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george-mackay-macfine · 4 years

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Dear Diary pt. 5

Requested

Word Count: 3,483

September 18th 2011,

Dear Diary,

Sorry, I didn’t end up writing more yesterday, but by the end of the day, I was ready to crawl into my bed and pretend I was never born.

But for the sake of future Y/N. Let me recap it for you. I’ll warn you it’s still pretty much all a blur, but I’m trying to piece it together…

A very hazy, cider soaked blur.

When I’d finally managed to work up the courage to leave my bed around nine-thirty, I’d tip-toed all the way from the end of my bed all the way to my door, and out into the main living space. As expected George was sprawled out on the settee. His chest moving up and down evenly, one leg over the armrest, the other hanging down towards the ground. If he was uncomfortable, you wouldn’t know it.

I studied him for a minute, unable to help myself.

Had he been a massive jerk last night? Yes.

Had he broken his promise to you? Yes.

Were you going to forgive him the moment he fluttered his eyelashes at you? Abso-fucking-lutely

“There’s my sleeping beauty.” I nearly jumped out of my skin as I noticed Dean standing at the stovetop. A skillet of food frying. “Sleep well?”

“Like a dream.” He snorted. I looked to Harry’s door, it was still closed.

“He’s still asleep.” He took the frypan off the stove and moved the contents to the plate. “Dig in.” I walked hesitantly towards him, my brain trying to communicate to the rest of my body that if we dared to make a big enough noise, the chances of George waking up were high. “You okay?”

“Apart from feeling like an idiot.” I picked up a bit of bacon, pulling it apart. “I can’t believe I acted like that.” Dean shrugged his shoulder, passing me a spare fork.

“Alcohol does that kind of thing.” I shook my head and stabbed the fork into some of the scrambled egg. “Trust me, I’ve done my fair share of stupid shit.” He pierced a tomato popping it in his mouth. “Running through the school dance naked… Kissing my best-mate…”

“I nearly kissed him.”

“Who George? I thought you wanted that?”

“No. Harry.”

“You nearly kissed Harry.” He yelled in surprise.

“Jesus Christ Dean, what are you trying to do? Tell the whole floor?” I shook my head and looked over my shoulder. Harry’s door was still shut, and George was still passed out.

“Well, what happened?” He leaned across the counter a little, his head dropping. “Henry said you were sick.”

“We got pulled into a game of spin the bottle and 7 minutes in heaven. I spun, it landed between Harry, and the guy who reeked of weed, remember when we walked in?” Dean nodded his head,

“Both fine choices.” I shot him a look.

“We went upstairs, and he was asking me about…” I nodded over my shoulder at George. Dean nodded his head in understanding. “Harry was then trying to pull me up, to drag me down to tell him, Saying how I needed to tell him and it was important to tell him, he lost his footing, or maybe I got the upper hand. Either way, he fell onto of me, and I don’t know we were just caught up in the moment.”

“And you kissed?”

“Almost. We were about to when George walked in with a girl.”

“Christ on a bloody bike.”

“I’m such an idiot. I didn’t know what to do so I just ran out of there.”

“Where’d you go?”

“Down the road.” I dropped my head in my hands. “Then I threw up in the gutter right before Henry found me, and walked home with me.”

“Bloody hell.” He stabbed a piece of mushroom and chomped down. “You gonna talk to them then?”

“Which one first?”

“Probably best to start with Harry.”

“I dunno Dean.” A door behind us opened and a cold chill slipped down my spine.

“Morning.” His husky voice floated across the living room. “He still asleep?”

“Yeah, mate.” Dean chuckled. “Probably be like this for hours.”

“Y/N.” I turned slowly in my seat. Harry was stood outside his door. Shirtless… He had abs. Jesus Christ, he looks good. Not important Y/N. “Can I talk to you?” I nodded my head, not trusting my voice. Harry nodded his head towards his room. “In private?”

“She won’t be a tick, just gonna finish some food. Then I’ll send her in.” Dean motioned to the plate between us. “Can’t pass up a fry up.” I kept looking at Dean as the door to Harry’s room shut once again.

“Think it’s too much if I jump out the window?” Dean shrugged.

“Third story, you’d probably live to tell the tale.”

“But I would escape this conversation.”

“For now.” He shrugged again.

“For now,” I repeated poking the egg. “What do you think he wants to talk to me about?”

“Knowing Harry, probably just wants to make sure you’re okay.” He pulled the plate away from me. “Now go in there and see what he wants.”

“Pray for me.”

“My hands are already clasped in prayer.” I rolled my eyes and pushed away from the counter.

“Liar.” I stood up and slowly crept past George on the settee, and over to Harry’s door. Did I really want to do this? Have this conversation? Honestly jumping out the window seems funnier, and less painful than this.

“Just fucking knock already.”

“Fuck off Dean,” I called back before reaching out and knocking. Knuckle wrapping against the hardwood.

“Come in.” I pushed the door open and stepped inside. I’d not been inside Harry’s room before, but it was cleaner than I expected. “You didn’t have to knock Y/N.” He was laying on his bed. Still without a shirt, but now he was reading a book.

“It’s a habit.” He scooted across the bed a little, motioning to space beside him.

Rest in peace Y/N.

I laid down beside him, careful to make sure we didn't touch. His bed was soft and smelt of him.

“We should talk about it.”

“Do we have to?”

“I think it’s important that we do.” I felt him shuffle beside me. I kept my eyes on the ceiling. “We nearly kissed Y/N, and I’m sure had MacKay not burst through the door we would have.” What the fuck am I supposed to say to that? “I’m attracted to you Y/N.”

“Harry.”

