Joey Magidson
Welcome back to my Home Movies! This week, we have a nice sized slate, headlined by big works like Deadpool & Wolverine alongside Twisters, as well as smaller genre offerings like Cuckoo and In a Violent Nature. Throw in two new Criterion releases and the options hitting shelves today are fairly diverse. Read on for more…
Joey’s Top Pick
Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine is so much fun. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was in need of that, so it was just what the doctor ordered. In paying tribute to the Fox era of superhero movies, this engaged with fans in a manner that was actually fairly positive. Go figure. The film just works. My highly positive review here begins like so:
Marvel has been trying to recapture the magic lately. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken some hits recently, leading to changes in how the films will be coming out, as well as potentially what they will be about. So, there’s been a lot riding on Deadpool & Wolverine this year, as a chance for the MCU to, if not start fresh, but to get back on track. The introduction of Deadpool into the Marvel world was always going to be a different look for the franchise. Well, I’m here to tell you that not just is this a really fun Deadpool sequel, by adding in Wolverine, we have a full on Fox tribute. Lo and behold, it works even better than I was expecting/hoping for.
Deadpool & Wolverine is a love letter to the Fox era of superheroes, far beyond the two title characters. I wouldn’t dream of revealing the cameos here, but they’re not just huge crowdpleasers, they’re better fits than you might assume. They don’t feel crammed in or just meant to get a reaction. They fit a narrative purpose, which I very much appreciated. Fans are in for a treat, that much is pretty certain.
Recommended Viewing
In a Violent Nature
A wholly unique slasher film, this horror outing is a real calling card. Recently, we learned that a sequel to In a Violent Nature is being developed, and if it’s anywhere near as good as this movie, I’m all for it. There’s such potential in tackling fright flicks in this manner. I spoke to filmmaker Chris Nash here about it, while this review includes the following:
There has never been a film like In a Violent Nature. Sure, there are films that attempt something similar, in that it’s a horror movie told from the slasher’s perspective, but not in this way. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, for example, was a mockumentary and took a black comedy route. Here, we have a fright flick that’s an honest to goodness slasher, just from the killer’s point of view. It sounds simple, and it is, but it really makes a difference. Not only is this one of the best horror outings in years, it’s one of my favorite works of the year so far.
In a Violent Nature manages to do all of the things a work within this genre would do, but in following only the killer, it all comes off so much differently. There’s a level of dread you experience in following our murderous protagonist, knowing the victim in the distance is doomed, but not being able to do anything about it. Some folks might find this to be a deeply unsettling experience, but anyone who appreciates horror will love this big swing being taken.
Also Available This Week
Arcane: Season One (TV)
The Beast Within
Borderlands
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (4K)
Columbia Classics Collection: Volume 5 (4K)
Death Becomes Her (4K)
Ghost (4K)
Signs (4K)
The Sixth Sense (4K)
Slingshot
Veep: The Complete Series (TV)
About Dry Grasses
From The Criterion Collection: “The latest existential epic from Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan is a masterclass in characterization, atmosphere, and moral and philosophical inquiry. When he comes under scrutiny for misconduct, cynical middle-school instructor Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu) fears that his punishment will trap him in the snowy, isolated Anatolian village he has grown to despise. The only ray of hope is his relationship with Nuray (Merve Dizdar, who won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival), a fellow teacher who openly challenges Samet’s bitter narcissism—yet Samet’s friendship with his colleague and roommate, Kenan (Musab Ekici), who also has feelings for Nuray, hangs in the balance. Using hypnotic long takes and other bold formal techniques to convey the murky motives of its Dostoevskian protagonist, About Dry Grasses proves Ceylan to be one of cinema’s most incisive investigators of the human condition.”
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Gummo
From The Criterion Collection: “Harmony Korine’s debut feature is an audacious, lyrical evocation of America’s rural underbelly, and an elegy in the southern-gothic tradition of William Faulkner and William Eggleston. Shot in Korine’s native Nashville—standing in for the tornado-ravaged Xenia, Ohio—the rough-hewn film follows two young friends, Tummler and Solomon, as they ride around town, huffing glue and hunting stray cats, their every local encounter charged with vaudevillian anarchy as well as deep pathos. At once transgressive and empathetic, disturbing and undeniably beautiful, Gummo is a one-of-a-kind portrait of angelic and devilish souls caught in a cultural void, circumscribed by poverty and the depleted, alienated spiritual life of late-twentieth-century America.”
Stay tuned for more next week…
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