Screening: Hustlers

Hustlers

Release Date: September 13, 2019
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_dfc0iqmig

Genre: Drama

Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, with Mercedes Ruehl, and Cardi B

Director: Lorene Scafaria

Producers: Elaine Goldsmith Thomas, Jessica Elbaum, Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay

HUSTLERS follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. The film was inspired by the article published by New York Magazine entitled “The Hustlers at Scores” written by Jessica Pressler.

Screening Details:

HUSTLERS

Saturday, September 7th

9:00 pm

AMC Tyson’s Corner

Link to Download Tickets: http://stxtickets.com/OHpAz04059

Be sure to Like and Follow Watch or Pass and share with your friends!

As always, screenings are first-come, first-served so please arrive early to ensure you get a seat. 

What to Watch This Weekend: September 6, 2019

In Theaters: It Chapter Two

I know we called it a rental in the review, but nothing else comes out this weekend.  However, this is not a bad movie to pay to see in theaters if you want to go.  Despite the long story and convoluted plot, It Chapter Two reunites the Losers with the iconic clown, adding a fantastic cast and a ton of tension.  Check out our review for more information!

At Redbox: Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Godzilla is definitely a rental, so make sure to head over to Redbox and check it out this weekend.  Our review praised the special effects, but did not love the convoluted plot or seriousness of this film's story.  

Streaming (HBO): Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Melissa McCarthy's takes on a serious role as a struggling biographer who begins counterfeiting famous author's letters in order to make a quick buck.  The film is a nice change of pace for McCarthy, and tells an interesting and surprisingly true story.  

Streaming (Vudu Free With Ads): Any Given Sunday

With the start of football season this weekend, there is no better movie to scratch your NFL itch than Any Given Sunday.  It has some great football action, fantastic performances from Pacino, Foxx, Cool J, and Quaid, and also one of the best inspirational speeches in film.  

Screening: The Goldfinch

THE GOLDFINCH

In theaters September 13

(Warner Bros. Pictures / Amazon Studios)

Director: John Crowley

Writer: Screenplay by Peter Straughan, based on the novel by Donna Tartt

Producers: Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson Executive Producers: Mari Jo Winkler-Ioffreda, Kevin McCormick, Sue Kroll, Courtenay Valenti

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Oakes Fegley, Aneurin Barnard, Finn Wolfhard, with Sarah Paulson, Luke Wilson, Jeffrey Wright and Nicole Kidman

Drama. “The Goldfinch” is the film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s globally acclaimed bestseller of the same name, which won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and spent more than 30 weeks on The New York Times Best Sellers list. Theodore “Theo” Decker (Ansel Elgort) was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day...a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch. This film has been rated R for drug use and language.

thegoldfinchmovie.com

Screening Details:

THE GOLDFINCH

Tuesday, Sept 10

7:00pm

AMC Mazza

5300 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20015

Screening Link: http://www.wbtickets.com/goldwatch

Be sure to Like and Follow Watch or Pass and share with your friends!

As always, screenings are first-come, first-served so please arrive early to ensure you get a seat. 

Review: It Chapter Two

Release date: September 6, 2019
Running time: 169 minutes
Starring:  Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader 

The Losers are back together in Derry for the sequel to 2017's surprisingly good remake of Stephen King's It.  Twenty seven years have passed since the friends journeyed into the sewers to face It, and despite many of them leaving Derry, they are drawn back to their hometown when events start repeating themselves.  

The best thing about this film is the casting; the film crew did a phenomenal job getting older versions of the friends, finding talented actors that also look similar to the original Losers club.  McAvoy is convincing as an older Bill, Chastain is as strong and broken as Beverly, and Hader is funny and kind of a jerk as Richie.  It is good that they are convincing as the movie contains several scenes featuring both old and young versions of the friends.  The cast are sometimes seamlessly mixed and the characters make for convincing versions of each other.  Additionally, the film does a good job of continuing and growing on the story of the first, something that I would not have expected given how the first film wrapped up.  

