I follow a lot of film critics on social media (I’m now on Bluesky if you do that sort of thing you can find me here.) Obviously, film critics talk a lot about movies. Mostly new movies because that’s their job. I don’t really watch new movies. I like old movies. But I do like reading about what new movies are good. Well, reading is a bit of a strong word because I usually don’t read reviews before I watch a movie and I like coming into a movie as fresh as possible. So it’s more like I enjoy hearing the buzz about good new movies enough to make me make a mental note of it and possibly watch it sometime in the future.
Conclave has gotten a lot of buzz. That’s all I know about. Well the people seem to be dressed in Catholic priest attire, and the title insinuates it will be about choosing a new Pope, but that’s really all I know about it. But the buzzing has been strong enough that I really want to see it and I’m making it this week’s Pick (because that means I should be able to watch it soon.)
Also out this week that looks interesting:
Easter Condors: Sammo Hung was a huge name in Hong Kong Cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. He made a lot of movies, many of them goofy. This is his take on a Vietnam action flick. Criterion of all people are releasing it.
Yokohama BJ Blues: Radiance films brings this crime story to us. It is about a detective/blues singer trying to solve his best friends murder and find all sorts of dark secrets along the way.
Golden Harvest 2: Shining Stars: Golden Harvest was kind of a second rate Shaw Brothers studio. They made lots of kung fu flicks but with smaller budget and smaller stars. This is a nice looking boxed set full of eight films.
Seinfeld: The Complete Series 4K UHD: I’m not sure this NBC show from the 1990s really needed a UHD upgrade but here we are. I absolutely loved Seinfeld when it first aired, but something tells me I’d just find it irritating now.
Joker: Folie à Deux: Joker was a massive surprise hit. A sequel was inevitable. It was surprising just how many people seem to hate it. Critics were pretty mixed on the first one but it had a huge fanbase. This sequel seems to have irritated everyone.
Terrifier 3: I know I’m a horror nerd but something about these films just makes me not want to watch them. Everything I read about them indicates they are just a bunch of gore scenes thrown together and I want more than that in my horror.
The Searchers: John Ford’s epic western gets the 4K UHD treatment.
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