Hello everybody! Happy COWBOY CARTER day to all who celebrate. It’s the end of the month, and the end of my temporary hiatus! Because of how many movies I’ve watched since the last traditional check-in, I was gonna a quick run-down of the new movies I’ve seen so far, and wrap up with the biggest movie of 2024 so far.
Tenet (2020, In Theaters) - Technically not a new release, but I saw this in theaters finally and had a blast watching it. Honestly, works way better when you can barely hear the dialogue, because it doesn’t really matter to begin with.
Drive-Away Dolls (2024, In Theaters) - I wish I liked this more than I did, but somehow, this 84 minute movie feels way longer than it should, and it’s due in large part to the extremely slow transitions between scenes. The longer the movie goes, the more they end up making sense within the plot of the movie, but it’s a slow burn to get there.
Problemista (2024, In Theaters) - So glad to finally see this released after such a long delay due in part to the dual actor and writer strikes of 2023. Has all the humor you would expect from a Julio Torres project, given that he was the writer of the iconic “Wells for Boys” and “The Actress” sketches for SNL, and Tilda Swinton adapts perfectly to his sense of humor, and delivers his dialogue extremely well.
Love Lies Bleeding (2024, In Theaters) - A very stylish movie that feels a little lacking in terms of substance. Decent performances from Katy O’Brien and Kristin Stewart, but the real standout here is Ed Harris who is terrifying in just the right way.
The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024, In Theaters) - Probably the most disappointing movie of the year so far, that wastes both its concept, and the incredible chemistry of the cast. I’ve seen an unfortunate trend of movies pitching themselves on satires, while only having half an idea on how to execute them, and then forgetting to write any jokes. Hopefully, we start letting some of these movies cook for a little longer.
Immaculate (2024, In Theaters) - The Sydney Sweeney religious horror film that she felt the need to come back to after gaining some clout in the industry is, at the end of the day, ultimately just fine. To it’s credit, it does have some extremely disgusting gore in it, and Sweeney delivers a decent performance, but it’s nothing I would ever rush to revisit or recommend.
Shirley (2024, Netflix) - A totally serviceable biopic about Shirley Chisholm that is lucky to have the performance it does from Regina King. Definitely better than some of the other biopics we’ve gotten as of late, but like most of these movies, it kind of looks terrible.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024, In Theaters) - Slightly better than Ghostbusters: Afterlife, but also gives 3 of the 4 top billed actors absolutely nothing to do for 90% of the runtime. I think it might be time to move on from this franchise (which will never happen), at least until someone with a somewhat fresh take wants to take a shot at it.
Late Night With The Devil (2024, In Theaters) - Beyond the extremely unfortunate use of AI in the creation of art pieces used in the movie, it’s also just kind of boring for too much of its runtime, and any fresh idea it has comes in too late. David Dastmalchian gives a decent performance, at least.
Dune: Part Two (2024, In Theaters)
I, personally, was not the biggest fan of Denis Villeneuve’s most recent adaptation of Dune, which felt way too much like homework to watch thanks to all of the plot exposition the movie throws at you. I did give it a rewatch in preparation for Dune: Part Two, so I could refresh myself on everything, and while it worked better for me, I still wasn’t too into it. All this to say, I wasn’t really looking forward to this film with all of those factors at play, but I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy Dune: Part Two quite a bit.
It became clear while watching this movie that the massive plot dump in the first movie with minimal action was extremely purposeful, as it all worked to allow this movie to work much smoother, and focus its story a bit more on the unfortunately rise of Paul to become the power-hungry savior, pushed along by his mother (played by Rebecca Ferguson, who freaks it) and constantly propped up by Javier Bardem (who also freaks it). I think Timothee Chalamet is much better in this movie than the last, but my personal standout would be Zendaya, who gives a great performance as Chani, who simultaneously loves Paul, and hates what he becomes as the movie progresses.
All that being said… I think I have to accept that while I can see that the Dune novels are clearly extremely influential in their own way, I don’t think I ultimately care much for all the lore of the Dune universe. I’ll definitely still check in for Dune: Messiah if Denis ends up making that film, at this point, just so I can see him close out the trilogy he wanted to make.
That’s all I have for this week! We’re getting back to our normal schedule, so I will be back in two weeks on April 12th to talk more movies! Until then, you all can find me, as usual, on Twitter and Letterboxd. I will see you all then!