Recent theatrical viewings

[RCMerchant]

^ Ugh.... Jack Kirby would roll in his grave...

[M.10rda]

He'd definitely roll his eyes in disgust at all of Stan's self-indulgent cameos...

[Rev. Powell]

THE WIDOW CLICQUOT: After her champagne mogul husband's death on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, the Widow Cliquot takes advantage of a legal loophole allowing a widow to continue her husband's business, shepherding it to international success through bad harvests, embargoes, and mansplaining workers. Well-made bu obvious and over-serious; never trust a movie set in France where even the American actors speak with British accents. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

CUCKOO: A 17-year old girl travels with her blended family to a remote Alpine resort, where she finds strange guests, strange rules, strange experiences, and especially strange sounds. Hard to follow at times, but this nutso horror features fine performances by Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens, and excellent disorienting sound design. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

DIDI: A Chinese-American adolescent experiences crushes, family friction, and social catastrophes the summer before high school starts. Nothing groundbreaking here, but the script is believable and surprisingly funny (to balance out the heavy drama of the climax), and the acting is uniformly excellent (young Isaac Wang is a standout). A crowd-pleaser. 4/5.

[Neville]

I watched "Alien: Romulus". Not a bad film, but it ended feeling more like a Greatest Hits of the series than an individual movie. Or maybe I'm still regretting we're not getting the final chapter in the David vs. Engineeers saga. I admit that at this point I find those much more interesting than the xenomorphs.

[Rev. Powell]

STRANGE DARLING: With a serial killer prowling the countryside, one-night stand may be a bad idea. A stylish, surprising, nonlinear thriller that will satisfy your taste for blood and uncomfortable sexual depravity. This has no real stars (you might know Kyle Gallner) and popped up out of nowhere, but I think people here will like it. 4/5.

[Dr. Whom]

Dune 2

So I finally made the effort to watch it in the theatre. It impressed me a lot less than the first movie. Then I was wondering whether Villeneuve could pull it off, and he did so gloriously. This feels like more of the same.
Kudos for the adaptation. Some emphasis has shifted, and some things have fallen by the wayside (mentats, notably), but you get a smooth flowing movie in return. Anyone wanting to adapt a sprawling novel, take note.
My one gripe is that beating the Harkonnen and the Emperor is super easy, barely an inconvenience. I know that it is like that in the book, and most of the warfare is handled offscreen, but I feel that the movie would have benefitted by having it put onscreen. After all he did it for Duncan Idaho's last fight. Having the Harkonnen as more active and dangerous opponents would have put more urgency in Paul's decision whether or not to start a holy war.
And I would have liked one of the navigators saying 'The Guild does not take your orders'

[Rev. Powell]

ALIEN: ROMULUS: An indentured miner and her "simple" android pal join an expedition to attempt to escape their servitude by stealing cryogenic capsules from an abandoned orbiting space station, not realizing that the reason the station is unoccupied is because of an alien infestation. Worthy entry in the sci-fi franchise with a look that evokes the original, high suspense, moral dilemmas, and anti-android bigotry. I have not seen any of the sequels past ALIENS so I was happy that this one takes place between ALIEN and ALIENS, leaving me little to miss out on (though I'm sure I missed some foreshadowing for the other movies later in the timeline). 4/5.

[M.10rda]

I gotta' get around to seeing ROMULUS (and the previous one).

We took our ten-year old niece to the multiplex for BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE on Sunday. Although she loved the original, I'm a little ashamed to say she tapped out midway through this one after the two abdominal explosions. What can I say, she doesn't live w/ us and she has had a rather sheltered cinematic life.  I dunno if Burton blows it in the second half, but until we left I was enjoying it a great deal. The box office receipts would seem to agree...

[Dr. Whom]

STRANGE DARLING: With a serial killer prowling the countryside, one-night stand may be a bad idea. A stylish, surprising, nonlinear thriller that will satisfy your taste for blood and uncomfortable sexual depravity. This has no real stars (you might know Kyle Gallner) and popped up out of nowhere, but I think people here will like it. 4/5.

You're right, I, for one, did like it. It has attracted rave reviews over here, so I went in ready to be disappointed and was pleasantly surprised. I don't think it is worth all the praise for its plot twists (there isn't all that much plot to twist in the first place), but it stands out among the more conventional fare. This deserves to be the breakout role for Willa Fitzgerald.

[Rev. Powell]

MEGALOLOPOLIS: In a New York City that acts more like ancient Rome, Caesar can stop time and has invented some kind of miracle substance called "Megalon," but demagogues and ancient rivals scheme to ruin him. Francis Ford Coppola's self-funded beautiful boondoggle is almost everything you could hope for from a late-career vanity project---stylish, operatic, overdone, semi-incoherent, bold, ridiculous---a movie that defies the categories of "good" or "bad," but firmly fits the category of "fun." 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

A DIFFERENT MAN (2024): A man with neurofibromatosis who wants to be an actor but has little talent undergoes an experimental procedure which reverses his facial disfigurement and makes him handsome, then wants to be cast in a play about his former life but finds himself fighting for the role with a charismatic actor who still suffers from the condition. The ironic script reminds you of a modern spin on the classic doppelganger tales of Dostoevsky and Poe, it's opften very funny, and the acting is top notch all around (director Aaron Schimberg obviously wrote the story specifically so he could cast Adam Pearson again). An extremely-well made movie that will likely be overlooked at the Oscars (besides the makeup category) because of its odd story and limited exposure. 4.5/5.

[M.10rda]

Wow, had been wondering what Aaron had been up to - thank you. I was lucky enough to see GO DOWN DEATH on the big screen in....... 2015? I forget the year but I won't soon forget the film, which is fortunate as I'm unsure if it's available to buy or stream anywhere.

[Rev. Powell]

Wow, had been wondering what Aaron had been up to - thank you. I was lucky enough to see GO DOWN DEATH on the big screen in....... 2015? I forget the year but I won't soon forget the film, which is fortunate as I'm unsure if it's available to buy or stream anywhere.

It's on Blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome or one of its partner labels. Not streaming yet.