I thought I was going to squeeze more in on this final weekend in April, but the weather had other plans. I am however, all caught up on theater offerings!
Boy Kills World – I am kind of sad at the lack of advertising I had seen for this film. Prior to its release, I only recall seeing the trailer one other time. I had known about this movie before, but I think there was quite a bit of time in between the start of its production and its eventual release. Either way, Bill Skarsgard, completely shredded, plays the Boy, a mute and deaf young adult hell-bent on killing Hilda van der Koy, the leader of a corrupt, post-apocalyptic dynasty. He’s been training his whole life to exact his revenge for killing his mother and sister, but as he goes along his very bloody and violent mission, there are some really wild reveals that changes how he’s viewed almost his entire life. I found the reveals to be really unexpected and clever! I also loved how hyper-stylized everything was and the cast totally nailed the material. I really hope this finds an audience!
Challengers – As much as I like Luca Guadagnino’s work, having Zendaya lead the charge in his latest sports drama, I wasn’t going in with much hope. But there was tremendous amount of hype online for a reason – it was freaking awesome! As a tennis player and fan, this already did have an edge because I understood and could appreciate what they were talking about. The mass appeal comes in the relationship triangle between Zendaya’s Tashi, and bros, Art and Patrick. The latter two had been close friends for at least half of their lives when the ultra talented Tashi came into their lives. Never having crushed on the same girl before, they navigate it the best they can, but the ebbs and flows of those relationships should come as no surprise. Thirteen years later the trio reunite under vastly different circumstances, and the last twenty minutes of this film were SAVAGE. Just ask my sister about how hard I was geeking out in the theater. Really hard. The music choices are kind of wild, along with some camera techniques, but this is a must watch.
LaRoy, Texas – I have no clue if LaRoy is a real place in Texas, but it does serve as the south’s Fargo. Ray is a quiet pushover who learns at the start of the film that his former beauty queen wife is likely having an affair. In the midst of ending his misery, he is mistaken for a hitman and his handed a wad of cash and an address. As Ray puts it to his private detective friend, he followed the guy because he just wanted to know what it would feel like. Well, that thought led to some bad outcomes, and the rug just keeps getting pulled out from under Ray time and time again. He maybe gets what’s coming to him, but not after serving up some karma of his own. This dark, quietly funny drama did give me all the Fargo feels and starred a local talent, so I was pleased!