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I’m two planned movies away from the end of the month, but I’ve got time now soooooo. Not the best month for new releases, between awards season focus and pandemic shuffling. BUT the fun theaters are picking up the slack with great classic screenings. Also, my Alamo Season Pass is reinstated, so I intend to use that whenever I can.

Licorice Pizza – I adore the first half of PTA’s filmography (thru There Will Be Blood) but I haven’t cared for anything that came after. This was prolly the one I most enjoyed outta the back half. It still doesn’t rival anything from the first half, had some very problematic things going on, and it may have lost my interest partway thru, but I still prefer it over the others. The kids were great, and I can’t get over how much of PSH I saw in his kid’s face.

The 355 – Love everything about this cast, but the whole thing was kinda basic. Predictable turns in a fairly standard plot. Some cool sequences, but I’d like to put those and these ladies in a better film.

Shampoo – The first movie I used my Alamo season pass on was this Warren Beatty classic. It was not for me at all. It’s super dated and I just did not care about his character at all. He had no redeeming qualities for me. Goldie Hawn, however, is an absolute goddess and I was delighted whenever she had screentime. It was also the first time I watched a young Goldie and saw Kate Hudson.

Scream (2022) – This has been the (only) movie to talk about these days, so when asked my opinion, my response is thus. What sets the Scream movies apart in the horror world is the meta aspect. This movie expertly continues that tradition. The “re-quel” speech is my favorite part of it and pretty good representation of the film as a whole

Boogie Nights – Yes this is firmly in the top half of PTA’s filmography, and I forgot just how good it is. Or how funny it is. Such a treat to see it on the big screen at Alamo.

The Goonies – I know I must have gushed over this movie many times, so I’ll spare you that. I did get to see it as a Movie Party at Alamo, which was so much fun. They gave us a bunch of props including a bag of plastic jewels and a tiny Baby Ruth. Much fun was had. Never say die.

Magnolia – Okay so lots of theaters have been diving into PTA’s back catalog bc of Licorice Pizza and the lack of current films. This one was at the New Bev. Twenty years ago, Magnolia changed the way I look at movies and it was so majestic on the big screen. I can’t get over how much I love every frame of this. And with that, I think Punch Drunk Love is now the only PTA I have not seen on the big screen.

I’m not gonna bother to check the correct punctuation on that title.

Skipping ahead of a couple of movies that will get quick posts later because this one left me with some thoughts. Or really, more just experiential anecdotes that I can easily fill a post with.

I was in NYC this past weekend, seeing the BFFF for the first time in (according to Google) 845 days. Really, all I wanted to do was hang with the bestie. The only show I bought tix for was Moulin Rouge. Otherwise, the weekend was pretty open. A few weeks ago, I saw Lin-Manuel Miranda tweet that the marquee at the Paris theater had been updated to include his directorial debut Tick Tick Boom. A movie musical with a very limited theatrical run at an iconic NYC theater that I would love to check out and the opportunity to watch it with my even more of a theatre geek best friend? Yes please. So I jumped on those tix as soon as they went on sale.

It ended up being the perfect end to a wonderful weekend. After Moulin Rouge, we sang showtunes while knocking back G&T’s at NYC institution Marie’s Crisis. Saturday we walked thru all five floors of Moma in between other bits of running around the city. So by Sunday, a nice brunch at a diner and a chill movie was just what the doctor ordered.

Oh and a quick word on the Paris theater. It’s an old classic, single auditorium theater in NYC (I believe the last single auditorium standing, but I’m too lazy to confirm). Recently Netflix entered in an agreement with them to help keep the theater open that will give them a steady venue to exhibit their films. We might be getting something similar in LA with the Egyptian.

Right so Tick Tick Boom is by and about Jonathan Larson, the man who wrote the musical phenomenon RENT. Originally a three person stage musical, the story follows his attempt to get his first musical produced and the affects it has on him and his relationships. In other words, it’s basically a musical for people who love musicals. And this movie was produced by people who love musicals. It all shows through beautifully. There’s also some of the best Broadway Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the film if you know to look for them, or I should say if you know who to look for.

