After 413 days, I triumphantly returned to the movies!! Caught an early bird matinee of Nobody at the nearby Cinemark, and it felt so so good to be home. As expected and hoped, I walked outta there with the gears turning with all the things I wanted to write about after. But also, as expected, I’ve procrastinated and still feel a bit of the chore feeling now that I’m finally sitting in front of the screen. We’ll still continue to assess my feelings towards blogging, but first, Nobody!
Well let’s back it up a bit and set the scene. I’d been eyeing Spiral in a couple weeks as my first big must movie, but I wanted to ease into a new release. I’d been hearing more and more good things about Nobody (and not much other than it’s really good), so I figured something that was out for a few weeks was a good return back to the world.
Pulled up to the theater and walked in taking a million pictures to document my excitement. Minimal human contact throughout the event, just as I like it (even pre-Covid). I made sure to arrive early enough for trailers, to get the full experience. Before, I’d try to time my arrival to be as close to the actual film time as possible. Going 2-3x a week, I’d have seen every trailer a million times, but on this lovely Saturday I was blissfully outta the loop. Had only seen a couple of them, and gleefully added the others to my mental calendar for the next couple weeks.
No one else showed up until the credits were underway. There was a trio of older gentlemen who sat further back. They made me happy, cause I was just picturing a Grandpa’s day out of these guys catching an early action movie together. The dude who sat at the other end of my row made me less happy. I kept catching the light off his phone, and the first time I looked over, his mask was below his nose. I looked over later, and it was off completely. Ugh, people.
I, on the other hand, was double masked (tho fully vaxxed) throughout. I brought a water bottle, but didn’t touch it. At one point early on, I did feel my asthma acting up a bit from the hardcore face-wear, so I had to hit my inhaler (which hadn’t been used in a while and needed some extra sprays). I’m in the process of getting the script on my glasses redone, so thankfully I didn’t hafta worry about juggling those with the mask.
And the movie? Oh my God, I could not have picked a better one to return for. I knew absolutely nothing going in, other than Bob Odenkirk and some likely ass kicking, so I’ll keep the details out. The mystery of the story unfolding was a big part of the fun. Suffice it to say, that this is absolutely the type of movie I love. I was sitting there thinking that if I were to ever make a film, I’d want it to be just like this one. Another thought soon followed, which was that all those elements that I loved were the same ones my Daddy loved. So a movie that’s perfectly me is really perfectly him, and it was his love of this genre that was seemingly passed on genetically.
So what exactly were those elements? First off, the action sequences were EXACTLY how I like them. Gritty and dirty, all practical effects, no overly polished CGI. Our leading man, Bob Odenkirk, was very unlikely and unassuming, and most importantly, he took quite a few hits himself. Reminiscent of Statham in the Transporter days (minus the martial arts) before he had to count how many times he was punched in the face, lest he looked weak. Seriously, I was sitting there watching this thinking, oh my God am I actually feeling attraction for Saul Goodman? What world are we living in? But dang, Bob was killer in this role.
The other thing I loved was just the right level of dark humor woven throughout. Much of it ventured towards the absurd, but just enough to make you chuckle thru a WTF. I also muttered a lot of enthusiastic “Yes!!!”-es through my mask when the funny met the punchy. This film also gives us what may be my new favorite line of dialog ever. I won’t spoil it, but will just say it’s up there with “Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion”.
If I had to make a complaint, it’s that we spent a tad too long with the baddies. They were far less interesting and much more typical. As long as our boy Bob was on screen, I was enthralled. When he was gone, slightly less interest. Still, I’m awarding full marks because I so completely loved everything else. Such a great welcome back to the cinema. Please don’t ever let me take such a long hiatus again.
Nobody – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/