Recent theatrical viewings

[Rev. Powell]

THE FAREWELL: A woman returns to China to visit her dying grandma, where she struggles to follow the custom of not telling the elderly when they have a fatal disease. A culture clash dramedy with few surprises, but a believable, fond and pleasant crowd-pleaser. "Based on an actual lie."  3.5/5.

[BoyScoutKevin]

Continuing with the vulgarity . . .

wk1 Fast and Furious $60.8M

wk3 Lion King $38.2M

wk2 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood $20M

And you add the sequels Spider-man : Far from Home and Toy Story 4 to the top 5 at the domestic box office, and one understands why Hollywood prefers the unoriginal to the original. It pays better.

2019 Lion King at $1.195B for both the domestic and international box office. Thus, it is likely not only to have earned back the cost it took to make it, but to have earned a profit, as well. While, and I wish I knew how much Once Upon a Time has earned at the international box office, but, it is unlikely to earn as big of a profit as The Lion King, which is another reason Hollywood prefers the unoriginal over the original.

2019 Lion King has also surpassed the box office of the 1994 Lion King, which earned $968.5M, both domestically and internationally.

He has good news, and he has bad news. The good news is that the domestic box office is only down 1.1% from the same time last year. The bad news is that this is because of the 4 or 5 blockbusters that have been released so far. With out taking into consideration of these, the domestic box office would be even down lower than 1.1%

[indianasmith]

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019)  My daughters and I went to see this film earlier today, and it was thoroughly enjoyable.   It was a good example of PG-13 horror aimed at a younger audience, but still intense enough for adults to enjoy.  Directed by Guillermo del Toro, who doesn't seem to know how to make a bad movie, it featured engaging characters, an entertaining premise, some truly horrifying makeup effects, and a well done conclusion that manages to evoke some sympathy for the villain without wrapping everything up in a neat little package.  4/5 and thoroughly worth a visit to the theater!

[Rev. Powell]

READY OR NOT (2019): Grace marries into a wealthy family, but they have an odd tradition that, at midnight on the wedding day, new initiate into the family must play a game... a dangerous game... a most dangerous game. An efficient device for generating gory thrills and bloody symbolic revenge on the 1%. I'm bumping this up a half-star because I think people on this board may specifically dig it. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

MAIDEN (2018): Documentary about the first all-female yachting crew to sail around the world. This isn't meant as a criticism, but watching this I kept thinking how well this story could have been adapted as a narrative film: it's got an ensemble cast of interesting characters, dramatic conflicts with nature and other humans, and an inherent underdog appeal. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (2019): A man with Down Syndrome dreams of becoming a pro wrestler; with the help of a fugitive fisherman, he travels the Southeastern U.S. headed for a wrestling school run by the legendary "Saltwater Redneck." Formula filmmaking with a script built on questionable character motivations, but it's got a good heart, and Zack Gottsagen (who actually has Down Syndrome) is charming. 3/5.

[indianasmith]

ANGEL HAS FALLEN (2019)

The latest installment in the Michael Banning FALLEN series has secret service agent Banning (Gerard Butler) fighting off a drone  attack on President Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) and saving the President's life, only to find he's been very convincingly framed for setting up the attack himself.  The President, who is comatose, cannot exonerate him, so Banning has to go on the run, ducking both the FBI and the Secret Service as well as the agents of the private security contractor who set him up to begin with.  A fun, mindless, blow'em up, shoot'em up popcorn flick that made for an entertaining date night.  4/5

[Rev. Powell]

LUCE: Trouble brews when a high school teacher suspects the school's model student---an adopted refugee from Eritrea---of harboring violent radical beliefs. Tense and thought-provoking drama that seamlessly blends contemporary concerns (racial identity, sexual assault) with timeless issues of loyalty and the tension between privacy and security. Low key but unexpectedly gripping. Hard to believe this was directed by the same guy who did CLOVERFIELD PARADOX, one of the worst movies of the prior year.  4/5.

