Week Ending 4/26/24
Lindy's back
If we weren’t already struggling to keep track of what year it is due to the COVID shutdown making it seem we’re perpetually stuck in 2020, Lindy Ruff is back behind the Sabres’ bench to try and snap a thirteen-year playoff drought that’s been running since … Lindy Ruff was behind the Sabres’ bench.
I get the talk that “he’s the right guy for the job” and he might be exactly that. You still can’t tell me this isn’t also a hail mary at the eleventh hour to try and win fans back by giving them an added incentive to go to a game. New Jumbotron and a nostalgic Sabres legend retread? Almost enough to distract from the fact the Pegulas are trying to sell 25% of the Bills to a silent partner to afford the overages of their new stadium right before they’re forced to remember that the Sabres’ current home should probably be demolished too.
Onwards to the film reviews!
What I Watched:
THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED
(limited release)
There’s a level of committing to the bit on display throughout Joanna Arnow’s THE FEELING THAT THE TIME FOR DOING SOMETHING HAS PASSED that’s nothing short of impressive … even if you don’t think said bit is quite as effective as others. Ann (Arnow) couldn’t be more dead-pan monotone if she tried. When someone gives her a compliment about her demeanor, she tells them that it’s probably just because she’s merely mirroring their own. So, like with her BDSM exploits, Ann is a submissive to life itself.
Not that she doesn’t have influence. She’ll choose when to hold back on texting Chris (Babak Tafti). She’ll change her screenname to “trick” Allen (Scott Cohen) into another night of domination despite having tried other masters in the interim. But it’s all still about what she thinks they want as much as what she wants since her main desire is for them to tell her what to do to make them happy. And why not? After spending tedious hours at work and at home with her parents being told what to do, shouldn’t she get some satisfaction out of the act of complying?
Arnow structures the film as short vignettes stacked up. Some are a few seconds (quick shots at work or skit-like interactions with friends). Some last minutes (sex sessions with Allen). And others feel like lengthy montages (the chapter with Chris and the evolution of their relationship). There’s an idiosyncratic rhythm as a result that augments both the dry humor and threat of tedium. I do think Arnow does a good job keeping things fun, though. She goes right to the line with her repetition and ennui only to pull back last second—even having Ann follow suit by declaring her own boredom when Allen asks why she’s leaving early.
The gag didn’t wear out its welcome for me, but the pacing and comedy are an acquired taste. Its cross between British dryness and Jody Hill-esque second-hand embarrassment provocation works because Arnow is committed to the role and subject matter while also crafting the script around the long title. This is a woman who has grown comfortable with being “stuck.” After watching the world change around her while remaining the same, Ann tries experiencing what everyone else does only to realize the moment to adopt that sense of conformity is long gone. Her life may seem lonely to outsiders, but it truly is everything she wants it to be.
- 6/10
NOWHERE SPECIAL
(limited release)
“Norton is wonderful in the role, lending it a vulnerability that shines through the stoic nature of a man doing his best to show no fear.”
– Full thoughts at The Film Stage.
WE GROWN NOW
(in theaters)
“Don’t be afraid to fly.”
There are two kinds of people. Those dissatisfied with their current circumstances who look to the past for happier times and those who look to the future with the intent to create new ones. Countless films have presented this duality, but few have done so through the eyes of children. That’s what Minhal Baig’s WE GROWN NOW delivers with its look at two best friends being raised in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green circa 1992. As they arrive at an age where they can no longer ignore the injustices done to them while the city escalates the reach of its systemic racism, they must choose to either let the nihilism take hold or continue to dream.
This turning point is augmented by the tragic murder of a seven-year-old boy outside the housing project. I couldn’t help but think about the coming-of-age journey in STAND BY ME as a contrast point—a group of white boys choosing to pursue the allure of seeing a dead body opposite these two black boys having no choice but to see one that forces them to realize they could be next. Then comes the increased oppression of not being able to go to their homes without identification. The 2AM warrantless “search” of their apartment by police and the physical destruction and emotional violation that results.
