As much as I love going to the theater, in my opinion, it’s been a mediocre offering as of late. Not to say I didn’t make it entirely, bit it was more of an interesting mix this weekend.
Obsession – I finally got the nerve to watch this movie. After what seems like everyone I know watching this movie and saying it was good, I finally decided to rent it. It is spooky season after all. Bear has been pining for his good friend Nikki for who knows how long, but just can’t work up the courage to ask her out for fear of ruining their friendship. Valid. He comes across some wishing stick that he ends up using after chickening out again. He wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone else in the world. That wish comes true almost instantaneously, and regretfully. The benefit of having his wish come true is pretty quickly soured by some truly bizarre and eratic behavior. He realizes something isn’t right, but things really escalate before he decides to act. As all of my friends told me, this was good! I really hyped myself up for something more supernatural, which I’m not a fan of, and while those elements were there, they were mild. I recommend for the season!
The Social Reckoning – I don’t think it’s an accident that I never even heard of this new Aaron Sokin movie until I was checking out what was coming to my local theater this past weekend. Acting as a sort of sequel to his hit, The Social Network, this film focuses on a period from 2019 to 2022. Back at the beginning of that period, Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, along with other executive leadership decided they cared more about profits rather than the harm of not fact checking political ads, and other angering content, would have on people around the globe. A data scientist working on the Civic Integrity team finds that an alarming percentage of people that end up in extremist groups were lead there based on Facebook’s algorithm pushing them there. With much reluctance, she finally decides to work with a journalist at the Wall Street Journal to expose this story. When she finally commits to whistleblower status, she’s uncovered a lot more detrimental information about Facebook. I guess the critics complain that this movie is “too little, too late,” but I find the reflection at least good enough to make some people aware of what harm social media is causing. And I can tell you that Facebook learned nothing from this period. I highly recommed this one.
Fuze – Had I been able to make a trip to TIFF happen last year, this action heist film was one of the titles at the top of my list. Namely for the cast, but a heist film is usually always a good time. A construction crew comes across an old WWII bomb in Paddington that military members work immediately to contain. Amidst the chaos, there is a small group planning a pretty elaborate heist of cash and uncut diamonds. There are some snafus and a chase, but the group manage to get away successfully. But that’s when things start to get interesting. There is some double crossing, some unexpected relationships, and a very, very interesting back story. Are these guys really the bad guys? I would say yes in some ways, but there could always be worse. I won’t say anything more, because spoiling the reveals would be cruel – definitely give this one a shot!