By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week I caught a few more newer releases I’d been meaning to get around to plus, yes, documentaries galore.
708. Tron: Ares
I have a real soft spot for Tron: Legacy, so promises of more neon-streaked action set to slapping techno were music to my ears. I frankly don’t quite understand why this flopped that hard, or at least did so much worse than that one (although the 15 year downtime between films certainly couldn’t have helped). Sure, it’s not the most inventive story in the world, and perhaps a bit overloaded with franchise lore, but Jared Leto and Greta Lee are great in their roles and the pizzazz absolutely delivers. Three Beers.
709. Bugonia
I have to agree with the seeming consensus that Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s latest team-up is a slight step down from their banger after banger the last few years (Kinds of Kindness was very much in the win column for me). However, this remake of Korean oddity Save the Green Planet is still the work of a formal master with a nasty streak of humor, and Stone proves once again capable of stretching in whatever direction the story takes her. Jesse Plemons is just as exciting as the conspiracy theorist who kidnaps her alongside his soft-spoken cousin and accuses her of being an alien from Andromeda sent to subjugate the Earth. Just buckle up and take another deliciously feel-bad ride with this squad. Three Beers.
710. Secret Mall Apartment
This documentary retells the story of a group of Providence, Rhode Island artists who respond to the demolishing of their warehouse collective by going to see whether that alcove one noticed being built into the massive symbol of gentrification across the way, the Providence Place Mall, still existed. Finding a secret space still full of construction detritus from years ago, they decide to make it into a new home- yes, dead in the center of the mall. They were able to pull this off for over four years before being discovered, and this film is a lovely time capsule to the early 2000s and a group of thoroughly creative friends. Two Beers.
711. Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
This Hulu documentary examines the rise and fall of the Lilith Fair Music Festival, Sarah McLachlan’s vision for a female-only rock festival at a time when alternative artists and initial attendees like her, Tracy Chapman, Jewel, Fiona Apple, and Sheryl Crow were cultivating a sound and a scene that was worthy of any main stage on the planet. It’s both a joyful trip to yesteryear, and a disappointing one as you see how much they had to struggle against the toxic masculinity of the time (not that that’s entirely dissipated now) in order to carve out space for this festival for the three years they were able to keep it going. Three Beers.
712. Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara
I bet Canadian indie duo Tegan and Sara listened to some Lilith Fair in their day (they officially formed a band in 1998, after all). That’s not what this is about, though- instead it’s a stranger than fiction investigation into the person or persons who’ve years impersonating Tegan to catfish her fans for nebulous but disturbing emotional manipulation reasons. It’s fascinating to see the twists and turns this story takes, but also a bit sad- never more so than when Tegan asks a possible culprit whether she truly thought using her name and image to lie to others wouldn’t… hurt her. The silence on the other end speaks volumes. Two Beers.
713. Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth
This investigatory series on Hulu follows Christine Flack, the mother of British TV personality Caroline Flack, as she seeks to get to the truth as to why her daughter killed herself after years of British tabloid harassment that exacerbated mental health issues in the most tragically predictable ways. It’s the story of a lovely and talented young woman chewed up and spit out by the uniquely British fame machine. Three Beers.
714. Hunted by My Husband: The Untold Story of the DC Sniper
This Hulu documentary series delves into the murder spree of the Beltway Snipers, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, who terrorized the Washington, D.C. metro area for 10 months, killing 17 and wounding another 10 in a series of shootings that were seemingly random. This series, and principal interviewee Mildred Muhammad, convincingly postulates that she was the ultimate target, after she finally leaves him after years of abuse and sends him into a spiral that culminates in his horrific crimes. Two Beers.
