Friday's Interesting Things
The Cynical Train is making a stop this weekend at the box office
What a weekend we have at the movies…
First up is the Smurfs, and I wonder if when brainstorming titles for this, someone at least threw out Cynical, Capitalistic Money Grab.
Filled with smurf puns (well, not even puns, just replacing verbs with the word “smurf,” which somehow is a lower form of humor than puns) and sloppy plot points (which is saying something because it’s not like any smurf properties are Dickensian in any way) I can’t tell if “new music from Rihanna” will get this over the top into box office profit or not. Of course it’s not targeted at me so in the end, nothing really matters and yet… I still take offense to this movie’s existence.
And yet, the cynicism train continues to roll on, because you have the sequel/reboot mishmash of I Know What You Did Last Summer, blending together old and new casts in an effort to get old and new audiences into the theater. Tell me, what new twist/thing could this movie possibly be offering as anything different from the original?
And finally, maybe the most cynical(?) if not in marketing, then surely in content, we have Ari Aster’s Eddington. I’ve talked about this one in the past and it’s one of those where the reviews are all over the place, suggesting it’s at least worth watching. I dunno… a movie set during the height of COVID feels like it could reach peak cynical heights, attempting to capture not just the absurdity of reactions from both sides of the aisle, but also the absurdity of politicizing a global pandemic that killed millions…
So, What Else?
I won’t judge you (too much) if you choose to go see Kevin James’ Guns Up in the theater. I wrote about it here and I refuse to give it more thought. But there is something else that, while will most assuredly fall into forgottenous in the summer movie superhero showdown and hunts for big bank, feels a little different…
When I read the short description for No Sleep Til I had two thoughts… it was a cheaply produced horror, and I wished it was a Beastie Boys project. When I watched the trailer, I realized it was neither…
Whether it’s good or not is almost beside the point, because it feels a little bit different; not a big time money run, yet not a pretentious, look at me indie. As I said, I think this will slip into the dark obscurity of Kanopy streaming in six months or so but if you’re looking to cleanse your palate of the normie stuff shoved down our throats constantly, this could be a good place to start.
What Else, Else
So yeah… maybe the movie theater isn’t going to be your thing this weekend. Let’s see what TV is getting after…
Not really a fan of Billy Joel’s music but I can’t deny his imprint on society or really how he’s lived his life, from what little I know about that. But then here comes this documentary and so…
Before Mark Ruffalo there was Hulk Eric Bana, and then poof, he kinda disappeared. Or at least his Q score took a tumble. But here he is, back in the saddle for Netflix in a limited series titled Untamed. (Quick aside: I did get a chuckle when “From a writer of American Primeval and The Revenant came up on screen. “A writer?” Can’t even just used the persons name and THEN list the credentials? Our society is quietly dissolving.)
I can’t imagine this is going to be particularly original or special, but it looks to have been at least shot on location some at Yosemite National Park and Sam Neil’s in it so…