Yeah, Fandango is telling me Cumberbatch as Creature 10/22 and Miller 10/29 at my local cinema. I remember reading a lot of Opinions about the two versions but I don't remember being persuaded either way as to which I might prefer.

They are both amazing. I can't even decide which I preferred.

Tom Hardy is the walking embodiment of a child's "Can I pet your dog???" request.

That's kind of how Sony is marketing the movie in China: [link]

Cumbercreature is the 22nd. Also the one to see if you cannot see both.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, which means less trips to the multiplex than my usual. Stuff seen:

A Star Is Born: I enjoyed it, but I'm not rabidly in love with it as many film critics seem to be. The first half is fabulous but the second half is a bit of a slog. Cooper and Lady Gaga have legit great chemistry together though, and the concert footage (which was reportedly shot during actual musical festivals to capture that crowd energy) is dynamite.

The big single ("Shallows") is catchy but structured weirdly and lacking in transition, I find. Judy Garland's rendition of "The Man That Got Away" ( [link] ) is still the reigning champion in my heart among the musical numbers in all the ASIB movies over the last 100 years.

The Sisters Brothers: An atypical western that went to a lot of unexpected places, with four genuinely great performances by Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. While there are some funny bits, this is a very melancholic, thoughtful affair overall, and at times unexpectedly moving. I don't think it's doing much in the box office, which makes me sad. I kinda want someone to write a yuletide fic about Gyllenhaal's and Ahmed's characters.

The Wife: in which Glenn Close gives a fantastic performance as the long-suffering wife of a novel laureate in literature, Who Snaps Gloriously. The movie is rather slight, but Close is great in it. To be frank, I saw it as Oscar homework, heh.

I've already seen The First Man and Colette in Toronto (both very worthy films that didn't particularly ring my bell). Now debating whether to go see Venom, for lulz. Or I guess I could try The Hate U Give...

Question on A Star Is Born. Is it terribly depressing? Sister and I were going to go see it then a friend of hers said it was depressing and I heard the same elsewhere. We skipped it since we weren't in the mood for that the day we were nearby the theater.

Cereal:

FINALLY got around to watching Train to Busan, which has been streaming on Netflix all this time but which I'd been too much of a weenie to see. I had a friend over for dinner last night, and we figured we'd rectify this deficiency while holding each other's hands during scary bits.

Anyway, it was RIOTOUS GOOD TIME, y'all. It's fast-moving, smart, with a real knack for economical introduction to stock characters that make the audience care about them in record time. I feel like the last 20 minutes had about 3 different endings and the movie basically sat on the button labelled "FLORID SENTIMENTALITY" during the entire denouement, but even that was rather entertaining. My friend (also Korean-born) and I talked about how that mix of violence and sentimentality is baked into the fabric of Korean cinematic genre fare.

For fellow horror movie weenies: it's got your typical zombie movie violence but I didn't find it particularly scary. It's more action than horror. Two thumbs way up.

Question on A Star Is Born. Is it terribly depressing?

It follows the plot template of all 3 previous A Star Is Born movies (i.e. it ends unhappily) but I don't know if I'd call it depressing? I mean, addiction and relationship breakdown are big parts of the the story, but in its heart, it's a good ole-fashioned melodrama, where sad things happen and you have a good cathartic cry and feel fine about it afterward. But YMMV.

That makes sense, Vonnie. We'll just see it on a day when in that kind of mood.

For people who don't have problem with heights/vertigo, I highly recommend the documentary Free Solo.

It is an INTENSE movie.