In case you missed it last week l caught and mostly enjoyed NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2026, THEATER) Sunday afternoon, and then this week while catching other flicks snuck into another (sold out! 😲) screening of "Nirvanna" and saw the last 45 minutes standing on the aisle. Word of mouth (in our case Reed Strickland's) must be strong for "Nirvanna" because it's hanging around for a 2nd week at the AMC, which rarely happens for little Canadian indie flicks. Go in cold like l did and wonder if tracking the web/cable TV show that fuels "The Movie" should become your next obsession. ✌️😁
A24's THE MOMENT ('26, USA/UK, THEATER) is another disappointment from the mini-major indie studio whose batting average has been gradually declining. A British pop singer (Charlie XCX, playing herself) reaches her popularity pinnacle/saturation point as she's about to embark on the filmed tour portion of her career, and obsesses on remaining true to herself while embracing whatever it takes to extend her 15 minutes of fame. "The Moment" plays like a schizophrenic, tragi-comic, youth-oriented version of a Christopher Guest mockumentary, and while it occasionally strikes gold (Alexander Skarsgård playing a director trying to take over the tour) it's mostly a parade of clichés you've seen a million times on movie and TV. My theater crowd laughed often (as did l) and recognized most of the social media celebrities playing themselves (l didn't know any of them), so maybe this is one of those A24 titles only younger folks can appreciate.
Saw George P. Cosmatos' underwater "Alien"/"The Thing" knockoff LEVIATHAN (1989, KINO 4K UHD) twice, first as a Jury Room 4.0 Discord watchalong and then on its own the next day. Stan Winston's outstanding creature effects deserved better pacing and less hide-the-gore frantic editing, but the 'B' movie-licioius cast (OG Robocop, Evil Lynnn, wet bandit #2, black Ghostbuster, Rambo's captain, fake Taggart from "BH3," etc.) and another amazing score by Jerrry Goldsmith lift this one up above it's punching weight. My favorite of the 1989 class of sea horror creature features. 🤓
COLD STORAGE ('26, FRANCE/ITALY, THEATER) wears it's comedic horror 'B' movie set-up/execution with pride, giving veteran thesps like Liam Neeson and Vanessa Redgrave a chance to shine outside their comfort zones. A pitch-perfect cross between "Evolution" and "Career Opportunities" (with a healthy dose of "Return of the Living Dead"-type military cynicism, updated for the current era), David Koepp's screenplay (based on his pre-pandemic novel) never takes itself or its characters seriously enough to veer toward "Train To Busan"-type pathos. CG gore is passable because it leans on the silly (animals look/act like videogame bosses), action/production values decent and the chemistry between the veteran (Neeson/Lesley Manville) & slacker couples (Joe Keery/Georgina Campbell) sustains the narrative past some ridiculous-but-necessary set pieces. Seek it out when it comes on streaming.
Last and certainly least, THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT ('26, THEATER) is the first Shudder original I've seen that's a complete misfire unless you're a diehard fan of the video game of the same name that inspired it. Judged solely as a horror movie it starts intriguing and atmospheric, grows tedious by the first half hour and feels excruciatingly dull long before the credits. Willa Holland does the best to give her troubled Rebecca Owens character the depth of a recovering addict struggling with a new job. Shame the filmmakers run the dream/jumpscare/trauma hattrick on Rebecca way too many times, unlike co-star Paul Sparks remaining an intriguing veteran of the supernatural by virtue of his limited screen time. This one is worse than "Return to Silent Hill" I'm afraid. Yes, it's that bad. 🥺🫤
Hi. 👋🙂
ReplyDeleteIn case you missed it last week l caught and mostly enjoyed NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (2026, THEATER) Sunday afternoon, and then this week while catching other flicks snuck into another (sold out! 😲) screening of "Nirvanna" and saw the last 45 minutes standing on the aisle. Word of mouth (in our case Reed Strickland's) must be strong for "Nirvanna" because it's hanging around for a 2nd week at the AMC, which rarely happens for little Canadian indie flicks. Go in cold like l did and wonder if tracking the web/cable TV show that fuels "The Movie" should become your next obsession. ✌️😁
A24's THE MOMENT ('26, USA/UK, THEATER) is another disappointment from the mini-major indie studio whose batting average has been gradually declining. A British pop singer (Charlie XCX, playing herself) reaches her popularity pinnacle/saturation point as she's about to embark on the filmed tour portion of her career, and obsesses on remaining true to herself while embracing whatever it takes to extend her 15 minutes of fame. "The Moment" plays like a schizophrenic, tragi-comic, youth-oriented version of a Christopher Guest mockumentary, and while it occasionally strikes gold (Alexander Skarsgård playing a director trying to take over the tour) it's mostly a parade of clichés you've seen a million times on movie and TV. My theater crowd laughed often (as did l) and recognized most of the social media celebrities playing themselves (l didn't know any of them), so maybe this is one of those A24 titles only younger folks can appreciate.
Saw George P. Cosmatos' underwater "Alien"/"The Thing" knockoff LEVIATHAN (1989, KINO 4K UHD) twice, first as a Jury Room 4.0 Discord watchalong and then on its own the next day. Stan Winston's outstanding creature effects deserved better pacing and less hide-the-gore frantic editing, but the 'B' movie-licioius cast (OG Robocop, Evil Lynnn, wet bandit #2, black Ghostbuster, Rambo's captain, fake Taggart from "BH3," etc.) and another amazing score by Jerrry Goldsmith lift this one up above it's punching weight. My favorite of the 1989 class of sea horror creature features. 🤓
COLD STORAGE ('26, FRANCE/ITALY, THEATER) wears it's comedic horror 'B' movie set-up/execution with pride, giving veteran thesps like Liam Neeson and Vanessa Redgrave a chance to shine outside their comfort zones. A pitch-perfect cross between "Evolution" and "Career Opportunities" (with a healthy dose of "Return of the Living Dead"-type military cynicism, updated for the current era), David Koepp's screenplay (based on his pre-pandemic novel) never takes itself or its characters seriously enough to veer toward "Train To Busan"-type pathos. CG gore is passable because it leans on the silly (animals look/act like videogame bosses), action/production values decent and the chemistry between the veteran (Neeson/Lesley Manville) & slacker couples (Joe Keery/Georgina Campbell) sustains the narrative past some ridiculous-but-necessary set pieces. Seek it out when it comes on streaming.
Last and certainly least, THE MORTUARY ASSISTANT ('26, THEATER) is the first Shudder original I've seen that's a complete misfire unless you're a diehard fan of the video game of the same name that inspired it. Judged solely as a horror movie it starts intriguing and atmospheric, grows tedious by the first half hour and feels excruciatingly dull long before the credits. Willa Holland does the best to give her troubled Rebecca Owens character the depth of a recovering addict struggling with a new job. Shame the filmmakers run the dream/jumpscare/trauma hattrick on Rebecca way too many times, unlike co-star Paul Sparks remaining an intriguing veteran of the supernatural by virtue of his limited screen time. This one is worse than "Return to Silent Hill" I'm afraid. Yes, it's that bad. 🥺🫤
More later if work allows. 🙂