“I know we’re roommates, had this been a different time, and we didn’t have to live under the same roof for at least the next year where I’m around you at least twelve hours a day, I’m sure I would have been content with one night with you.” My breath hitched a little. “One night with you however I wanted.”

“I’m sure that you wouldn’t want that.”

“You’re right, I have this strange feeling that I would have always wanted more.” I finally turned to look at him. He was looking up. “But we can’t, and I get that. It’s rational.” Finally, he looked at me. “MacKay… I think he likes you as well. He wasn’t pleased with what he saw last night.”

“Really?” A harsh nod. George liked me?

“You should go for it.” He looked back at the ceiling. “When you’re ready to of course.”

“I’m sorry I tried to kiss you.” My voice came out just above a whisper.

“What are you going to do about George? He wanted to speak to you last night.” He ignored my apology.

“He does?”

“I think he wants to apologise.”

“He’s still passed out, as you saw.”

“He drank a lot.”

“We all did.” I sat up. Turning to look down at Harry. “I’ll leave you alone now.” He didn’t say anything, he just nodded his head. I got up and walked to the door. “Harry,”

“Yeah,” He looked away from the ceiling. “I’m sure that I would have always wanted more too.” I pulled the door open. “If we’d had the chance.”

“Guess we’ll never really know.”

“Guess not.” I shut the door behind me. Leaning my head against the wood.

“There you are.” I looked over to where Dean was standing. George was now sitting in my forgotten seat. “What’d Hudson want?”

“To make sure I was okay.” I held my head up high as I walked across the room, going past both of them and back into my bedroom. If what Harry was saying about George was right, it wouldn’t be long before he knocked on the door.

Stay strong Y/N.

“Y/N, babe?” George’s voice floated through the door. I waited a second before opening it. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He looked behind me.

“Can I…” I pulled it open wider stepping back so he could get in. “I am so sorry.” I shut the door behind him when he was inside. “I don’t know where to start.”

“You left me, George."

“I know.”

“You said you wouldn’t though.”

“I know.”

“I didn’t want to even go,”

“I know.”

“I wouldn’t have cared if you’d had spoken to me about it, or said you want to speak to her alone, but you just … bailed.”

“I know.”

“Stop saying that.” He took a deep breath and sat down on my bed. Shaking his head.

“Y/N, I’m sorry. Okay, I fucked up. Really bad,” He turned to look at me. “What can I do to get you to forgive me? I can take you to lunch, or we can go explore.”

“No,” I shook my head, “It’s fine, you don’t have to do anything.”

“I do Y/N, I want too.” He reached out and pulled me towards him. His arms wrapping around my waist. “Please, let me.”

“Fine.”

“Fine? That’s all I get?” He chuckled. “I’ll take it.” He smiled up at me. “Lunch, on Sunday. I’ll pick you up, and then we can go exploring.” And that was all it took for me to forgive him.

“Okay.”

September 21st 2011

Dear Diary,

Remember this date, because you didn’t end up in the end zone, you ended up in the friend zone.

Congratulations.

Even though Harry said to me just the other day that he thinks George likes me, I am now 99.9% sure he doesn’t, but that 00.01% chance still keeps me going, even if it means being in the friend zone for a while.

The “date” started off a bit rough, I won’t lie.

Right before George arrived to pick me up at eleven o’clock Harry had emerged from his room with a blonde girl following out behind him. I wouldn’t have thought anything had happened between them if she wasn’t wearing his shirt and no pants.

“Ellie, this is my roommate, Y/N.” Harry plopped down on the couch, grabbing the packet of cigarettes he and Dean were currently working their way through together. “Y/N, this is Ellie. She’s in mine and MacKay course.”

Ever since ‘The incident’ Harry’s been acting weird. We haven’t had a proper conversation in over three days, he’s always calling George by his last name, and now he’s apparently bringing home random girls to have sex with instead of talking.

“This is Y/N?” I didn’t like the way she said my name, it made me uncomfortable. “George mentioned you a couple of times.”

“I didn’t know you knew George.” I mean for fuck sakes Ellie it’s only been a week since Uni started, I’m surprised you even know Harry’s fucking name.

“Yeah, met him at the party the other night.” She said as a light tap came to the door.

“Speak of the devil.” Harry drawled lazily, a cigarette between his lips. The knock came again. “Better get that, don’t want to miss out on your date.”

“S’not a date.”

“Does he know that?”

“Harry.”

“How bout I get the door,” Ellie stood up and made a move past me. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

“It’s fine, thanks Ellie, but I can get it. Don’t want to interrupt your time with Harry here.” I spun on my heel and walked to the door pulling it open. “Hey,”

“Heya Babe, you alright?” George smiled down at me. I nodded my head and tried to pull the door shut behind me. “Ellie?” George looked past me. “What are you doing here?”

“Harry invited me over.” George nodded his head. He got the message loud and clear. Though I’d be shocked if he’d managed to miss her half-dressed body lounging over Harry’s.

“Should we go?”

“Please.” I breathed, head nodding. “See you later Harry.” I looked over my shoulder at the couple. “Great meeting you Ellie,” George grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door and into the hallway.

“I didn’t know Harry and Elle were a thing.”

“Me either, I didn’t even know he had her over till about five minutes ago.” George shrugged his shoulders, stopping us as we reached the elevator.

“Let me get a look at you.” He smiled looking over me, I was suddenly self-conscious of how I was dressed. Should I have dressed up more? Dressed down a little? Shown more skin? Fuck why did I just wear jeans and a plain shirt? “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you.” My cheeks flushed as the doors opened, George extending his hand for me to enter first. “Where are we going today?”

“I thought we could explore.”

