weekly digest: one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen...
everything that happened at Flick Filosopher from Monday, May 30th, to Sunday, June 5th
Here’s the thing about press screenings of big, eagerly anticipated movies, such as Jurassic World Dominion, opening in the US and the UK this coming Friday. They’re madhouses.
The few elite critics from the old-school newspapers and other major mainstream corporate outfits might get to go to small, quiet screenings. (I sometime go to these kinds of screenings for little films.) The rest of us — hundreds of people, not only critics but *sigh* “influencers” and entire staffs of a magazine or a radio show and sometimes regular folks who won tickets in a giveaway — are invited to a showing at a huge multiplex. Of course these screenings will be filled to capacity (see above about eager anticipation). Which means that if, like me, you want to be sure you get a seat from which you can actually see and (hopefully) enjoy the film, or if, like me, you really need an aisle seat for the legroom, you’ve got to arrive at least an hour before the movie is scheduled to start. An hour and a half might be better. Hopefully that’s early enough so that you’re close to the front of the line that invariably forms. Then you wait. When they finally start admitting people and you get that good seat, you wait again. It’ll be at least 30 minutes between doors opening and the start of the film; sometimes it’s 45 minutes, or more.
Then there’s the film itself… and blockbusters seem to be getting longer and longer. (Dominion runs two and a half hours.) Add in travel time — it’s around 45 minutes for me to get to where most of these press screenings take place, in and around London’s West End — and it could be well over five hours shot just to watch a single film… and that’s not counting the time spent writing the review, either.
I was pretty exhausted with all this even before the pandemic. Now, when I’ll inevitable be one of the few people in a packed multiplex wearing a mask, I’m about done with it. Which is why I didn’t even bother to RSVP* for tomorrow night’s madhouse press screening of Jurassic World Dominion, and instead just bought a ticket to see it when it opens on Friday morning. Yes, the price of that IMAX ticket stings — over £25, and that’s with a member discount! — but it’s assigned seating, and I can rock up just before the movie starts and know I’ll be happy with my view. And since it’s a weekday morning, the cinema won’t be packed.
I do like to have a day or two to digest a film, but that’s not always needed. I’ll try to write my Dominion review right after the film, and get it posted asap.
Anyway, hope movie’s fun, and not
—MaryAnn
PS: *Oh, and I didn’t even mention that sometimes when you RSVP for these things, you don’t even get in! Even if you’re a critic and the cinema seats hundreds. It makes no sense.
new at flick filosopher, May 30–Jun 05
new and ongoing cinema releases, US/Can, Jun 03
David Cronenberg’s horror Crimes of the Future and historical drama Benediction are new and exclusively in cinemas; more… [read more]
new and ongoing cinema releases, UK/Ire, Jun 01–03
Ukrainian gymnastics drama Olga returns to cinemas; horror Men is new and exclusively in cinemas; more… [read more]
new and ongoing dvd/blu/vod releases, US/Can, May 30–Jun 03
Fantasy adventure Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore arrives on premium VOD and HBO Max; horror Dashcam lands on VOD; more… [read more]
new and ongoing dvd/blu/vod releases, UK/Ire, May 30–Jun 01
Norwegian eco-disaster drama The Burning Sea is new on demand; fantasy adventure Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore lands on premium VOD; more… [read more]
The Quiet Girl (An Cailin Ciuin) movie review: sweet summer child [pictured]
One of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. It is impossibly small, and emotionally immense, full of the most bittersweet of pathos that the coming-of-age genre offers. A treasure, and a gift. [read the review | streaming UK]
loaded question: what are the best movies about taking a day off?
Of course Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the very best, and the most obvious answer, so let’s get that one out of the way right off the bat. What are some others? [reply at Flick Filosopher | reply at Substack | reply at Patreon]
weekend watchlist: coming to terms with grief personal and societal
Plus badass women and damned dirty apes… (First published April 30th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.) [read more]
what I’m bingeing
Bridgerton Season 2 [Netflix globally]: finished! loved it: beautiful people wearing amazing clothes and fretting over who’s gonna marry whom; perfect comfort viewing, great distraction from reality
Obi-Wan Kenobi [Disney+ globally]: wow, this week’s episode was dark! I keep being surprised where this show goes, even when I shouldn’t be; my adoration of Ewan McGregor only grows with his wonderful performance here…
Night Sky [Prime Video globally]: finished! beautifully and delicately written, which is not something we can usually say about science fiction; there had better be a Season 2, because I absolutely must know more…
Tweet of the week…
coming up at Flick Filosopher…
I swear I’m actually gonna get to some of these sometime this week!
horror Men, starring Jessie Buckley
horror Dashcam
Jurassic World Dominion
Memory, the latest Liam Neeson action thingy
trips through multiverses with Everything Everywhere All at Once and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Oscar Best Picture CODA
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, for my sins
adventure comedy The Lost City
historical revenge drama The Northman
Moonfall
time-traveling ghost story Last Night in Soho
Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Belfast
based-on-a-videogame action-adventure Uncharted
And more!
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