weekend watchlist: rethinking monsters (of the sea) and munchkins (aka kids)
Plus teenaged gymnasts, confused cops, and more. (First published July 29th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Silent Night movie review: house party at the end of the world
Apocalyptically sorta-satirical, bone-deep terrifying slap in the face that humanity has properly earned. Formidable, intense… and funny, in a very dry way that is nevertheless difficult to laugh at.
She Dies Tomorrow movie review: when it feels like we all die tomorrow
Filmmaker Amy Seimetz evokes a taut, cursed mundanity, an allegorical contemplation of culture at its most basic level: when it fails and everyone is hopeless. Accidentally hits our pandemic mood.
Hustlers movie review: with hearts of steel
GoodFellas, except they’re gals. A cinematic bonbon of delinquent deliciousness that easily wraps us up in charmed complicity. And the exquisite lack of a male gaze means it’s never salacious.
These Final Hours movie review: armageddon a hint of emotion
It’s the end of the world. Finally, a legitimate reason for a man to experience emotion. We’ve seen this all before… except not quite so ridiculous.
Ted (review)
“I need a man, not a little boy with a teddy bear.” This is a shocking thing to hear in a piece of American pop culture in the early 21st century…
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World movie review: deep impact
The heightened emotions and outrageous urgency of rom-coms are actually appropriate here. All the absurdities that define the genre — not accidentally but deliberately — suddenly work in its favor.
4:44 Last Day on Earth (trailer)
I’m gonna go out on a limb and predict that this one will be less fun than Seeking a Friend for the End of the World…
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (trailer)
It’s the end-of-the-world disaster movie as a romantic comedy. Already it’s funnier than Melancholia…
