7.4
It’s female “John Wick.” That’s all you really need to know.
7.2
Be careful who you flirt with at the hotel bar… Or from across the courtyard. Or who you hire as your babysitter.
This was far closer to “Psycho” than I expected. Marilyn Monroe had quite the acting chops to pull off this premise. At first, I thought I was watching a romance novel projected onto the silver screen but ended up engulfed in an enigma. Despite the short run time, there is an unexpected depth to this classic, and it alone justified my purchase of a 10-film Marilyn Monroe film bundle.
6.5
Beautiful film. Meh story.
I was hellaciously intrigued by the trailer and what I thought was the film’s premise. Sometimes that intrigue hits; sometimes it misses. Unfortunately, this one ended up being a trapeze act of a narrative, swinging wildly all over the place for far too long and with no rhyme or reason. All to, I think, come full circle. I’m still not quite sure what I was supposed to take away from this one. There are some great premises and possibilities, but the story opts for the path of least resistance and goes for tricking the audience into thinking that misdirection and the resulting confusion is evidence of its cleverness, instead of just a cheap Christopher Nolan rip-off. Honestly, I think the overall lesson here was a “don’t stick your dick in crazy” cautionary tale dressed in a noir disguise.
7.7
Almost as legendary as the Eddie Money song.
“Just take wild shots! Hell, it’s something just to hear the gun go off.”
This one has always had a soft spot in my heart, despite being an oddball 80’s nostalgia cash-in coming-of-age party movie. When they pull it off, these are some of the finest films to come out of Hollywood. Not only is the soundtrack a home run, but the lessons behind this film still resonate with me when I watch it today. The theme of taking risks and remembering that unplanned moments are often the most incredible moments of our lives never goes out of style, unlike the wardrobe. Not saying it won any Oscars, but the critic community sometimes forgets the importance and the beauty of less serious cinematic fare.
Fun fact: It was on the set of this movie that Anna Faris and Chris Pratt met.
7.7
To quote my man Owen Wilson, “Wow.”
This was much better than expected! A cinematic flashback to a time when quality rom-coms were regularly showing in theaters and not relegated to my Netflix watchlist. Not that Netflix hasn’t carried the torch admirably, but I miss these being on the big screen this time of year to inspire us all to be a little more open and vulnerable with each other. To take a wild leap of faith. They’re adult fairytales that inspire us to get a little out past our skis every once in a while. Sometimes those wild shots in the dark lead to beautifully fulfilling destinations.
A reasonably unlikely pair, but a potent reminder of the charm of Owen Wilson and the humanity of J-Lo. Well done by all involved!
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 