I feel like I’m making up for lost time here. September didn’t have me seeing nearly as many movies as I would have liked. Or perhaps, there is just so much good stuff coming out this month! A lot of them actually should have came out last year, but the pandemic had other plans. I mean, the pandemic still has other plans, but luckily for me and other film lovers, the big studios are forging ahead! Before I get to all of that though, let’s get a recap of what I actually watched this weekend.
Titane – Could this perhaps dethrone Being John Malkovich at the top of my weirdest movie ever list?! I still think that one is going to be seared in my brain forever, but this one sure comes close. Look, to be fair, I never watched a trailer for this. There is something about Neon putting out some spectacular indie films in the past, Film Twitter’s hype of this film, and the fact that it’s French and won the highest honor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival that had me going to see this no questions asked. Boy did it give me a lot of weird answers though! Only because I don’t know a single soul who will go see this, I am going to give you a very high level breakdown of what all happens here. Alexia is a car model, is attracted to and has sex with a car, is impregnated by that car, is a serial killer (think knitting needle through the ear kind of violence), and escapes a prison sentence by impersonating a man’s missing son. Did I mention every person involved with this film says it’s about love? I suppose it is.
The Exchange – Eh, this was a lot lamer than I had hoped. And really, I was expecting it to be rather lame. The main draw here was seeing Justin Hartly as a mustachioed cop. I wasn’t expecting the next Best Picture winner. Anyway, most of the film is spent on the incredibly awkward Tim who tries to spice up his life by “ordering” a best friend. Really, he just gets an exchange student from France. This guy is everything Tim is not and they get into some pretty weird stuff, but are you surprised at all that they actually are friends by the end of it? I know I sure wasn’t. Wasn’t worth the ride in my opinion.
Venom: Let There be Carnage – My sister put it best. This sequel, that I was honestly surprised happened at all, is pretty much exactly like the first outing – satisfaction-wise. Eddie and Venom are just trying to cohabitate in the same body, so that means compromise. For Venom that’s eating chocolate and chickens instead of people. Eddie’s also trying to regain some sort of professional clout again by interviewing a serial killer by the name of Cletus Kasady. Obviously this nut-job bites Eddie and then gets his very own “Venom.” Some serious bits were just downright silly, others intentionally funny, but I more than appreciate the compressed runtime of this film. No need to drag everything out all the time! With that short runtime though, you get less supporting characters, which they probably could have benefitted from a few more minutes on screen. What really had me squealing in the theater though was that mid-credits scene! SPOILER!! Expect to see Eddie and Venom in the multiverse this Christmas!
The Guilty – Two hours of Jake Gyllenhaal losing his shit over the phone? Sure, why not. I feel like it’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen Gyllenhaal in anything, and a thriller seemed like the perfect re-entry. He plays a cop who’s been demoted to 911 operator status, but he’s taking the job very seriously. Like, almost too seriously. But, I’m sure the people on the other end of the line appreciate his dedication. Especially a woman by the name of Elizabeth who’s been taken hostage. Although, not is all as it appears to be. This film takes some interesting turns, but it could have benefited from leaving Gyllenhaal’s face from time to time. And even though it’s probably meant as a surprise, I think we can all guess what he’s guilty of. I say watch Halle Berry in The Call instead.
The Many Saints of Newark – Since this is a prequel, I decided to go see this gangster flick even though I have never seen one minute of The Sopranos. Now, I plan on rectifying that this winter, but it is what it is here. With that being said, I still have a general idea about the cast and characters from that show, so it wasn’t all lost on me, I just probably didn’t catch all the Easter eggs. Anyways, this film is supposed to show us who molded Tony Soprano. Well, it was his uncle Dickie Moltisanti, who did some bad stuff, but didn’t really seem all that menacing. Nor did I really see him doing much mentoring! Tony, as an adult who can process things, is only in the back half of this film, and the two of them don’t spend that much time together! In all honesty, I didn’t really think much happened in this film. It was just a lot of Italians threatening each other, eating, and butting heads with a “rival gang.” I think you could have seen the exact same thing in the most recent season of Fargo, but if you’re a die-hard Sopranos fan I could see you not wanting to miss out. Meh overall though.
Summer of ’85 – What a beautiful and tragic film. Why do all LGBTQ+ films have to be this way?! They get you with the good drama and the love story, but then they sucker punch you with tragedy! This film is no different. In 1985 Alexis meets David during a boating accident. What at first is a somewhat awkward friendship, soon turns into a romance, but both of them are too young and too different to last. David is a real free spirit and it’s no surprise that Alexis’ more cautious nature is what sets them to arguing. Things end poorly for David, and Alexis is left picking up the pieces. If only they could have appreciated what they had while they still had it. It’s no Firebird, but it’s lovely.