“Are we going to find the Loch Ness Monster?”

“If you’re lucky.” He chuckled. “First for lunch I thought we could try this pub that Henry told me about.” Henry, I hadn’t seen him since he walked me home after the party the other night.

“How is Henry?”

“He’s good.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “He told me that you know?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t care?”

“Should I?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Is he happy?” George nodded his head. “Then that’s all that matters, isn’t it? He’s not hurting me George so why should I care who he wants to love?” My eyes turned into slits. Don’t ruin how I feel about you George by being as narrow-minded as —

“There she is.” What the fuck? “Y/N from George Daniels roof… She’s still in there isn’t she?” He tapped my forehead. “The little spitfire,”

“What are you talking about?”

“I dunno Y/N, you started acting… Weird.” He crossed his arms. “I thought I’d lost the girl who’d laughed at my pickup lines, skulled half a bottle of vodka and literally fell onto the roof, and was gaining another Stalker Sarah type.” Harry lied, he doesn’t like you. I turned looking straight at the doors. Praying them to open already.

“You thought I had a crush on you?” Fucking open you metal death trap. “George.”

“Dumb right.”

“Least you’ve got that backup modelling career in the mix, case university doesn’t work out.”

“Christ.” He breathed out as the doors open. “Can I just say how relieved I am that you don’t have a crush on me Y/N?”

Oh buddy, if only you knew.

“I thought I was losing my best girl.”

“M’ sorry you felt that way George, but I can assure you.” Do it Y/N. Protect yourself. Survival of the fittest. “Even if you tried ten thousand of your horrible pick up lines on me, none of them would work.”

“Y/N…”

“We’re friends George, nothing more.”

Note to self, go back and pick up heart when you’ve got a moment to yourself.

“Good because I can’t do this Uni thing without you.” He shook his head as he pushed open the door. “Are my pickup lines really that bad?”

“Let’s put it this way.” I pushed open the door stepping out into the chilly mid-morning air. “Your pickup lines, blow up harder than the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.”

“Harsh.”

“Deserved.” I stopped at the curb. “They’re really that bad.”

“This way.” George started walking down the street. “Why’d you really run out at the party?”

“What can I say, I’m dramatic.” He chuckled. “I mean it, the moment I saw Sarah and Julian on George’s mum's bloody floral settee, I wanted to burn it, remember”

“Safer for society considering what happened to it.”

“Should have poured the vodka on it rather than down my throat.” I chuckled.

“I could have supplied you with a match, or a cigarette to drop on it.” Excellent job Y/N, you’ve distracted him. “Were you embarrassed you’d kissed Harry?” Perhaps not.

“I didn’t kiss Harry.” We stopped at a set of lights. “We were just waiting out the time of that stupid game.”

“Looked like you kissed him.”

“Are you seeing her again?” Perfect segway.

“Who?”

“June?”

“Do you mean April? Bloody hell Y/N.”

“April, of course. So sorry.” I batted my eyelashes as I stepped out across the street.

“No, you’re not.” He shook his head, trying not to laugh. “But no, I don’t think so.”

There’s that 00.01% chance creeping in.

“Too smart for you?”

“No.”

“Too clingy?” I clapped my hands together. “Oh I know, she’s not enough of a stalker.” George chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll give her Sarah’s number, they can exchange notes, and perhaps… perhaps she can level up to Sarah.” I held my hand against my heart. “It’d be my honour.”

“You’re being sarcastic today.”

“You said you missed roof Y/N.”

“You said roof Y/N was only because of the vodka she’d drunk.”

“Vodka based Y/N, and water-based Y/N are both the same level of sarcastic, water-based Y/N is just better at hiding it.”

“Perfect.”

“Why don’t you want to see her again?” Good. Act like you care about her Y/N.

“She wasn’t a great kisser.” I stopped, feet dead on the footpath. “What?”

“Are you serious George? You’re not going to call her because you didn’t like how she kissed you?” I shook my head.

“What, she had a washing machine tongue.”

“Oh.”

“You get it then?”

“Julian had a washing machine mouth.”

“See and you two broke up.”

“Nuh-uh. We broke up because he kissed my best friend.”

“Ex.”

“Right, Thank you. He kissed my ex-best-friend.”

“With that washing machine mouth, you see where I’m going with this don’t you.” George pushed open the door to the pub I wasn’t even aware we’d arrived at. “Washing machine syndrome is a real issue plaguing today's society.”

“That’s not a problem plaguing today's society George, admit it. You kissed and ditched her because you didn’t get turned on when she kissed you.”

“Hi, I’m Tom.” George and I both stopped talking. Before us stood a boy, about our age. “Sorry to interrupt your conversation. Seemed pretty lively.”

“It’s fine, sorry we didn’t realise you were there.” George chuckled.

“Don't worry, you two seemed to be having a very… heated discussion.” He grabbed two menus. “Just the two of you?”

“Just the two.”

“Great, if you and your girlfriend will follow me, I’ll take you to your table, and your waitress will be over shortly.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“We’re friends.”

“The best kind,” George added throwing an arm around my shoulder. Tom chuckled and held his hands up in the air.

“If you two best-friends will follow me.” He corrected with a laugh. “Your waitress will be over shortly.” George and I followed Tom to our table, it was a small booth seat and we were able to tuck ourselves away in the corner.

“He’s cute,” George whispered as we sat down. “Your type right?”

“How do you know my type?”

“Brainy, nerdy looking guy.” He looked over to where Tom was seating another couple. “A nice safe guy. The opposite of Julian McDonald”

But he’s not you.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“He doesn’t look like the type of guy who’d like to stay up until three in the morning talking.”

