One Good Movie - The Sequel

Hey Cuz,

Any weird family moments this week?

I've experienced The Wolf of Wall Street level of holiday parties.

No, no one has blown cocaine into my asshole, but I'm pretty sure I asked my Spanish cousin how much she cost.

"Cuenta cuestas?" is not the same as "cuenta cuesta?"

Don't worry. Nothing has been as awkward as when my friend's brother-in-law made a loud racist joke at a kid's birthday party. He thought his humor would kill the room with laughter, but it only killed our hope for his offspring.

Holidays are a time of love, peace, and uncomfortable encounters.

Therefore this week's movie is Shiva Baby.

It's a knockout of a debut. 78 minutes of suspense-comedy.

Emma Seligman announces herself as a major talent. The writing is funny. The performances are funny. After so many years of Apatow-derivative improv takes, it's phenomenal to see a director use simple framing to create a point of view.

This is not a family-friendly comedy. Seligman makes it uncomfortable from the first shot and doesn’t let up.

The great Fred Melamed, from the Coen Brother's masterpiece, A Serious Man, plays the lead's father.

Roman Polanski meets Woody Allen filmmaking, combined with Gen Z sexuality = uneasy comedy.

The budget is listed as $200,000. I've produced movies for less.

I understand all the challenges and obstacles one faces in trying to get ANYTHING made. But Seligman doesn't only make something, she delivers a film more entertaining than anything The Rock has done since he worked with Peter Berg.

Watch Shiva Baby and let me know what you think.

Your fellow movie fan,

-Guy

p.s. I saw Avatar 2 this week. 3D. HFR. 4K. VOSE.

I have thoughts. But here's the thing, Cameron was one of my favorite filmmakers as a young boy. I think he's still making movies for that boy, but I've outgrown the movies. Still, it's probably the most stunning technical achievement of the last decade. I wish Canada Jim would come back to Earth, but I accept that he never will.

Your kids will dig it.

I dreaded the 3+ hour run time but I never left my seat. And as great as the action is, I was most entranced by the second hour of the film. If you are going to see it, see it on the big screen.

Epilogue aka Avatar 2 - The Second Part

Hurray, for Stephen Lang! Always a working actor, it's a blast to see him having fun on the Pandora toy set.

You're familiar with Lang's work with Michael Mann, but did you know he played the heavy in John Badham's buddy-cop movie? That's right, when Michael J. Fox and James Woods team up, they have to take down the "Party Crasher."

The film was written by Lem Dobbs, who wrote a little picture called The Limey.

Seligman the Sequel

For her follow-up to Shiva Baby, Seligman is reteaming with actress Rachel Sennott for a high school comedy.

In an article in The New York Times by Megan Conway, Seligman describes the plot as “two girls in a classic American football town who start a fight club under the guise of female empowerment, but it’s actually so they can have sex with cheerleaders.”

Count. Me. In.