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The Back-To-School Movie Buzz
A RECAP
by Sandra Olmsted
While many gear-up for school with backpacks, computers, or dorm room accessories, films in theaters now offer almost every audience some relief from the shopping during the dog days of summer. With its Greek Island setting, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, a Universal Pictures release, the fun and uplifting sequel to the 2008 film, maybe the ultimate mini-vacation; however, the film primarily aims for a female audience.
A younger audience, especially those on a date, might enjoy the second installment in the Dark Web franchise: Unfriended: Dark Web, a Universal Pictures/Blumhouse Tilt release. After Matias (Colin Woodell), a budding app designer, gets a used computer, the previous owner, NorahC or Charon (various actors play the part), demands the laptop be returned and threatens Matias’ deaf girlfriend Amaya (Stephanie Nogueras). NorahC/Charon threats to torture Amaya just like in the films that Matias finds on the laptop. However, Matias is really in danger, and his only hope is his own app which has been taken over by the dark web. Although horror films are just an excuse to cuddle at the movies, parents might appreciate that this cautionary tale about the dangers of the internet. (Rated R for some disturbing violence, language, and sexual references. 88 min.)
For an even younger crowd and for fanboys of all things superhereos, the animated film, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies, a Warner Bros. release, provides a fun escape into a world where the tropes and conventions of superheroes are spoofed and challenged. Superhero-wannabes Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg (voices of Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, and Khary Payton, respectively) try to do something heroic, to find a supervillain nemesis in Deadpool-look-alike Slade (voice of Will Arnett), and to get a movie made about themselves to prove they are real superheroes. Although the preteen appeal of the mini-superheroes and their juvenile humor make it a good film for that crowd, fans of superheroes will get the inside jokes, enjoy the parody, and appreciate the star-studded cast. (Rated PG for action and rude humor, 93 min.)
Eighth Grade, a detailed look at the struggle of one girl, Kayla (Elsie Fisher), to survive her last week of middle school, is not intended for children at all. While some might remember that year as a good one, Kayla’s year was fraught with challenges. Meanwhile, Kayla’s father, Mark (Josh Hamilton), tries to get the reclusive Kayla, who posts advice videos despite her naiveté and inexperience, to give up social media for real interactions with her classmates. Being included in a pool party, to which Kennedy (Catherine Oliviere) is forced to invite Kayla, proves a gateway to boys and other experiences that make Kayla rethink her life. Writer/director Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, an A24 release, is getting rave reviews as is Fisher for her performance. This might be just the comedy/drama film to see for parents sending their preteens off to middle school; in fact, it may be a must-see for its early Oscar buzz. (Rated R for language and some sexual material, 93 min.)
In Blindspotting, a Lionsgate, friends since childhood, Collin (Daveed Diggs) and Miles (Rafael Casal), may have to part ways if Collin, an ex-con, is going to get through the last three days of his year-long probation and put his life in order. While stuck at a red light and simultaneously racing the clock to get back to his probation halfway house, Collin witnesses and is haunted by a white police officer (Ethan Embry) gunning down a black civilian. When a gun ends up in the hands of Miles’ son, Collin wonders if Miles’ recklessness will derail his probation, which sets the friends on a collision course. Blindspotting, which real-life childhood friends Casal and Diggs wrote, has captured many good reviews including for Diggs’ Oscar-worthy performance. (Rated R for language throughout, some brutal violence, sexual references and drug use, 95 min.)
Paramount’s summer blockbuster release, Mission: Impossible — Fallout, has a wide appeal for a variety of audiences and may come the closest to be a family film for dog days of summer. When the remains of The Syndicate have reformed into a new terrorist group, The Apostles, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) receives details of a mission to intercept the sale of three plutonium cores to members of the group, who are acquiring them for a client. In Berlin, Hunt Joins forces with Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) to retrieve the plutonium. When Hunt must choose between Luther’s life and grabbing the plutonium, the mission fails. Can the team catch up with The Apostles before they deliver the plutonium? The cast includes Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin, all of whom reprise their roles from previous films; Henry Cavill and Angela Bassett join the franchise. The buzz and the box office have been strong with reviews touting this as the installment as the best yet. (Rated PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of action, and for brief strong language; 147 min.)
For those who wonder why this part of the summer is called the dog days, just look to all the stars in the heavens. The dog days, the sultriest part of the summer, occur when the Dog Star Sirius, Canis Major’s brightest star, rises at the same time as the sun. Typically, the coinciding risings occur for 40 days starting just before the 4th of July and last into the second week of August. Usually the hottest and most humid stretch of St. Louis summer, the dog days are also synonymous with how people feel when the weather is oppressive: lethargic. What better time to hide in a movie theater!
