In This Weekās Edition: Mary Shelleyās Frankenstein gets the Diablo Cody treatment
Movie Quote of the Week š¬ š¬
āI 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 š
Remember how I said I wasnāt gonna say much last week? Iām 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 doesnāt allow us to see the movieās original intentions. In other words, does our inherent self-centered nature prevent us from liking, or at least understanding more movies? š¤
NEWSY MEDIA BITS š¾
Disney invests $1.5 billion in Epic to create āpersistent universeā tied to Fortnite (Full Article): you can imagine itāll 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) š
Suncoast - this looks like the stereotype of a Sundance movie and wouldnāt ya know it, Suncoast played at this yearās Sundance. And by āSundance movieā 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, isnāt likely to hit that movieās heights critically or monetarily, the trailer and reviews indicate itāll make a few people weepy and warm and fuzzy at the same time. But maybe beware if youāre 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 thereās a bit less focus on the will-they-wonāt-they and more attention on the self-actualization theme (so hot right now). Just a few reviews but theyāre not too shabby so far. Streaming on Prime Friday
Turning Red - another Pixar movie that didnāt get a chance at a theatrical release is finally getting one. Which is great, because the reviews are great because the movie is great. Itās aaaaall just great. Streaming on Prime Friday
NOTABLE NEW RELEASES š & šŗ
Itās 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 āthe sell.ā So itās 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, Robinās daughter) but leads Kathryn Newton (Freaky, Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania, PokĆ©mon Detective Pikachu) and Cole Sprouse (Riverdale, The Suite Life! šØš³ļø) have plenty of bonafides to push them well past unknowns.
So it speaks to the impact Codyās earlier movies Juno and most pertinent here, Jenniferās Body had. And still have. While Juno was the bigger critical and commercial success, Jenniferās Body is the one that seems to get talked about more often in part because itās had a sort of renaissance, resurgence, re-something over the last few years. During āthe bullshitā when no new movies were being released in theaters I actually did an āoverlookedā 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 campaignĀ wasĀ taking, and received an email response of āJennifer sexy, she steal your boyfriend.āĀ That was the whole email. (working in studio marketing and being in the meetings where this stuff is discussed,Ā 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"Ā š¤¦š»āāļøĀ ).
Ok, so Iām going on and on about a movie thatās not the one at hand. But I think it kinda matters here! Not because I think the marketing for Lisa is shit - itās quite fun actually - but because the response to the film, while maybe not quite the same initial dislike as Jenniferās Body, isnāt magnificent. But honestly, itās not that bad either - a lot of uninspired Frankenstein-themed āthere are too many random parts cobbled togetherā type quips.
That may indeed be the case for many people - youāll have to be the judge, jury andā¦ executioner? on all that. But speaking of killing people, youāll see lots of it happen as (the not actually named Frankenstein) Lisa and The Creature played by Sprouse (who doesnāt talk btw) off people to make The Creatureās decaying flesh a little less rotting and maybe a little more fitting forā¦ some make outs?? ooooWWWEEEooooo š«£
But it shouldnāt be in the overly gruesome sense because a) the movie is PG-13 and b) it doesnāt seem to be a full-fledged horror movie, but more of a goth-twinged campy rom-com thatās also about being an outsider and also about dealing with what itās like to be a teenager (same thing?). So yeah, lotsa parts. But doesnāt it feel like when a movie is so many things that it canāt be pinned down it often takes a little longer to be understood?1
Now Iām not saying Lisa is Jenniferās Body 2 (cuz that may actually happen and also because Lisa is kinda sort of a prequel??) just that I wouldnāt pass on the movie so quickly because of a Rotten Tomatoes score. Because who knows, maybe youāll be the cool kid who liked it before it was big.
Oooor itāll just be another two hours of life youāll have a hard time recalling when youāre a corpse.
Mostly because youāll be dead. šµ
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
Details: 1 hr 41 mins | PG-13 | š : 55%
TRAILERS! āÆ āThis looksā¦ā
A Quiet Place: Day One - This looksā¦ like a small horror movie has turned into a big (action-heavy) universe.
Longlegs - This looksā¦ kinda awesome even though I have no idea what itās about (except that Nic Cage apparently stars in it? because of course he does).
Love Lives Bleeding - This looksā¦ like one movie - alternative indie love story - and then shifts into another - fantastical revenge fable?? - but whatever it is, Iām here for it.
Back to Black - This looksā¦ like a fairly straightforward biopic, which maybe thatās ok if you donāt know a lot about Amy Winehouse?
or maybe Iām just being overly nice here. š¤·āāļø