THE CONVO: Robert DeNiro is not a fan of Trump and Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown to remain on Netflix!
THE FLICK: The Incredibles 2 – Finally we get a follow up to one of the best Pixar films ever made. This time Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) is left to care for Jack-Jack while Helen (Elastigirl) is out saving the world and the reviews are great so far.
THE DOC: Won’t You Be My Neighbor – An exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children’s television host, Fred Rogers, a documentary that kept a big smile on my face throughout. That was until the emotions hit and the tears rolled.
Sherlock Gnomes – If you’re looking for something on demand this week or weekend to occupy the kids you will come across this little animated film, the follow up to Gnomeo And Juliet. I’m still sitting here scratching my head, wondering how this film got made. Produced by Elton John’s Rocket Films, the first film was a tediously bland retelling of a classic infused with all your favorites from his catalogue. The weird part is it’s the rehashing of a classic TRAGEDY, something I always felt was weird. Well, this time we have Johnny Depp reaching for a paycheque in this mystery feature the world’s greatest garden gnome detective in a sequel that manages to out bland the last one. Seriously, enough to make me almost fall asleep in a theater filled with energetic children.
The Happening – Aside from The Last Airbender, this is probably the lowest of the lows for M. Night Shyamalan, released ten years ago today. What the hell happened with this movie? Mark Wahlberg plays a high school science teacher in the midst of a worldwide phenomenon of everyone just deciding to off themselves and, oh boy, what a mistake. Wahlberg was even confused by the casting himself, only taking it because he wasn’t a cop or criminal. The film largely feels like Shyamalan trying to deliver a backhand to society for choking out the earth because, spoiler alert, the plants were killing us! In the end, it all just became a large joke directed right at the struggling writer and director.
Hollywood Homicide – Remember this one from fifteen years ago, the film made with two actors who couldn’t stand each other even for a moment? If anything, this is the only thing that this Ron Shelton buddy cop film will be thought of for. According to Josh Hartnett, he and Harrison Ford were so unhappy with each other’s presence that they would spend hours in awkward silence on set. This did not make the movie entertaining at all as we had a bland and formulaic story with stale leads that had zero charisma together and this is coming from a Ford fan. Heck, I’d watch Morning Glory over this garbage again. But not Crystal Skull. Never Crystal Skull.
Trading Places – The formulation of my comedy side definitely came from all the John Landis films I watched far before I really should have been able to, which I accredit to my aunt’s massive VHS collection and the lack of supervision over what I was picking. This Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy classic is one of the leading films in that childhood crash course of funny and it celebrates thirty-five years of existence this week. The product of a very mean-spirited bet between two vicious old rich men, the fish out of water aspect on both ends of our character’s spectrum is still so much fun to watch and Aykroyd in a Santa suit is still my go to Christmas profile picture. And yes, I fell in love with Jamie Lee Curtis and you can watch it over and over again like me with the anniversary Blu-ray!
Jurassic Park – Steven Spielberg birthed the blockbuster film with Jaws and continued to re-up that with franchise film after franchise film and twenty-five years ago this adaptation of the popular Michael Crichton book stomped its way onto the screen. This movie was everything to me and, at the time, it was the movie I had seen the most times in theaters by the end of its theatrical run. Running down the surface level of great things in this film I have some serious points. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) was and is the epitome of brainy cool, Sam Neill made everyone want to study dinosaurs, Ellie Sadler was a woman that was tough as nails and, I have to side with Tim here, no raptors in the kitchen. I know people are screaming “Genero eaten off the toilet! C’mon!” This is just a short list of awesomeness, there’s too much to include in a short write up!
The Last Days Of Disco – Twenty years ago today we saw the re-emergence of writer and director Whit Stillman almost five years after his well-reviewed film Barcelona with a movie that would seriously put him on the map. Interestingly enough, he would then disappear again for another hiatus, this time a thirteen year one. A film about two fresh out of college Manhattan book editors looking for love in all the wrong clubs, this film introduced me to the lovely Kate Beckinsale and opened my eyes to the range of Chloe Sevigny, who I knew from Larry Clark’s Kids. It’s interesting to note that Stillman was pressured by the studio to put top name actresses in this film like Winona Ryder but he stuck to his guns and made the film he wanted to. Take that as a lesson.
