{"id":12523,"date":"2022-12-04T11:25:22","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T16:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12523"},"modified":"2022-12-04T15:00:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T20:00:13","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12523","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week. That brings the total this year to 300 (plus 58 rewatches).<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14895716\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Something in the Dirt\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/1-694x1024.jpg 694w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/1-768x1134.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/1.jpg 1016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0084314\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-166x300.jpg\" alt=\"Mazes and Monsters\" width=\"166\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-166x300.jpg 166w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-566x1024.jpg 566w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-768x1389.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-849x1536.jpg 849w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2.jpg 995w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 166px) 100vw, 166px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0092123\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"Two Friends\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14895716\/\"><strong>Something in the Dirt<\/strong><\/a> is a strange, hallucinatory, paranoid, sci-fi\/horror buddy comedy that reads almost like a deconstruction, if not parody, of Benson and Moorhead&#8217;s other movies, not least because they play the central (and to a large extent only) characters.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0084314\/\"><strong>Mazes and Monsters<\/strong><\/a> isn\u2019t great. It is occasionally very bad\u2014and certainly dated, with its weird stand-in for early Dungeons &#038; Dragons and prominently featured Twin Towers. But it\u2019s also occasionally not terrible, much less embarrassingly bad. This wasn\u2019t anything like a star-making role for a young Tom Hanks, in only his second onscreen performance, but there is a natural likability to him here that helps ground a not always very believable character trapped in a generally dumb plot.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0092123\/\"><strong>Two Friends<\/strong><\/a> is a touching coming-of-age story, rich with detail, even if I&#8217;m not entirely sure the backwards-narrative structure adds a lot.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0015841\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Freshman\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-688x1024.jpg 688w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-768x1142.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-1033x1536.jpg 1033w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-1377x2048.jpg 1377w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/4-scaled.jpg 1721w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068315\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/5-205x300.jpg\" alt=\"Brian's Song\" width=\"205\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12529\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/5-205x300.jpg 205w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/5.jpg 325w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 205px) 100vw, 205px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0069992\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/6-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"Don&#039;t Be Afraid of the Dark\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12530\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/6-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/6.jpg 576w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>Harold Lloyd often gets mentioned in the same breath as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, though it&#8217;s maybe telling that he&#8217;s almost always mentioned third. There are certainly some funny slapstick moments in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0015841\/\"><strong>The Freshman<\/strong><\/a>, but the movie feels dated in ways that not all silent movies do.<\/a><\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068315\/\"><strong>Brian&#8217;s Song<\/strong><\/a> is certainly often schmaltzy like the TV movie that it was, but it&#8217;s nonetheless a touching story of friendship, helped enormously by a very strong cast.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>There isn&#8217;t a lot to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0069992\/\"><strong>Don&#8217;t Be Afraid of the Dark<\/strong><\/a>, and the limitations of both its budget and plot can&#8217;t help but show through, but there are enough haunted chills to understand how this TV movie became so well regarded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0078504\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/7-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Wiz\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12531\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/7-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/7.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0882977\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/8-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"Snitch\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12532\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/8-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/8-690x1024.jpg 690w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/8-768x1140.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/8-1035x1536.jpg 1035w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/8.jpg 1380w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068682\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/9-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"Haunts of the Very Rich\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/9-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/9-681x1024.jpg 681w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/9-768x1155.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/9-1021x1536.jpg 1021w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/9.jpg 1229w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>There are some good moments in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0078504\/\"><strong>The Wiz<\/strong><\/a>, particularly in Jackson&#8217;s performance and some occasionally clever set design, but it falls flat a lot more often than not.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I&#8217;m not sure the handheld, fake cin\u00e9ma v\u00e9rit\u00e9 approach it often seems to be going for works for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0882977\/\"><strong>Snitch<\/strong><\/a>\u2014and its surface-level indictment of drug enforcement can&#8217;t help but pale in comparison to something like <i>The Wire<\/i>, which I&#8217;ve been re-watching lately\u2014but the movie offers good performances from both Dwayne Johnson and Jon Bernthal.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>Sometimes a television movie is elevated above its source and production values. And sometimes you just end up with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0068682\/\"><strong>Haunts of the Very Rich<\/strong><\/a>. Although it does at least have a good cast. It&#8217;s a bit like a first-draft <i>Twilight Zone<\/i> episode. Even if you didn&#8217;t know its surprise twist going in, you&#8217;d likely guess a couple minutes in and be disappointed by the way the movie fails to resolve it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week. That brings the total this year to 300 (plus 58 rewatches). Something in the Dirt is a strange, hallucinatory, paranoid, sci-fi\/horror buddy comedy that reads almost like a deconstruction, if not parody, of Benson and Moorhead&#8217;s other movies, not least because they play the central (and to a large &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=12523\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12523"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12542,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12523\/revisions\/12542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}