It feels good to be slowly getting back into my moviegoing side. The loss of MoviePass really did a number on me as I was down to basically event films, which meant Marvel films for me, and little else has drawn me to the theater with my kids considering the cost. The Regal Unlimited plan has me at two movies so far, which isn’t a lot as I’ve seen others at upwards of a dozen films since it launched this month, but there’s only so much time sometimes.
This week had three films that I got to take in and at the theater specifically. First, we had the one-night event for the subtitled version of Millennium Actress that Eleven Arts brought out. I’d only seen the DVD release prior over the years so it was an absolute delight to get to see another Satoshi Kon work on the big screen after the previous recent release of Perfect Blue. Framing the two films as different sides of the same coin definitely provides an interesting look at the works. I loved the way the story works, the near-fourth wall breaking elements, and just the overall flow from reality to film all while dealing with our leading actress. It was an absolute delight and memorable experience.
My first Regal Unlimited film was, amusingly enough, Hobbs & Shaw. I’m not a huge into the franchise from which it sprung but I’ve enjoyed them the more ridiculous they’ve gotten because it does lean into the 80s style of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. I enjoy both actors a lot and they’re well-paired together here. The trailers for it just make it look bonkers and a lot of that carries throughout the film. It’s a natural progression for any franchise to get goofier and more out of control as it progresses, so making near-future science elements a part of it is a given. And that lets Idris Elba step in and play the role of a solidly strong villain that’s just tired of dealing with these guys while trying to reshape the world. It’s a whole lot of action, lots of cars, but also plenty of other set pieces as well that delivers a pretty exciting time in my book.
The other films I saw was the new release of Where’d You Go, Bernadette, which you can read our more formal review of here. I’m hoping to take advantage of the theater for more timely reviews going forward like this – though not always things that are just genre-oriented. I enjoy way too many films to limit myself like that.