“Y/N, the only people awake at three in the morning are in love, lonely, drunk or all three.”

“Well, maybe I want to add a fourth category to the people up at three AM.” George shook his head.

“You’re one of a kind Y/N Y/LN.”

“So they tell me.” I leant forward on the table. “I don’t want to be that friend, but can we cut today a little short? I just thought about all the things I have to do before class tomorrow and I’m stressing out… Maybe we can just do lunch, and forget the site seeing?”

“Rain check instead?” A cheeky smile slipped onto George’s lips. “That way you’ll have to see me again.”

If only you knew just how much I wanted to see you George.

#george mackay #george mackay x reader #GeorgeMackay #George MacKay fanfic #George MacKay Imagine #Harry Styles #Harry Styles x Reader #HarryStyles #Harry Styles Imagine #Harry Styles Fanfic

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior for January 10, 2020 – 1917, Like A Boss, Just Mercy, Underwater

Well, it looks like we’re back to the usual business now that it’s 2020 with the first weekend with four wide releases – two new movies and two expanding after opening in limited release over Christmas. I’m running a little behind on this so I’ll work on finishing a few reviews before Friday but for now, you can just get a general idea of what’s coming out so you can make some moviegoing plans.

The big movie that I’m most excited for people to see is Sam Mendes’ WWI epic 1917 (Universal), starring George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman as two soldiers sent on an urgent but dangerous mission to the frontlines to prevent an invasion that could leave thousands of British soldiers dead. It’s one of the most exciting movies I saw last year, which is why it ended up on my Top 25 at #2. I already reviewed the movie for ComingSoon.net and did some interviews for VitalThrills.com, so I probably don’t have a ton more to say about it, but it is the one movie I can recommend whole-heartedly this weekend. It is easily one of the best movies I saw last year (twice!)

This weekend also brings the high-concept R-rated comedy LIKE A BOSS (Paramount), which pairs Rose Byrne with Tiffany Haddish and Salma Hayek, three very funny women and great actors in a movie directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl). Essentially, Byrne and Haddish play long-time besties who have been building a small grassroots make-up company and then Hayek comes along as a huge corporate mogul who wants to buy them out who makes a deal that will allow her to get a larger percentage if the two friends break up. You can probably guess the rest. (My review will be posted later tonight since it’s under embargo.)

Mini-Review: It was almost immediately apparent as Like a Boss began that this movie wasn’t going to be for me. It wasn’t the premise or the characters as much as it was the fact that it expects the viewer to be somewhat savvy about the make-up business, something I know (and care) little about.

Byrne and Haddish play best friends Mel and Mia, who have turned their shared love of make-up into a thriving local business that gets the attention of Salma Hayek’s Claire Luna, a big-shot exec at a corporation who wants to buy a stake in their business but with a catch. If for some reason the friends break-up, Luna gets the majority share of the company. This is literally the difference between a 51% and a 49% stake… so not really that big a deal.

I’m not even sure where to begin with this because there’s so much talent involved that generally deserves better, but Haddish has yet to deliver anything on par with her Girls Trip role, and that doesn’t change here. Mind you, I’ve been a big Rose Byrne fan for quite some time, and she’s really been great in movies that allow her to go between humor and drama, but it feels as if she’s trying way too hard to keep up with Haddish, who has actually toned back her character to be more of a 4 or 5 on the Haddish scale.

Jennifer Coolidge seems to be doing the exact same thing she’s done in everything from Legally Blonde to Two Broke Girls, basically acting like a dimwit, and it’s a shame because it’s not really a good part. There’s also Mel and Mia’s three best friends who are so useless at bringing anything to the story that it’s unclear why they’re in the movie at all except to act as a Greek Chorus. This leaves it up to Billy Porter to steal the movie with but just one scene, and pretty much the only one that delivers a laugh.

I’m not sure if the makers of this movie thought that it would be seen as another pro-feminist movie that women flock to, but the problem might be the simple fact that it’s written and directed by men. That certainly couldn’t have helped, especially since this movie is clearly trying to be another Bridesmaids by pushing the R-rated envelope.

The thing is that if you’re going to make a comedy, you should at least try to make some effort for it to be funny, and the fact that Jennifer Lopez’s Second Act takes place in a similar environment but finds a way to be funnier is telling that Like a Boss just isn’t up to snuff.

It’s doubtful Like A Boss will be anyone’s worst movie of the year, but that’s because it isn’t particularly memorable and will likely be forgotten by February.

Rating: 5/10

Another movie expanding nationwide after a platform release is Dustin Daniel Cretton’s prison drama JUST MERCY (Warner Bros.), which stars Michael B. Jordan as young defense attorney Bryan Stevenson, who finds himself trying to get prisoners on Death Row exonerated. The movie also stars Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian, a man falsely accused of murder who becomes Bryan’s biggest case to date while Brie Larson plays Eva Ansley, who works with Bryan. I was kind of bored by the movie the first time I saw it, but I gave it another chance recently and generally liked it more, especially towards the last act. I may write a review before Friday if I can find any time but I’m pretty slammed this week.

The last movie of the weekend is actually one I’ve been looking forward to, since the sci-fi thriller UNDERWATER (20th Century Fox) is my kind of movie. It stars Kristen Stewart, Jessica Hardwick (from the Netflix series Iron First), TJ Miller, Vincent Cassell and John Gallagher, Jr. as a team of scientists who are trapped 6 miles below sea level when their station is hit by a catastrophe and they learn that they’re not alone down there. It’s the new movie from William Eubank, a talented filmmaker who I interviewed years agofor his movie The Signal. I’m also still working on my review for this so please check back tonight/tomorrow for it.

