I’m of the opinion that “B movie” stopped having much useful meaning some time ago, certainly by the time the Transformers series became the box-office juggernaut that it is today — or was, until its latest installment opened at just under $45 million domestic. (Thank goodness for that sweet, sweet international market!) Unless maybe “B” stands for “billion.”
Criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey) never works with the same crew twice, but he wouldn’t think of doing a job without Baby (Ansel Elgort) behind the wheel. This raises the question of how the plucky Bambino became top whip, when all of the robberies he’s involved in end with the virtuoso getaway driver doing doing donuts and tire-squealing neutral- and reverse-drops capable of attracting every cop within a one mile radius... But buy into that premise and you’re guaranteed a good 45-minute stretch, until coincidence joins forces with faux-Tarantino dialogue to form a good sense gridlock. Edgar Wright’s (<em>Hot Fuzz, The World’s End</em>) scattergun approach to comic mayhem never connected with my inner-fanboy. (I kept asking myself, “What would Joe Dante do?”) But as dopey as it all is, in this case, it’s the little things — rows of laundromat clothes driers spinning their color-coordinated contents in perfect time, a Mike Myers disguise that outdoes Tommy Maitland, Paul Williams — that satisfy most. With Jon Hamm, Eiza González, and Lily James.
But just look at this week’s bounty of more literal B’s: Baby Driver, The Bad Batch, The Beguiled, The Big Sick, and if you want to stretch it a bit, I Am the Blues. Patton Oswalt must be exhausted (language alert).
The big releases are The House and Despicable Me 3. It’s hard to imagine that the critics are gonna be the reason you see or don’t see those. But maybe Scott’s enthusiasm (and interview with star Christopher Plummer) will entice you to The Lot in La Jolla for The Exception? Or to Landmark Ken for Moka? Meanwhile the best I can do is ask you to consider firing up Netflix for Okja, which won the Palme D’Or at Cannes but isn’t getting a theatrical release. I liked it a lot, and here’s my brief four-star review:
Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler put their kid through college by transforming their basement into a swank, but illegal gambling operation. How much water will the TV stars add to the soup in order to stretch the one-joke premise? Bring an umbrella.
I’m of the opinion that “B movie” stopped having much useful meaning some time ago, certainly by the time the Transformers series became the box-office juggernaut that it is today — or was, until its latest installment opened at just under $45 million domestic. (Thank goodness for that sweet, sweet international market!) Unless maybe “B” stands for “billion.”
Criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey) never works with the same crew twice, but he wouldn’t think of doing a job without Baby (Ansel Elgort) behind the wheel. This raises the question of how the plucky Bambino became top whip, when all of the robberies he’s involved in end with the virtuoso getaway driver doing doing donuts and tire-squealing neutral- and reverse-drops capable of attracting every cop within a one mile radius... But buy into that premise and you’re guaranteed a good 45-minute stretch, until coincidence joins forces with faux-Tarantino dialogue to form a good sense gridlock. Edgar Wright’s (<em>Hot Fuzz, The World’s End</em>) scattergun approach to comic mayhem never connected with my inner-fanboy. (I kept asking myself, “What would Joe Dante do?”) But as dopey as it all is, in this case, it’s the little things — rows of laundromat clothes driers spinning their color-coordinated contents in perfect time, a Mike Myers disguise that outdoes Tommy Maitland, Paul Williams — that satisfy most. With Jon Hamm, Eiza González, and Lily James.
But just look at this week’s bounty of more literal B’s: Baby Driver, The Bad Batch, The Beguiled, The Big Sick, and if you want to stretch it a bit, I Am the Blues. Patton Oswalt must be exhausted (language alert).
The big releases are The House and Despicable Me 3. It’s hard to imagine that the critics are gonna be the reason you see or don’t see those. But maybe Scott’s enthusiasm (and interview with star Christopher Plummer) will entice you to The Lot in La Jolla for The Exception? Or to Landmark Ken for Moka? Meanwhile the best I can do is ask you to consider firing up Netflix for Okja, which won the Palme D’Or at Cannes but isn’t getting a theatrical release. I liked it a lot, and here’s my brief four-star review:
Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler put their kid through college by transforming their basement into a swank, but illegal gambling operation. How much water will the TV stars add to the soup in order to stretch the one-joke premise? Bring an umbrella.