Run, don't walk, to see Leave No Trace if it's playing in your city. I just came back from it and gosh, it just bowled me over. It's about a father and an adolescent daughter living off grid in an Oregon national park, anchored by a pair of quiet but extraordinary, naturalistic performances by Ben Foster as the dad and this young New Zealand actress named Thomasin McKenzie as the daughter. It's tender and heartbreaking, and is about how sometimes, we can't heal our loved one's wounds for all the love we bear them, about finding one's voice, about empathy, and about collective kindness of a community. Even if I hadn't known this was made by Debra Granik, I would have recognized the stamp of the director who made Winter's Bone.

Matt - my card says it is working everywhere, but I went to an e-ticket theater just to be sure. I plan to go see something else tomorrow.

I did not lie, am at movies now FINALLY seeing ant man and wasp.

Me too! And fuck the credits scenes. I don't need that kind of negativity. (Although hilariously, several people in the theater with me apparently hadn't seen Infinity War.)

And fuck the credits scenes. I don't need that kind of negativity.

You should be a motivational speaker!

Hee.

Just watched Wind River on Netflix. Sure, it came on my radar because of Jeremy Renner, but damn, that was a good movie. One of the core themes is strong women. It tells some truths about grief, too. And boy, does it show some truths about the land out here in the west, especially the parts where hardly anybody lives.

Just came back from Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The friend I went with and I kept whisper-yelling at each other about how come everyone was not dead yet 5 times over. The action sequences in it are INSANE. At some point, I just started laughing every time Tom Cruise pulled off yet another, even more improbable, physical feat.

There are a couple of car/motorcycle chases in the streets of Paris that are, like, Car Chase Hall of Famers. And I am not usually a fan of Henry Cavill (I really, really, don't like him as Superman in particular) but he is deployed very well here.

I... kinda think I came around on Tom Cruise? His private life may be bananas, but the dude is crashing his motorcycle and jumping off buildings and cliffs and getting punched in the face and running running and MOAR RUNNING and basically killing himself so that we could be entertained, and I find myself impressed by his commitment despite myself.

At any rate, great fun time was had by all. Still trying to decide if this one tops Rogue Nation, which was my favourite until now. May have to go see it again.

The more Tom Cruise runs, the better the movie.

It's just science.

I had such a great time at MI: Fallout. Every time I thought the helicopter chase had gone on too long, something even MORE would happen and it would all be worth it all over again.

I just learned that the super badass Lark decoy dude who took on both Ethan and Walker in the Paris bathroom fight scene in MI - Fallout was the main stuntman who trained the young actors in the new Star Wars films. His name is Liang Yang and I remember seeing him in several behind the scenes featurettes with Daisy Ridley. On top of that, he played the stormtrooper with the fancy weapon Finn takes on in The Force Awakens and one of the Praetorian Guards in The Last Jedi! That dude is AWESOME. Nice to see a talented stunt-person / fight choreographer like that featured so prominently in front of the camera.