Hubba hubba, bubba
Think anyone has called Alexander Skarsgård "bubba" before?
THE QUOTE 🎬 💬
“My name is Johnny Knoxville.
And this is the high five.”
hint: you’d be a male donkey if you didn’t get this one
THINK THOUGHTS 💭
I’m not sure if more famous people are dying or I’m just getting old enough that I’m aware of more famous people so that when someone famous does die, I have more context than I did when I was say, 15. I think it’s almost certainly an exposure effect more than any true change in numbers, but it sure feels like the latter.
Last week I said I was going to write about James Van Der Beek and Catherine O’Hara dying, and then Robert Duvall and Eric Dane from Grey’s Anatomy die before I even can. I mean, I have no desire for this newsletter to become one that’s solely creating tributes. Not because I don’t think the people deserve recognition, just that, well, I’m not sure I’m always going to be equipped enough to do it. I’m not a journalist who will catalogue a person’s filmography, laced with anecdotes and quotes. Or that much of cinematic catalogue I can rip off “b-side” stories about people.
But I am someone who’s aware of and watched the stuff these people have been in. And so I do have a reaction sometimes, like with O’Hara. When my partner told me, I was surprised, but since we were driving, we had a moment to talk about it with out being distracted and as we did, I realized it was sad not only because we were really bummed the person died, but also that it meant the work we imagined could happen in the future, would never come to be. Poof. Gone. Buh bye! Sorry, not sorry.
For example, I, somewhere in my brain, fully expected there to be more Schitt’s Creek— whether a reunion, a movie, or even more seasons. That won’t be happening now. At least not like it would’ve. I’m not sure I ever even explicitly thought about that fact. But when O’Hara died, I realized it, and felt an additional stab. I don’t always feel that with other actors, musicians etc. Maybe it’s because they hadn’t made something relevant to me or the broader public recently, or like Duval, they were really quite old (he was 95) and the time was already quite limited. Not trying to be callous, it’s just that death is inevitable. :/
It feels a bit selfish, mourning work a person will never produce, especially when the people who knew them are mourning the actual person. But it’s a feeling, and you can’t really control those. At least not initially. So I choose to think of it as one more way of appreciating the person—that what they gave me (us) was so great, that I just wanted even more.
Which is the opposite of Van Der Beek. Because for me, he represented a very specific moment in time. When I learned he died, I was very quickly put back in high school, not even just watching Dawson’s Creek, but at my locker staring at a poster of Joey Potter stuck on the inside. Or maybe more acute was what I felt around that time. In that moment, it was very clearly not about the future, but the past. It shoved in my face that I’m not that person that I was. But I can still remember the feelings of that person. It’s a weird thing!
Now, I like to think of these as enriching thoughts/emotions vs just “sad.” Which could be me picking the narrative, but that’s kind of all I can do here. Kind of gives me a bit of control, because otherwise you just sit there, feeling bummed for a few moments and then you get a text asking if you want to go bowling on Friday.
NEWSY BITS 👾
Eric Dane, Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan on ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Dies at 53 - I never watched Grey’s, but I did see him on Euphoria. I guess neither of those are movies now that I think about it, but fuck it. And fuck ALS. - The Hollywood Reporter
Remembering Robert Duvall and his storied career - a tribute from the public broadcasting service - PBS
Matthew McConaughey Predicts Oscars Could Soon Have “Best AI Film” and “Best AI Actor”: “Five Years” - hmmm - The World of Reel
NOTABLE NEW RELEASE(S) 🎟 & 📺
Pillion
My dad was an attorney who handled some divorce cases and he’d often say, “the only two people that really know what’s going on in a relationship, are the people in it.”1
Which is something many of us could bear remembering as we look at two people engaging in a romantic relationship. Because people often make judgements about the choices the couples are making. How could they, why would they, are they really? So you can imagine the thoughts “the people” might have about a dominate / submissive relationship like in Pillion.
But even if onlookers may pass judgement, this film that doesn’t seem like it’s looking to do that. It appears to be a film that can sneak it’s way in to the relationship and leave without imprinting itself. Which I’d argue is hard to do. We all come with bias, preferences, and or apprehensions. But to watch a couple engage in what works for them in this moment, and truly just watch, it means we have to maybe leave a few preconceptions behind. Because maybe it’s not perfect, maybe they’re making mistakes, and hopefully even growing, learning.
It’s going to be even harder for some when they see Harry Melling sitting on the floor of Alexander Skarsgård’s house as they watch tv, while Skarsgård’s dog is allowed on the couch. Someone could say, “but I would never!” And they’re probably right. They would never. Not doing that works for them. But in this gay biker BDSM “dom-com,” some things may be outside the norm, but that doesn’t mean what’s happening isn’t normal. It’s people finding love, finding a partner, or maybe just finding themselves.
Out: Todat
Where: Movie Theaters (expanding)
Details: 1 hr 46 mins | R | 🍅: 99%
How to Make a Killing
It’s cool to kill people if they’re rich, right? Actually, don’t answer that. I’m not sure I want to know your answer.
Let’s keep it in the movie context. And the thing about movies is, they can make it feel ok to kill the wealthy when you make them just so darn killable. That’s certainly the vibe I’m getting from this Glen Powell “f the rich” satire where he’s the cast-off progeny that thinks he deserves a cut of the family billions.
There’s backstory as to why he doesn’t have the money already and it involves his spurned-by-her-father (dead) mother, but is it enough to justify killing seven people in order to get the inheritance? Might depend on your answer above, but it seems that regardless of that response, the movie itself doesn’t always do a great job of answering the question.
But critics do note that Powell is still able to make his character charming, even if he may be a legit fucking psychopath.
Out: Today
Where: Limited Movie Theaters
Details: 1 hr 46 mins | R | 🍅: 52%
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) 📝
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert - Baz Lurhmann wasn’t done with Elvis and so he dove back into footage from The King’s residency in Vegas and made this documentary. The reviews are damn good saying it not only isn’t typical Baz (i.e. shit tons of cuts and kinetic energy), but gives Mr. Presley a chance to show a little bit of his true(r?) self. Playing in Limited Theaters Today
I Can Only Imagine 2 - into Christian rock? Dats cool, you probably know the song I Can Only Imagine. It’s also a movie. That movie got a sequel. The reviews aren’t great, but it’s all the g. o. d.’s plan… right? Playing in Theaters today
THE TRAILERS ⏯
Toy Story 5 - Toy Story movies have been around long enough that Woody now has a bald spot—just like many of the kids, now adults, he first said “Howdy, partner!” to in 1995.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy - they name-checked Cronin (the director of Evil Dead Rise) because there’s the other mummy movie, the Brendan Fraser Rachel Weisz one, coming out next year. This one looks way scarier.
Pressure - speaking of Brendan Fraser… he plays the guy who has to make the call on whether to keep the D-Day date, even if the weather is shitty.
The Mandalorian and Grogu - for many, he’ll forever be known as baby yoda.
Over Your Dead Body - like a combo of The War of the Roses (i.e. couple in a serious, to the death fight) and a home invasion dark comedy??
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man - fan of the show? Congrats, there’s now a movie!
The Gates - this horror thriller is one of James Van Der Beek’s last rolls, and it looks like he did a good job at being a (very) bad priest/pastor/religious leader.
Sometimes not even they do