It was an eclectic mix of films this weekend, both old and new. Let’s dig in!
A Nice Girl Like You – I blame myself, really. Lucy Hale might be the only dumb reason I added this film to my watch-list on Hulu, and the fact that it was a comedy was the reason I actually decided to watch it. I briefly remember the trailer to this and thinking it looked awful. While it didn’t turn out as terrible as I’d assumed, it was still pretty rough. And super random! Maybe I didn’t pay as close attention to the trailer as I’d thought? Hale plays Lucy (weird), who has a four-year relationship ended over her boyfriend’s love of porn. He calls her “pornaphobic” and this leads to some forced sexual exploration list for Lucy. There were a crap-ton of uncomfortable moments, and the amount that happens in front of an insanely hot guy was unreal. There were a few laughs, but oddly what I enjoyed the most out of this strange film was the friendships between Lucy and her other string quartet members. Those are some really nice friends!
The Killer Inside Me – This one has been on my radar (and DVR) for quite some time. Look, I like a good violent flick, but this movie was just sort of bizarre. There’s a sociopathic deputy in a small town who’s got some real specific, and brutal sexual fetishes that leads him to a whole host of weirdos. And, oh yeah, he kills people. It was all a bit much, and while Casey Affleck can make most things compelling, there just wasn’t enough to help him out here. Skip it for sure.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – In case you were wondering, I just got that title right. It’s been since 2016 since the original Doctor Strange movie came out (and before I fully appreciated Mads Mikkelsen), and I don’t really remember jack shit from that movie. The only thing I know is he’s an irritable warlock. And evidently now he’s got to stop Wanda (aka the Scarlet Witch) from murdering this teenager who can freely travel through the multiverse. Strange is for sure jealous of that. The storyline was decent, but if you want a much more impressive and practical multiverse, obviously check out Everything Everywhere All at Once. A big plus that this movie had was the somewhat unexpected horror elements. I think I jumped at least four times throughout the film and it was pretty refreshing! Also, some parts reminded me of Brightburn, which if you haven’t seen that nightmare inducing superhero film and you like this movie, then go watch it!
Super 8 – Why did it take me over a decade to watch this movie?! A group of young teens in the late 70s are trying to make a movie to submit to the Cleveland International Super 8 Film Festival, but end up filming a horrific train crash instead. After the crash, the town starts experiencing frequent oddities from missing pets to missing engines. All of it leads back to some creature the government is trying hard to keep secret, but our cast doesn’t care when one of their own goes missing. They will stop at nothing to get her back, and they also strangely connect with this scary creature. This movie was pretty cool, but as I think about it this morning, I wish I would have never fully seen that creature. I think it would have kept it more thrilling that way. This film did remind me a little bit of if The Outsiders met The Vast of Night (both amazing, go watch them). Either way, glad I finally made time for this film!