The Next Last Movie From the Director of "Spirited Away"
Can't a guy change his mind in piece(s)?
In This Week’s Edition: The Boy and the Heron | Eileen | Leave the World Behind
Movie Quote of the Week 🎬 💬
“There's a hundred-thousand streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window.”
hint: this movie boasts tons of Kenergy, before that was even a thing
THINK THOUGHTS 💭
What’s your top 5 (movies of all time)?
Feel free to answer, but don’t ask me. Because I hate that question. I shudder when asked not only because I have to literally think of every movie I’ve ever watched and liked (not possible in casual conversation), but also feel like I’m killing kittens if I leave something off the list. 🐱 ← so cute, don’t wanna murder
But more importantly, I just consider myself a poly kind of guy… when it comes to movies. Jeeeez. Because the feelings I get from Legend and The NeverEnding Story are vastly different than the ones that arise while I’m watching Mulholland Drive or Star Wars.
I guess some people may find it easier if a few movies have spoken to them so absolutely that nothing else can enter the top 5 domain, but for me I just feel like there’s a constant wide open door with a neon Great Movies Welcome sign above it (shit, that’s a great name for a newsletter… 💌 🤔).
This was all prompted by a text thread of friends where one said they consider Goodfellas a “perfect” movie. Which was a hell of a statement from my perspective, because while - as stated - I love a lot of movies, I’m not sure I could say any one of them is perfect. Then again, maybe we just interpret that word differently. Maybe “perfect” just means someone loves that movie so absolutely they wouldn’t change a thing, even if there are technically flaws. Which I guess makes sense. I mean, I might feel that way about Dumb and Dumber. Especially because if I changed anything I’d have to re-memorize it. Am I reading too much into it? I don’t know. My friend told me to push myself, but I honestly think my brain works a tad differently.
Help me. Am I alone in this?
Note: Poor Things the next weird ass lookin’ (that’s a complement) movie from Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of The Favourite and The Lobster, which stars Emma Stone and is getting super great reviews, is getting a limited release (i.e. NY / LA) this weekend. But I’m going to feature it when it comes out wide, the week of December 22. Cool? Cool.
NEWSY BITS 👾
Disney+ Officially Adds Hulu In Beta Launch Of “One-App Experience”; Full Rollout Set For March 2024 (Full Article): Disney CEO Bob Iger said the beta is essentially setting up parents to make sure they can do content control correctly. “Mommy, what is a Son of An..ar…chy…?” - Deadline
Nicolas Cage May Have ‘Three or Four More Movies’ Left Before Exiting Film for TV: I Want to Leave ‘on a High Note’ (Full Article): hell, he probably means that literally and his last film will just be him singing for 90 minutes. I’m joking, but am I? The potential shift to TV was inspired by an episode of Breaking Bad where he “saw Bryan Cranston stare at a suitcase for an hour.“ Onward my wild friend, onward. - IndieWire
Pixar’s ‘Soul,’ ‘Turning Red’ and ‘Luca’ Coming to Theaters After Disney+ Debuts During Pandemic (Full Article): sure, it’s because of “the bullshit,” but it’s also likely because Disney currently only has eight movies scheduled to be released theatrically in 2024. PS I’ve seen all three and they’re all great in different ways. - Variety
EXTRA CREDIT MOVIE(S) 📝
Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever - It’s got real hard “direct to DVD” vibes, and no reviews, but parents aren’t going to care much when it’s clearly meant as a holiday baby sitter. Streaming Friday on Disney+
NOTABLE NEW RELEASES 🎟 & 📺
When The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan this summer, Studio Ghibli had put out zero promotional materials beyond a very basic poster. No overview, no cast announcements, not even a trailer. Just a release date. Hell, it wasn’t called The Boy and the Heron, it was titled How Do You Live? (after the 1937 book that somewhat inspired it) and simply presented as “the next and last movie from director Hayao Miyazaki.” (who, if unaware, is the filmmaker behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and a bunch of other classic animated movies)
That sounds enticing. Especially since it’s an experience I rarely if ever have with a movie. But audiences in the US and the rest of the world, for better or worse, have been given the… luxury? to know far more. But even if you’re a wild Miyazaki fan who would prefer going in completely blind, there may be value in learning / thinking more about the film before entering the theater. Not necessarily plot stuff, but where the movie sits culturally and thematically, specifically in reference to the director himself.
See, 2013’s The Wind Rises was supposed to be Miyazaki’s final movie. And it was considered a great way to leave things. But here we are, talking about his next last movie. Which is lucky for us, because at 82 Miyazaki probably wouldn’t have many movies left even if he wanted to make them. And while people can (sillily) debate whether someone "should” keep going even after they have nothing left to “prove,” it’s really up to the individual.
And I say lucky because even if he doesn’t have to prove anything to audiences, he does apparently have something more to say to them…
“The Boy and the Heron” finds Miyazaki so nakedly bidding adieu — to us, and to the crumbling kingdom of dreams and madness that he’ll soon leave behind — that it somehow resolves into an even more fitting goodbye, one graced with the divine awe and heart-stopping wistfulness of watching a true immortal make peace with their own death.” - from the IndieWire review of The Boy and the Heron
Even if it probably isn’t nearly as satisfying as it might be in the movies (and I’m sure it isn’t all that satisfying for Miyazaki who is a notorious curmudgeon), how cool that someone can leave the world with a departing gift before they actually leave it.
