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December 14, 2023

Let’s Get Reel

Scary tales and short stories

The last flashes of summer have given way to a chill that can only mean one thing; autumn is upon us. And as we settle into darker nights, our collective screens reflect a certain mood. Whether at home or in a theater, we seek out movies to give pause and even a slight tingle down our spine. Well, Disney Plus has just the ticket for you then.

Locales ExoticĂłs

As we enter the spookiest month of the year, the most horrifying prospect has been less films to go see. However, as of this deadline, the Writers’ Guild has come to an interim agreement with the five major studios. Great news! This doesn’t affect films that have been delayed, so we will have to wait to see Paul Atreides ride that sand worm. Looking at you, Warner Bros. Regardless some studios are still putting out movies this fall. Here are a couple that may pique your interest.

Festival notes

Hope you all had a great Labor Day. As I write this, cold rains stream down my window. This grand harbinger of Autumn is a far cry from the canals in Italy, which were a balmy 84 degrees. The Lido was a bit spare at the Venice Film Festival due to the Actors’ and Writers’ Strike. However, some films managed to break through. New features premiered by Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater and the final film by William Friedkin made their debuts. Netflix made a big splash due to a lack of big studio presence. Both Bradley Cooper’s Maestro and David Fincher’s The Killer lead the way; both of which I plan to look into later this year.

Many happy returns

As the unsettling feeling that summer is ending creeps in, some promise of new media comes with it. Although there haven’t been many good choices at the theater, television and streaming has been picking up the slack.

Late bloomers

We hit the pinnacle of culture in 2023, it would seem. The double feature media event has landed and still going strong in theaters. What else is there to look for forward to? As the actors and writers strike, studios keep threatening to pull titles off the fall and winter slate. I hope this is just conjecture in the tabloids, not an actual possibility; finally when things are looking up.

Don’t make ‘em like they used to

Two months down for the summer and we are finally getting some real blockbusters. As I write this, the actors guild SAG-AFTRA is on strike. Halting any future film plans, next year may not fare better than this one. A lot of crashing and burning has been going on. Low returns and attendance have CEOs scrambling. A warning was already on its way before the pandemic that a sea change was coming. Streaming can host more content than multiplexes can ever match. If the theatrical experience has any hope of thriving, it needs to bend to the will of the public and make some drastic changes. Let’s look at two such examples recently.

Art is in the house

Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Now that the summer is in full swing, the multiplex has been finding it hard keeping interest up. Recent blockbusters have gone bust from the Fast franchise to Marvel. Studios seem hellbent on hurtling down this well-worn road, with little heed to what audiences are saying with their dollars. But can theaters continue on this trajectory as well? Hopefully managers will see that counter-programing might be the only thing keeping them afloat. Here are some recent examples that might hold your attention on those silver screens.

Not so super

Dog days usually come at the end of the summer, not at the beginning. The studios seem to have this all turned around as most of the fare in theaters have been lackluster. For all that we were promised for a big return, the five majors haven’t really given much to write home about it. In an attempt to wait out until more interesting films are released, I perused the streaming services to catch up on previous material I had messed over the past few months. And let’s answer a question that is starting to plague me more and more: Do we really need superhero movies anymore?

Short subjects

In a recent article in The Hollywood Reporter, it was confirmed that Martin Scorsese’s latest film is going to be three hours and twenty-six minutes. For those who screened it in Cannes, I hope they took a long bathroom break and refrained from fluids. Running times have inflated even more than studio budgets of late. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer movie is three hours, which I plan to review next month. The question remains: can we still get smaller films made in the climate of spectacle? Have no fear, those still exist if one is willing to seek them out.

Nostalgia trips

Have you ever listened to a song and been transported to another time in your life? The pull of memory is one of the most powerful tools on which media thrives. Every thirty years, a new phase is rehashed with goals of reeling generations with wistful longing. The allure of our past youth shoved in our faces in hopes of attaining our attention and our wallets. Some, though, are created by those who remember it and want to reflect on as we would but in art. While conglomerates utilize it in more shameless ways. Let’s sort through some of these.

Girl power

As we head past spring showers into May flowers, the plethora of entertainment options start to widen. Even with the impending writers’ strike in Hollywood, enough material is in the can so as to stem any hiatus. Summer movie season is just around the corner. However, before that glut of cinematic cheese clogs up the multiplex, let’s look at some smaller films. These entries offer us some new perspectives as well as fresh takes on old stories from a female perspective.

Dashed plan

In the wild transition that is Chicagoland weather, we have gone through many a season over the last couple weeks. The calendar says it is April, but the barometer has been early autumn, late winter and, briefly, June. Despite tempestuous climate changes, the multiplex has been on a relative flatline. All the major releases worth seeing don’t come out until May. In an attempt to spare you (as well as myself) the review of Beau Is Afraid, the vote went to streaming.

Being productive

With recent reports out of Hollywood, studios may very well have run out of ideas. True, real films don’t come from producers but from writers and directors with actual vision that get snatched up from festivals and the like. But the news of Disney remaking Moana in live action after only seven years and WB reimagining Harry Potter as a streaming series has me reeling.