This Is The End – Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg made their directorial debut five years ago with this totally meta film about the end of the world. Basically, during a party at James Franco’s house, the rapture happens and holes to hell open up all over the world, killing a lot of the party’s guests, some in spectacular fashion. The remaining ones, including Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, Rogen and Franco, have to band together to survive in this hilarious film full of in-jokes and self-deprecation. This movie is pure fun, nothing more, nothing less. I can understand people having slight issues with it but you all knew what you were getting into, right?
Hereditary – It’s kind of a bit of a genre week so let’s kick it off with this hotly anticipated horror film that is shaking everyone to their core. The reviews are hugely favorable for writer and director Ari Aster’s debut in a film that he says isn’t a horror movie. If the trailer’s slight ambiguity doesn’t rope you in, the Academy Award-worthy performance from the long-loved Toni Collette should or the terrifying performance from young star Milly Shapiro really should do the trick. As far as original and ground-breaking chillers go, Hereditary is one of those rare films you do not want to sleep on.
Hotel Artemis – Were you like me when you were watching John Wick and thought “Man, I’d love to see a film dedicated to that assassin’s hotel”? Well, it seems that Iron Man 3 and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation writer Drew Pearce was listening because, in a way, this is exactly what we got with this stylish, multi-character action-thriller. The cast is big, featuring Jodie Foster, Dave Bautista, Jeff Goldblum and the red-hot This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown, in a story set in the near future about a criminal safe house and hospital run by Foster’s character, The Nurse. Expect great action and deep character nuances. Yes, this movie will have any action fan’s money.
Love, Simon – We are over the halfway mark in 2018 and there have been only a couple movies that have outright surprised me and this was one of them. Nick Robinson shows his star power in the titular role as a popular teen with the deep seated secret that he is gay. Directed by CW head honcho Greg Berlanti, this film plays with the warmth of a John Hughes classic infused with today’s sensibilities and whatever faults the story has, maybe with a bit of pacing issues and predictability, it is still able to overcome and totally nail a satisfying ending. This is a definite must see and hopefully the step to even bigger things for Robinson as well as his co-star, 13 Reasons Why’s Katherine Langford.
The Strangers: Prey At Night – When Bryan Bertino’s first film came out ten years ago, I was a massive fan of its minimalist style so I was definitely on board with this follow up. Instead of just focusing on a single house, this film has our trio of masked killers who murder for convenience stalking an entire remote trailer park. The film is a bigger scale than the previous installment, not by a lot, but the shift of filmmaking style is where is gains most of its appeal. 47 Meters Down filmmaker Johannes Roberts takes over the director’s chair and delivers a film that has the feel of an 80s slasher, complete with a full scene within the glow of a neon sign. The use of music also plays a great atmospheric role and you may never hear “Total Eclipse of the Heart” the same way again.
South Park: Season 21 and Jericho: The Complete Series – I don’t usually talk about television in these pieces but the good people at Paramount hooked me up with these great box sets and I feel pretty lucky. South Park’s home video packaging is still top notch and the best part is that Trey Parker and Matt Stone still do mini-commentaries on each episode. Hearing the motivations behind their biting satire is always interesting. On the topic of the post nuclear series Jericho, this Skeet Ulrich show was the first network property to be revived after cancelation due to fan support. Why did this happen?
This week on the show Steve talks with Drex about the all-woman spin-off Ocean’s 8, the big cast action flick Hotel Artemis, the highly anticipated horror film Hereditary and the “year in the life” documentary The Quest Of Alain Ducasse. On Blu-ray and On Demand Steve looks at the Ava DuVernay directed A Wrinkle In Time, The “wet fart” of action films this year Death Wish, the dark comedy crime thriller Gringo, a surprisingly great teen romance Every Day and the Disney re-release of the original Peter Pan animated film.
I kind of blew out all the anniversary films and throwbacks on my High Spots this week (check them out!) so I thought I’d throw you five flicks that just hit Netflix instead.
The Disaster Artist – The clout for this film was huge heading into the Golden Globes and after James Franco’s win and the sex abuse accusations it all went away. I hate to be the guy that says “that aside” but the film is still one of my favorites last year, a biopic about the friendship between two dreamers, Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero, and the batshit crazy “so bad it’s good” film The Room which would result from this collaboration. Both James and Dave Franco are incredible in their respective roles. To see James chameleon into the oddness of Wiseau is seriously something to behold.
