It’s very satisfying and soothing to liaten to Harris explain what happened within the U.S film industry between 1966 or thereabouts (the beginning) and the debut of Star Wars in May 1977 (beginning of the end). “Spotlight on New Hollywood” is one of the supplements that compliment the Criterion Channel’s HD streaming of The Graduate.
Chris Nolan‘s Odyssey teaser-trailer (reportedly lasting 70 seconds) is playing in front of Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth, which opens tomorrow (Wednesday, 7.2) in theatres nationwide.
Why do hardcore movie fanatics never look like…oh, like James Garner looked in the mid ’60s or something? Or at least like Don Gordon, who played “Delgetti” in Bullitt? Why do they always look like nerds? Or nerds on cheeseburger diets? Like guys who haven’t a prayer in hell of getting “lucky”? Identify one YouTube movie guy who appears to be in shape.
Poor Glen Powell can’t land a quality-calibre role to save his life. That or he likes starring in this kind of popcorn crap.
One thing’s for sure: With Edgar Wright directing, The Running Man (Paramount, 11.7) couldn’t get much cheaper or more thoughtless.
Powell plays the Arnold Schwarzenegger role, of course…a featured slot on “The Running Man”, a highly-rated game show in which contestants are chased by killers all over the map, the idea being to escape a jail term and win money. (That was the deal, at least, in the 1987 original.)
Bellowing TV emcee in red-sequin jacket: “This is America, goddamit, and we don’t put up with no bullshit!”
Come again?
HE clarification: This is America, goddamit, and we not only put up with bullshit 24/7, we revel in it…it’s our spiritual mother’s milk.
The 38-year-old Schwarzenegger version is “set in a dystopian United States between 2017 and 2019, featuring a television show where convicted criminal ‘runners’ must escape death at the hands of professional killers.” Loosely based on Stephen King‘s “The Running Man”, published in ’82 and written under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman.
There’s no greater shoveller of empty, thoughtless, glossy bullshit-for-glossy-bullshit’s sake than Wright. Whatever social or psychological undercurrents the King book may have had back in ’82, Wright (who cowrote the script with Michael Bacall) will erase them in this November release. For Wright is a 16-year-old in the body of a 51-year-old director.
This is a masterstroke as (1) “Ooh La La” instantly Anglicizes or Americanizes this Oslo-produced family drama, and thus relaxes any resistance that Academy members might harbor about Value being a fitting Best Picture contender, (b) it recalls Wes Anderson‘s brilliant Rushmore (’98), which was the last film to use “Ooh La La” on its soundtrack, and (c) it alludes to personal growth, self-knowledge and finding wisdom, which Sentimental Value is fully concerned with. A perfect song for a perfect trailer.
Neon’s trailer says Sentimental Value will open stateside in November…nothing more specific than that. Obviously a prime Oscar consideration platform.
Friendo: “Looks great. Why can’t Hollywood make movies like this? Because they mostly don’t see personal relationships out there — they only see gender and skin-color power dynamics.”
Sentimental Value opens in France on 8.20.25, in its home country of Norway on 9.12.25, and in Sweden on 10.3.25.