Mini-Review:

It’s a bit of a bummer this new undersea horror-thriller probably won’t get a fair shake from critics, because it’s being released in January. Far too many film critics just love their clichés, and when it comes to January movies (other than the ones premiering at Sundance), they expect everything to be horrible. They go in with that thought in mind and then nitpick to make sure they’re theory is right. Maybe it’s true, but it’s also not particularly fair when you have a movie like Underwater that delivers exactly what’s being sold.

The underwater drilling station Kelper rests on the outskirts of the Mariana Trench, and no sooner then we meet Kristen Stewart’s electric engineer Norah, Kepler is hit by a powerful earthquake that tears the station apart, as she and a few of her colleagues do what they can to survive. They soon learn that they’re not down there alone.

Yes, the premise is a bit of a horror cliché we’ve seen many times before, mostly in space thrillers like the classic Alien, but director William Eubank (The Signal) clearly has chops to direct a much bigger-scale movie like this that involves a lot of underwater FX-work.

While the dialogue isn’t always great, and the attempt to make TJ Miller the film’s comic relief doesn’t always work, you generally like the characters played by Stewart, Hardwick, Cassell and Gallagher, which tends to be half the battle when it comes to horror films. You actually care about them as they face bigger and bigger jeopardy.

I’m sure some women will take issue with Stewart spending a good portion of the movie in a skimpy bathing suit, as soon as she’s out of the bulky deepsea suit she wears for the rest of the movie, but you won’t hear any complaints from me about that.

Like I said, the movie gives you exactly what is being advertised and Eubank has created a movie that’s suitably claustrophobic and at times, legitimately terrifying.

Rating: 7/10

LIMITED RELEASES

The movie opening in limited release that I can recommend highly is Ladj Li’s police thriller LES MISERABLES (Amazon Studios), an amazing police thriller about a group of French detectives trying to deal with issues taking place at the local projects. I thought this French film (France’s shortlisted selection for the Oscar “International Film” category) was fantastic and shows a promising new talent in Li, who wrote and directed the film. If it’s playing in your area, I recommend checking it out, although I’m guessing it will be on Amazon Prime sometime soon as well.

I haven’t seen Jon Avnet’s THREE CHRISTS (IFC FIlms), which has Richard Gere playing Dr. Alan Stone, a psychiatrist in charge of dealing with three schizophrenic patients who all believe they’re Jesus Christ, as played by Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford. It will open in select cities and On Demand shortly after.

Opening Friday in the States roughly eight months after it opened in the United Kingdom is Ron Scalpello’s crime-thriller THE CORRUPTED (Saban Films), starring Sam Claflin as Liam, an ex-con trying to win back the love of his family, while trying to get out of the tangled web of corruption surrounding him. The movie also stars Timothy Spall, Hugh Bonneville and Charlie Murphy.

Josh Hartnett and Margarita Levieva star in Anthony Jerjen’s Inherit the Viper (Lionsgate), playing siblings Kip and Josie, who are dealing in opioids as their only means of survival. Kip’s attempts to get out of the family business put him and his sister and younger brother (Owen Teague) in danger. it will open in select cities and On Demand.

Ofra Bloch’s documentary Afterward (1091) debuted at DOC-NYC last year with its look at the issues between Israel and Palestine that came out of the Jews being driven out of Germany during World War II and settling in Israel where they were seen as an enemy by the Palestinians, while trying to give and receive forgiveness. This is a fantastic doc that will open on Friday and then be on VOD January 28.

Alison Reid’s doc The Woman Who Loves Giraffes (Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber) is a little more obvious what it’s about, as it follows Anne Innis Dagg’s solo journey to South Africa in 1956 to study giraffes, featuring voicework by Tatiana Maslany, Victor Garber and more. It opens at New York’s Quad Cinema on Friday and at the Laemmle in Los Angeles on February 21.

Opening today at the Film Forumin New York is Renaud Barret’s doc System K (Artification Release), which looks at the city of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the street artist performance scene that criticizes government corruption and the poverty that has struck the area.

The Sonata (Screen Media) stars Freya Tingley as a virtuoso violinist who inherits the mansion of her composer father (the late Rutger Hauer) after his sudden death, where she discovers a mysterious score with strange symbols that she tries to decipher with her agent and manager (Simon Abkarian).

This week’s Bollywood offering is Meghna Gulzar’s Chaapaak (FIP), starring Deepika Padukone as a woman attacked with acid in New Delhi in 2005 and how she survived it.

REPERTORY

It’s a new year so we’re back with more cool repertory stuff!

METROGRAPH (NYC):

