Hi friends! I hope you are doing well and all having a nice summer. It has been a busy time for me but a lot of exciting things happening in the worlds of both film and theatre.
The biggest news is I have been able to fill in for the amazing Steve Salles over at the KSL’s The Movie Show. I have long been a fan of this show and even called in when I was in college so to be a co-host is surreal. Each time I’ve been on the show has been a great learning experience as live radio is not exactly the same as podcasting. I’m not sure how many weeks I’ll be on the show but it will be at least 2 more Fridays (tune in Friday mornings here)
Make sure you are following me on instagram as I do out of theater reactions for all film and theatre I see. Here’s some quick thoughts on everything I’ve been watching
Superman-
I am hoping I will have time for a full review of the new Superman film because I really did enjoy it but I’ve covered it in lots of other ways. I did a fun episode of Hallmarkies Podcast on it and the 1978 Superman: The Movie where we focused on the romance in both movies.
I think what I liked the most about this movie is the humanity it brings to Superman. I know he is an alien but James Gunn has made a character that’s vulnerable and sweet. I liked him so much that it made up for any small flaws the film may have had. He and Rachel Brosnahan have terrific chemistry and I didn’t mind that they skipped over the origin story elements which I often find quite dull.
More thoughts- Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight is a film about the Zimbabwean War told from the perspective of a little girl. It is beautifully made and the little girl is good but I don’t think it balances tone well making the brutal scenes extra shocking.
I watched the original I Know What You Did Last Summer to be ready for the remake since I was covering it for the show. The original movie is a lot of fun and captures the sense of anxiety and panic well particularly in Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Helen character (a great scene when she is being chased through town.) The new movie isn’t as good but I found it to be a serviceable slasher with a likeable cast and some grisly kills. Not great but decent for the genre fans.
I also saw Eddington, which is my first film by director Ari Aster. This is a very uneven film that can’t decide what it is trying to say which is strange for a movie that takes on such partisan political topics. I was mixed on it but do recommend watching it because it makes odd choices one wants to talk about with friends.
I saw an indie called Magnetosphere about a girl with synesthesia. One of my favorite movies last year was Musica which is about an adult with synesthesia. While this isn’t as good they both use creative ways to show the heightened senses of the characters and are overall a lot of fun.
Some other releases are the indie comedy Oh, Hi tries to be a romantic spin on Misery and it really didn’t work for me. The behavior of the lead female is sociopathic but the movie treats her actions as normal with other people helping her. It’s ludicrous and definitely not funny.
Fixed is an absolutely dreadful adult animated film with only one joke about horny dogs for 86 minutes. Zombies 4 is an absurd entry in the long-running series for Disney Channel but likeable in a bonkers ridiculous way. Shoshana is a moving love story at the time of the founding of Israel. Finally, Win or Lose is a sweet and underrated series from Pixar.
There you have it! What have you been watching?
I loved Superman, but I did wish that not necessarily it had more of the origin story, but I wish it took place before Lois knows of Clark’s identity as Superman.