However, the film continues the story in a long and drawn out way; the movie definitely feels every minute of its 169 minute run time.  I'm not against long movies by any means, but this film felt like it was unnecessarily long.  A part in the middle especially didn’t progress the story much and added about an hour to the overall film.  And despite the film's long run time, it still leaves a lot of the backstory of Pennywise missing and also has an unsatisfying conclusion to this long journey.  And It Chapter Two suffers from the same CG issues that break your suspension of disbelief during some of the scary scenes.  The build up is fantastic, but when the actual reveal happens, the effects look off and clearly computer generated, which turns the actual scare into something of a ridiculous situation.  It really hurt the sense of immersion in the first movie and does the same in this one.  

It Chapter Two reunites the Losers with the iconic clown, but does so in an unnecessarily long way.  The film has a fantastic cast and a ton of tension, but the long run time and ridiculous CG effects spoil the overall experience.  

Rent it

What to Watch This Weekend: August 30, 2019

In Theaters: Ready or Not
Out review said that “Ready or Not tells a twisted tale with plenty of dark humor.”  The movie actually came out last week, but it is still my favorite of the recent releases and definitely worth a watch.  

In Theaters (Bonus): The Matrix
The Matrix is coming back to theaters for limited time starring this weekend. Go catch this classic on the big screen and relive this revolutionary film.

At Redbox: Rocketman
Our review said that “Rocketman is a spectacle with fantastic music and a phenomenal performance by Taron Egerton.” If you missed it in theaters, make sure to grab it from Redbox!

Streaming (Showtime): Peppermint
Jennifer Garner makes her action debut as a mom out for revenge.  The movie has a very Man on Fire vibe and seeing Garner in a different role is fun to watch.

Streaming (Amazon): Juliet, Naked
This heartwarming romantic comedy stars Rose Bryne and Ethan Hawks as an unlikely when Bryne develops a transatlantic relationship with Hawks, a once famous but now washed-up musician.

Review: Don't Let Go

Release date: August 30, 2019
Running time: 103 minutes
Starring:  David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Mykelti Williamson

Don't Let Go is kind of like Frequency and Butterfly Effect rolled into one.  In it, Detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo) must do all he can to solve the murder of his niece Ashley (Reid).  He is helped in this seemingly impossible task by a call from the past that can affect the present.  

The premise of this film is interesting, and gives you a feeling of suspense by adding the pressure of events happening in parallel in Ashley's time having very real and unintended consequences in Jack's time.  There are some interesting ways that both Jack and Ashley communicate what is going on, and the added uncertainty of the cell phone gives pressure on Jack.  Did the call just drop or did something terrible happen?  The film has a definite style that is muted and understated, which does a good job of setting up the important images and letting the viewer ignore what isn't necessary.

However, this film has some issues that made me scratch my head.  The most noticeable is that for a detective, Jack seems to have a very poor sense of police procedure.  There are some scenes where he follows what I imagine are best practices, but other times when he touches evidence and contaminates the crime scenes that just made me cringe.  And there are some inconsistent parts with his character, like when he notices someone who is dead and simply ignores them because he is focused on his current mission.  This was especially off-putting in an early scene in the film.  The story does a good job of building up for the first time travel reveal, but unfortunately feels like it rushes to a conclusion.  I kind of wanted to have a few more time hops to really develop some of the ideas, but it seems like the filmmakers just wanted to move the film along after setting the stage.  And, in the end, the story feels kind of unsatisfying because of this.  

Don't Let Go has an interesting premise, think Frequency meets the Butterfly Effect.  It has an engaging, suspenseful story that is hampered by a rushed conclusion and internal inconsistencies.  

Rent it

Screening: IT CHAPTER TWO

IT CHAPTER TWO

In theaters September 6

Rated R

Cast: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Teach Grant, and Bill Skarsgård, Andy Bean, Jaeden Martell Wyatt Oleff, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer

Director: Andy Muschietti

Because every 27 years evil revisits the town of Derry, Maine, “It Chapter Two” brings the characters—who’ve long since gone their separate ways—back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film.

Screening Details:

IT: CHAPTER TWO
Tuesday, September 3
7:00PM

AMC Mazza Gallerie

5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC

Screening Link:

http://www.wbtickets.com/usNjv43644

Be sure to Like and Follow Watch or Pass and share with your friends!

As always, screenings are first-come, first-served so please arrive early to ensure you get a seat.