My favorite local rep theater is beginning with two movies by Your Name and Weathering with You director Makoto Shinkai: 2007’s 5 Centimeters per Second and 2011’s Children Who Chase Lost Voices. On Saturday night, the Academy is back at the Metrograph screening Lina Wermüller’s 1976 movie Seven Beauties. Also on Thursday, you can see two “Metrograph Standards,” Jack Hazan’s A Bigger Splash (1974) and Edo Bertoglio’s Downtown 81. Welcome To Metrograph: Reduxwill screen Richard Quine’s 1958 film Bell, Book and Candle, Late Nites at Metrograph will screen Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963) while the Playtime: Family Matinees selection is Danny Devito’s Matilda from 1996.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Folllowing up FilmLinc’s amazing Korean cinema series from last year, this week, they’re doing a special “The Bong Show” retrospective, highlighting the work of soon-to-be Oscar nominee Bong Joon-Ho, as well as other related films with Director Bong in person for some of them. It runs through January 14 and besides all of his feature films, there will be a showing of all his shorts on Friday night, January 10, as well as Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure (1997), Deliverance (1972), Intentions of Murder (1964), John Frankenheimer’s Seconds (1966), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) and more.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Tonight’s “Weird Wednesday “is the 1984 Supergirl movie, starring Helen Slater, which is almost sold out. Thursday’s “Cherry Bomb” pick is the 1988 film Shy People. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the horror classic Ghoulies (1984) and “Weird Wednesday” is Tarsem’s The Fall, the latter hosted by Vaiance Films founder Dylan Marchetti.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Today’s “Afternoon Classics” matinee is Norman Jewison’s 1967 film In the Heat of the Night, while the Weds./Thurs night double feature is Secret Ceremony and Boom!, both from 1968, both starring Elizabeth Taylor. Friday’s “Freaky Friday” is the 1985 film Re-Animator, while Tarantino’s own Django Unchained is the Friday midnight movie. This weekend’s Kiddee Matinee is the Studio Ghibli film Ponyo, while the “Cartoon Club” is also running this weekend. The Saturday midnight movie is Martin Scorsese’s classic Taxi Driver (1976). Monday’s “Monday Matinees” is the Stephen King adaptation Misery (1990), while the double feature running from Monday through Thursday are newer films, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and Sofia Coppola’s The Beguilded from 2017, both in 35mm.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

On Wednesday, Film Forum will begin screening a 4k restoration of Russian filmmaker István Szabó’s Mephisto (1981) along with screenings of his other movies, Confidence (1980) and Colonel Redl (1985). This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is one of my all-time favorite comedies, Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot(1959), starring Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Apparently, the Egyptian now has two theaters? Sweet! As part of the theater’s “New Year’s Resolutions” its screening the 1993 horror anthology, Necronomicon: The Book of the Dead on Friday in the Spielberg Theater, followed at 10pm by Roar (1981). The Egyptian’s usual theater will screen a double feature of Airplane! (1980) and Stripes (1981) on Friday. On Saturday, you can see Pacino in Scarface (1983), the sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) and Terrence Young’s Valley of the Eagles (1951) with an introduction by Joe Dante (schedule-permitting). Also on Saturday night is a double feature of Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Other (1972). Sunday’s “New Year’s Resolution” is “Get More Sleep!” in the form of Akira Kurosawa’s later film Dreams (1990), plus you can also see a 35mm print of The Blue Angel (1930), starring Marlene Dietrich as part of the theater’s “Sunday Print Edition.” Sunday’s New Year’s Resolution is Deliverance (1971)andWake in Fright (1972).

AERO (LA):

As part of the series “The Films of Marty and Bob, the Aero will screen a matinee of Taxi Driver (1976) on Thursday – two days before the Alamo. (Oops!) Thursday night is a double feature of Douglas Sirk’s 1955 film All That Heaven Allows and Fassbinder’s 1974 film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Friday begins an “All About Almodóvar” series with a double feature of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) and All About My Mother (1999), Saturday is Bad Education (2004) and Talk to Her (2002) then Sunday is some of the filmmaker’s earlier work, The Law of Desire (1987) and Matador (1986).

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

This weekend, the Quad will screen four movies by Bernard-Henri Lévy: 2012’s The Oath of Tobruk, a double feature of Peshmerga and The Battle of Mosul, and Bosna! With an introduction by Lévy. Sorry, but I’m not really familiar with his work enough to elaborate.

MOMA (NYC):

The Museum of Modern Art has started a new series called “Show Me Love: International Teen Cinema” running through January 19 with some interesting selections including Diane Kurys’ 1977 film Peppermint Soda, Greg Araki’s 1993 filmTotally Fucked Up, Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya (Two Daughters) (1961) and more. Another series that will run through February is Modern Matinees: Jack Lemmon, which will show some of the comedic actor’s best movies, including 1963’s Irma La Douce on Wednesday, Blake Edwards’ Days of Wine and Roses (1962) on Thursday, George Cuckor’s It Should Happen to You from 1954) this Friday. (Most of the movies will be repeated later in the series.) Tuesday’s matinee returns to “The Films of Marty and Bob” with New York, New York(1977).

IFC CENTER (NYC)

The IFC Center is in the middle of a comprehensive “Films of Studio Ghibli” series with a bunch of Studio Ghibli animated films, which will run through next week, as will the 75thanniversary digital restoration of the cinema classic Casablanca. This week’s Late Night Favorite selections are David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive and Eraserhead, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995).

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

MOMI is in the midst of a “Curators’ Choice 2019” made up mostly of new movies vs. repertory stuff. Saturday will be a tribute to the late Carol Spinney with a screening of the 2014 doc I Am Big Bird.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

The Nicolas Cage love continues with the 1997 action movie Con Air.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday’s midnight movie is Rene Laloux’s 1973 animated familyFantastic Planet.

Next week, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are reunited for Bad Boys for Life, taking on Robert Downey Jr. as (Doctor) Dolittle.

#TheWeekendWarrior movies Reviews 1917 JustMercy Underwater LikeABoss repertory

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randomrichards · 4 years

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MOVIES (THAT MIGHT BE) WORTH CHECKING OUT IN JANUARY 2020:

January 3:

THE GRUDGE

We begin with an attempted reboot of the hit horror flick based on another hit horror film.

Based on the Japanese import Ju-On, the film centres around a curse born from a fit of anger that attacks anyone who dares to enter a house. The pale boy ghost and the contorted woman became instantly iconic, especially when they made that crackling sound. Of course, people in North America are more likely to recognize its remake The Grudge. While not on the same level as its predecessor, the American was still a hit. It has become so iconic that there was a crossover movie where it faces off against the ghost from Ringu.

