{"id":14270,"date":"2025-07-13T15:58:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T19:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14270"},"modified":"2025-07-13T15:58:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T19:58:01","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-128","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14270","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0116745\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-1-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kansas City\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-1-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-1-695x1024.jpg 695w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-1-768x1131.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-1-1043x1536.jpg 1043w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0095186\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-1-196x300.jpg\" alt=\"Full Moon in Blue Water\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-1-196x300.jpg 196w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/2-1.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt20212786\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Shrouds\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14269\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/3-1-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>The music in Robert Altman&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0116745\/\">Kansas City<\/a> is pretty great, on the rare occasion it&#8217;s given a chance to play. Problem is, there&#8217;s this whole movie and plot that keep getting in the way, both of which feel like they&#8217;ve fizzled out before they&#8217;ve even attempted to build up any steam. And it certainly doesn&#8217;t help that most of that plot is taken up by maybe my least favorite Jennifer Jason Leigh performance ever.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/full-moon-in-blue-water-1988\">Roger Ebert<\/a> called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0095186\/\">Full Moon in Blue Water<\/a> &#8220;such a likable film in so many little ways that you want to forgive it for being so bad in so many big ones.&#8221; He wasn&#8217;t wrong that the movie has a few very modest charms, in spite of itself\u2014namely, its two leads\u2014but it&#8217;s such a confused and contrived mess, no matter how much Hackman and Garr struggle desperately to pull three-dimensional characters from the wreckage. By the end, I had almost no idea what was supposed to be happening, nor did I want to.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I think <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt20212786\/\">The Shrouds<\/a> is the best movie David Cronenberg has made in years\u2014maybe one of his best ever. It&#8217;s strange and unsettling, obviously deeply personal and informed by the grief over his own wife&#8217;s death, both elegiac and absurd, and playfully exploring some very deep and interesting ideas, with a fantastic central performance by Vincent Cassel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0047528\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-1-216x300.jpg\" alt=\"La Strada\" width=\"216\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14271\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-1-216x300.jpg 216w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-1-737x1024.jpg 737w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-1-768x1067.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/4-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 216px) 100vw, 216px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt29929565\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Opus\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-693x1024.jpg 693w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-768x1134.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-1040x1536.jpg 1040w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-1387x2048.jpg 1387w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5-1-scaled.jpg 1733w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt32743685\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"Jaws @ 50\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14273\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-1152x2048.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/6-1-scaled.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0042281\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Breaking Point\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>There&#8217;s a sadness that hangs over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0047528\/\">La Strada<\/a>, almost from the very first frame, and certainly to the last.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt29929565\/\">Opus<\/a> is tense fun for a while, keeping your interest for as long as you don&#8217;t know where any of it is going\u2014until you realize the movie is going only exactly where you think it is, and until it stumbles badly at the end and you realize it doesn&#8217;t know where it&#8217;s going whatsoever. It&#8217;s buoyed by some good performances, particularly from Malkovich, but the weirdness ends up just being weird for its own sake, and the movie is very confused about what if anything it&#8217;s trying to say by the end.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><em>Jaws<\/em> is one the best movies ever made, which is the main thing that makes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt32743685\/\">Jaws @ 50<\/a> watchable. Despite archival and some more recent interviews, the documentary hardly feels like &#8220;the definitive inside story&#8221; it bills itself as. Full of as many aimless digressions as amusing anecdotes, it&#8217;s not particularly revealing or novel and mostly just makes you want to rewatch the original film. Which is probably the only reason it exists in the first place.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0042281\/\">The Breaking Point<\/a> does what it says on the tin, but it does so with tension and style and several good very performances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I also rewatched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0281686\/\">Bubba Ho-Tep<\/a>, because after rewatching <em>Phantasm<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14265\">last week<\/a>, I was in the mood to revisit a <em>good<\/em> Don Coscarelli movie. This one is very silly, but also good fun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The music in Robert Altman&#8217;s Kansas City is pretty great, on the rare occasion it&#8217;s given a chance to play. Problem is, there&#8217;s this whole movie and plot that keep getting in the way, both of which feel like they&#8217;ve fizzled out before they&#8217;ve even attempted to build up any steam. And it certainly doesn&#8217;t &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14270\">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-14270","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\/14270"}],"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=14270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14275,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14270\/revisions\/14275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}