Alliterations aside, it’s true. I think I watched the most random array of movies this weekend, and in my book, they were all winners. For wildly different reasons, of course.
A double feature on Friday first consisted of Booksmart, the comedic directorial debut from Olivia Wilde. Based on the fact that the trailer was hilarious and Rotten Tomatoes had it at 99% for many days leading up to its theatrical release, I was very excited to see this movie! There were almost non-stop laughs, but the movie itself was a one and done for me. Leads, Beanie Feldstein (identical face to older brother Jonah Hill) and Kaitlyn Dever are ultimate friendship goals in that they encouraged each other to be the best they could be in high school to go to the best colleges. What they find out is that all their other “slacker” classmates had fun and also got into some of those same colleges. In an effort to say they partied in high school, hilarity ensues. And a lot of detours, and extremely awkward moments, including being driven to a party by your school’s principal (seriously, my sister and I were dying at this part). Every side character in this film were equally funny in their own right, and I think this comedy will stand the test of time, but just like Superbad (which it’s being compared to), it just didn’t resonate with me 100%. Still thoroughly enjoyed it, and I’d say you’re missing out if you don’t give this a watch.
Immediately after watching a solid comedy, I switched over to a solid action flick, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. After the events of Chapter 2, there’s a $14 million bounty on John’s head, he has no protection, and every known assassin is out to get him. Lucky for John, he’s still got a select few allies still in his corner (and gold coins). I will break this movie down into three parts: part one is John killing a crap load of people, part two is John teaming up with Halle Berry and killing a crap load of people, and part three is John getting reinstated but the Continental gets deconsecrated so he helps the staff kill a crap load of people. Basically, just like the previous two installments it’s just about killing people in the most bad ass way possible, and I loved every second of it. In fact, this installment did so well there is already a fourth movie confirmed for 2021!
Saturday was also a double feature night! First up was anti-hero, horror flick Brightburn. This movie gave me the hebby gebbys. Couple Kyle and Tori Breyer stumble upon a baby in a strange ship that crash-landed on their property. They name him Brandon and raise him as their own into a seemingly well-adjusted 12 year-old until the ship he came in starts talking to him. Brandon begins to develop and discover a slew of Superman-esque powers like super strength, speed, and lazer eyes. The only problem is, he’s not using these powers for good. He kills several people in pretty terrible ways. Not to spoil anything, but it’s not a happy ending. This movie essentially tosses out and answers the question, “What if Superman weren’t good?” It was a lot more gruesome than I expected, and everyone played their parts tremendously. This left me quaking in my boots (flip flops), and if your a superhero fan, this needs added to the list!
Finally bringing up the caboose is the live-action telling of Aladdin! The animated version of this film was my all-time favorite growing up, so I was honestly very excited to get to watch this. I know it hit some road bumps on the way, and obviously no one is going to live up to Robin Williams’ genie, but overall it was a wonderful adaptation. They took a few creative liberties, most glaring to me was the addition of a new song for Jasmine, which I could have very much done without. Otherwise, the dialogue and sequences were basically scene for scene. Truthfully this movie gave me goosebumps of happiness and it made want to watch the original all over again. Unfortunately, I am an adult who doesn’t really have an affinity for kids movies, so I doubt I’ll ever catch myself watching this live-action version again, but I definitely left in a good mood. Any 90s kid should certainly get themselves to the next available screening and let their nostalgia take them on a magic carpet ride.