#30: Parasite (Gisaengchung)

The best plan is no plan at all.

The return of Bong Joon-Ho! At least to Western Audiences like myself. There could very well be other films between "Okja" and this I have not heard of.

I enjoyed "Snowpiercer" but thought "Okja" left something to be desired. But a story about the poor infiltrating the lives of the rich? I love to see it.

It gets a little batshit at the top of the hour before lurking a bit more into "Oh boy, we have to deal with this now." After the Kim family is tangled up with the former housekeeper, who was also hiding secrets under her employer's nose.

You get a serious feel for everyone's personality despite it being a cool 2 hours long with multiple characters, though of course, some get more attention than others.

You notice that Mrs. Park is continually using the family for more and more things she really should hire some handymen to do instead of a lone older woman.  The Park family grows into the obliviousness that many rich people take akin to a drug after being relatively reasonable in the first half.

It's only batshit insane if you've never seen a South Korean movie before, but it's still pretty insane and well worth the watch.

Admire the layers of acting everyone in the Kim family had, I especially admire Park So-Dam as Kim Ki-jung.

This must be a shoe-in for Best International Film.

Trailer Monday: Or, "The Author is recalled As Saying 'Thank God, Those Are My Boys!' " Edition

The long-awaited second trailer to THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and the somewhat-long-awaited by me and another 6 people trailer to BLOODSHOT.

SPIDER-VERSE: What Makes Animation Feel Human?

#29: Little Monsters (2019)

Out of this fall/winter's film (and semi-film) lineup of faves, I had completely forgotten about this one. Of course, I had no idea if it would get a US release.

The hilarity comes from the absurdity of the situation, from usually-child-friendly Josh Gad swearing and mentions of sex addiction to  "There are little kids in the middle of a zombie outbreak".

Which is a great idea, but the wee mites are set dressing for something more interesting that never comes. Much of the movie is situated in one area, there are typical story and character beats.

No one is terrible, the script is underwhelming. I am super interested to know why Lupita Nyong'o picked this project in particular. It's a nice change from her even if it doesn't go all of the way.

I wish it had been a little longer and a little more serious, but it's nice.

Though, there is nothing more on brand at having the US military go into a foriegn land and attempt to kill children.

Movie News Roundup: Into The Tom Hollandverse

I like Tom Holland. While he's not my first choice for white British male actor to stan, he is a firm #2 and seems like a good kid.

Friday, September 27th, was probably a very exciting day for this young man.

First, and possibly least exciting, there was a new trailer for the long-awaited Blue Sky Studios feature SPIES IN DISGUISE.

'Disguise'....'The skies'...get it?

Super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is … not. But when events take an unexpected turn, this unlikely duo are forced to team up for the ultimate mission that will require an almost impossible disguise – transforming Lance into the brave, fierce, majestic… pigeon. Walter and Lance suddenly have to work as a team, or the whole world is in peril. “Spies in Disguise” flies into theaters this Christmas.

It's not something I kept a close eye on, but it seems fine. Will it be the late-year animated stunner like last year's INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE? Probably not. I do like those music choices!

#28: Ad Astra

What was the last Brad Pitt movie I saw?
Probably "12 Years A Slave" in 2013. But my god, I was not going to miss the opportunity to miss a space movie on the big screen.

 Especially one with Ruth Negga! What was the last movie with her I saw? Probably "Warcraft".

Ooh.

Last year, I caught "2001: A Space Odyssey" In IMAX by myself and it was glorious. This is no "2001", of course, but that doesn't mean it's not good!

It's just a little...unemotional? Extremely conventional?

Despite having such a strong storyline that's purely set up to be emotional. Then again, this is a culture where men are just now being re-allowed to air their feelings out in nonviolent ways, so maybe this will be the film to encourage them to do that. Hell, one of Roy's (The lead, Brad Pitt) big hang ups is that he's so great and accomplished and so much like his father but can't connect to people or, basically, function as a human being, not out of arrogance, but out of deep-seated issues. He's even trained himself with a mantra to not be emotional.

That sounds like a mighty big portion of our population, huh. Except that bit of the population usually leans heavily on the arrogance.

The film looks gorgeous, but it's 2019. That doesn't mean shit anymore. It's the cinematography choices that really stand out, that and the score.

It's such a loaded year on the award front that I think this will even fall flat with Academy voters outside of (well deserved) technicals. Though the sound mixing at points was pretty one-sided toward the ambience and not towards the dialogue.

Spoilers follow.

Regal And Cinemark To Play Even More Commercials Before Movie Starts