This week brings exciting new work from the directors of 'We're All Going to the World's Fair' and 'Drive My Car," and a mainstream homage to stunt work.
WORLD'S FAIR is easily my favourite movie of the decade so far, so I'm quite excited for Schoenbrun's latest. I live in a small enough market that it's not clear if it will be opening here, but I'm willing to go to a real city if I have to, and if we have any in Canada. I mean, it's *got* to come to Toronto at the very least, right?
Yeah, I feel like my small city is right on the bubble of ever getting anything arthouse-adjacent, and like this movie is right on the edge of being mainstream enough for this place, so it'll be interesting to see!
FWIW, Cineplex shows it opening on the 17th, though obviously specific theatre info isn't available yet. Definitely curious to check it out what with all the rave reviews, despite not really being able to get on World's Fair's wavelength for the most part. Hopefully I find this one slightly more accessible. And for you and any other Canadian readers, Evil Does Not Exist is coming next week according to the Canadian distributors website.
I have very vague recollections of The Fall Guy when I was a child in the 80s -- mostly the song (which some point later I learned was sung by Lee Majors himself). I never watched a single episode, and looking at the Nielsen ratings in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_Guy#Reception), it never scored higher than #16.
So what do you think is the reason why The Fall Guy references the original TV show? Is it because they are hoping for some minor nostalgia bump in viewership? Because I'd think it would be fairly minor. I'm guessing they had to pay for the rights to use the source material, even if it's loosely based, so why pay? Was it to head off some kind of a lawsuit, claimed by the showrunner if a movie like this was made...tthough that seems really farfetched.
The title is good, no question. Maybe it was for the title, and maybe the referential cost was so little that it was worth it?
I've taken to calling Schoenbrun's work "horror-inflected" rather than straight up "horror". Not as a negative, mind you; but more in the way that they take the concepts and trapping of a horror film and instead use them for unease. I SAW THE TV GLOW especially feels more interested in capturing a feeling, putting you in a character's headspace. I highly recommend taking a look at their documentary A SELF-INDUCED HALLUCINATION (available here: https://vimeo.com/275691576/4429fa2599) to see the throughlines around media and escapism.
Can't end a comment about TV GLOW without noting that it's some of the most astonishing filmmaking I've seen all year. Amazing what giving someone a budget will do.
Evil Does Not Exist probably my favourite of the year to date. Really thrilling to see Hamaguchi clearly working with a level of confidence bestowed by his international breakthrough but still so willing to duck expectations of what a follow-up to Drive My Car might do.
I was vaguely interested in seeing THE FALL GUY, but “writer of HOBBS & SHAW and HOTEL ARTEMIS” — two of my least-favorite films from their respective years — may have killed that.
I haven't seen HOTEL ARTEMIS, but it is at least better than HOBBS & SHAW. THE FALL GUY succeeds in spite of the script, largely due to the strength of its leads and the quality of the action sequence, while HOBBS & SHAW only fitfully rises above it.
I hope other people dig it, but I went to an early screening screening of THE FALL GUY last night and it became one of the few movies I've walked out of. I'm sure my initial letterboxd review was unfair to a cast trying its hardest* but the whole thing felt lifeless and rote for something with a nine-figure budget and a cast full of charming ringers. I'll give it another chance sometime.
*-"Somehow, Emily Blunt was funnier in Oppenheimer."
Ouch! I feel like I'm being harder on the film than most, but as I say in the review, the script is a problem that the movie struggles to charm and fight its way through.
You nailed it. Gosling and Blunt are incapable of being wholly uninteresting — you could sell tickets to Blunt's media interviews! — but both feel adrift in this one.
I had a good time with diminishing returns. I was highly entertained by the first half, adequately entertained by the second. Hard to escape the feeling that bringing Blunt into a NICE GUYS sequel might have been a better idea but that’s not going to happen.
Glad you enjoyed THE FALL GUY and love the idea of Blunt in a NICE GUYS sequel, even if it's depressingly unlikely. I feel like the material frequently can't keep up with Blunt, if that makes sense; she'd be a fun fit for Shane Black's sensibility.
I needed someone else’s guidance to EVIL DOES NOT EXIST as I came away just a bit bemused and didn’t rate it highly. But it is in keeping with Hamaguchi’s style.
I chuckled when The Fall Guy deliberately mentioned Tom Cruise by name to establish that he exists in that universe and so is definitely not Tom Ryder. Even if Tom Ryder also runs weird.
