're being sold and you get that queasy get me out of here faster than a Tesla Model S Plaid does 0-60 (too niche?) feeling? Well, the takeaway one is likely to pull from reviews is that Jungle Cruise sits in-between those two scenarios. Critics emphasize that while Blunt and Johnson are at the height of their pluckiness, both playing intractable stubbornheads - who may just fall in looOOOooove ("ew, gross!" - all the 9 year olds not reading this newsletter) - the movie often feels like it was molded from a fairly grey looking piece of clay that was a theme park ride (cuz it was, metaphorically).

But wasn't the Pirates of the Caribbean movie also born out of a Disney attraction (with similarly questionable attributes considering it was targeted at children), and wasn't it considered to be a pretty darn good movie, you retort, trying to shatter my hastily crafted point. Indeed it was! And I actually noted the familiarities between the two ride-cum-movie properties when the Jungle Cruise trailer dropped. I mean, they both have big stars, an almost Indiana Jones type feel, and CGI un-dead baddies. But lest you forget Tomorrowland and more importantly, The Haunted Mansion, I shall remind you.

Look, my sense of it all is that, as long as you go in knowing what you're going to get (action! quips! familiar story telling! risky situations you know aren't that risky, cuz sequel!) you won't necessarily be disappointed, but you probably won't be hawking the movie on your way out of the theater (rolling off your couch) either.

Vibe: Pirates of the Caribbean, but missing the fun weirdness that is Johnny Depp as Keith Richards x'd with a pirate

Out  Friday
Watch  Theaters & Disney + ($30)
The Trailer | 2 hrs 7 mins | PG-13 | 🍅: 66%

STILLWATER: Now, Stillwater may not be the exact opposite of a movie based on a Disneyland ride, but if they were both high-schoolers, let's just say it and Jungle Cruise probably wouldn't be friends. Because whereas Cruise is just lookin' to entertain ya, Stillwater is a movie that looks be "about things." Which is interesting, considering its origins are the Amanda Knox case, a tragic event, but still became a form of entertainment for many. So you can imagine a scenario where it's mined for it's salaciousness (oh wait).

Instead, Tom McCarthy, the director of Oscar winner Spotlight, along with some French co-writers, took the core of a young woman accused of killing her lover (Abigail Breslin here), but turns it into a sort of treatise on the myth of American exceptionalism and hardheadedness, combined with a character study, tied together with a thriller bow. It sounds like a lot. And it probably is, considering it's two hours and twenty minutes long. But the time is probably what allows it to be the anti-Taken. Because whereas Matt Damon is indeed a father in a foreign country trying to save his daughter, he's not coming in with a lot of skills, just some personal issues, an oil rig worker mentality and an estranged relationship with the child he's trying to exonerate.

He gets help from a woman and her young daughter, who help him navigate Marseilles and its complexities (see: racial tensions and more), but he's clearly not prepared for everything coming at him. But that's kind of the point.

Matt Damon is being lauded for a pretty nuanced and solid performance, and the majority of reviews recommend it, but it does seem to lose people either by combining too many things or a third act some say tries too hard.

Though if you're looking for a "movie movie," you might well give it a try.

Vibe: a bit dad movie-ish, that centers on an actual dad

Out  Friday
Watch  Theaters Only
The Trailer | 2 hrs 20 mins | R | 🍅: 68%

(called out from top, left to right)

We have a new Dune trailer. I've read the first book so I have a sense of what's going on here, but unsure if non-readers will. I hope they're as stoked as I am for it though, because this movie reportedly only tells part of the book, the sequel, yet to be made (or approved by the studio?) looks to be dependent on this one's performance. So uh, go see it please.

Will Smith plays Venus and Serena Williams' dad in a kinda hard to dislike trailer (not saying you should).

Noomi Rapace decided to star in a weird little Icelandic movie about a lamb that's maybe half human? A24 picked it up and it looks awesomely weird. It's called Lamb.

There's also a new Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer, which, for context, is a continuation of the original series, not the 2016 reboot. It looks to be goin for that E.T. era Spielberg vibe. I'm still currently kinda 😐on it - even though I want to be 🥳 for it. You?

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

What's In Theaters +

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