The cinematic world is in a desert of the surreal right now. You know… the strike(s)…? It’s impacting really everything in Hollywood right now. My hope(?!?) is that Hollywood crashes, and the Indie film exceptions allow for some really fantastic films from the more unknown echelons of the film community make it out and get way more visibility than they would have otherwise. But so far? It’s just been one big car crash up and down the entirety of the stack. So, we shall see.
2023.09.18 PAST LIVES
I don’t know anything about this movie. . . but it doesn’t matter. Because A24 is behind it. And therefore? It must be worth checking out. “Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.” Sort of sounds like Columbus? Or maybe, Before Sunrise? I’m intrigued.
2023.09.15 EL CONDE
“Pablo Larraín’s new film is a satire that portrays a universe in which Augusto Pinochet, a 250-year-old vampire who, tired of being remembered as a thief, decides to die.” This is going to be a complicated political science thriller, horror film with tons and tons of commentary on the horrific reign of Pinochet. Should be interesting.
2023.09.15 A HAUNTING IN VENICE
You already know if A Haunting in Venice is going to be your particular dish or not. The IP crafted from Agatha Christie’s novels with Kenneth Branagh as the famed detective Hercule Poirot is now immortal. (If you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, and now A Haunting in Venice.) This movie is based on Christie’s book of the same name set in post-World War II Venice on All Hallows’ Eve. Retired and living in exile, Poirot only reluctantly attends a séance where one of the guests is murdered. Because, of course, they are.
Previously on Spotlight Worth Mentioning:
BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES – Indie hilarity perfectly executed
TELEMARKETERS – gritty HBO detective take down of “non-profit” telemarketers
LOLA – Super Indie, “time travel” film during World War 2, must see!
THE BEAR S2 – such an epically great show… can’t recommend enough
APORIA – time travel (?) movie with a moral backbone, enjoyed!
TALK TO ME – an A24 Brilliant Horror flick. So good.
Coming Soon – Watch List:
2023.09.23 THE MACHINE
2023.09.23 NO ONE WILL SAVE YOU
2023.09.23 DUMB MONEY
2023.09.23 THE CREATOR
2023.09.26 SAVIOR COMPLEX
2023.09.28 TOTALLY KILLER
2023.09.29 REPTILE
2023.09.?? FINGERNAILS
2023.10.06 REPTILE
2023.10.10 DREAM SCENARIO
2023.10.12 THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER
2023.10.13 FAIR PLAY
2023.10.27 PAIN HUSTLERS
2023.10.27 PRISCILLA
2023.10.27 THE KILLER
2023.11.01 WINGWOMEN
2023.11.02 ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
2023.11.22 MAESTRO
2023.11.22 SQUID GAME: THE CHALLENGE
2023.11.23 NANNY
2023.12.08 EILEEN (Sometimes I think about dying)
2023.12.22 REBEL MOON
2023.?.? THE OLD GUARD 2
2023.?.? TRUE DETECTIVE: NIGHT COUNTRY
2024.01.24 THE END WE START FROM
2024.01.?? 3 BODY PROBLEM
2024.3.14 DUNE: PART TWO
Unknown SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING
Unknown POOR THINGS (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Unknown THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Unknown KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Unknown YELLOWSTONE (End of season 5??)