It's like Teddy Perkins in that episode of Atlanta, when he namechecks bad showbiz fathers including Joe Jackson to try to convince us that this is not supposed to be Michael Jackson.
I saw EVIL DOES NOT EXIST today and I was thoroughly taken with it. An elderly trio leaving the theater asked me if I understood what the heck happened at the end. I did not have a good answer beyond what can be inferred from what we actually see, but as to the motivation and meaning, that's what I've been turning over in my head for hours. I have theories, but the problem with seeing movies alone is not being able to discuss what you just saw with friends.
Beyond the deliberateness and patience of this film, I was struck by some absolutely gorgeous images. One was just a prosaic shot of a car on an open highway, until you realize Mt. Fuji is there in the background, wreathed in clouds. Another was a distant tracking shot of a man traipsing through the woods. The camera continues to move as a small ridge covered with trees interposes itself. When the ridge ends and the man is visible again, he is now carrying his daughter piggyback. Breathtaking.
Late to the party here, but saw and mostly enjoyed THE FALL GUY this weekend. The biggest missed opportunity for me was the movie within the movie. It's mediocrity made me question how it was possibly a passion project for Blunt's character, and it felt like a paper-thin excuse to directly address their relationship problems. I felt like it could've worked much better as a parody of soulless, regurgitate IP. Spitballing here, but perhaps her character could be paying her dues on the Xth movie of a franchise, with the aim of one day making her passion project. That could then wind up being the film we see at the end.
If you want an even better time with I Saw The TV Glow do not look up who plays Owen’s alleged stepfather until the credits play.
I had to stop myself from blurting out, "ACTOR NAME was in that?" on the subway platform after the film. He does good work!
WORLD'S FAIR is easily my favourite movie of the decade so far, so I'm quite excited for Schoenbrun's latest. I live in a small enough market that it's not clear if it will be opening here, but I'm willing to go to a real city if I have to, and if we have any in Canada. I mean, it's *got* to come to Toronto at the very least, right?
It was the toast of Sundance and A24 is putting it out, so I imagine it'll see the widest possibly arthouse distribution.
Yeah, I feel like my small city is right on the bubble of ever getting anything arthouse-adjacent, and like this movie is right on the edge of being mainstream enough for this place, so it'll be interesting to see!
I need to revisit WORLD'S FAIR because I liked it but not as much as others. This one got me the first time around.
FWIW, Cineplex shows it opening on the 17th, though obviously specific theatre info isn't available yet. Definitely curious to check it out what with all the rave reviews, despite not really being able to get on World's Fair's wavelength for the most part. Hopefully I find this one slightly more accessible. And for you and any other Canadian readers, Evil Does Not Exist is coming next week according to the Canadian distributors website.
I have very vague recollections of The Fall Guy when I was a child in the 80s -- mostly the song (which some point later I learned was sung by Lee Majors himself). I never watched a single episode, and looking at the Nielsen ratings in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_Guy#Reception), it never scored higher than #16.
So what do you think is the reason why The Fall Guy references the original TV show? Is it because they are hoping for some minor nostalgia bump in viewership? Because I'd think it would be fairly minor. I'm guessing they had to pay for the rights to use the source material, even if it's loosely based, so why pay? Was it to head off some kind of a lawsuit, claimed by the showrunner if a movie like this was made...tthough that seems really farfetched.
The title is good, no question. Maybe it was for the title, and maybe the referential cost was so little that it was worth it?
Nice to see that EVIL DOES NOT EXIST is half the length of DRIVE MY CAR
I've taken to calling Schoenbrun's work "horror-inflected" rather than straight up "horror". Not as a negative, mind you; but more in the way that they take the concepts and trapping of a horror film and instead use them for unease. I SAW THE TV GLOW especially feels more interested in capturing a feeling, putting you in a character's headspace. I highly recommend taking a look at their documentary A SELF-INDUCED HALLUCINATION (available here: https://vimeo.com/275691576/4429fa2599) to see the throughlines around media and escapism.
Can't end a comment about TV GLOW without noting that it's some of the most astonishing filmmaking I've seen all year. Amazing what giving someone a budget will do.
"Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, fill in the gaps with charm and bravado, but it’s frustrating to see them laboring like Andrew McCarthy"
Ryan Gosling in a reboot of Weekend at Bernies!