Speak evil

True crime as a genre is having a bit of a moment. It isn’t as if this form of entertainment ever really goes away. But the tidal wave is hitting its crest. Netflix’s Dahmer seems to be a tipping point in terms of wondering where the line is in terms of exploiting murderers as entertainment while dragging victims’ families through the mud. Can we talk about horrifying real topics with double digit body counts without feeling exploited. Enter Hulu’s Boston Strangler.

Old dogs, new tricks

There are times as a critic when media that is currently available is subpar. In lulls, you just have to wade through it and hope for the best. As much as the public might think that we just love to eviscerate, it is just soul-crushing as you see wasted potential. These all can’t be award winners though.

Lost in translations

With a spate of disappointing releases in theaters, nothing displeases me more than to tell you all not to head out. Theaters are hurting for business at this moment and it pains me to say that. Hopefully I will have more choices in the following issue for your next trip. For now, that same cinematic experience can be had on television these days. Whether you peruse cable or streaming those big stars and grand production values haven’t been sacrificed.

Falling in love again

As we enter the bleak midwinter (at least mid by Chicagoland standards), my task of searching out good romantic content for this review has been daunting. It took me a while to come to the conclusion you see before you. Maybe it was the lack of love in my own life but perhaps the absolute dreck studio and steaming services have on hand. Every time an ad for Shotgun Wedding came on, my eye rolls became a sort of neurological tick. Upon looking at my rack of Blu-rays, a spark reminded me what made be fall in love with love stories in the first place. Here are some older and possibly overlooked gems for your V-day viewing.

Give it life

The term animation comes from the Latin to mean a bestowing of life. It, primarily, used to mean vivacity or liveliness more than anything. Certainly, its use predates the entertainment medium which it describes. Many here in the United States view moving drawings as the domain of children. Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, that is not true art. Adults can’t enjoy this, scoff the purveyors of good taste.

Personal Histories

Well, I hope all had a good holiday and a happy new year. As we careen head-first into our resolutions maybe we should take this time for some reflection. What do you want out of our time here? To be perfectly honest, 2022 was a lot for me. Some films currently in theaters I have avoided due to personal reasons. Amazing as I have heard Brendan Fraser’s performance is in The Whale, the idea of it is still too raw for me. Same goes for Spoiler Alert. A great many filmmakers mine their own lives and history for their art. Here are a few that affected me during the break.

Holiday whodunnits

As we are about to settle into the Christmas season yet again, we will meet with family and friends and share good times. Some of us listen to festive music, while others decorate the home in order to get into the mood. I, personally, like to watch movies that fill me with holiday cheer. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many new ones to recommend.

Passion plays

Hello all, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. And now we are in the thick of the holiday season. However unfortunately, a number of entries I planned to view aren’t out yet. And, due to a slight cold, any chance of going to the theaters were thwarted. But if you are in the same boat as myself, where do you turn to but the streaming services. And now more than ever, they are providing vast oceans of content for your viewing pleasure. Well let’s grab out the remote and surf through, shall we?

A close sight reading

“Time is the thing. Time is the essential piece of interpretation. You cannot start without me. I start the clock,” our protagonist says in the opening moments of Tár. But that is the thing, she feels she can control that beyond the music. The first ten minutes of Todd Field’s film is the key to understanding the whole thing. For whom can get through the beginning moments, those people are in for a wild ride.

Comedy with bite

Hope you all had a nice Halloween. Now that summer is firmly in the rearview mirror, the crop of awards-worthy films are ready to be reaped. After a rather dismal summer I am glad to get ready for something fresh this season. Comedy has been hard to come by, even one as intelligent as the one I just saw. Satires are even rarer; need only to read my review of Don’t Look Up. America doesn’t know how to make fun of itself as much anymore. But thanks to our European brethren we don’t have to.

Things that go bump in the night

As I am writing this under the glow of the hunter’s moon, ominous vibes spread through. Just in time for All Hollow’s Eve, a batch of new scary fare is coming our way.

Over on Disney+, the best Marvel output in a while has just dropped. Werewolf by Night comes to us from an unlikely source. Film composer Michael Ciacchino takes the helm with panache.

Have a Disney Plus day

Earlier this month, The Walt Disney Company had their annual shareholders meeting D23. This was three days of events and reveals. Among the announcements, we got a look at the new Willow television series. There were also some previews of upcoming Marvel projects such as Blade, Secret Wars, and the new Captain America movie. One big drop that made quite a stir was a teaser for the live-action The Little Mermaid. Controversy aside, I hope it fairs better than some. That’s all well and good, but what about now?

Miller’s Magic Carpet Ride

Hope you had a good Labor Day weekend; I sure had. And thanks to Tom for allowing me a week off to recharge myself. Honestly HBO Max dropped Elvis that weekend and it was very good, one of the most exhilarating films I saw all summer. This season saw the biggest dearth, a desert wasteland in terms of good content. Which makes this sad to see a release in August with as much complete originality get treated like dirt. It is not; more like an oasis. Love it or hate it, Three Thousand Years of Longing is clearly the work of a singular filmmaker creating what they want.