So much of the late August was old stuff! To Be or Not To Be on 35mm! Logan & Mad Max: Fury Road, both in black & white! Stop Making Sense, complete with a dance party! Also, did you know that if you watch basketball games you have less time to watch movies? It’s true; thanks WNBA playoffs (no, really, thank you; you’ve been amazing).
A few quick comments on the old stuff:
We saw Blade Runner & Blade Runner 2049 back to back, which clarified one of the problems I have with the new film: I disagree with how it defines and values humanity. Humanity in the original film is demonstrated through loyalty and mercy, that is, how you interact with other humans. Humanity in the new film is all about (highly gendered) values relating to bodies, specifically the ability to give birth, and the ability to die for a cause. This is not my jam.
Grand Illusion brought us Agnes Varda’s One Sings, the Other Doesn’t. This was my jam! It’s a tough movie to explain – it’s about abortion rights! And there’s a suicide at the start! But it’s really lovely! And it’s a musical! At the core it’s a movie about female friendship, the kind of bond that at some points can be held together by nothing more than postcards. I loved it.
That said, the most important thing I saw in the theaters this go-round was obviously the goofball Europe Raiders! This movie is ridiculous, the third in a (so far) trilogy starring my main man Tony Leung as …who even knows. A detective? Agent of some kind? Bounty hunter? I don’t think it’s the same from film to film and honestly it doesn’t matter. In this one, Leung’s character is introduced as he’s snowboarding down a mountain at night wearing a light-up snowsuit. Then he crashes through the window of a cabin to save a guy dressed up as Santa. Look, at this point either you’re in or you’re out, but I was definitely in, and I was rewarded with C-list Chinese Mission: Impossible where characters speaking Klingon was a plot point. Perfection.
Another kind of perfection was the Netflix teen romcom, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Utterly charming, hitting all the classic notes with a modern twist. I’m looking forward to the sequel – and reading the other two books! If anyone is looking for the next #ownvoices romcom to produce, I’d like to nominate When Dimple Met Rishi. The book is the CUTEST, & includes an arranged marriage, a comics convention, a dance performance, and thus a TRAINING MONTAGE what more do we need.
wicked jaws 