This time, the target is Peter Spencer (John Cho), a real estate agent who intended to sell a house not realizing it contained the title curse. Believing a homicide occurred, Spencer calls on Detective Muldoon (Andrea Risborough) to investigate. But they fail to realize the curse inside dooms all who enter it with a violent and it’s coming for them.

Here’s another of a long list of Horror remakes Hollywood has been peddling in the last decade. For every good one (It, Child’s Play), there are three times as many failures (the recent ones being Pet Semetary and Black Christmas). I’m not having much hope for this one. It can still be good, but it needs a director with as creative a vision as Takashi Shimizu’s.

THREE CHRISTS

Based on The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Milton Rokeach, Three Christs tells the real-life experiment involving three men who claim to be a certain savior.

In Michigan’s Ypsilanti State Hospital in 1959, Dr. Alan Stone (Richard Gere) conducts a revolutionary experiment where he brings together three men (Peter Dinklage, Walton Goggins and Bradley Whitford) who each claim to be Jesus Christ. He hopes to use this experiment to force them to confront their delusions. It would certainly be preferable to electroshock therapy.

A real-life story like this comes with a lot of potential. But with the director of Fried Green Tomatoes helming this project, it looks like this will be a typical biopic. This is a shame with 4 great actors working together.

January 10:

1917

Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty and Skyfall, takes us back to World War One and hopes to enter the Oscar Race with his latest war movie 1917.

Generla Erinmore (Colin Firth) tasks young British soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) with a difficult mission. 1,600 of their fellow soldiers are heading into a fatal trap and the two soldiers must deliver a message calling off the raid before tomorrow morning. And one of them is Blake’s brother. Racing against time, Blake and Schofield are forced to rush through enemy territory to deliver the message on time. Benedict Cumberbatch also

The film is already garnering high praise for its gripping suspense and graceful camera. It’s already garnering nominations at the Golden Globe Awards for Best Dramatic Motion Picture, Best Director and Best Original Score. It’s especially getting praise is how it makes the film look like one long camera shot following the two leads through their mission.

CHHAPAAK

All the way from India is a film inspired by real life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal.

This film looks at Malti (Deepika Padukone), a woman horribly scared after an acid attack. The film follows her through her physical treatment and eventual trial. It looks like the core of the film will be her journey of emotional healing, regaining her self-worth with the help of loved ones.

Unless you know films that show Bollywood movies, I suspect this film will be hard to find for many people. Kind of a shame

JUST MERCY

Writer/Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) brings ups the real-life story of a lawyer who battled systemic racism to free an innocent man.

Harvard graduate Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) heads to 1980s Alabama to assist advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) to defend those wrongfully convicted. His first and most important case is Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who was sentenced to death for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl despite evidence proving his innocence including a group of people who could vouch for him.

As Stevenson works prove McMillian’s innocence and those of other death row inmates, he faces up against an uncaring political maneuvers and systemic racism. But neither he nor Ansley will let this stop them.

Audiences love and underdog story and this one is sure to satisfy, especially with Jordan, Larson and Foxx starring in the film. It’s also sure to offer some catharsis for those frustrated with current systemic racism. But this could by a typical biopic forgotten by the end of the year.

January 17:

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE

I’m going to be brief because I don’t think we’re going to get anything special from this movie. This film is pretty much a checkmark of every plot element you see in every Buddy Cop movie. Cop considering retiring. Check. One last job? Check. Training arrogant young upstarts? Check. A forever disapproving superior throwing a tantrum of our heroes. Check. It doesn’t matter how flashy the trailer is, a cliché is a cliché.

But then again, the original two film were also piling of buddy cop clichés. The only thing they had going for them was Will Smith’s charisma and Martin Lawrence’s over the top delivery. Only the second movie was memorable thanks to some well shot, over the top action scenes. But I highly doubt this one will be memorable when Michael Bay has backed out of the film.

We don’t really need another Bad Boys movie, especially when we have the Fast and Furious series and the John Wick movies.

DOLITTLE

The famous physician who can talk to animals returns in a new reboot. This time the Doc is played by Robert Downey Jr, fresh from retiring his iconic role of Tony Stark after 10 years. It also looks like it will be going back to its roots as a fantasy story set in the Victorian era. There’s not much plot summary to go on, but judging by the trailer, it will have him setting sail on an adventure alongside his animal friends. At the core of the film seems to be his friendship with two kills. Also, among the cast are Jessie Buckley as Queen Victoria and Antonio Banderas as a pirate.

There is an all-star cast voicing the animals, including Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes and Rami Malek just to name a few.

This film seems to rest its shoulders on Robert Downey Jr, hoping his charm will do for Dr. Doolittle what he did for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the film lives and dies on writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who is an unusual choice for a family fantasy considering that his resume consists of gritty war movies like Syriana, Traffic and Rules Engagement and crime drama tv shows like The Practice and NYPD Blue. He’s even written for the video game Call of Duty: Ghosts. It’s strange that someone with this resume would be chosen to reboot this franchise. It’s especially risky considering the original attempts to adapt Hugh Lofting books for the big screen. But if Martin Scorsese can make Hugo, there’s a chance Gaghan can make Dolittle work

The first one was a musical that tried to bank on the Sound of Music’s success but was an epic flop. It didn’t help that lead actor Rex Harrison was a notoriously difficult drunk who couldn’t sing. In fact, his behind the scenes shenanigans were way more interesting than the actual movie as proved by Mark Harris’ non-fiction book Pictures at a Revolution. Decades later, 20th Century Fox reboots the franchise was a hit thanks to Eddie Murphy as the title character and a variety of comedic voice actors (especially Albert Brooks, Chris Rock and Norm McDonald) voices the animals. No matter the quality, there’s a weight of nostalgia for both movies with many people growing up with these movies. This film will face the challenge of pushing past the nostalgia.

