XYZ Films
The Weekend Watch is an open thread where you can share what you’ve recently watched, offer suggestions on movies and TV shows we should check out (or warnings about stuff to avoid) and discover queue-filling goodies from other FSR readers.
The comments section awaits. I’ll get the ball rolling with the movies/TV my eyeballs took in this weekend.
My sole theatrical outing this weekend was for the ensemble comedic/drama This Is Where I Leave You, and while most folks have been pretty harsh on it I actually found it to be okay. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not great and is probably better suited for a home video watch, but the cast – including Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Timothy Olyphant, Dax Shepard and Ben Schwartz – do fine work with slight material. The plot contrivances grow tiresome, but there’s enough humor and heart here to warrant a watch (on home video).
Paul Haggis’ Third Person on the other hand… man this is not good. Like Crash, it’s another multi-character/thread film, but unlike that masterpiece of subtlety this one isn’t even telling a cohesive story. It also treats the most obvious end revelation like we should actually be surprised by it. The only character who even remotely engages becomes a sad punchline when her story takes a ridiculous turn, and the rest are just never all that interesting. Did I mention how ridiculous it all is?
I’m still playing Fantastic Fest catch-up via screeners, and that includes the sophomore effort from Resolution directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead. Spring is about a young man (Lou Taylor Pucci) who heads to Italy after a rough couple of days leave him without a mom or a job back in the States. Things start looking up when he meets a beautiful woman, but all is not what it seems behind her inviting smile. Less horror than creative character piece, the film is strongly acted and gorgeously shot. It suffers a bit tonally with a sense of humor that doesn’t always fit the events or atmosphere, but it’s an entertaining experience all the same.
What did you watch this weekend?