Even after watching the entire Scream franchise last week, you know I had to make time for some other movies over the weekend. And yes, that did include another viewing of Scream 5. I stand by my thoughts on it in a spoiler-free capacity. Other than that, some other new films made the cut.
Cyrano – I had hesitations about this musical. Firstly, because it was a musical based on a play, and secondly because it took place in the 1800s. These aren’t things that usually appeal to me, and admittedly, this wasn’t my favorite viewing experience, but it had its moments. Haley Bennett is a fantastic singer and she was able to portray a multitude of emotions at the drop of a hat. The real star though was Peter Dinklage as the titular Cyrano. He was brilliant and made me feel all emotional! That poor man thought he was ugly and just wanted his best friend to love him! Truly tragic. Big thanks to Variety for hooking me up with an early at-home screening of this potential awards contender, but I can’t say this is something I’ll ever check out again.
The Tender Bar – As promised last week, I did watch George Clooney’s latest directorial effort. In all honesty, this thing was pretty dang boring. It was just about real-life journalist and author’s J.R. Moehringer’s unconventional upbringing on Long Island, where he and his mother lived with his grandparents and uncle. Most of the film focused on the relationship built with his Uncle Charlie who ran a local bar called Dickens. While his mother wanted him to pursue a law degree, it was his uncle who kept inspiring J.R.’s love of journalism. Ben Affleck looked like he was having a blast in this film, but his charisma wasn’t enough to make it more interesting.
We the Animals – It’s been a hot minute since I read the book that this film was based off of, but I was glad I finally got the chance to give it a watch. Jonah recounts his life, detailing the closeness he has with his brothers, the love he has for his parents, but also the fear he has of them. It’s obvious his parents struggle with raising such a young family, but it’s clear there is a lot of love there, too. On top of that though, Jonah has to deal with emerging homosexual feelings. His family don’t understand it, and it’s causing a rift between them. Overall, I thought this movie stayed very true to the contents of the book, and it remains a very moving piece of work.