Today is Tuesday, the day when you can get into your local Marcus Theater for $7 and change.
And I've decided I'm not going today.
I know, I had made a promise to myself last year that I would go see a new movie at the local theater every Tuesday. But as of right now I'm feeling seriously burnt out on mainstream Hollywood. Most of the movies which are playing right now I've seen already, and you can check out my reviews for them on this thread. The ones I haven't seen are
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and
Tarot, and I honestly can't work up any serious degree of enthusiasm about them. Alas, I missed
Abigail, and I strongly suspect I'm none the worse for that. After the FX-laden eye-candy overdose monster-mash that was
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and the too-clever-by-half "meta" action/rom-com hijinks of
The Fall Guy, I feel like I seriously need a break, lest I become totally dispirited. Granted, my recent moviegoing experiences haven't been a
total loss:
Civil War I found to be intelligent, intense and thought-provoking, with an ending that I have to assume is meant to be
deliberately disturbing (by my own reckoning, a good thing), and
Challengers is a youth-oriented, sports-centered relationship movie that
doesn't insult the intelligence of its audience. Beyond that, however, it's been really hit-and-miss, and most of the "hits" have been modest and not exactly mind-blowing. Yeah, it's good to see the characters from your favorite franchises in all-new adventures, but I'd be lying if I said that
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire would have any kind of long-term resonance for me comparable to the classic '84 original.
Not to mention the fact that there are, like, 20 minutes' worth of trailers to get through before the movie starts, to the point where I have seen the previews for most of the upcoming attractions five or so times, to the point where it feels like I've actually
seen those movies already! (And in some cases, I might just as well have!
) And I am getting
seriously sick and tired of looking at Greg Marcus' obnoxiously ingratiating, glad-handing face every time one of his "humorous" announcements or quasi-skits comes on between the trailers and the film! (God, I am
sooooooo sick of that guy
)
So at this point, I feel it is imperative for me to withdraw from the big screen for a while. Whether it's for another week or so, or another month, or for
however long, I honestly couldn't say. If I check online and see that there's something interesting playing, I'll definitely check it out. (I'm
definitely going to see Kevin Costner's new
Horizon: An American Saga when it comes out, no question.)
But as of right now, I think I just need a rest...
BTW, I just ordered a copy of John Sturges'
Bad Day at Black Rock from 1955. I'd borrowed the DVD through inter-library loan a couple months back and decided I would put the Warner Brothers Archive Blu-ray edition on my must-buy list. I guess most of my greatest cinematic sustenance these days lies in the past!