WEATHERING WITH YOU

From beloved anime writer/director Makoto Shinkai comes another romantic fantasy about two teens.

Teenage boy Hodoka (voiced by Kotaro Daigo) runs away from his isolated island home for Tokyo. Homeless and desperate, Hodoka takes a job as an assistant for journalist Keisuke Suga (Sun Oguri). His job involves finding “The Sunshine Girl”, a local teen girl who can control the weather. He soon finds her in Hina Amano (Nana Mori), a cheerful teen girl living with her brother. He is in awe with her power when she freezes the rain and love soon sparks. But messing with nature comes with a price and soon Hodoka and Hina are fighting to stay together.

Of all the movies on this list, this is the one I’m most excited to see. Once I saw his recent his Your Name, I was in pure awe. Never has a sunset looked more beautiful than in Shinkai’s anime. Every environment in Shinkai’s films enchant you with their vibrant colours and stunning details. Just as beautiful are his fantastical stories of young people growing up. At the core of each story is teens in love kept apart by unusual circumstances, whether it’s distance or time or even being in each other ‘s bodies.

This film’s already a major hit in Japan, which is very encouraging for anime fans.

January 24:

COLOR OUT OF SPACE

And now for something a little weird.

Nathan Gardner (Nicholas Cage) has moved his family to a remote farm to escape city life and live a life of peace and quiet. Then God was like “LOL No!” and sends an asteroid down their way. Then weird shit starts happening, most with colours mutating everything.

With a crew like this, you know you’re getting into some crazy shit. First, the film is based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft, the inventor of cosmic horror and the man who gave us Cthulhu. Then there’s co-writer/director Richard Stanley, known for his odd genre flicks including Hardware and Dust Devil.[i] And then there’s Nicholas Cage, whose as well known for his scenery chewing Kabuki acting as his acclaimed Oscar-nominated roles. Last year, writer/director Panos Cosmatos found perfect use of Cage’s Kabuki acting in the ultra-stylized revenge masterpiece Mandy. Let’s be honest, the only types of films Cage’s Kabuki acting can work are either stylized, unintentionally hilarious or tongue-in-cheek. With the producers of Mandy working on this film, there’s high hopes it will be deliver on the stylized goods.

THE GENTLEMEN

After remaking Aladdin (and making lots of money in the process), director/writer Guy Ritchie returns to his roots with his latest English crime comedy The Gentlemen.

From what I can gather, the films about an American Pot Dealer (Matthew McConaughey) who plans to sell off his Empire in London when a young gang led by Dry Eye (Henry Golding) starts a drug war. There’s not much plot to go on, but with a Guy Ritchie movie, the plot will be way too complicated to explain. What is guaranteed is that there will be lots of oddball gangsters with weird names, hilarious and gruesome deaths and shit blowing up.

The film features an all-star cast including Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell and Hugh Grant continuing his streak of getting his groove back by playing against type.

So far, Ritchie hasn’t made a film that’s reached the same level as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch. For the most part, he has been unsuccessful stepping out of his comfort zone. Here’s hoping The Gentleman will bring his back on his A Game.

THE TURNING

This day concludes with a modern take of Henry James’ classic novella The Turn of the Screw.

Kate (Mackenzie Davis) is hired as a governess for care for her boss’s orphaned niece Flora (Brooklyn Prince) and nephew Miles (Finn Wolfhard). But as she cares for them in a secluded mansion, she comes to realize they are being haunted by hostile spirits. Can she protect them for what lies in the mansion?

The film has been remade multiple times, with the most acclaimed one being the 1961 classic The Innocents. This once changes it up by setting it in current times, with a notable scene of Miles creeping Kate out with drums. The film also gives some Conjuring vibes, especially with its cinematography. But it should be noted that similarity doesn’t equal copying and there could be some unique elements in this film.

There certainly is a good chance with director Floria Sigismondi will offer a unique vision. She has already directed episodes of stylized shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Daredevil and American Gods, but she’s already well known for her stylized directing from her work in music videos. Since Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People”, dilating, jittery camera work has become her trademark, working alongside artists including David Bowie, Bjork, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake (just to name a few).

January 27:

BEANPOLE

Here’s the film Russia hopes will be nominated for Best Foreign Language film.

Set in Leningrad in 1945, Beanpole centres on Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina) and Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) struggling to trying to rebuild their lives in the ruins of a city demolished by war. At the core of film is the infertile Masha hiring Iya as a surrogate mother.

There’s not much go on, but with the film winning Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival, there’s good prospects for this film. It seems to be a character drama like Roma. Here’s hoping this film’s as quietly engaging as Alfonso Cuaron’s masterpiece.

January 31

THE TRAITOR

We conclude this with an Italian biopic about Tommaso Buscetta, the first Mafia Informant in 1980’s Sicily.

Tommaso (Pierfrancesco Favino) was a member of the Cosa Nostra. Then in 1983, half of his family is killed in a gang war. Now he intends to make them pay using the arm of the law. He knows the mob will do whatever it takes to stop him, but he’s more determined than ever. But as the trials continue, Tommaso will show the rabbit hole goes deeper than the law expected with political figures in the mafia’s pockets.

This is another film that may fall by the wayside, which is a shame because this film seems like a great biopic. It could certainly give overdue attention for director/co-writer Marco Bellocchio, who has remained a criminally overlooked director despite making acclaimed movies since the 1960s.

[i] And being fired from the Brando version of Island of Dr. Monroe.

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