"aggressive stunt showcase begins to tip into an exhausting grind along the lines of his Bullet Train"
yeah.... Bullet Train did not live up to expectations
Evil Does Not Exist probably my favourite of the year to date. Really thrilling to see Hamaguchi clearly working with a level of confidence bestowed by his international breakthrough but still so willing to duck expectations of what a follow-up to Drive My Car might do.
I was vaguely interested in seeing THE FALL GUY, but “writer of HOBBS & SHAW and HOTEL ARTEMIS” — two of my least-favorite films from their respective years — may have killed that.
I haven't seen HOTEL ARTEMIS, but it is at least better than HOBBS & SHAW. THE FALL GUY succeeds in spite of the script, largely due to the strength of its leads and the quality of the action sequence, while HOBBS & SHAW only fitfully rises above it.
I hope other people dig it, but I went to an early screening screening of THE FALL GUY last night and it became one of the few movies I've walked out of. I'm sure my initial letterboxd review was unfair to a cast trying its hardest* but the whole thing felt lifeless and rote for something with a nine-figure budget and a cast full of charming ringers. I'll give it another chance sometime.
*-"Somehow, Emily Blunt was funnier in Oppenheimer."
Ouch! I feel like I'm being harder on the film than most, but as I say in the review, the script is a problem that the movie struggles to charm and fight its way through.
You nailed it. Gosling and Blunt are incapable of being wholly uninteresting — you could sell tickets to Blunt's media interviews! — but both feel adrift in this one.
I had a good time with diminishing returns. I was highly entertained by the first half, adequately entertained by the second. Hard to escape the feeling that bringing Blunt into a NICE GUYS sequel might have been a better idea but that’s not going to happen.
Glad you enjoyed THE FALL GUY and love the idea of Blunt in a NICE GUYS sequel, even if it's depressingly unlikely. I feel like the material frequently can't keep up with Blunt, if that makes sense; she'd be a fun fit for Shane Black's sensibility.
Completely unsurprising to me - Bullet Train is probably the worst movie I've seen in a theater in the last few years.
I can't be the only person who remembers METALSTORM: THE DESTRUCTION OF JARED-SYN, right? Is this what THE FALL GUY is tracking?
THANK YOU
Exactly my thought!
I needed someone else’s guidance to EVIL DOES NOT EXIST as I came away just a bit bemused and didn’t rate it highly. But it is in keeping with Hamaguchi’s style.
I kind of hated World's Fair, I'm not online-poisoned enough and it left me completely cold. Still down to try this new one though.
I chuckled when The Fall Guy deliberately mentioned Tom Cruise by name to establish that he exists in that universe and so is definitely not Tom Ryder. Even if Tom Ryder also runs weird.
It's like Teddy Perkins in that episode of Atlanta, when he namechecks bad showbiz fathers including Joe Jackson to try to convince us that this is not supposed to be Michael Jackson.
I saw EVIL DOES NOT EXIST today and I was thoroughly taken with it. An elderly trio leaving the theater asked me if I understood what the heck happened at the end. I did not have a good answer beyond what can be inferred from what we actually see, but as to the motivation and meaning, that's what I've been turning over in my head for hours. I have theories, but the problem with seeing movies alone is not being able to discuss what you just saw with friends.
Beyond the deliberateness and patience of this film, I was struck by some absolutely gorgeous images. One was just a prosaic shot of a car on an open highway, until you realize Mt. Fuji is there in the background, wreathed in clouds. Another was a distant tracking shot of a man traipsing through the woods. The camera continues to move as a small ridge covered with trees interposes itself. When the ridge ends and the man is visible again, he is now carrying his daughter piggyback. Breathtaking.
And interestingly, there seems to be something a remixed version of EVIL DOES NOT EXIST called GIFT, for which Eiko Ishibashi improvises a score live. Here's an interview where she talks about that, and a bit about the origins of both projects: https://www.screenslate.com/articles/music-doesnt-give-answer-interview-eiko-ishibashi
Late to the party here, but saw and mostly enjoyed THE FALL GUY this weekend. The biggest missed opportunity for me was the movie within the movie. It's mediocrity made me question how it was possibly a passion project for Blunt's character, and it felt like a paper-thin excuse to directly address their relationship problems. I felt like it could've worked much better as a parody of soulless, regurgitate IP. Spitballing here, but perhaps her character could be paying her dues on the Xth movie of a franchise, with the aim of one day making her passion project. That could then wind up being the film we see at the end.