I know I’ll personally believe it when I see it, but Thanksgiving is coming up and I envision myself really powering through a lot of titles over that time. Stay tuned! But before we get there, we need to take a look at the hits I managed to take in this weekend.
Sisu: Road to Revenge – Maybe up until a couple of months ago, I had absolutely no clue that a sequel to Sisu was a thing. Let alone a thing that was ever being considered! But look, I’m not mad at another film focusing on the Finnish John Wick, who instead of taking on fictional “bad guys,” takes on the real bad guys: Nazis. Though he defeated the red army in the last film, this time around his enemy is the brutal man who killed his family. But before he meets that nightmare, Aatami is focused on gathering the timber from his family home to build it in a more peaceful place. His dream is tested again and again, and even though he faces the brink of death many times, he never gives up. Sometimes revenge fuels people in a useful way. This film, just like it’s original, is action-packed and very bloody, but the kills are creative, and you totally forget that our protagonist hasn’t said a single word the whole film! This is a sequel I can get behind!
Rental Family – Again, this is a movie that snuck up on me. Though I’m willing to bet this came across my field of vision at some point and likely found the name to be a turn-off. In any case, a rental family is exactly what this film is. And strangely enough, based on something that is actually real in Japan. Despite being such a populated city, it’s found that a lot of Japanese people are extremely lonely. There are agencies that employ actors to take on important roles and interactions in their lives, or the lives of their loved ones. Philip is a struggling actor who’s lived in Japan for over seven years when he’s offered jobs working for this company. His biggest downfall is his empathy, making the job difficult to do. Especially when he gets attached to a few clients. Though there are plenty of light moments in this film, overall this fely very touching to me, and ultimately very sweet. I’m sad to know that this will probably get lost in the shuffle, but I do hope I’m surprised by audiences going to see this.
Bad Shabbos – Ah! I could kick myself for not shelling out to see this opening night film at the Cleveland International Film Festival this year! Instead, I randomly stumbled up on it again on Netflix this weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I was delighted at the prospect of watching it, I just wish I could have seen it sooner! Newly engaged couple David and Meg are headed to his parents’ house for Shabbos, where they will be hosting Meg’s parents for the first time. It’s clear this is a somewhat stereotypical New York Jewish family in that all members of the family have very large personalities. This clashes with what David is hoping to protray to his future in-laws, but things take a wild turn that devolves into some truly hilarious moments. At a glance you might think this isn’t a A-list film, but you are wrong. This film absolutely rules! I was so happy I got to see it, and I know I’ll be recommending it to others.