Hail, Caesar! – For a Coen Brothers film, people sure forgot about this one really quick. A quirky little Hollywood behind the scenes story set in 1950s Hollywood, this movie had me in stitches with its brilliant script and reliable performances from Josh Brolin, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, as well as a breakout role from the now Han Solo actor Alden Ehrenreich. It also helps your eyes that it was shot by 2018 Academy Award winner Roger Deakins, the best way to sell a feature film.
Jarhead – A lot of people said that director Sam Mendes dropped the ball with this adaptation of Anthony Swofford’s book but I quite liked it and I even saw it in theaters. Was it because he followed American Beauty and Road To Perdition with this one, a slightly paler showing of Mendes ability? Maybe. The film shows the extreme boredom of war, with soldiers trained to kill then left to be driven mad in the hot desert of the Middle East. Jake Gyllenhaal commands this film in the lead but it’s Peter Sarsgaard who really brings the gravitas. Keeping with the Deakins theme, he did this one too.
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels – Guy Ritchie debuted with this film, a biting London Underground crime comedy about a group of friends down on their luck and looking for an easy score to get a crime boss off their backs. The smash cuts and the quick and snappy dialogue was what engaged us but it was the introductions of future stars like Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones that made this one a repeat view. I discovered this one way back on VHS and had it on an almost continuous loop. The pairing of Ritchie and producer Matthew Vaughn may be one of the best ever.
Nick And Nora’s Infinite Playlist – This one is partially for my wife who absolutely adores this film. The chemistry between the leads, Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, is so palpable and the two play to their strengths in a romance that doesn’t immediately go for the clichéd love jugular but instead lets the characters evolve over the course of the film. What results is moments that we may have seen in life or experienced all to a soundtrack featuring an eclectic mix that really does make a blissfully infinite playlist. Imagine that!
THE CONVO – Kelly Marie Tran, who played Rose Tico in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has deleted all her posts from Instagram. It’s because she suffered months of racist and sexist abuse. Tran is Vietnamese-American and is the first woman of colour to play a lead role in the Star Wars series.
Also this week: ABC is expected to decide in the coming days whether to create a spinoff of ‘Roseanne’, built on Sara Gilbert’s character, Darlene. Variety is reporting that executive producers have met with the president of ABC Entertainment to pitch the spinoff, and the indications are that John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf would be willing to take part in the proposed series.
THE FLICK – Ocean’s 8 – In a spin-off to the Ocean’s films, Danny Ocean’s sister Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City’s yearly Met Gala. The cast is big, featuring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Rihanna and Anne Hathaway, but can this film deliver as big as its predecessors?
THE BINGE – The Break with Michelle Wolf – Every week a brand new episode of this show drops and, now two episodes in, it’s trying to find its footing but it’s pretty shaky. What is a constant is that Michelle Wolf is charming, adorable and acerbically biting at all times. There is a reason she was asked to do the White House Correspondents dinner.
Action Point – It may be very telling of my age or, god forbid, my growing maturity but I think I’ve grown beyond my fanboying over Jackass, CKY and that ilk. Case in point is this new film headed by Johnny Knoxville, which looks like a mash-up of Meatballs and Adventureland, but aimed to bring in that exact crowd. The only other Jackass guy that features is “Wildboy” Chris Pontius and in a formulaic, paint by numbers film that only clocks in at less than an hour and twenty-five minutes. The crazy thing is this movie feels long! It also feels like it could have been a direct release to streaming services because let’s face it, the Workaholics film Game Over, Man was a lot funnier and got slaughtered by critics. This film barely got five laughs from me.
2 Fast 2 Furious – It was only a few short weeks ago that I was ripping on the sixth film in the Fast and Furious franchise for giving that faltering point before the whole house of cards started to shake for the second time. This John Singleton directed turd pretty much killed the want for any more of these films before the Tokyo Drift revival being that it really was that bad. No Vin Diesel and the addition of Ludacris and Tyrese started the tanking of this film and garishly neon CG pretty much finished it off for me. Did we really need to zoom through the engine every time we had a race? At the time the third film was announced in a bit to correct the course, I was surprised Universal was even shell out for it but given the studio decisions these days it kind of set a precedence in a way.
