September 25, 2020
As we enter the home stretch of September, I find myself posting this week’s blog on my daughter’s 18th birthday, which means this year will be her first voting experience. The funny thing is that my son’s first voting experience was in 2016. Memorable for both of them for sure. Speaking of politics (as it’s hard to get away from the topic), this past week saw another milestone with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My wife and I took the opportunity to watch the 2018 film about her early days as an attorney, On the Basis of Sex, starring Felicity Jones as Ginsburg and Armie Hammer as her husband. I somehow missed this film when it came out, but saw a lot of social media traffic after Ginsburg’s passing and we decided to check it out. It was a very good film, and quite inspirational for what she accomplished in her career. Maybe this will start a new trend of “Topical Movie Recommendation of the Week.” We’ll see.
If you are a regular reader, you may have noticed that I have been sticking to movies for the last several weeks and that’s simply because I don’t have the (mental) energy to tackle the controversial topics in the world. It’s too exhausting just to stay ahead of what is going on, trying to find the balance between staying informed and not getting overwhelmed with what feels like desperate times in this country, let alone write about them. I’ve written it before – there are far more important issues in the world than movies, box office reports, and the Oscars race. But, for several decades, we’ve used movies as an escape – a way to forget about our problems for a few hours and take a journey with a story and characters that bring about emotions, make us think, laugh, cry, scream in terror, or just let us zone out and be entertained. So, for the time being, think of this blog as another form of escape.
We’re previewing the fall movie season and we’ve got some more titles that look very intriguing. I mentioned last week that I think there will continue to be films pushed into 2021 or moved directly to streaming or on demand. After the lukewarm performance of Tenet (despite a ticket purchased by me – more on that later), studios would rather wait until they can get a robust crowd, especially when it comes to big blockbusters that need to earn a strong box office. We saw further evidence of this trend this week when Disney moved its next Marvel movie, Black Widow, and the Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story to next year. After this action, now there are no big movies scheduled to be released in theaters between now and the end of November, when the next James Bond film, No Time to Die, is scheduled for release. I suspect that one will be the next big domino to fall. So, we’re likely to see the best of the best on streaming services and video on demand for the foreseeable future. The long-term impact on theaters will be a big question, as there may not be enough foot traffic in theaters to justify staying open. While it may mean some tentpole films continue to move, we will still have some strong quality films to see.
If you missed part one of this preview, you can read it here. Let’s move on to part two.
Fool Me Twice? – Death on the Nile
When I started the comfort movie series, the first film I wrote about was Murder on the Orient Express, the 1974 adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel of the same name. That film is one of my all-time favorites and I noted in that blog that I really didn’t like the remake directed by (and starring) Kenneth Branagh in 2017. Well, Branagh is back again as detective Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile, another Christie adaptation. This one features another all-star cast, including Annette Benning, Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, and Russell Brand, to name a few. I am a sucker for a good mystery, but I go into this one with some apprehension for two reasons: 1) Branagh has a strike against him for his last attempt at Poirot and 2) the 1978 film adaptation of this novel (with legendary Peter Ustinov as Poirot, a role he played to perfection) was excellent. It featured some acting legends – Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, David Niven, Mia Farrow, and Jack Warden. What’s the punchline? Don’t be surprised if my year-in-review series recommends seeing the original, instead of the remake, but I’m willing to give the new one a shot. One other funny note about this film. In my original write up earlier this week, I wrote “Death on the Nile premieres in theaters (for now) on October 23rd.” It turns out Disney just moved this release and now it will be released on December 18th. This one is interesting in that the film was originally developed by 20th Century Fox, the film studio that was subsequently purchased by Disney. So, while you wouldn’t consider an Agatha Christie film to be a Disney movie, it is technically a Disney asset. What I find interesting is what Disney will do if theaters are still in trouble in December. It’s not the kind of film you’d expect to find on Disney+. Maybe they sell it to another streaming service? Maybe they push it to 2021? Probably, because 2020 is the year when we can’t have nice things. OK, moving on….
The Psychological Thriller – Rebecca
Normally, remaking an Alfred Hitchcock movie would be considered sacrilegious. It’s been done, of course, but it’s hard to come close to the master of suspense. The source material for Rebecca is actually a 1938 novel that Hitchcock turned into an Oscar-winning Best Picture in 1940. The film is considered one of the all-time greats, setting standards for technical filmmaking for its time. This year’s version is directed by British filmmaker Ben Wheatley who is describing this version as a new adaptation of the novel, not a remake of the Hitchcock film. I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make, but Wheatley is an admired director of psychological thrillers and this one looks good. It stars Lily James and Armie Hammer as a newly married couple. The wife starts to unravel when she realizes that her husband is still devoted to his first wife (the titular Rebecca), who died under mysterious circumstances before the events of the film. The mystery revolves around the relationship of the couple and their housekeeper (played by Kristin Scott-Thomas), who also shared a fondness for the first wife. Rebecca premieres on Netflix on October 21st.
