In Which I Beg Your Pardon

I want to start off by explaining that the reasons for my absence have been twofold: 1.) I’m currently dealing with a personal financial matter that is a neverending morass of stress and anxiety, and 2.) I didn’t really see any trailers that sparked my interest until recently. (Editor’s note: we love Talicia dearly, and we are firm believers that if you have something going on, you take care of you and your loved ones first. As we’re not monetized yet, this isn’t a paid gig, and I’m not going to demand output when all I can offer is a bag of Skittles. Plus, there are larger things in the world. Your problems matter because they are yours, whether it’s a sick dog or a broken-down car or a huge presentation at work. We’re a family here, and family backs each other up. We’ll still be here when you get back. There’s always a spot for you.)

Blockbuster season has never really been my bag. I like (some) the superhero movies just fine, but am in no way compelled to pay $10.50 (in my neighborhood) when I can just wait a few months and watch it on Netflix… although, even then, I tend to pass them up to watch something totally random I put in my queue. That leaves the endless string of idiotic comedies that seem to want to be screwball, but appear to be a Mad Libs-style script of dick jokes and beautiful people being clumsy so we’ll somehow be convinced that “they’re JUST. LIKE. US!” In short, I tend to skip the trailers and movies in the summer months.

That’s why I finally perked up when these came on my radar. Initially, I wanted to say something about the Spike Lee movie that’s based on an actual person and event. However, I don’t know if I’m prepared to wade into the inevitable weeds surrounding that one, and I think I’d get more out of reading the original book instead. So, I’m shifting gears and bringing to your attention a couple of movies that will deal with human frailty and resilience in completely different ways: Welcome to Marwen and Glass. 

Like Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, Welcome to Marwen also appears to be based on an actual person, who’s portrayed by Steve Carell. Having suffered a severe assault, Carrell’s character now creates miniatures as a way to tell his story and remember life before the assault stole his memories. Rather than the unsettling dioramas in Hereditary, Marwen’s miniatures help create a world you want to explore. You can view the trailer in the link provided above, as the trailer for Glass will be the featured video in this post.

As for Glass, even though I just spent half a paragraph bitching about superhero movies, I do rather like the Shyamalan take on the genre.  Sure, maybe I’m alone there, and no doubt there’s something out there that plays on the same concepts (perhaps The Watchman, for example, though I never finished reading it to be able to say for sure). But I don’t come across too many superhero stories where the superpowers may or may not be real, or rather the characters’ perception of their condition translates it as a superpower. I also enjoyed Unbreakable and Split and want to see how these characters play out in this universe. And, yeah, I’m already speculating as to what the “twist” ending is going to be, but I’m game. Here’s hoping Mr. S has his groove back.