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Movie Reviews to Begin the Year
Mar. 2nd, 2021 09:41 pmImmortals – Wow, this is an amazing mess. (Jethrien had seen it in the theater when it came out and apparently was in the mood to inflict this hot mess on others. The things I do for love!) The Greek myths referenced are so different from the originals it honestly would have been better to set the whole thing in Westeros and name the gods Whipsy, Hammer, Trident and The Girl. Really, the only thing in-character for Zeus is that he manages to screw up everything. (And he’s probably Theseus’ father.) The plot often feels more like some’s attempt to string together a series of unrelated paintings than an actual script, and the characters’ actions all seem to just be stringing the plot along, no matter how little sense they make. Despite dying, the bad guy succeeds in 100% of his goals. And don’t get me started on the hats. I’m hoping this is the worst movie I see this year.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure - This is extremely 80s and features an extremely 80s future and a lot of actors having the time of their goddamn lives. It’s a period piece and a product of its time, but it also holds up remarkably well. And there are bits that you just assume get dealt with off-camera: Ted’s teacher convinces his dad not to send him to military school; Rufus gets IDs and such for the princesses; and there’s an explanation for “San Dimas Time” that Rufus knows better than to try to explain. Hell, there are potential deep theories of time travel, given the movie shows 100% stable time loops, but there’s absolutely no reason for the film to go into them and it’s better for not doing it!
Bill and Ted Face the Music - In theory we probably should have rewatched Bogus Journey to get the callbacks to it, but we remembered enough to manage. They clearly realized that the original movie was very white and very male and did their best to correct for that, with the entire new generation being female (including Rufus’ daughter); though I’ll admit some annoyance that they recast the Princesses with younger actresses. This doesn’t stand on its own and is missing some of the simple charm of the original, but it’s still super-fun and we enjoyed it. Also, everything Kid Cudi says is an indication that my theory about Rufus just not bothering to explain anything to Bill and Ted holds up neatly.
(Side theory: Bill and Ted, remembering that they met themselves in the "bad future", deliberately set up the three days they visited when they reach that time normally, so despite their lives being fine, the future matches what they saw. Their wives see the setup in addition to the bad future act, which is likely why they stay.)
Friendsgiving - Malin Akerman and Kat Dennings…do some stuff at Thanksgiving? This is very much a “a bunch of wacky stuff happens, people do some soul-searching, very little gets resolved, and there it’s much of a plot” sort of movie. It honestly feels more like an episode of an ongoing soap opera than a standalone movie. And the script just isn’t there. Jane Seymour chews scenery; Chelsea Peretti is herself; hell, Wanda Sykes and Margaret Cho cameo for one scene as Fairy Gay Mothers...and it’s kinda flat? Lots of potential but it never quite worked. Alas.
PG: Psycho Goreman - Another of the horror comedies I tend to appreciate. Lots of splatter, no jumpscares, and no real worry of how the story is going to end up. Credit to both the writer and the lead actress: The “little girl given control of a demon” is spot on; really the appropriate level of blasé craziness you expect from an eight-year-old. (The writer most certainly has children.) Also, the fate of the universe is decided by a game of Calvinball.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure - This is extremely 80s and features an extremely 80s future and a lot of actors having the time of their goddamn lives. It’s a period piece and a product of its time, but it also holds up remarkably well. And there are bits that you just assume get dealt with off-camera: Ted’s teacher convinces his dad not to send him to military school; Rufus gets IDs and such for the princesses; and there’s an explanation for “San Dimas Time” that Rufus knows better than to try to explain. Hell, there are potential deep theories of time travel, given the movie shows 100% stable time loops, but there’s absolutely no reason for the film to go into them and it’s better for not doing it!
Bill and Ted Face the Music - In theory we probably should have rewatched Bogus Journey to get the callbacks to it, but we remembered enough to manage. They clearly realized that the original movie was very white and very male and did their best to correct for that, with the entire new generation being female (including Rufus’ daughter); though I’ll admit some annoyance that they recast the Princesses with younger actresses. This doesn’t stand on its own and is missing some of the simple charm of the original, but it’s still super-fun and we enjoyed it. Also, everything Kid Cudi says is an indication that my theory about Rufus just not bothering to explain anything to Bill and Ted holds up neatly.
(Side theory: Bill and Ted, remembering that they met themselves in the "bad future", deliberately set up the three days they visited when they reach that time normally, so despite their lives being fine, the future matches what they saw. Their wives see the setup in addition to the bad future act, which is likely why they stay.)
Friendsgiving - Malin Akerman and Kat Dennings…do some stuff at Thanksgiving? This is very much a “a bunch of wacky stuff happens, people do some soul-searching, very little gets resolved, and there it’s much of a plot” sort of movie. It honestly feels more like an episode of an ongoing soap opera than a standalone movie. And the script just isn’t there. Jane Seymour chews scenery; Chelsea Peretti is herself; hell, Wanda Sykes and Margaret Cho cameo for one scene as Fairy Gay Mothers...and it’s kinda flat? Lots of potential but it never quite worked. Alas.
PG: Psycho Goreman - Another of the horror comedies I tend to appreciate. Lots of splatter, no jumpscares, and no real worry of how the story is going to end up. Credit to both the writer and the lead actress: The “little girl given control of a demon” is spot on; really the appropriate level of blasé craziness you expect from an eight-year-old. (The writer most certainly has children.) Also, the fate of the universe is decided by a game of Calvinball.