[Trevor]

READY OR NOT (2019): Grace marries into a wealthy family, but they have an odd tradition that, at midnight on the wedding day, new initiate into the family must play a game... a dangerous game... a most dangerous game. An efficient device for generating gory thrills and bloody symbolic revenge on the 1%. I'm bumping this up a half-star because I think people on this board may specifically dig it. 3.5/5.

I just read the Wikipedia entry on that: Me think me get major freaked watching that.

[Rev. Powell]

FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES (2019): The story of "Fiddler on the Roof," told through interviews, animations, and clips of dozens of performances. Thoroughly covers every aspect of the work---historical background, influences, staging, choreography, music, casting, Japanese fandom, variety of adaptations, cultural impact---with a remarkable economy of presentation so that it never drags or feels bloated. I've never even seen a performance of "Fiddler" and it kept my interest for 90 minutes. 3.5/5

[Rev. Powell]

HUSTLERS: A group of strippers develop increasingly bold and dangerous techniques to separate their Wall Street customers from their wallets. The strip club locale lends a certain sleazy novelty to this drama that mixes a rise-and-fall crime story with a strong female friendship plot. Jennifer Lopez is 50, wow. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE (2019): A straightforward overview of the songstress' career narrated by Ronstadt herself, who is now suffering from Parkinson's Disease and unable to sing professionally. I entered the movie neutral on the subject of Ronstadt, and left impressed by her versatility and artistic integrity. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

AD ASTRA: About 50-100 years in the future, an accomplished astronaut (Brad Pitt) is assigned to help the government locate and eliminate the source of extraterrestrial electromagnetic pulses that are wrecking the Earth's energy supply, a mission that implicates work done by his famous (and presumably deceased) father on a spacecraft at the edge of the solar system. A welcome entry in Hollywood's New Space Wave (exemplified by GRAVITY and THE MARTIAN); this one borrows its beats as much from APOCALYPSE NOW as 2001. 3.5/5.

[BoyScoutKevin]

It's been a while since I've seen anything in the theater, as what I see has little, if anything, to do with the quality of the film, or its lack thereof. It has to do with my interest in the film, and there has been nothing that interesting recently (IMHO) till Maleficent : Mistress of Evil, which I finally got to see yesterday. Besides it having a surprising emotional impact on me, it had its interesting moments, especially the relationships in the movie. Both those that were riven by conflict and those without conflict, which (IMHO) were even more interesting.

Conflicted relationships
governments
husband and wife
mother-in-laws
parent and child

Unconflicted relationships
bride and groom
mistress and servant

If one does decide to see it, there might be several things to remember about it.
1st. It is probably the most unique film to be released this year, and that includes the films yet to be released.
2nd. Listen to what the people say. While it is supposed to be set in some distant past, what is said in the film is even more pertinent today.

As for boxoffice, . . .
in its 2nd week in theaters, we finally have something that has dethroned The Joker as the #1 film at the boxoffice. Not that The Joker has done that shabbily, as it is now the highest grossing R-rated film in the history of Hollywood. Will we see a sequel to it? Maybe?

Next time: we'll have to see what comes up in November, but, our next film looks to be Frozen II, which is said to be even darker than the 1st Frozen.

And, oh yeah. I forgot to add something. Despite the subtitle, Maleficent is not the villainess here, but the heroine, just as she was in the 1st film. And unlike the animated version, in which, she was the villainess.

[Rev. Powell]

WESTERN STARS (2019): Bruce Springsteen performs his 19th studio album (with a 30 piece chamber orchestra) in a 100-year old barn, introducing each piece with a short narrated film reflecting on the upcoming songs theme. A well-made, laid-back concert film; how well you respond to it will obviously depends on your attitude to Springsteen's music. Personally I stopped paying attention to Bruce in 1987 and, although the songs here are decent folky pop, I won't be buying the album. 3/5.