Wednesday's Interesting Things
The fear of Weapons both in the movie and out.
A few years back a small horror movie opened with little fanfare but then made its mark with it’s car crash swerve in the middle of it. Barbarian started as a creepy Air BnB slow burn and then yanked the audience in a different direction completely, proving that with a little faith and commitment, the horror genre can still surprise. The genre is one of the few left where creators and directors are allowed to take risks and while of course not all of them deliver (I’m looking at you LongLegs), the ones that do both reward and get rewarded.
This is why I’m looking forward to Zach Cregger’s second effort Weapons.
Not much is known about it aside from a elementary school classroom’s students don’t show up to school one day - and evidence all points to them willingly leaving their houses the night before.
Moderately creepy, until you see how they left, which only amps up the weird and freak…
Kids in danger as a horror movie plot can be tricky; make it too real and no parent is going to want to fictionally live a real fear that gnaws through them on a daily basis. Throw a school in there, and the tension only gurgles in the throat more for moms and dads, as real life is a horror movie and to be reminded of it through an exaggeration of these fears we face is not something a lot of would call “enjoyable.” So I hope Creggers knows what he’s doing and can balance these emotions appropriately because he has me cautiously intrigued.
A Real Life Ocean’s 11 By Way of Guy Ritchie
The Diamond Heist slipped through my five hole. A true story of a London diamond heist told by the people who tried it, produced by Guy Ritchie, I’m a little shocked Netflix didn’t personally text me to tell me it was coming. But such is life. If you’re looking for a cool, produced to the gills crime story that’s apparently true, this looks to be your thing:
“Eight magicians against a worldwide criminal network…”
There’s nothing I can say that will top the above quote, which is uttered in the trailer for the Now You See Me threequel, a movie series that I’ve never seen one second of, but must be successful enough to have two sequels. And I appreciate that it leans into the absurdity, rather than attempt any sort of grounding reality of superspy magicians…
In Werner Herzog News
I think the only thing that would shock me these days about Werner Herzog is if I heard he was like filming an episode of Abbott Elementary or something… and even then, it really wouldn’t be that shocking as the man does as he pleases and seeks out things us normies can’t even comprehend. His latest project Bucking Fastards, is a goofy as its title and yes, he has a typical Werner Herzog quote to explain not just the why of the movie, but the Werner Herzogness of the movie.
And finally, let’s take a moment and contemplate our cosmic insignificance. The philosophical moment could probably help us all, if you know philosophy wasn’t currently illegal to think about.