Listen, I just need a series of movies in which Mark Ruffalo investigates social injustices hidden from the general public.
Motherless Brooklyn, 04 March 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
For months, every movie I watched was preceded with the trailer for this film, and yet it felt like it was only out for a weekend. In any case, I dig Gugu Mbatha-Raw and support the choices she makes. And I dig a detective story! I’m sure if I can entirely articulate the difference, but I found myself engaged by the film--the first slice of the film can only be described as propulsive--while being entirely uninvested. I liked it WAY more than I expected, though.
Contagion, 10 March 2020, DVD via public library
'Tis the season, right? But I also thought this might be a neat core text to use for a technical writing class--what kinds of diegetic communication do we see as the epidemic spreads? How are emergencies communicated to the public? How do medical professionals in different countries share information? And what do the non-diegetic markers--things like chyrons and location tags--do to emphasize the messages? BUT ALSO I love pandemic movies, y’all (zombie movies tend to fall into this category). The narrative of the mid-apocalypse type stuff is super-compelling for me, and kudos to Soderbergh for not glamming this up at all.
The Devil Wears Prada, 10 March 2020, DVD via public library
Like, the only time I actually LIKED Andy was when she was choosing work over her crappy boyfriend, so I have a lot of mixed feelings about this movie.
Emma. 11 March 2020, Riverdale 10 VIP Cinema
So this movie is very nearly almost perfect. The first two thirds is perfectly acidic, and then hangs a left right into swoony romantic comedy. And it is GORGEOUS.
Bombshell, 13 March 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
Margot Robbie is great, and Nicole Kidman is great, and Theron is scarily great. The cast overall is jaw-droppingly excellent, really. This movie is a fun watch, but also infuriating, but also well-crafted, but also too simplified, but also TOO SOON. (Yeah, all these women are objectively awful, but I’m not one that espouses bad people should have bad things happen to them.)
Spies in Disguise, 13 March 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
Look, one of my local movie theatres had a poster for this movie up for TWO YEARS. Advertising works obviously sometimes. Do I wish the villains weren’t Yakuza-lite? Yup. Is it otherwise a charming spy movie for hyperactive children? Yup. Will you learn a lot about pigeons? Yup.
Jumanji: The Next Level, 19 March 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
I love Fridge, y’all.
Clemency, 27 March 2020, DVD via Redbox
"Aldis Hodge and Alfre Woodard," she thought as she perused the Redbox menu, "I like them. Oh! Richard Schiff, too?" So, yeah, this movie is exquisitely acted, but also relentlessly grim. (They have minimal scoring, which I find fascinating.) It’s a pretty nuanced portrait of the institutionalized dehumanizing of both being in prison and being a part of the prison system.
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