I knew even less about the musical going in than what I wrote in that previous paragraph (of course I know Rent well). I absolutely loved every frame of it. The music was gorgeous (which I downloaded at 1 AM the next morning when I was home in LA and getting a jump on some Black Friday sales before going to bed). Perfect casting. I loved Andrew Garfield, and thought his voice sounded so great. The bestie pointed out that Larson wasn’t really much of a singer so it made sense to have a lead who also wasn’t a formally trained singer. Happy to see original American Idiot Favorite Son Joshua Henry in the film, as well as Vanessa Hudgens who has been really working her way up in the musical space.

I could not have chosen a more perfect venue for this film. The Paris is not too far from the Broadway theaters the characters are aspiring towards, so of course the auditorium was filled with theater people. There were countless moments were applause broke out, making this much more magical than it would have been watching on Netflix (though I may likely rewatch it there soon). Towards the end of the film (I initially typed “show”) there was a gorgeous song about friendship. The bestie put his arm around me and pulled me close saying there wasn’t anyone else he would have wanted to see this with. The room got awful dusty. I wouldn’t have traded this weekend for anything.

Tick Tick Boom – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/

Purposely held off on doing my Oct part 2 post because I wanted to include this. Then I saw it (loved it) and had thoughts. Besides, this was possibly my most anticipated movie of the year. It deserves a proper write up.

I was pretty much sold from the first trailer. Gorgeous looking mysterious horror from Edgar Wright. Lest you forget that the man behind the more comedic Cornetto trilogy and Scott Pilgrim truly is a horror fan, I’ve been binging Eli Roth’s History of Horror this past week and Wright is featured rather prominently. Just about every episode has some brilliant (and often funny) commentary from this film geek.

But yeah, hooked from trailer one, a trailer that started to play way too often at the theater. Just before the second trailer started to work its way into the rotation, Wright tweeted. He said that if you were already sold on seeing the film, avoid the second trailer. I’d actually just had several conversations with someone about watching vs avoiding trailers for movies, so this advice burned into my brain. Avoid the trailer. Got it. But what about when it inevitably plays before some other movie I’m at the theater to see? Even with me purposely showing up 10-15 min late, I still catch 2-3 trailers each time (hi, AMC).

It ended up happening twice, I think. No Time To Die and Halloween Kills. Maybe another I’ve forgotten. My solution? Eyes down at my lap, trying to sing to myself whatever last song was stuck in my head or stuffing my face with any contraband food I may have snuck in and focusing really hard on how good it was (which it likely wasn’t). I didn’t see the imagery, but unfortunately did catch a few key words here and there. And yeah, it informed where the plot was going, but thankfully there was so much more mystery and atmosphere to it, that it didn’t spoil things.

Right, speaking of mystery and spoilage and such. None here. Hopefully all of my non-existent readers know by now I try to be careful. Once the film started to play a few festivals, Wright pleaded again via Twitter that those who got to see the film early should “keep the secrets” of the film, and I intend to honor that.

I did love pretty much everything about this film. It looked gorgeous, especially in its invocation of the 60’s (possibly my favorite era). Ever since hearing that Thomasin McKenzie was gonna be one to watch starting from Leave No Trace (which I saw and can confirm, she’s amazing), I always get excited to see what she does next. Her expressions and emotions were perfection. And we already know Anya Taylor-Joy is perfection, esp in this genre.

I’m sure I’ve droned on about what type of horror films I actually find scary and which I don’t. One of my sticking points is that it needs to be unavoidable and inescapable. By taking the psychological and nightmare route, it meets that criteria. You can’t run from your own thoughts and your own dreams, and if you can’t tell what’s real from reality is there anything you can even do about it. Wright played that card expertly and at full throttle.

Walking out of the movie, I ran into not one, but two tiny groups of co-workers (from our sister companies), all of whom had also been at the Friday evening Dolby screening in Century City. First off, further confirmation that I’m working at the right place when all of us choose to see premium format movies in our free time. There was one common thought from all of them after. None expected the horror elements (to the point where one friend’s gf was visibly upset at him for having brought her). So I guess not only did Wright do his job, the rest of the film community who had already experienced the film did so too. And in that spirit, I’ll end this before I say more than I dare.

