We were planning to see Heretic this weekend, but Tasha Robinson's recent post has us looking for alternates. Things are just a little too raw right now, especially for my partner, to think we'd be able to get through that in a theater.
I'm scratching my head a little bit with the association, but maybe there's a broader list of movies right at this moment that feel like they're not terribly appealing. I think there's some cinematic punch to the film that serves it well in the theater, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone a little self-care now. It feels like a bad time for damn near everything.
As a former Mormon missionary and current skeptic, there is no way I can resist seeing HERETIC this weekend. I'm curious to see not just how the central struggle plays out but how realistically the Mormons and their habits and beliefs are portrayed. (Zero on that scale would be ORGAZMO. Not sure I've ever seen a non-niche release that would score a 10, though the Hulu series UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN might make 7.5.)
I will return and report! (Er, if you're a Mormon of a certain age, believe me, that line is surefire comedy gold.)
I haven't read most of your review yet because I want to go in as blind as possible, but the trailers for the movie immediately made me think of Gary Darley and Mark Fischer, two missionaries who vanished in 1974 in Austin, TX. They were apparently dismembered by a recent convert in the taxidermy shop behind his trailer home. Blood and hair belonging to both missionaries were recovered from the housing of a band saw, and Fischer’s bloody watch and a name tag with a bullet hole were found in the convert’s trailer, but no other traces of their bodies ever turned up. So, you know, just the basic setup of this flick is a missionary's worst nightmare.
I enjoyed Bird at the festival screening I saw last week, but I know I'm vulnerable to overestimation of a film in that environment. I really appreciated Bailey's struggle with being a kid and also having to be an adult - taking responsibility for things the actual adults in her life either can't or won't. I wonder if that has anything to do with me being parentified as a teen...
I’m probably alone in the wilderness here, but I actually enjoyed Hugh Grant’s off-brand performance in The Gentlemen, and thought it was a highlight of the movie. I think the attempt to expand his range a bit under the radar has been pretty successful.
Loved him in The Undoing. I think it was after this role that in an interview he said something along the lines of, "Who am I going to murder next? I can't wait!" From romantic lead (Four Weddings) to romantic heel (Bridget Jones) to goofy evil (Paddington) to full-on horror baddie - the trajectory tracks, and it tracks very well.
He’s quite good in the absurdly named Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. Both he and Josh Hartnet are clearly having a lot of fun. It’s a stellar movie for a rained out ballgame.
the real question is who at A24 has a cousin working at that scent company that did the smell-o-vision showing of Heretic AND made the Seamen's Helper soap for The Lighthouse?
I saw HERETIC yesterday and spent the subsequent 24 hours digesting it and composing some thoughts. I've written up a whole Substack post of my own about what I thought. The short version is, I liked it quite a lot, not least of all for presenting a serious and well-informed debate about the merits of Mormonism as opposed to other strains of monotheism and goosing it up with high stakes. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East were both very believable as missionaries in a bad situation (and I do know from missionaries in a bad situation), and they said a lot of things that I heard come out of my own mouth when I was their age. What I wished was better done was the Mormon milieu around them, which I didn't quite believe, and the failure to tie the resolution squarely to LDS doctrine. This made me feel like Mormonism wasn't exactly organic to the film. Any Christian denomination could have been made to fit -- it's just easiest to figure out how to plant Mormons in a psychopath's living room.
We were planning to see Heretic this weekend, but Tasha Robinson's recent post has us looking for alternates. Things are just a little too raw right now, especially for my partner, to think we'd be able to get through that in a theater.
https://bsky.app/profile/tasharobinson.bsky.social/post/3lacgmywk232c
I'm scratching my head a little bit with the association, but maybe there's a broader list of movies right at this moment that feel like they're not terribly appealing. I think there's some cinematic punch to the film that serves it well in the theater, but I wouldn't begrudge anyone a little self-care now. It feels like a bad time for damn near everything.
We couldn't even get through some comfort television like Abbot Elementary last night...
As a former Mormon missionary and current skeptic, there is no way I can resist seeing HERETIC this weekend. I'm curious to see not just how the central struggle plays out but how realistically the Mormons and their habits and beliefs are portrayed. (Zero on that scale would be ORGAZMO. Not sure I've ever seen a non-niche release that would score a 10, though the Hulu series UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN might make 7.5.)
Oh wow, I can't wait to hear what you think of this movie then. Please weigh in!
I will return and report! (Er, if you're a Mormon of a certain age, believe me, that line is surefire comedy gold.)
I haven't read most of your review yet because I want to go in as blind as possible, but the trailers for the movie immediately made me think of Gary Darley and Mark Fischer, two missionaries who vanished in 1974 in Austin, TX. They were apparently dismembered by a recent convert in the taxidermy shop behind his trailer home. Blood and hair belonging to both missionaries were recovered from the housing of a band saw, and Fischer’s bloody watch and a name tag with a bullet hole were found in the convert’s trailer, but no other traces of their bodies ever turned up. So, you know, just the basic setup of this flick is a missionary's worst nightmare.
Ever since I heard of this movie I've been awaiting your take, because I knew you'd have to see it.
(Do you mean they sniff him out (instead of snuff)?)
was wondering that too -- otherwise, seems like a big killin' spoiler
Hey, I did say these two were pretty resourceful. (It's been fixed.)
I enjoyed Bird at the festival screening I saw last week, but I know I'm vulnerable to overestimation of a film in that environment. I really appreciated Bailey's struggle with being a kid and also having to be an adult - taking responsibility for things the actual adults in her life either can't or won't. I wonder if that has anything to do with me being parentified as a teen...
I’m probably alone in the wilderness here, but I actually enjoyed Hugh Grant’s off-brand performance in The Gentlemen, and thought it was a highlight of the movie. I think the attempt to expand his range a bit under the radar has been pretty successful.
The ending is lousy in such a way to, well, undo the episodes that precede it but he's really good in THE UNDOING.
Loved him in The Undoing. I think it was after this role that in an interview he said something along the lines of, "Who am I going to murder next? I can't wait!" From romantic lead (Four Weddings) to romantic heel (Bridget Jones) to goofy evil (Paddington) to full-on horror baddie - the trajectory tracks, and it tracks very well.
He’s quite good in the absurdly named Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. Both he and Josh Hartnet are clearly having a lot of fun. It’s a stellar movie for a rained out ballgame.
the real question is who at A24 has a cousin working at that scent company that did the smell-o-vision showing of Heretic AND made the Seamen's Helper soap for The Lighthouse?
I saw HERETIC yesterday and spent the subsequent 24 hours digesting it and composing some thoughts. I've written up a whole Substack post of my own about what I thought. The short version is, I liked it quite a lot, not least of all for presenting a serious and well-informed debate about the merits of Mormonism as opposed to other strains of monotheism and goosing it up with high stakes. Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East were both very believable as missionaries in a bad situation (and I do know from missionaries in a bad situation), and they said a lot of things that I heard come out of my own mouth when I was their age. What I wished was better done was the Mormon milieu around them, which I didn't quite believe, and the failure to tie the resolution squarely to LDS doctrine. This made me feel like Mormonism wasn't exactly organic to the film. Any Christian denomination could have been made to fit -- it's just easiest to figure out how to plant Mormons in a psychopath's living room.
My full thoughts here: https://dogb.us/heretic