The Letterboxd four favorites series continues!
Welcome to June. I didn’t watch a lot of new movies in May; most of my pop culture entertainment consumption was spent on TV and books. I also went to Denver for the first time to see the Turnpike Troubadours play Red Rocks, an amazing trip I’ll never forget.
On the non-newsletter writing front, I wrote this piece for Book & Film Globe about the dumb hand-wringing over the PG-13 rating for “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (Twitter Brain is a disease, truly); this piece for Asian American/Pacific Islander Month about some of the best books, movies and TV shows that showcase the real Hawai’i; and a fun piece about how “Morbius” failed at the box office after Sony re-released it in an attempt to cash in on its online meme popularity. Seriously. (Again, Twitter brain is a disease.)
But the piece I’m most proud of is this review of Kenny Chesney’s “Here and Now” tour stop at AT&T Stadium this past weekend. It’s my first big byline for the Star-Telegram and my first concert review since I left the Austin American-Statesman in 2018. Felt good to be back in the stands. Hopefully there will be more concert reviews to come!
But this is a newsletter about my favorite first-time watches of the past month, so without further ado, here we go. Let me know what you’ve been watching, too!
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie”
When a TV show moves to the big screen, there’s always the worry that there won’t be enough there there to justify the jump. Not so with “The Bob’s Burgers Movie,” the feature-length debut of FOX’s long-running animated sitcom about Bob, his wife Linda, their kids Tina, Gene and Louise, and the seaside burger joint they all run together.
At 90 minutes, this movie feels like a little mini-binge of the show, with all of the show’s trademark elements — puns, non sequiturs, kids saying jokes they’re too young to get, lots of heart and tender family dynamics — cooked up to perfection. It even has a few musical numbers, just like the show.
I had seen some episodes of the show before this, but this is one of Taylor’s favorite shows, so we started watching more seasons of it before going to the theater. And I gotta say: Bob and Linda’s marriage is truly one of the best ones in any show, live action or animated. There’s a genuine tenderness and love there, unlike in many sitcoms. After watching the movie, I am also convinced that I am Bob and Taylor is Linda, especially when it comes to how we respond to stressful events.
Currently in theaters
“Firestarter”
OK, here’s the thing. Is this movie good? No. Is it “so bad that it’s good”? Also no.
Could we have just watched this movie at home? Yes. Did we go see it at Alamo Drafthouse anyway because we needed to use a Season Pass ticket and because we felt like it would at least be entertaining? Also yes.
“Firestarter” is a remake of a 1984 movie of the same name, which was itself an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. The story centers on Charlie, a young girl who can control fire with her mind. This is because her parents were lab test subjects back in college, and they passed on their superhuman abilities on to her. Now the corporation that experimented on her parents is after Charlie and her dad.
This is the longest 90-minute movie I’ve ever sat through. Zac Efron is wildly miscast as Charlie’s dad. There are some truly baffling line readings in here that I would generously describe as an attempt at irony.
But watching this kind of bad movie in a theater was a great experience. The John Carpenter score is also amazing, even though it sounds like it was ported over from a much different, much better movie. I also liked that the local beer brand is Ayuh Light, a nice little Stephen King reference.
Make no mistake, I am not recommending this movie. But if you want to get together and watch it with some friends, it’s a good time.
Currently in theaters and available to stream on Peacock
“Paddington 2”
This had been on my watchlist for a while, and the joke about it in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” finally got me to see it. (“Unbearable Weight” is also a great movie; just barely missed the Top 4 for me in April.)
I love the original "Paddington” and its simple message about kindness. “Paddington 2” ups the ante and makes the story even more about the kind way we should treat others —and The Other. The effects are fantastic as well; that looks like a real bear running around London. And I’m getting choked up just thinking about that final scene.
My only qualm: Why was Paddington not appointed a lawyer when he was falsely accused of burglary? A sham!
Available to stream on HBO MAX
“Top Gun: Maverick”
Tom Cruise is Maverick. Maverick is Tom Cruise. “Top Gun: Maverick” understands this, and is just as much about Cruise’s status as an aging action star as it is about Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s sunsetting military career.
This is one of the most exhilarating movies Cruise has made in a long time. It’s also possibly the most vulnerable movie of his career. I thought it was going to be good, but not this good. So far, this is the movie of the summer for me. I can’t wait to see it again in IMAX with the loudest speakers I can find. Do yourself a favor and do the same.
Currently in theaters
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This newsletter is written by me and edited by my favorite person, Taylor Tompkins. Views expressed here are my own and don’t reflect the opinions of my employer.
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