After watching zero movies last week, I had to rectify that situation and watch a couple this past weekend. To be fair, I am in the process of watching both seasons of Stranger Things in anticipation of the third season’s premiere July 4th. So that is my excuse for slacking. Also, there really weren’t any movies I was too keen on seeing in the theaters (sorry, Toy Story 4). With that, I decided to see what was available to rent and what I’ve been missing on Netflix.
On the renting front, I settled on drama, I’m Not Here, starring J.K. Simmons and Sebastian Stan as Steve in various stages of life. The film starts with Simmons’ Steve about to put a bullet through his head. With that intense of a start, naturally the film has a series of flashbacks to his very young life, where parents (Max Greenfield and Mandy Moore) constantly fought and his father was an alcoholic. After some traumas, we jump forward to his young adult life, where he meets the love of his life, Karen. But like father, like son, alcohol soon consumes Steve’s life and ruins his marriage. Present day, we see that Steve is in bad shape, but that’s not hard to believe considering his diet is alcohol. He sadly combs through darkened rooms in his house that hold memories from his old life. One particular flashback melds his young adult life with his present day life, and I’m honestly not sure what it all means. Maybe if he would have gotten there faster things would be different? Hard to say. This film was short, slow, and real choppy. I’d say skip it despite the amazing cast list.
Next up, was an older release, but new to Netflix, Cop Car. This thriller starring Kevin Bacon really appealed to my dad when he watched it a little while back. Him and I usually have similar taste, so I was honestly excited to watch it. Two little punk kids steal a corrupt cop’s car and end up on wild goose chase with some shady guy in the trunk. I feel like I can’t say any more about this simple plot. With that being said, there were definitely some edge of your seat moments, and a small cliff-hanger of an ending, but once again, for this being a shorter film, it was a little boring. I’ve seen worse on Netflix, so if you’ve got a love of Kevin Bacon, definitely give this a watch!