I’ve been a bad movie fan this year, struggling to maintain a consistent schedule for viewing and criticism. It’s been difficult for a while, but this year has felt particularly challenging. I’ll write up something more concrete at a later date, because I think the reflection would do me well. In the meantime, I want to talk about a few movies I managed to catch before they ended their theatrical run. Generally speaking, they were pretty good, but since I waited too long to write about them I don’t have nearly as much to say. Let’s knock these out in viewing order.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
I rated this sucker 4-out-of-5 stars. A zany film directed by Gore Verbinski and led by one of my acting faves – Sam Rockwell. The script by Matthew Robinson was tight and funny, and had great chemistry with Verbinski in the way that I had hoped for Raimi’s Send Help. The editing was solid, and I never felt that dreaded middle-of-the-movie drag that sometimes stymies high-concept films.
It’s a movie that’s difficult to summarize in a way that sparks curiosity rather than contempt. Rockwell plays a time-traveler – or so he says – who has come back to save the future from Artificial Intelligence. He enlists random diners to join him on his quest and immediately all hell breaks loose. A few of the characters have interesting connections to each other, revealed at just the right time to complicate the hell out of what follows. There’s a particular section of the movie that features one of the blackest bits of humor I’ve encountered in awhile, and it lands regardless of what side of the “school shooter” issue you fall on. Being real dang vague here not to spoil anything, nor suggest a political bias.
Highly recommend.
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