I Saw Five New Movies in a Week
The highs and lows of seeing Past Lives and The Flash in the same week
I went to the theater six times in the past week, seeing five new movies (one of them twice). Here are some brief thoughts about each film, with emphasis on Past Lives, which is my new favorite of 2023 so far.
The Blackening
This is a self-aware horror/comedy from a black perspective. The tagline “we can’t all die first” is especially brilliant. The cast is charming, charismatic, and hilarious. It brought to mind The Cabin in the Woods.
I saw this in a packed theater with people who were having the time of their lives. That made the experience of watching the film better than the film is on its own.
If you enjoy this genre, I think it’s worth checking out.
The Flash
So much has been written about this movie, especially since this version has been in development for almost a full decade. That’s not a joke. In the time between this film’s announcement and premiere, the TV show version of The Flash has aired 184 episodes over 9 seasons. And not only did that show dedicate whole seasons to the “Barry’s mom” plot, but they also tackled Flashpoint, along with scores of multiverse cameos. Not to mention that we’ve also had multiverse stories with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and now Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
So not only have we seen better iterations of multiverse stories, but we have literally seen versions of this story, with this character. All of that brings to mind these quotes from Lord and Miller’s Rolling Stone interview when asked about “superhero fatigue”:
In almost every sense, The Flash is “a movie that feels like a movie I’ve seen a dozen times before.” That doesn’t mean it’s not also fun at times. It has moments that are quite good. But the proceedings ultimately felt hollow to me. I found Miller’s performance to be uneven. Keaton’s Batman (and especially his world/Gotham) had no discernible connection to the Burton films (besides the costume and Keaton’s presence). Sasha Calle’s Supergirl was underdeveloped and wasted in this film (Calle was great in the role though).
If the box office is any indication, you didn’t see it anyway, so let’s just move on.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
I was not planning to see this, but ended up going with a friend. I don’t have a special connection to this franchise from when I was a kid, or to the Michael Bay films. I really enjoyed Bumblebee, but was not expecting much from this outing, even though I enjoyed Steven Cable Jr.’s work on Creed II, and quite like a lot of the people involved.
It could be that those lowered expectations were part of what allowed me to have such a great time. Anthony Ramos was fantastic, and his sweet relationship with his younger brother anchored the movie in real world stakes for me. Even though the maguffin-driven plot was straightforward, I found it to be effective when paired with two human leads that felt like actual people (not to mention all of the 90’s hip-hop).
The music was great. The action was coherent. And while this definitely felt like “a movie I’ve seen a dozen times before” it was also executed at a high level making for an enjoyable experience.
No Hard Feelings
Jennifer Lawrence has always been a star, and I’m so glad she’s using her considerable talent towards resurrecting the R-rated studio comedy. This movie was a blast, and I hope it makes lots of money so that more stuff like this gets made.
It’s funny and sweet, and while the overall structure might be a bit predictable, there are still some surprising moments that had my whole theater laughing out loud. You will also never hear Hall & Oats’s “Maneater” the same ever again.
Past Lives
I’ve seen this twice now, and I loved it even more the second time. If you haven’t seen it yet, here is my passionate plea to go to the theater. It’s about two childhood friends who lose touch when one of them emigrates from South Korea to North America, who then reconnect decades later.
You don’t want to know more than that. Watch the trailer if you must, but go see this. Give yourself over to the experience and feel something.
It’s about love, destiny, choices, life, and what it means to be human. My buddy and I saw this for the first time in a matinee and ended up talking about the movie for the entire rest of the day. It is unlike anything else I’ve seen.
I may have to come back and do a full spoiler write up, because I have so many thoughts about the film itself, its ideas, the performances, the craft on display in every category. But for now, please just take my heart felt recommendation to go see this on a big screen while you have the chance. This will be nominated for Best Picture, and if there is any justice we will see it in Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, and maybe even Best Score.
With Asteroid City finally getting a wide release this week, and several new seasons of TV either wrapping up or coming back (I’m looking at you The Bear, Strange New Worlds, Black Mirror, and Silo), we should be ready to do our half year check-in next week!
Let me know in the comments what you thought of any of the movies in this post, and what your favorites of the year have been so far.
I’m glad you were willing to check out transformers with me! It was fun!
Haven’t been to a movie theater since pre-pandemic, and nothing about these movies would be likely to tempt me back. But I have seen a number of good music docs on the little screen in the last couple weeks.
For whatever reason, PBS seems to be on a roll right now, with Dylan’s new Shadow Kingdom “concert” and his 1995 MTV Unplugged concert, Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll, and Fanny: The Right to Rock. These aren’t necessarily up there with Scorsese’s music docs, but they’re all pretty essential in the story of American music.
But the one that surprised me was on Tubi (I think): Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy. What a pleasant guy and such an interesting musical story.