This weekend’s movie selections really got me out of my comfort zone! I started off watching something from a director I admire and then got led down a path of really interesting choices. But I wasn’t mad about it! Let’s review!
In the Earth – This was a seriously strange sci-fi horror flick by the great Ben Wheatly that I foolishly chose not to watch during Sundance. Luckily I didn’t have to wait long for its release. Shot during the pandemic, Wheatly also chose to weave the pandemic into this film a little bit. In it, a deadly virus has wiped out a large portion of the population, so Martin goes to a forest to find an old co-worker and to conduct an experiment. He sets off into the woods with park ranger, Alma. The whole film has a very eerie quality to it as they make their way through a days-long trek. Soon though, their world is turned upside-down after they are attacked and then at first seemingly helped by a drifter in the woods. Things from there take a sinister turn, with some moments of gore and a lot of crazy. I found the very end of this film to be a little confusing, but otherwise, it was mesmerizing, just like the stone referenced throughout.
Young Adult – In an effort to lighten the mood, but not too much, I decided to watch this decade-old drama about a woman trying to relive her high school glory days, although in reality she’s well on her way to forty. Charlize Theron is excellent as Mavis, a selfish and uninspired ghost-writer who decides to head back to her small hometown to win over her high school boyfriend, Buddy Slade. Never mind the fact that he’s married and a new dad. Many people point this out to her, but she’s brazenly unwilling to stop her efforts. During her time back home, she connects with another former classmate, Matt, who in school was viciously beaten because the jocks thought he was gay. While he doesn’t try to stave off her alcoholism, he does manage to break through to her at some point. Mavis isn’t totally deluded about all her problems either, but just feels stuck on trying to make things better. I remember back in the day my sister watching this and hating it, which I get. Mavis is unlikeable and almost everything she does would make anyone cringe, but I really enjoyed this film!
The Cabin in the Woods – After that sci-fi horror experience with In the Earth, I felt inspired to finally tackle this other decade-old horror comedy! I remember at the time it received a lot of praise, but the horror aspect of it just freaked me out too much. But not anymore! This film did an excellent job of mixing horror film clichés, like a rag-tag group of friends alone in a cabin in the woods (even the movie title cleverly takes on horror tropes), they find some seriously creepy stuff in a basement, and then start getting killed off one by one. What makes this film so unique is that all of this awful stuff is being orchestrated behind the scenes by a huge corporation responsible for providing enough blood sacrifices to keep the “ancient ones” at bay. Those parts are definitely the most comical thanks in part to Bradley Whitford and Richard Jenkins. I always knew Chris Hemsworth was in this, but after seeing the brilliant film Mass at Sundance, seeing director Fran Kranz as the burnout was such an amazing whiplash moment. If you’re good with thrillers and a little bit of gore, then please add this to your viewing list! A large part of me is sad I waited this long to watch it.
Struck by Lightening – What a letdown this turned out to be. I was a huge Gleek back in the day, so I have always been eager to check out this debut writing effort from Chris Colfer, and especially with the cast he gathered! Colfer stars as Carson, whose life is told as a reflection. His goal is to be the youngest published journalist in all the majors outlets and to also work for The New Yorker, but he feels everything in his life is holding him back. It appears almost everyone besides Malerie dislikes him at school, his mother seems to have never wanted kids, and his dad isn’t in the picture, although when he was he was an absent parent at best. In order to up his chances to get into Northwestern University, he’s told to write a literary magazine to show he can inspire others to write. In order to get his magazine filled, he basically resorts to black-mailing his classmates. Not cool. That premise alone was enough to turn me off, but some scenes were rough to watch. Not for me, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be for you.
Romeo and Juliet – I mean, everyone is familiar with this Shakespearean play in some format, and I pretty much thought I’d had my fill of this one, but somehow the Brits managed to reel me back in! Airing on good old PBS, this play was acted and recorded in movie-like quality which was really cool to see! Not only that, but they at times also blended rehearsal shots with official ones. I really thought that was a unique approach. Aside from that, afterwards, there were interviews with the cast about the process and answered other various questions. My main draw to this production was because Josh O’Connor and Jessie Buckley were starring as the titular characters. They are the future of acting right now, and unsurprisingly they were brilliant! If you can handle some old prose, I highly recommend finding this somewhere to watch.
Heights – Hello early 2000s! This was so old that Glenn Close still had brown hair! That was a little jarring at first, but this drama film managed to intrigue me from start to finish. Close stars as Diana Lee, a famed actress and director, whose struggling with the open marriage her and her husband agreed on. She manages to flirt with Alec, who is auditioning for her latest play, but he manages to not get too close. Elsewhere, Diana’s daughter, Isabel, is a somewhat struggling photographer, getting ready to marry Johnathan, a lawyer. The two seem not to have the easiest relationship, but insist to others that they love each other and are definitely getting married, much to Isabel’s mother and ex-boyfriend’s dismay. As the film goes on, it’s clear that Diana, Isabel, Johnathan, and Alec’s lives are intertwined way more than they know. By the end I determined that absolutely no one in this film was lucky in love. A very interesting watch!
Monday – Oh, Sebastian Stan. I’ll watch basically anything you put out, but more recently the projects have been rather mediocre. Stan plays Mickey, an American DJ who’s been living in Greece for the past six years when he meets Chloe, a lawyer, at a party. The pair immediately get physical, and he convinces Chloe to stay and pursue a relationship with him. Throughout the movie, the film cuts to black in many parts, opening on shots with the title card “Friday” shown. It’s clear that whenever the “Monday” title card gets shown that it’ll be the end of the story, but most of the film just shows the pair lusting for each other. In between the lusting though, are some serious insecurities. Mickey is told by many people that he can never leave something alone that’s “good,” and it’s clear Chloe is wrecked from a prior relationship. Honestly, this couple made me anxious and frustrated, and by the end it was unclear if they’ve managed to reconcile again or have finally realized they’re no good for each other. This wasn’t bad or good, so I suppose you should watch at your own risk.