By: Henry J. Fromage –
Good luck teasing a theme out of this week’s slate of watches- adversity and perseverance? Isn’t that every movie?
673. The Long Walk
This proto- Squid Games or Hunger Games or Running Man hies from a Stephen King story under his Richard Bachman penname (as was, well, The Running Man). Who else but Francis Lawrence directs, although with a bit grittier, 70s-coded aesthetic. That makes sense since this story is clearly one shot through with Vietnam War-era disaffection. It’s an odd story to tell right now, and can’t help but feel a bit cliche compared to all it inspired, but it is an excellent actors vehicle for its young stars, particularly David Jonsson and Cooper Hoffman. Three Beers.
674. Anemone
Ronan Day-Lewis’ debut and his father Daniel’s return from his latest acting hiatus is a good vehicle for dear old Dad and son both. In the case for the latter, he demonstrates a visual artist’s eye for composition and the knowledge of when to just let his actors act (Sean Bean also does great work). For the former, Day-Lewis plays a hermit who retreated to the forest after separating from the military during The Troubles, and Bean the brother who has been raising his son in his absence, and has now come to find and ask him a favor. It’s a film of many a monologue and striking landscape that could use some tightening, but shows quite a bit of promise nonetheless. Two Beers.
675. Songs From the Hole
This beautiful film on Netflix from Contessa Gayles follows incarcerated musician James “JJ’88” Jacobs, who murdered a man at just 15 years of age, only to have his brother killed three days later. It’s a story of painful forgiveness and hard-won redemption on all sides, told through a dizzying mix of documentary filmmaking and artistic music videos. A truly uplifting, humane film. A Toast.
676. Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
This eccentric and lovely documentary profiles musician Swamp Dogg and his coterie. Even pushing 80, he’s still recording music with his LA roommates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty, plus, of course, trying to get his damn pool painted. Boasting a career that spanned from the 50s on and reached dizzying heights in more than one era, he’s still such a personable lover of life that it’s easy to see why so many, from stars to folks he meets on the street, enjoy his presence so much. Two Beers.
677. The Memo
This silly and stylish short film is based on the infamous Steve Harvey memo in which he pretty much instructed his staff to stop approaching or talking to him, ever, unscheduled and unannounced. In it his staff is planning a surprise birthday party for him, which… isn’t going to go well. I kind of feel the man, honestly. Two Beers.
678. Armed Only with a Camera
This short documentary profiles the life and death of Brent Renaud in brutally unvarnished detail. He was a war photographer who believed that showing the atrocities of war is perhaps the only way to end it, and in both life and death he never compromised those principles. A harsh yet necessary look into the heart of darkness, so that perhaps we can keep ourselves from tipping into it. Two Beers.
679. Southern Fried Lies
This true crime series on Peacock delves into one with no shortage of characters- from the murdered young man who’d just had a lawsuit settlement windfall to the heavily accented Arkansas realtor who set her daughter up with him and who stood to benefit as much as anyone from his passing. This feels like fodder for a Richard Linklater film at some point. Two Beers.
