Rotting flesh can't stop love 🪦❤️
But it could induce gagging. 🤮
In This Week’s Edition: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein gets the Diablo Cody treatment
Movie Quote of the Week 🎬 💬
“I promised you I wasn't going to buy a Ouija board.
I didn't buy a Ouija board.
hint: on a percentage basis it is the most profitable movie ever made
THINK THOUGHTS 💭
Remember how I said I wasn’t gonna say much last week? I’m gonna follow through on that this time. Though I am toiling with some thoughts on how we often bring such self focus to a movie, which sometimes doesn’t allow us to see the movie’s original intentions. In other words, does our inherent self-centered nature prevent us from liking, or at least understanding more movies? 🤔
NEWSY MEDIA BITS 👾
Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic to create ‘persistent universe’ tied to Fortnite (Full Article): you can imagine it’ll essentially be an online version of a Disney theme park, but with all the trappings and possibilities of a completely digital world. As a Fortnite player myself, I think the possibilities are pretty amazing. - The Verge
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) 📝
Suncoast - this looks like the stereotype of a Sundance movie and wouldn’t ya know it, Suncoast played at this year’s Sundance. And by “Sundance movie” I mean that sort of indie-ish looking movie that has some quirks, but is gonna be heartwarming in the end. Think Little Miss Sunshine. While this story of a young woman with a dying brother and thus absent mother, allowing said young woman to strike up a relationship with the stand-in uncle character of Woody Harrelson, isn’t likely to hit that movie’s heights critically or monetarily, the trailer and reviews indicate it’ll make a few people weepy and warm and fuzzy at the same time. But maybe beware if you’re not a fan of a bit of emotional manipulation or of a movie trying to do too much at once storywise. Streaming on Hulu Friday
Upgraded - rom-coms may not be big in theaters anymore (a few exceptions withstanding, see: Anyone But You) but the shift to streaming has allowed for a bit more play with the formula, as seems to be the case with Upgraded where there’s a bit less focus on the will-they-won’t-they and more attention on the self-actualization theme (so hot right now). Just a few reviews but they’re not too shabby so far. Streaming on Prime Friday
Turning Red - another Pixar movie that didn’t get a chance at a theatrical release is finally getting one. Which is great, because the reviews are great because the movie is great. It’s aaaaall just great. Streaming on Prime Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASES 🎟 & 📺
It’s common when you hear about a movie to have the actor(s), director(s) or in the case of superhero movies, characters be touted as “the sell.” So it’s really quite telling that writer Diablo Cody is the biggest focus of the marketing and reviews here. Sure, in the case of Lisa Frankenstein you have a first time director in Zelda Williams (yup, Robin’s daughter) but leads Kathryn Newton (Freaky, Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania, Pokémon Detective Pikachu) and Cole Sprouse (Riverdale, The Suite Life! 🏨🛳️) have plenty of bonafides to push them well past unknowns.
So it speaks to the impact Cody’s earlier movies Juno and most pertinent here, Jennifer’s Body had. And still have. While Juno was the bigger critical and commercial success, Jennifer’s Body is the one that seems to get talked about more often in part because it’s had a sort of renaissance, resurgence, re-something over the last few years. During “the bullshit” when no new movies were being released in theaters I actually did an “overlooked” series and dug into it more and why it may have faltered initially. A quote from that edition in July of 2020.
Which, as told by the creators, was intended as a dark comedic feminist takedown of the patriarchy as well as a self reflective look at the toxic aspects of female relationships (again, from a female POV). Buuuut, if you remember the trailer, that... is not what comes across. What comes across is a sexualized late aughts trendfest.
This all makes a lot more sense when you read that Kusama and Cody wrote to the studio's marketing team, concerned about the direction the campaign was taking, and received an email response of ‘Jennifer sexy, she steal your boyfriend.’ That was the whole email. (working in studio marketing and being in the meetings where this stuff is discussed, I can attest this sounds frustratingly familiar).
The movie has since become a cult classic as it gets seen by its intended audience, young women (vs the young men who marketing targeted - and also gave the feedback at test screenings of "moar bewbs" 🤦🏻♂️ ).
Ok, so I’m going on and on about a movie that’s not the one at hand. But I think it kinda matters here! Not because I think the marketing for Lisa is shit - it’s quite fun actually - but because the response to the film, while maybe not quite the same initial dislike as Jennifer’s Body, isn’t magnificent. But honestly, it’s not that bad either - a lot of uninspired Frankenstein-themed “there are too many random parts cobbled together” type quips.
That may indeed be the case for many people - you’ll have to be the judge, jury and… executioner? on all that. But speaking of killing people, you’ll see lots of it happen as (the not actually named Frankenstein) Lisa and The Creature played by Sprouse (who doesn’t talk btw) off people to make The Creature’s decaying flesh a little less rotting and maybe a little more fitting for… some make outs?? ooooWWWEEEooooo 🫣
But it shouldn’t be in the overly gruesome sense because a) the movie is PG-13 and b) it doesn’t seem to be a full-fledged horror movie, but more of a goth-twinged campy rom-com that’s also about being an outsider and also about dealing with what it’s like to be a teenager (same thing?). So yeah, lotsa parts. But doesn’t it feel like when a movie is so many things that it can’t be pinned down it often takes a little longer to be understood?1
Now I’m not saying Lisa is Jennifer’s Body 2 (cuz that may actually happen and also because Lisa is kinda sort of a prequel??) just that I wouldn’t pass on the movie so quickly because of a Rotten Tomatoes score. Because who knows, maybe you’ll be the cool kid who liked it before it was big.
Oooor it’ll just be another two hours of life you’ll have a hard time recalling when you’re a corpse.
Mostly because you’ll be dead. 😵
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
Details: 1 hr 41 mins | PG-13 | 🍅: 55%
TRAILERS! ⏯ “This looks…”
A Quiet Place: Day One - This looks… like a small horror movie has turned into a big (action-heavy) universe.
Longlegs - This looks… kinda awesome even though I have no idea what it’s about (except that Nic Cage apparently stars in it? because of course he does).
Love Lives Bleeding - This looks… like one movie - alternative indie love story - and then shifts into another - fantastical revenge fable?? - but whatever it is, I’m here for it.
Back to Black - This looks… like a fairly straightforward biopic, which maybe that’s ok if you don’t know a lot about Amy Winehouse?
or maybe I’m just being overly nice here. 🤷♂️