The 4th of July break brought much needed rest, as well as time to catch up with some films I missed from the first part of the year. I decided to note down a few thoughts in the hopes I can sway you towards or away from these movies now out on digital.
Fast Color – I missed this one when it was in theaters and there was such hullabaloo about how it was treated distribution-wise that I had some high expectations. Fast Color really is a lovely, quiet movie that reminded me a lot of Midnight Special. I absolutely see why it was only in a few theaters because it’s so small scale even with powers, they prob didn’t want to take the risk. Lorraine Touissant steals the show as the matriarch of the family and Gugu Mbatha-Raw is as magnetic as ever as the lead. Totally worth the download and your viewership.
Little – Though the ending of this movie felt a bit rushed, Little is a really charming and funny movie. Marsai Martin and Issa Rae are like the comedy dream team here, with both finding great ways to let their personalities shine. I wish the movie had maybe been 10 minutes longer because there was so much I wanted to explore and felt that the movie just ignored (namely Justin Hartley’s teacher character). Bonus points for the really really smart storytelling with Luke James’ character. Little was so great at getting to everyone’s humanity.
Ophelia – We are still not quite out of the revisionist movie trend, and probably never will be with the way folks want to mine IP like it’s coal. That’s appropos for this film because it’s essentially a lump of coal. I thought the premise behind this film was smart and the pairing of Daisy Ridley and George MacKay breathed new life into Ophelia and Hamlet, but this movie devolves into nonsense so quickly. There are too many competing elements, characters with no tangible relation to the tale other to drum up conflict, and a really truly laughable final 30 minutes, just as the tale should have been reaching its dramatic bloody conclusion.
Pet Sematary – Honestly, I tried, I really did try to make it through this movie but I couldn’t even get to the part where the little girl dies and that’s the main crux of the plot! Pet Sematary is a tale with some fascinating themes and ethics but I don’t feel like any of them are here in this remake.