Well, turns out I was more busy last week than I had anticipated, so it looks like you guys are going to get stuck with another standard review from me. August has been turning out to be a pretty weak month of movies. Not necessarily by quality, but by quantity – and I want both! Regardless, here’s what made the cut this weekend.
Don’t Breath 2 – Back a few months ago when I learned that the bonkers thriller Don’t Breathe was getting a sequel, I really had to wrack my brain to remember if the horrible man in that film lived or died. He did in fact live, but Rocky and her sister are long gone this time around. Instead, we see him raising a small girl named Phoenix. Instead of living a normal life, he teaches her at home, but things like survival instead of say…math. At first I wasn’t sure where the thrills were going to come into play, but then there’s a vague news story of someone out there harvesting organs. Cue creepy dude following Phoenix home. Now, it takes a hot minute before anyone knows what’s going on, but sure enough Norman gives those intruders a gory beat-down. In fact, much of this movie was very gory. Way more than the first installment. And while I don’t really mind the gore all that much, it just sort of seemed to set this one apart from the first entry in a not great way. Also, they did something even worse, which was try to somewhat redeem Norman’s past murders and rapes. Yeah, no thanks. I didn’t hate this sequel, but that post credits scene better not mean what I think it could!
Annette – Folks, this may have topped the list as the straight up weirdest movie I have seen this year. Perhaps it will even make onto my all-time weird movies list! I’ll just have to wait and see. On the surface, this movie had a lot going for it, and by that I mean Marion Cotillard and Adam Driver. I seemed to have overlooked that this was a rock-opera, so that means virtually everything was sang. And not all of it was good singing. In fact, some of it was outright bad, and then laughable. I’m sure the musical aspect of this speaks to some audiences, but you want to know what probably doesn’t? A marionette for a kid. That puppet, also known as the titular Annette, has to be a descendent of Chucky, and it’s something I will never un-see. There’s also some relatively graphic sexual stuff, so I’m not totally sure who this movie is for. Regardless, I watched it, and that’s about all I can say. (Do find the opening clip online, though – worth it!).
The Novice – Back a month or so ago, I saw that LA Outfest was going to have a virtual component this year, so I decided to check out their slate! I was very excited to see this Tribeca Film Festival winner available to stream, so I snatched a ticket. In this film, we meet Alex Dall running to her first novice rowing meeting at her college. Running or constant movement seemed to be a big theme in this film. Alex is relentless and picks her weaknesses to laser focus on. She wants to be the best at everything, not just what she’s good at. That means she’s majoring in physics, her worst subject, and taking on rowing, a sport she’s never done before. She also wants to make the top spot on the varsity team before her freshman year is up. Alex’s level of obsession is reminiscent of Whiplash or Black Swan, but the difference here is that Alex isn’t going to get a happy ending. In fact, I sort of wondered if she even wanted one. A very unique thriller that you should check out when you get the chance!
Firebird – Also available at LA Outfest was Firebird, which I loved back when I got to see it at another festival. When I saw it was going to be able to be streamed here, I jumped at the chance! Equally as heartbreaking as the first time I saw it, Sergey and Roman can’t have the relationship they want regardless of how much they love each other. Sergey seems more willing to take the risk, but it’s completely understandable why Roman is reluctant. They are a part of the KGB in the 80s, so anything even remotely homosexual can be deadly. The chemistry is there people, and you’d be fools not to check this out when it comes around in November (I believe).