You can’t blame Malik (Blake Cameron James) for looking outwards and aspiring to imagine a house and a garden underneath the stars. You can’t blame Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez) for retreating inwards from the futility of it all. Adults whisper in the background as the injustices mount and the fear rises. The boys are apparently being protected as a result, but really the secrecy and uncertainty only makes things worse. The line between escape and carelessness becomes thin as a result. They’re told they can’t play outside for their own safety when all they want to do is jump onto mattresses in the courtyard. And when they can’t stay still any longer, their unannounced journey into the city leaves their parents thinking the worst.
It’s a delicate balance. The joy of childhood and impending despair of adulthood—especially when you would hope the kids in question have a few more years before needing to worry about the transition. But it goes in the other direction too when you consider Malik’s mother (Jurnee Smollett’s Dolores) and Eric’s father (Lil Rel Howery’s Jason) navigating single parenthood with jobs that barely make ends meet. It’s to the point where Dolores is willing to say no to an opportunity to better their lives because of what it might mean uprooting the children. To hear her mother (S. Epatha Merkerson’s Anita) call her out about that fear being hers rather than the kids is the kick in the pants many need to take that chance.
Because people are resilient, and homes are never truly about the place in which they reside. Maybe Anita is from Mississippi, but circumstances made it so that state could no longer be “home.” And maybe Malik is therefore also “from” the south, but really he was born and raised in Chicago. So, why can’t they move again? Why can’t they set-up shop somewhere else if it means giving themselves a chance to succeed? Isn’t that the point? We work and strive for a future that’s better than our past. For our children to have opportunities we didn’t. And if we do it correctly, the act of leaving mustn’t always be another example of life proving meaningless for those who stay. It could be the catalyst necessary to show them that they might one day leave too.
- 8/10
Cinematic F-Bombs:
This weekend sees THE BAND’S VISIT (2007), THE CLASS (2008), THE NEW DAUGHTER (2009), NOTHING IN COMMON (1986), and RED EYE (2005) getting added to the archive (cinematicfbombs.com on Sunday, Twitter on Monday).
Tom Hanks dropping an f-bomb in NOTHING IN COMMON.
New Releases This Week:
(Review links where applicable)
Opening Buffalo-area theaters 4/26/24 -
ALIEN (45th Anniversary) at Dipson Flix & Capitol; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
BOY KILLS WORLD at Dipson Capitol; AMC Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
CHALLENGERS at Dipson Amherst, McKinley, Flix & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge & Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
CINDERELLA'S REVENGE at Regal Transit & Quaker
EXHIBITION ON SCREEN: KLIMT AND THE KISS at North Park Theatre (select times)
GABRU GANG at Regal Elmwood
HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS at North Park Theatre (select times)
THE MUMMY (25th Anniversary) at Regal Transit, Galleria & Quaker
RUSLAAN at Regal Elmwood
UNSUNG HERO at Dipson Flix & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
WE GROWN NOW at Regal Elmwood, Transit & Galleria
Thoughts are above.
Streaming from 4/26/24 -
HACK YOUR HEALTH: THE SECRETS OF YOUR GUT – Netflix on 4/26
HIGH & LOW: JOHN GALLIANO – MUBI on 4/26
BEAUTIFUL REBEL – Netflix on 5/2
THE CONTESTANT – Hulu on 5/2
THE IDEA OF YOU – Prime on 5/2
TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN – Max on 5/2
Now on VOD/Digital HD -
ACCIDENTAL TEXAN (4/23)
ARTHUR THE KING (4/23)
MONKEY MAN (4/23)
SOMETHING YOU SAID LAST NIGHT (4/23)
TÓTEM (4/23)
LOVE LIES BLEEDING (4/25)
BREATHE (4/26)
CASH OUT (4/26)
HIGH & LOW: JOHN GALLIANO (4/26)
OMEN (4/26)
YOU CAN CALL ME BILL (4/26)