It was a real hodge-podge of movies this weekend, but all were enjoyable for entirely different reasons.
Hot Rod – I mean, what more do I have to say about my all-time favorite movie? I’m sure I did watch it last year at some point, though I really don’t remember. What I do know is that this time around I was watching it with some friends who had never seen it before. I found myself giddy with anticipation for each hilarious scene (so almost the entire thing). They are true friends, because they also found the movie hilarious. In fact, I may end up with a “Team Rod” shirt before this year is over! Again, if you have never seen this idiotic masterpiece, please, I’m begging you to give it a go.
The Adults – Given that Michael Cera was a lead in this film, I suppose I didn’t really get what I was expecting. Although I say that coming away quite happy with what I did get instead. This was a true drama, through and through. In fact, I think this would make an excellent stage play someday! Anyway, Cera is Eric, who is home visiting his two sisters, Rachel and Maggie, after many years away. Maggie, the younger sister, is thrilled to have her brother home, even if he evades them to go play poker instead. His trip keeps getting extended as his hot streak continues, but this just seems to aggravate Rachel. I found it really interesting that all of these little inside jokes from their childhood serve as both their unique ways to communicate with each other, but also as a means to avoid real conversations. A thoughtful drama worth your time.
Theater Camp – This was just as funny as when I watched it at Sundance back in January. In fact, I would have loved to have seen it in a theater for its official release, but no theaters nearby ever got it. A shame! Luckily, Hulu acquire its streaming rights and any person who likes any version of the arts a little bit will get some serious laughs out of this over-the-top mockumentary about an Upstate New York theater camp. Noah Galvin still stole the show for me, but Jimmy Tatro was equally excellent upon a second viewing. I can’t wait to watch this again with my friends who actually participated in theater, and though they are nowhere near any of these characters, I just know they will relate to this in ways I can’t.
The Retirement Plan – Admittedly, I didn’t do much research into this new Nicolas Cage action-comedy, but I was in when I saw the poster. He’s sporting some Keanu Reeves’ length hair, though it is completely gray. We don’t meet him right away, but instead, his estranged daughter whose husband has gotten mixed up with some bad people. Though eventually we find out it’s related to politics, the specifics of the bad stuff are left so vague that I really couldn’t tell you why they were bad. I also very much thought about leaving this movie about ten minutes in because everything was so cringe-worthy, until…I realized that was the whole point. From then on out I found myself with a goofy smile on my face. Still not great by any means, but it could be worth your endless scrolling time in the future.
A Haunting in Venice – Since the strikes are still ongoing, not much promo has been done for Kenneth Branagh’s third Agatha Christie big-screen adaptation. Also, this one sounds a lot more scary than mysterious when compared to the other two films. In fact, when I first saw the trailer, having not been quite sure who was involved, I had no clue it was a Poirot film until his ridiculous mustache popped up on screen! This one did make me jump a number of times, and just like all the others, I thought I had the culprit nailed down, but having Poirot walk us through it all in the end was still a delight. Go check this out!