“Drive Away Dolls” is a fun, queer, flip-fantasia

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Denise

“Pull that out! That is not a public receptacle!”

Story: Jamie and Marian are BFFs, living their best lesbian life in 1999. Well okay, so apparently Marian needs to lighten up. But when Marian decides to drive down to Tallahassee and visit her Aunt? Jamie sees this as an opportunity to loosen up her friend. So they hop in the Corolla Marian scored as a driveaway, and hit the road. Maybe don’t check the trunk though… Oops. Too late.

Genre I’d put it in: Retro Road Trip Romance
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Wholly original!

Gotta say: Dolls is a Goofy Cohen movie. In the truest sense of the descriptive I just made up. It’s got that crazy Cohen aesthetic, ala Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Over-the-top characters, non-sequitur dialogue/situations, music you haven’t heard since you can’t remember when, and a strange but satisfying happy ending. Oh, and it’s super gay. Like, so totally gay. Kristen Stewart’s Rolling Stone covershoot gay. Towing your U-Haul to the Home Depot with your Subaru Outback gay. And it’s freakin’ awesome.

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“Bob Marley: One Love”

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Denise

“So what’cha gonna do with this chance Jah give you?”

Story: Exploring the life and times of singer, songwriter, and spiritual activist Bob Marley. Focuses on his life from 1977 through 1978, including the creation of his hit album, “Exodus”.

Genre I’d put it in: Biopics That Paint With Historical Fact To Provide A Feel Rather Than Portrait
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the life of Bob Marley.

Gotta say: I’ve never been a music snob. (Someone who bought the 45 of “Disco Duck” could never claim that level of pretentiousness.) But I do believe one of the highest levels of this music is one where message and music blend together, turning them into an indivisible whole that settles deep in your soul. Bob Marley was a singer/songwriter that excelled in these types of songs, a craftsman who seemed to do this effortlessly, when many performers dream of creating just one song half as meaningful. Love delivers that same sort of feeling, most probably thanks to the the many members of Bob’s family that worked on this film.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza – “One Love”!

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Denise

I’ve been stoked for this film! I absolutely love Bob Marley’s music, and have been looking forward to seeing his life on screen. (I know. I could watch the 2003 biopic. But I didn’t know that existed. Before my movie review time.) Synopsis!

BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. On the big screen for the first time, discover Bob’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music. Produced in partnership with the Marley family and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the legendary musician and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita, BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE is in theatres February 14, 2024.

Ready? Let’s go!

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TrailerWatch – “A Quiet Place: Day One” shows the screams that lead to the silence.

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Denise

Lupita Nyong’o and Djimon Hounsou look like they’re gonna absolutely dominate this film. C’mon, after Nyong’o’s quiet but incredible performance in Us, and Hounsou’s equally powerful presence in Amistad? There’s gonna be a lot of emotion on faces here. And so far? It’s looking pretty awesome. Synopsis!

Experience the day the world went quiet.

Okay, I got chills.

A Quiet Place: Day One hits theaters June 28th, 2024.

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“Lisa Frankenstein” could use a spark

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Denise

“So what happened to her? I’ve heard things…”

Story: It’s 1989, and Lisa has been through it. In the past couple of years, she’s lost her mom, her dad remarried, and she’s been relocated. Now, in a new city, new house, with a new “mom” and step-sister? She longs for love and acceptance. Y’know, from the guy she’s got a crush on. And maybe that guy who’s face she saw on a bust atop a grave at the Bachelor’s Cemetery. Be careful what you wish for? Or maybe, just wish harder. I’m not the boss of you.

Genre I’d put it in: Stories Ripe With Possibility But Underdeveloped In Reality
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the story by Mary Shelley. Very loosely based. Like, Mary totally didn’t have a tanning bed. As if. Where would she plug it in?

