I agree with 90% of that, all the way to the grudging plan to watch Trial of Chicago 7 at some point and zero interest in Borat 2 or Hillbilly Elegy.

I have to say, one point my Century+ project has really hammered home is that there are far too many great films I have yet to see without wasting my time on mediocre contemporary fare.

I'm very jealous of your moviegoing, Vonnie. I wish I could go to the theater. I can't wait to be eligible for vaccination. California and SF have wiped all trace of the former Phase 1C (50+) from all their websites so I fear I will have to wait for the free-for-all that is everybody at once and then who knows when I'll get it.

there are far too many great films I have yet to see without wasting my time on mediocre contemporary fare.

Hear, hear. And fingers crossed that vaccination schedule would ramp up (the Oxford AZ vaccine will probably get an EUA approval soon, so that's 4 active vaccines available in near future).

On the streaming front, I just noticed that New Korean Cinema films were set to expire on Criterion Channel at the end of this month. I gotta knock off a few of these but it's so heavy on horror and violence, wahh. I did start watching Park Chan Wook's Joint Security Area last night and found it quite gripping, until I got to the scene where Upsetting Things were gonna happen (the film is in a flashback structure so you know it's coming). By then, I got so invested in the characters, the prospect of upcoming horror was unbearable, so I turned it off and went to bed haha (*hides face*). THIS is why I need to see movies in the theater where there is momentum and no escape. Sigh. I'll pick it up today, and I'm already dreading it.

I did watch Baby Song Kang Ho in Foul King, which was quite delightful. After JSA, I'll probably try Lady Vengeance if I can muster up enough nerve. It can't be more upsetting than Mr. Vengeance, surely (a film I found legit traumatizing).

Yeah, I have a few of those at the top of My List: The Quiet Family and the Vengeance trilogy (getting Oldboy from the library soon I hope), but I'm trying to regard the Criterion expiring movies as a "nice to have" rather than "need to have" situation, especially when it is stuff I can get from the library.

James Gunn Suicide Squad trailer. NSFW.

OK, maybe not as good as the Harley Quinn cartoon King Shark, or Gail Simone’s King Shark, but I still love me some King Shark.

Looks fun

James Gunn Suicide Squad trailer.

STARRO? Yeah, I'm going to see it. [edit: Although I really only like Peacemaker from the 2000-something Blue Beetle comics, I'm willing to see if John Cena can change my mind.] [Give me Blue Beetle, you cowards.] [Not that he's a villain; I just love Blue Beetle.]

And also, yes, King Shark is the actual goddamn best. And Harley Quinn cartoon King Shark is the best of the goddamn best.

Netflix is getting two Knives Out sequels from Rian Johnson: [link]

Yes! Awesome!

ETA: I like Benoit's detective shtick well enough, I hope we get to see more of LaKeith Stanfield's character, and I am SO EXCITED to have a murder mystery franchise to follow! Not sure how I feel about it being on Netflix rather than in theaters (or also in theaters? Unclear) but that is a minor quibble at most.

Very excited about the Rian Johnson news. I assume there may be a limited theatrical run but I plan on nothing these days.

In Criterion news, I just wanted to give a heads up that most of the Marlene Dietrich & Josef von Sternberg collection is expiring at the end of the month.

I'm trying to be better about not going overboard with the expiring films but I've somehow managed to add those and ten other films to my queue. Since I'm now a month behind on my Century+ project and hope to get through the 1930s and the 1940s this month, I don't have high hopes for see many beyond the Sternbergs.

Godzilla vs. Kong is spectacularly dumb with nonsense yet needlessly convoluted plots, with frequently howl-worthy dialog. It also has Kong, who out-acts every single human on screen -- he's cranky, is too old for this shit, and he's HAD It with the stupid people and the aggressive lizard on his tail. He has all the power and weary soulfulness of a legendary boxer past his prime dragged out to open a can of majestic WHOOP ASS on all and sundry. I loved every second of monster-brawlin' in this movie, and the actor who did the motion capture for Kong's face needs to receive some kind of an award, seriously.

Godzilla, by the virtue of being a lizard, is somewhat less expressive (I mean, it's very difficult not to be on Team Kong in this movie) but has some moments of impressive coolness and badassery.

Basically it has all the fun giant-creature shenanigans of Pacific Rim, except with very forgettable human elements. I saw it in a Dolby theater and had a GREAT time, even during the stupid bits (which is most of the movie when the monsters aren't wailing on each other). In the middle of the movie, Kong and a motley crew enter... uhm, some kind of different realm, and even though the whole plot surrounding that is fucking ridiculous, the sequence has a kind of kitschy splendor that almost verges on poetic. They break out a very Vangelis-sounding synth score for the scene, which really worked on me despite everything.

It's available on HBO Max as well as in theaters. If you are in a mood for some loud, dumb fun, you could do a lot worse.