{"id":14969,"date":"2026-08-16T13:55:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14969"},"modified":"2026-08-16T13:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:56:15","slug":"weekly-movie-roundup-176","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14969","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Movie Roundup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0353849\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1-2-212x300.jpg\" alt=\"Our Town\" width=\"212\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1-2-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1-2.jpg 354w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 212px) 100vw, 212px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt32268156\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-2-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Last House\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14967\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-2-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-2-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-2-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-2.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt5052474\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3-2-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sicario: Day of the Soldado\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3-2-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3-2-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3-2-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3-2-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3-2.jpg 1382w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>The 2003 version of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0353849\/\">Our Town<\/a> starring Paul Newman mostly didn&#8217;t work for me, for reasons that were difficult to put my finger on. I&#8217;m a big fan of Newman, and of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0081290\/\">the 1977 adaptation<\/a> of Wilder&#8217;s play, but this production always felt poorly staged, somehow <em>less<\/em> minimalist by drawing so much attention to the artifice and lack of finished sets. And while the acting is largely good, I felt no real warmth or connection for the characters, particularly George and Emily, which seems like a fundamental problem with the production.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt32268156\/\">The Last House<\/a> starts promisingly enough, with a simple but mysterious hook and strong leads in Greta Lee and Wagner Moura. And it does some clever things with its confined location\u2014or at least most of the same things you would expect clever movies do when confined to a single location like this. But it&#8217;s really let down by unconvincingly tidy ending, and a plot that invites you to spend too much time looking through the holes in it.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt5052474\/\">Sicario: Day of the Soldado<\/a> doesn&#8217;t have anything like the weight or tension of the first movie, though it has a little of both, leant to it largely through the performances of Brolin and del Toro.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt31189315\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"Father Mother Sister Brother\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14970\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4-2-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0027478\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5-1-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Crime of Monsieur Lange\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14971\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5-1-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5-1-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5-1.jpg 864w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt33071426\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-192x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Drama\" width=\"192\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-192x300.jpg 192w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-655x1024.jpg 655w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-768x1200.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-983x1536.jpg 983w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-1311x2048.jpg 1311w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6-1-scaled.jpg 1638w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li>Jim Jarmusch&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt31189315\/\">Father Mother Sister Brother<\/a> often feels more like an exercise than a narrative in and of itself, thanks in part to the anthology nature of the piece. It&#8217;s well made and acted, with some exceptionally well observed (and often bittersweet) details, but it really wasn&#8217;t until the final third of the triptych  that I felt the movie come alive, with characters that felt fully real.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0027478\/\">The Crime of Monsieur Lange<\/a> is a gem of a movie, albeit a small and modest one, and a pleasant glimpse into 1930s Paris.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I&#8217;m not sure <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt33071426\/\">The Drama<\/a> is always successful in what it&#8217;s trying to do, or if what it&#8217;s trying to do is always worth doing, but it does some interesting things along the way, and has good performances at its center.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057997\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"Dead Ringer\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-674x1024.jpg 674w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-768x1167.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-1011x1536.jpg 1011w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-1347x2048.jpg 1347w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7-scaled.jpg 1684w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0023125\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Lawyer Man\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8.jpg 333w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt28313478\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-203x300.jpg\" alt=\"The Vourdalak\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-691x1024.jpg 691w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-768x1138.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-1382x2048.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9-scaled.jpg 1728w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057997\/\">Dead Ringer<\/a> is Bette Davis&#8217; show all the way, so it&#8217;s good that she&#8217;s very good in it. The movie itself is a little hokey and uninspired, not doing a whole lot with its premise, throwing a <em>lot<\/em> of camera tricks on screen to try and sell it. It&#8217;s fun, but nothing special.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>All I can tell you about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0023125\/\">Lawyer Man<\/a> is, William Powell is a lawyer, and he&#8217;s a man. In all seriousness, it&#8217;s a little morality play\u2014more than a little convoluted, especially for such a short film\u2014with a dependably charming Powell as the lead.<\/li>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<li>I think I prefer the quiet and stylish retelling of the same story in Mario Bava&#8217;s <em>Black Sabbath<\/em>, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt28313478\/\">The Vourdalak<\/a> certainly goes further with the gore and creepiness of it, particularly with that puppet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I watched 9 movies last week: The 2003 version of Our Town starring Paul Newman mostly didn&#8217;t work for me, for reasons that were difficult to put my finger on. I&#8217;m a big fan of Newman, and of the 1977 adaptation of Wilder&#8217;s play, but this production always felt poorly staged, somehow less minimalist by &#8230; <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/?p=14969\">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-14969","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\/14969"}],"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=14969"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14977,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14969\/revisions\/14977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unreality.net\/weblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}