Gotta say: Diablo Cody? I’m always down to check out anything she’s had her hand in. Kathryn Newton? Hello; loved her in Freaky. (Note to self: make Freaky part of this year’s #31in31.) Zelda Williams? Robin’s daughter’s directorial debut equals me being excited to see what her cinematic voice will be. But. While Lisa is a neon 80s fever-dream filled with retro cool? There’s a certain je ne sais…monstre that left me wanting more. In many cases, the film zigged where it should have zagged, cut where it should have lingered, and dragged when it should have teased. I can absolutely see fans of the story re-editing this film to make it snappier, spookier, and sillier. But as it stands? Lisa is just okay.

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AT HOME Screening Pass-palooza: “Suncoast”!

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Denise

THANK YOU to everyone who entered – hope everyone who received passes enjoyed Suncoast!

Don’t feel like hitting the theater, but feeling the need to see something before everybody else does? Honey, I understand. So? Let Disney Debut help you out! Synopsis!

Inspired by the semi-autobiographical story of teenager (Nico Parker) who, while caring for her brother along with her audacious mother (Laura Linney), strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist (Woody Harrelson) who is protesting one of the most landmark medical cases of all time.

C’mon. Harrelson. Linney. Parker. Based on a true story. Yeah baybeeee. That’s the stuff right there. Let’s go!

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#BlackHistoryMonth “Civil Rights in the Sky: The woman who paved the way for Black flight”

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Denise
Pat Banks Edmiston in 1960.

“When you want something, you fight for it.”

PBS makes some wonderful programs. But they also make great short films! From The American Experience, this short looks at how Pat Banks Edmiston paved the way for black women to become flight attendants. With interviews with other mid-20th century black women who took to the skies, this is a look at how walls came down, and black women soared.

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TrailerWatch – “Road House (2024)” drops a trailer

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Denise

Be nice. Until it’s time to not be nice. Just because the OG Road House is a goddamn classic, doesn’t mean this remake can’t be fun. Right? Synopsis!

A former UFC middleweight fighter ends up working at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys where things are not as they seem.

I like that the creators twist Dalton’s “cooler with a PhD in philosophy” back story to a more modern UFC fighter. Though I’m really hoping this won’t be a Bay-ified take. (Can’t say I wasn’t digging the explosions though…) Gyllenhaal is an incredible performer, so I’m hoping this film will be a good time, and maybe even good. Heck, Roadhouse 2 set that bar pretty low, y’all.

Road House (2024) comes to town (and Amazon Prime Video) March 21st, 2024.

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In Queue Review – Mister Organ wrecked me.

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Denise

“The whole thing was like this weird psychedelic dream.”

Genre: Documentaries
Release Date: 2024
Where I Watched: Netflix

Gist: Auckland, NZ, 2016. What started as a “silly” investigative piece about a parking lot that (threatens) folks who dare to park in their lot after dark, becomes…well? Darker. And strange. Very, very strange.

Gotta say: Y’all. This documentary left me a complete and total mess. I feel like I’ve been coming down from an LSD high in a police interrogation room, with nothing but alkaline water and Chamoy pickles for sustenance. Yeah, that was a weird description. But honey, that sentence has absolutely nothing on the mind trip that is Organ. This documentary is simultaneously intriguing, odd, terrifying, heartbreaking, and maddening. And it’s gonna be my new thing I tell people to do if I win a bet. Not because this film is bad, but because it’s an absolute endurance test that fits well with a challenge you’d force someone to do, rather than a film you’d heartily recommend. Need more from me on this? C’mon then.

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Fest News – Sundance Film Festival Announces the Top Ten Feature Films From Its First Four Decades As Decided by the Filmmaking Community

Posted on January 16, 2024 by Denise

It’s that time of year – the time when folks goes to Utah to check out today what could be the films others will be talking about tomorrow. As a celebration of Sundance’s first 40? The institute chose their top ten films that got their start at the Festival. And it’s an incredible list!

Read on for all the info straight from Sundance!

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