Marriage on the Rocks – The Nest – 9/18
Continuing with the thriller theme about a troubled marriage, comes The Nest, starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon as a couple who move to London when her husband embarks on a new business deal. His wife goes reluctantly and starts to see through his lies and BS after they take up residence in a country manor. I’m not sure what to make of this one yet, but the trailer looks very good, early reviews have been positive and I know that when Jude Law has a quality film (like The Talented Mr. Ripley), he is excellent, and Carrie Coon is one of the best underrated actresses out there. If you haven’t watched The Leftovers on HBO, I highly recommend that series. The Nest premiered in select theaters on September 18th and is scheduled for video on demand release on November 17th.
For the Action Fan – Ava
I don’t know a lot about the plot of this one, but I’ll likely give it a shot at one point, knowing that the lead of the film is Jessica Chastain. She plays an assassin working for a black ops government agency, who goes on the run when one of her missions goes wrong. This one could be formulaic, but Chastain is usually very good in her films, so we’ll see. Ava premiered in theaters and on demand on September 25th.
For the Horror Fan – Run
I was trying to find a good horror film to include in this list and my first choice was Antebellum, a creepy-looking film starring the very talented Janelle Monae (Hidden Figures, Moonlight and Harriet). It concerns a woman in the present day who is somehow trapped on a slave plantation in the 19th century. I don’t fully understand the premise, but the trailer looked interesting and I was reading about vibes consistent with Get Out, the excellent 2017 Jordan Peele thriller. Antebellum premiered on video on demand last week and was very successful (in terms of rentals, despite the $20 premium price), but the reviews have been awful, citing the wasted potential of the storyline and strong leading actress. So, we’re going to skip that one and recommend Run, a thriller with the always impressive Sarah Paulson. She plays the mother of a girl in a wheelchair, who suspects that her mother may be hiding a dark sinister secret. The trailer looks pretty creepy, so I’ll be adding this one to my list. Run premieres on Hulu on November 20th.
The Quirky Family Comedy-Drama – Kajillionaire
Family drama can occur everywhere, even within a family of small-time criminals. Evan Rachel Wood (star of the HBO series Westworld) leads the cast of Kajillionaire as the daughter of two con-artist parents, who is conflicted when they invite a stranger to join them for their next heist. The parents are played by Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger and the newcomer is played by Gina Rodriguez. This one looks pretty good, but I did see one description as kooky and unique, so it may not be for everyone. Kajillionaire opened in theaters on September 25th and will be available on demand on October 16th.
The New Oscar Frontrunner – Nomadland
Two-time Best Actress winner Frances McDormand stars as a woman in her sixties who embarks on a journey of the American West after losing her job in the great recession. Along the way, she lives her life out of her van, adopting the life of a nomad. Directed by Chloe Zhao, the film features a cast made up mostly of non-actors who live the nomad lifestyle. Nomadland recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Described as a “powerful character study,” it became the first film to win the “Best Picture” equivalent prize at both festivals. It is also scheduled to screen at the New York Film Festival and the Hamptons International Film Festival. Critical reviews for this film have been very strong, putting it in the driver’s seat for Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. Interesting note: If McDormand were to win, she would join Katharine Hepburn as the only woman to win more than two Oscars for Best Actress (Hepburn won four). Nomadland is scheduled to premiere in theaters on December 4th. Given the uncertainty around theaters staying open, and films keeping their release dates, I wouldn’t be surprised if this goes quickly to video on demand, so it could be seen by a wider audience more quickly. At the upcoming Hamptons International Film Festival (October 9th – 14th), Nomadland is one of a number of films available to rent via virtual cinema. Tickets go on sale on September 28th at https://hamptonsfilmfest.org/. Other promising films playing at HIFF include The Father (with Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman), One Night in Miami (the directorial debut of Regina King) and Sundance favorites Minari and The Climb. It’s great that film festivals are making their product available to wider audiences given limitations on theater offerings.
As I mentioned last week, if you have interest in learning more about any of these films, or checking out the trailers, I recommend imdb.com.
This Week’s Moment of Normalcy?
OK, maybe not complete normalcy, but for the first time in seven months, I found myself back in a movie theater, when I ventured out to see Tenet, the new Christopher Nolan film. Before you think that I was a reckless idiot, a few caveats. I live in a low-risk area of a low-risk state, with strong mask compliance (thank goodness – what is so hard about this? Never mind.) I found a showing at a local theater at 11:00 on a weekday and I was able to purchase my ticket online. In doing so, I noticed that there were no other tickets purchased, which means I literally had the theater to myself. I interacted with one person who scanned the ticket on my phone, then made my way to the theater where I kept my mask on the whole time. The experience was a little strange at first, but I got used to it quickly. It was fun to be back in a theater again to experience a film that was meant to be seen on the big screen, with tremendous visuals and sound. Like most of Nolan’s films, the plot is tricky to follow, but the effects were amazing, and the performances of the lead actors were excellent. I expect a lot of you will not be making your way to a theater anytime soon, so put this one on your list for when it comes to a streaming service down the road.
That’s it for this week. I’ll be back for part three next week where we will preview films featuring some of the biggest names in front of and behind the camera, including Aaron Sorkin, Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Sofia Coppola, Bill Murray, Ron Howard, Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Daniel Craig (maybe) and the master himself, David Fincher (definitely).
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Jeff and I saw RBG movie a few months ago and really liked it too. Thanks for this weeks list of movies!!!