And maybe to prove that death is even more annoying than it already is, the movie is apparently so good that if possible, we could be getting even more classics from the man if time and his volition allowed for it.
You’ll leave “The Boy and the Heron” in disbelief that this, supposedly, is a filmmaker in autumn. It’s just as uncompromising a vision, and just as attuned to the experience of childhood. - from the Associated Press review of The Boy and the Heron
Then again who knows, just maybe, they both will.
🖤
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
2 hrs 4 mins | PG-13 | 🍅: 98%
“Eileen is a mean movie, but I intend that as a compliment: There’s no lesson here, no revelation, no good vibes to wander away with. Spiky and cold, it’s a bitter holiday treat.” - from the New York Times review of ‘Eileen’
We’re all nasty little creatures in some form or another. It’s just that manners and the structures of “polite society” kind of cover it up. In fact, it might be those exact constraints which help cultivate our naughtier tendencies.
Eileen explores what happens when a young woman, Eileen (played by Thomasin McKenzie from Jojo Rabbit, Old), is given an example of someone who doesn’t cater to cultural rules or scripts (a psychologist named Rebecca played by Anna Hathaway, who critics say is possibly at her best ever), allowing her to explore her more nefarious side(s). But that’s not the entire story. Because reviews say this isn’t just some torrid exploration of sexual fantasy and forced gender subservience in 1960’s Massachusetts (though it does look to be that too), but also a latent thriller with turns and twists brought on by Hathaway’s Rebecca who apparently carries far more more than a pack of cigarettes and a piercingly confident demeanor.
And sure, I could pass along some of the “shocking” acts in which Eileen engages - like all the reviews have done for me 🙃 - but then you’ll have time to prepare yourself and guard against your honest reaction. Why not let yourself be surprised and feel those loathsome feels accordingly?
Who knows, you just might enjoy them. 😈
Out: Friday
Where: Theaters
1 hr 36 mins | R | 🍅: 86%
Leave the World Behind looks like a movie that if turned into a person, would be the kind who’d opt for the word “utilize” instead of “use.” One sounds fancier, but they actually mean the exact same thing. Which isn’t necessarily a derision, it’s more a flavor thing. Because when you’re exploring the potential end of the world, there are plenty of angles to approach it.
Leave focuses on two families, forced to cohabitate in an awkward Airbnb situation, who have to navigate their unnerving circumstances together - see: no WiFi nor cell connection (clearly the scariest part), hypnotized deer and a massive tanker running ashore while people are sunbathing, just for example - and explores how they treat (and trust) each other when shit gets real.
The parents in the situation are played by very good actors Mahershala Ali (owner of said Airbnb), Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke (renters of said Airbnb), which turns out to be key as much of the movie looks to use them to dissect various cultural ills and conditions. And in a fun twist, Julia Roberts gets to play against type and depict a misanthrope who harbors a few, shall we say, racist tendencies? Although maybe remove that question mark. ?
The whole affair was ushered into the world by Higher Ground, the production company started by Michelle and Barack Obama. This is actually their second Netflix movie to come out in the past month, civil rights biopic Rustin being the other. The combo shows how they’re going for both uplifting and heady unsettling, which seems to exemplify the couple’s proclivities as noted by Barack in a recent interview about their Hollywood foray, “‘I’m a bit of a sucker for science fiction, dystopias or thrillers,’ he said. ‘Michelle jokes that my favorite movies involve horrible things happening to people and then they die, whereas she actually likes fun, uplifting stories that make her laugh.’”
Aaaaand back to the movie. I’m not necessarily implying people die with the above quote (thought I’m also not implying they don’t), but the dystopian sci-fi thing is pretty spot on. Which makes even more sense when you know the director is Sam Esmail, who created the show Mr. Robot. And while Esmail apparently uses a bunch of camera work to keep things spicy visually (or slightly annoying depending on your POV), the movie is ultimately…
“A pretty playful and taut thriller that's very small but trying to cram in a bunch of ideas about paranoia, class, misanthropy and the dependence of people on the internet.” - from the KPCC review of Leave the World Behind
Um, thanks Obama? 😅
Out: Friday
Where: Netflix
2 hrs 20 mins | R | 🍅: 77%
TRAILERS! ⏯ “It’s a lot…”
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - It’s a lot… more of what we saw with Fury Road. Which could be great ooooor, a letdown. We shall see.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - It’s a lot… of monsters smashing monsters and yelling.
Good Grief - It’s a lot… of feelings, which makes sense, because it involves the loss of a partner. Good thing Daniel Levy (who directed) is there to usher us along his journey.
Handling the Undead - It’s a lot… of people coming back from the dead, but only in Norway, and the already living figuring out WTF is going and how the F to deal with it.
Self Reliance - It’s a lot… of Jake Johnson, because he stars (with Anna Kendrick) and directs, and I’m a-ok with that. Oh, there’s also a lot of people trying to murder them. No biggie.