I didn’t feel like I had much time for movies this past weekend, but I still got the standard amount in. I even got to support the Frameline Film Festival!
A Quiet Place: Day One – Even though I’m sure this prequel put up some great numbers at the box office this weekend, I couldn’t help but feel that this film didn’t get the advertising treatment of its predecessors. I felt that it came into theaters with very little fanfare, and that’s a shame because this was actually a very strong prequel. Yes, we had seen glimpses in the past of what happened Evelyn’s family on that fateful day, but this time around we’re treated to the whole devastation of the day. Instead though, we spend that time with dying cancer patient, Samira. She’s convinced by one of the hospice nurses to go out to a puppet show for the promise of real Harlem pizza one last time. Turns out that time is the last for several others who made the trip. She emerges from the rubble and life as she knew it will never be the same. Though the world is in chaos, she still wants that pizza; she’s going to be dead either way. Along that journey, her cat – SPOLIER – makes it all the way, and she picks up another stray in the form of law student, Eric. They make an odd but dynamic duo and I was really pleased with the results here. I have no clue what the future of this franchise holds, but so far it’s remained a strong one.
The Bikeriders – When 20th Century Fox kicked this movie off their release schedule for the end of November, I thought this was doomed to be shelved forever. Thankfully, Focus Features was quick to pick up the stick, even if that meant I had to wait more than half a year to see it finally released. What I got to see ended up being a slick, but gruff, look at the life of a relatively new motorcycle club. I, like most people, generally call those clubs gangs, but a club is truly what this was at the start. Though this film is fictional, it was largely inspired by a photographer’s cataloging of a very similar club back in the 60s. We’re mainly told the events of the film from Kathy’s perspective, as she is married to heartthrob, Benny. It seems she loves him almost as much as club leader, Johnny, but all of their initial intentions are shot out the window once the club starts growing nationally. Not for everyone, but this couldn’t have been a more fantastic cast!
Fallen Fruit – Sad to say that the virtual film festival offerings are dwindling the more years tick by since the pandemic. That, and the fact that I don’t live in California, means that I had even less options this time around at the Frameline Film Festival. Still, I was able to find this quirky coming-of-age tale. Alex, an early twenty-something, has recently moved back to Miami with his family from New York after sudden break-up with his long-term boyfriend. He just can’t seem to find his rhythm being back home, but he kind of makes a lot of people miserable in the process. That is, until he meets Chris. There is definitely chemistry there, but Chris recognizes Alex’s current situation as a sort of reset, and since he’s so young, he still really needs those tough years to sort everything out. Chris is really a friend that we all need. Alex isn’t where he needs to be yet, but he’s starting to see the way.