Last Night in SoHo – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/

My personal laptop is in the shop for the next 3-5 weeks. Among the things I forgot I would lose access to was my spreadsheet of watched movies. If I really wanted to, I could dig it outta the backup I took of my drive, but let’s be real. I’m too lazy. So instead of going in some semblance of order, here’s a few of what I remember I did see since we last spoke. And by remember, I mean scrolling thru my A-List history and Google calendar for anything before this past week.

School of Rock – Watched this at Alamo this week, and the smile on my face was the biggest I’ve had in a very long time. I only wish it was a rowdy screening so I could have sung along. Hadn’t seen the movie in a while, but the stage show was still very fresh in my brain, and it tracked so much better than I remembered. Also, was struck by Dewey’s sincerity in dealing with the kids. Sure, his underlying actions were selfish, but these kids felt comfortable enough with him to bring their problems, and when they did, he listened wholeheartedly and gave sound guidance. Mad respect.

The Room – FINALLY! Screenings of The Room returned with a vengeance this past weekend, selling out multiple shows with Tommy in attendance. I’d been dying to return. Admittedly, the crowd was a little rusty with their callbacks. It took a while for them to get going, and some of them needed my buddy and I to start them up. Still, the most fun theater experience ever.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – First repeat movie of the year (I think), although a big reason was because I got a huge migraine halfway thru the first watch that made it hard to focus (mentally and visually). But I loved it so much. Simultaneously felt very connected to the MCU and very much like its own fresh new thing. And some of the best fight sequences in the whole franchise (hooray for beautifully choregraphed martial arts). That bus battle is going down in history.

Malignant – I wasn’t sold that I wanted to see this, but many horror fans that I trust were talking it up. The trailer made it look like lazy jump scare stuff, which it most certainly was not. Mostly I went because I trust James Wan, and he did not betray me. I dug the vibe, but mostly, yes I loved the final act. No spoilers, but I will say that even though I figured it out a little too soon due to a certain clue that I’ve seen used before, it was so bonkers I didn’t care. Sure the “why” may be a little dumb, but you can’t beat the execution. Pun kinda intended.

The Card Counter – I don’t understand what Paul Schrader was trying to say with this film, or why I should care. And for most of it, I didn’t. There was a point maybe 2/3 in where I did start to get into it and feel invested in the story, and then it was gone. Beautifully shot and put together, but lacking on the story front for me.

Copshop – I had a free evening, and this looked up my alley. Gave me a “Nobody” vibe, and we know how much I loved that one. Copshop was a “me” movie, but not on the level I’d hoped. While I’m normally a stickler for plot, this is the type of movie where you want to minimize the story and increase the insanity. I felt like the set up went on too long, and once we got to the full on shoot ’em up, I wanted more. I wanted bigger.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye – I am very interested in stories like this, about corruption within religious organizations. Let’s just say I have personal reasons that I could make a whole series of posts about. So I was very much glued to this story, and Jessica Chastain’s epic performance, even if some elements of it were a little triggering for me.

Dear Evan Hansen – Speaking of triggering, oh boy was this hard for me to watch. Look, I know there’s all sorts of opinions and controversies around the film between the casting and its handling of the subject matter. For me, this just hit very close to home. The way that Ben Platt exhibited his social anxiety made a knot form in my chest that did not let up, esp when you add in the sucidal ideation as a result of various high school pressures. Oh and add in the overachieving side character who used her perceived perfection to cover up her struggles, yeah very real. I still don’t know if I can say I liked it. I can just say that I felt it, and for better or worse, isn’t that ultimately the goal?

We have another movie in the running for favorite of the year, and it’s a polar opposite of its competition (Nobody). This warrants a full post.

While obsessively checking Alamo’s schedule, I noticed there were repeated listing for a film called CODA. That’s the first thing that got my attention. After a week or so, my Twitter started lighting up with people talking about how much they adored this movie. That really made me take notice, so I did some quick IMDB research.

CODA stands for “Child of Deaf Adults” but also has a double meaning referring to music. The story follows a girl who is the only hearing member of her otherwise deaf family. She’s torn between staying home to help the family’s struggling business or leaving for college to study singing. Now I’m really interested. Final selling point is one of the family members is played by Daniel Durant, who I saw as Moritz in Deaf West Theatre’s production of Spring Awakening on Broadway. That is one of the best things I’ve ever seen on stage, and as my favorite character in that show, Durant was phenomenal. Sold!

