Classic Drama Sports

“Field of Dreams”

By Brett_G on

One of those movies that definitely hasn’t lost any of its magic. Walking the outfield of the actual field of dreams and swinging on the porch swing, it was palpable even all these years later. In the wise words of James Earl Jones, “America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time.”

The film itself is wacky when you strip away the veneer and shouldn’t work as well as it does, but is one of those serendipitous moments of lightning captured in a bottle… captured on film. A story of human connection, parenting, and Americana.. it’s hard to beat. James Earl Jones and Kevin Costner in a sports movie is a cheat code.

And if you’re ever driving through Iowa… I highly recommend taking a turn up the seemingly random driveway, toward the lights in the cornfield.

https://www.fieldofdreamsmoviesite.com

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Horror/Thriller Shudder Suspense/Thriller

“Speak No Evil” (2024) / (2022)

By Brett_G on

7.9 / 8.1

As a die-hard Shudder fan, I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t realize that this was a remake of a fairly recent foreign horror film.

As for the American version, James McAvoy really makes it all work. Without him and his perfected mask slips and eventual descent into madness, I’m not sure they pull it off. I was genuinely uncomfortable from beginning to end. There’s just enough “off” in each scene to keep you on edge and keep you guessing where the next turn will lead. I will also never hear the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame” the same ever again.

Onto the foreign version… they really went all out. Where I didn’t think the remake pulled any punches, it turns out that there was indeed more room for things to get worse… much, much worse… This one is definitely not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.

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Blockbuster Comedy

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

By Brett_G on

8.1

The movie itself is everything you can really ask of an unnecessary sequel ~35 years after the original. Michael Keaton seamlessly slips back into the Beetlejuice character and Jenna Ortega absolutely kills it as Astrid Deetz. Just enough new perfectly balanced with the right dose of nostalgia to thread the needle for a great time in the cinema. The Tim Burton aesthetic remains undefeated.

What made this one special for me was the venue. As I made my way through Iowa for a baseball game and a football game at the grad school I attended virtually during COVID, I stumbled upon The Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, which I cannot recommend highly enough. From the lobby built for hangouts with new and old friends, to the rooftop outdoor showtimes, to the cinnamon sugar for topping popcorn… it’s a 10/10 for me. AND Dolby Cinema!

https://www.lastpicturehouse.com/home/

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Documentary

“Am I Racist?”

By Brett_G on

6.5

How did no one know this was Matt Walsh?!? The man bun wasn’t THAT convincing… Clark Kent was more incognito.

Is it going to change anyone’s mind? No.

Does watching the “they don’t want you to see this movie” angle and theaters falling into the trap and pulling it from showtimes and this marketing merry-go-round from hell happening again ever get old? Every time, yes.

Did I have conservatives becoming Michael Moore after all these years of railing against his movies and his beliefs on my bingo card? No freaking way, but here we are.

It’s a Michael Moore/Borat type of approach to looking at the institution fighting to change institutional issues, and the inherent irony that arises with any movement that gains power while fighting power.

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Horror/Thriller

“Front Room”

By Brett_G on

6.1

Definitely one of the most disturbing movies of the year… it’s got that going for it.

As someone who used to work as a nurse aide in a nursing home, I haven’t seen this much combative old lady and incontinence everywhere in a long time.

The religious cult angle was a bit of a surprise. I expected an hour forty of the uncomfortable scenes with the lady from “poltergeist” weird voice, but didn’t expect it getting as strange as it did. There’s really no preparing for something like this.

Kathryn Hunter and Brandy do everything they can to rescue this thing, but it’s just too weird of a story to overcome. It couldn’t pull out of trying to be shocking to be anything else.

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