No Sudden Move (2021)

 

Crime drama from Soderbergh set in 1950s Detroit. Pretty average despite a lot of big names.

Rating: C

Woodstock 99: Peace, Love & Rage (2021)

 

I’ve been to my fair share of music festivals, so I’ve experienced what transpired at Woodstock 99 to a certain degree. But the sheer scale of disastrous events that occurred there is tough to beat. Glad I was watching how the trainwreck unfolded from the safety of my sofa.

Interesting to see the differing recollections from the viewpoint of fans, organizers, security, and musicians. A lot of blame shifting. There are some good lessons to be gleaned from this film for those considering attending an event with thousands of people; artistic, political, or otherwise. 

Rating: C

The Forever Purge (2021)

 

The Purge takes on racism in the next chapter of the franchise. Violence continues after the designated day, with Americans fleeing to Mexico and Canada for safety. Most don’t make it. 

Rating: C

The Exchange (2021)

 

I had no idea this movie would hit so close to home. My high school foreign exchange student was Jes from The Netherlands. I had hopes of receiving a new best friend that would help me up my social game. Jes turned out to be way cooler than me and was liked by everyone at school. He made the soccer team, got invited to fun parties, and had lots of teenage sex. It’s like they based the film’s character Stefan on him. Enjoyed the 80’s setting and music. Moderately funny. 

Rating: C

The Tomorrow War (2021)

 

It looks and sounds great, but for a film centered around scientists, nothing makes a whole lot of sense. You’ll have to leave your brain on the other side of the wormhole. 

Rating: D+

Werewolves Within (2021)

 

Not funny or scary enough to sustain the weak plot. 

Rating: D+

The Sparks Brothers (2021)

 

Right up front, we are shown a lot of famous people praising this duo we’ve never heard of. I’m deeply invested in the music world, and this is the first time I’m hearing of this band that’s supposedly influenced the musical landscape to the degree they are telling me. 

There is a lot of background narrative, but not being emotionally invested in the Sparks at this point, it’s mostly wasted on me. The editing style of intersplicing old clips to tell the story might have been novel had it been used sparingly, but they chose to back the truck up for this documentary. 

Meanwhile, bits and pieces of their music are being played between the lavish praises of industry insiders. They are creaming their bellbottoms over how incredible and life changing it all is. I’m like “meh”. Am I missing the joke? Did they make a documentary about a fictional mediocre band to see if people would pretend to like Sparks music because so-called experts are telling them it’s good? 

Let’s be honest. If their music was actually as good as all these musicians and the documentary say it was, they would have been more popular and people would play their albums. They don’t. The music isn’t that great. They are the answer to the question: “What if Queen wasn’t very good?”

To be fair, I did recognize the song “Cool Places” about 90 minutes in. I’d completely forgotten about that song until now. And any collaboration with Franz Ferdinand is going to be good. It’s a shame Sparks spent so much of their career seemingly trying to displease their fans. 

Rating: C-

Gunpowder MIlkshake (2021)

 

With a title like that, my expectations were already low, which turned out to be prophetic on my part. There are no genuine interactions in the film--just highly dramatized scenes straight from your least favorite movie clichés. 

Part of the problem is that the city appears to be solely populated by The Firm and other individuals tied to organized crime. Artificial characters inside an artificial city spewing artificial lines that will have you groaning repeatedly. 

Rating: F