Black Cop – The tagging of Cory Bowles to the Canadian phenomenon television series Trailer Park Boys may pigeonhole the writer and director to a bit of low brow humor but once people get a whiff of this hard-hitting film all of that is sure to change. Black Cop is a film of fed up and frothing anger but one that is articulate enough to get its message across, losing nothing in its artful translation. Lead actor Ronnie Rowe Jr. plays a cop fed up with the treatment of his fellow black citizens by other police on his force and after listening to a brutally islamophobic rant by another officer, he is pushed too far. In a move slightly reminiscent of Michael Douglas in Falling Down, he decides to flip the treatment of the brutal treatment systemic in North America and employ those tactics on white people. This film is unflinching and will leave you slack-jawed and on the edge of your seat throughout. The narrative is split between the main action on screen and Rowe in a dark room breaking the fourth wall in almost a soliloquy style, delivering powerful commentary and statements, the final one absolutely shaking me to my core. Cory Bowles has an intense and well-formed bullet of knowledge delivered through the weapon of Ronnie Rowe’s acting. Go support this one now!
The Onion Movie – Ten years ago this week the best news satire of our time marched a movie out on DVD that no one saw and it’s really sad because the film is hilariously brilliant in the way that only the Onion could provide. Britney Spears parodies, Steven Seagal as the Cock Puncher and Len Cariou as your trusted anchor Norm Archer is a perfect baseline for a solid vignette film and it shouldn’t be any surprising that the director really isn’t the credited “James Kleiner”. In actuality it is Tom Kuntz and Mike Maguire, the guys behind all of your favorite Electric Six videos but nothing since which begs the question “where’s the sequel?” Maybe our real existence feels like satire nowadays.
Big – It’s been thirty years since Tom Hanks and Robert Loggia danced across that giant piano in F.A.O. Schwarz and that information makes me feel old as hell. For me, when this movie was released, it was a cautionary tale of taking your youth for granted. As a kid, Josh feels fed up with his limitations and wishes it all away. Then as adult Josh, the crushing defeat of reality, work, relationships and the stigma that age gives comes crashing down on his naïve head. Hell, his own mother chases him out of the house believing him to be a sort of child predator. I’m describing this Penny Marshall comedy very darkly but it obviously had a very profound effect on me. Beyond that, the movie ages beautifully and still has that warm center to it, which is the humanity that Marshall brings to all of her movies. Give this one another spin with the family, you won’t regret it.
The Truman Show – It took master filmmaker Peter Weir to show the world the acting ability within Jim Carrey with this film that will break your heart but, at the same time, absolutely elate you. This film hits the twenty-year milestone this week and I think it’s become even more relevant today and I’m surprised that we haven’t received a real network version of this movie. How well would a television series that followed a human being raised under a microscope do? I’m sure it would have the entire globe captivated but maybe the fact that this movie exists is the reason we don’t. Like Big is a cautionary tale about the fleetingness of youth, Truman Show feels one about worldwide voyeurism, almost like a human zoo exhibit. Jim Carrey perfectly executes a story of essentially becoming “woken” to the work around him and rather than being driven mad by the complexity of this revelation he seeks answers and escape. It’s really quite inspiring if you think about it and it kind of brings the Talking Heads song “Once Ina A Lifetime” into my head.
The Kings Of Summer – A handful of years ago I discovered this brilliant little coming of age film that totally blew my mind. Headed by a the young rising stars Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso and Moises Arias, the film depicted boys being boys in the ways that my friends and I did, creating their own reality within the depths of a forest, far away from any authority. This story was told artfully and beautifully by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, a filmmaker that quickly made it on to my favorites list and followed up big time with Kong: Skull Island but that’s a heap of praise for another article. What still amazes me is that this incredibly heartfelt script by Chris Galletta sat on the blacklist for four years before getting picked up. Seriously, find this one if you haven’t seen it.
This week Steve gives Drex thoughts on the new releases in theaters with Shailene Woodley lost at sea in Adrift, Johnny Knoxville checking the Jackass pulse in Action Point, Ethan Hawke delivers another Oscar-caliber performance in First Reformed, Saoirse Ronan stars in the period romance On Chesil Beach, Juliette Binoche looks for love in Let The Sunshine In and Trailer Park Boys star Cory Bowles shakes the system in his film Black Cop. Blu-Rays this week are the Alex Garland stunner Annihilation and the Jim Carrey produced I’m Dying Up Here’s first season.
Steve Stebbing 