I didn’t end up going to Alamo tho. Timing and budget worked out better for my first return trip to The Landmark, which was a nice theater to revisit. Had to haul it to get there from my screening of The Night House across town at the dine in (including a snack stop at CVS) but I made it in good time. Sat in the wrong auditorium for a while tho, bc Fandango didn’t update the listing. Ticket taker told me the right place to go, but I stubbornly didn’t listen to him until it was clear that I wasn’t where I was supposta be.

I absolutely adored every second of the movie. It was so heartwarming and feel good, I was close to happy tears throughout most of the last act. But it also had me thinking, because I could see both sides of our leading lady’s struggle, and I felt for her so much. Granted, I was also looking at this thru the lens of a mostly well adjusted adult, so therapy taught me exactly how she needed to respond to her situation to best serve herself, but I still enjoyed watching it play out. Emilia Jones absolutely owned this movie, and I was thoroughly impressed with her performance.

Oh bonus shout out for scene stealer Eugenio Derbez as her music teacher. Perfectly sized role for him, allowing him to be silly and just over the top enough without being grating. I absolutely love him when he finds that balance.

As if this movie wasn’t already enough to make my heart ridiculously happy, it also gave me a chance to brush up some of my ASL skillz. It was actually that production of Spring Awakening that finally got me to take a course a few years back. Unfortunately, they only offered level 1, so I’ve only got some very basic knowledge and vocab. I’ve spent most of the past week refreshing myself on some basic signs for a few simple sentences. Knowing my track record, I prolly won’t get much past that this time, but maybe one day I’ll pick it back up for reals.

Anyways, this movie is streaming on Apple I think, so it’s absolutely worth checking out. Or if you’re lucky enough to find a screening nearby (open captions!!), highly highly recommend it.

CODA – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/

Once 2020 rolled into 2021 and movie theaters still hadn’t opened yet in LA, but vaccines were starting to roll out, I’d made a decision. I was going to hold out until I was vaxxed up before going back. However, there’d be one exception. Black Widow. I’ve seen all 23 other MCU films in theaters, all the way back to the OG Iron Man, and I was not about to break my streak. I’d even planned on taking a vacation day in the middle of the week so I could see it on 11 AM on a Wednesday morning or something. Thankfully, I got my surprise J&J vaxx that woulda taken care of me in time for Widow’s May date. And then more thankfully she got pushed to July, giving us even more time.

Because this was a special movie, I opted to go see it at Alamo. Although really, it’s because at the time tix went on sale, I wasn’t currently holding any upcoming Alamo tix and I hate that. But still, MCU movie, I was gonna go all out. Whatever it takes, yeah? Isn’t that what the Avengers say. I jumped so quickly on those tickets, I didn’t realize until afterwards that I’d picked the open caption screening. I felt bad that I may have taken a seat from someone who needed it (esp since it turned out to be the only OC showtime) but skipping right to it, I absolutely loved it. I typically watch movies at home with the subtitles so that I can be sure to catch all the dialog, so of course I’d be into it on the big screen. Esp with the thick Russian accents most characters had, it was brilliant. WE. NEED. TO. NORMALIZE. THESE. SCREENINGS.

Right, so the movie. It honestly felt like a filler movie. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. There’s a reason not every movie can be Endgame. I’ve always said that even the worst MCU movies are not bad movies, esp when compared to some of their less stellar competitors in the genre. So this was certainly on the lighter, less weighty side, which is fine. If there is anything wrong with that, it’s that it didn’t really further the story of the MCU. The film took place in between Civil War and Infinity War, so we ultimately know how the broad strokes will play out. Still, a fun place to visit. Besides, we got all the D+ series that have been setting so much groundwork for Phase 4, that this was a nice little break.

What it did do best, and may be that one crucial piece of setup is introducing Florence Pugh as Yelena. I won’t go into what she’s primed for, but she was my absolute favorite part of the film. Florence stole every scene she was in, as she often (always) tends to do. Once we were getting towards the end of the film, I realized I no longer cared what Nat was doing and I only wanted to watch Yelena. Given where things leave off for both of them, that’s probably a good thing for the future of the franchise.

David Harbor was another standout, so hopefully we’ll find a way to bring him back as well.

Black Widow – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n