Best First Watches: July 2022
Can you believe it? We have somehow made it to August. How's your year been? Cool, great. Yeah, love living through horribly life-changing global events on a daily basis. Really good for my mental health.
Anyway, let's get to it.
As always, January, February, March, April, May, and June editions are available to peruse.
Bull Durham
Orion Pictures
I got screeners for an upcoming Prime Video series about a certain women’s baseball league and watched them as fast as humanly possible. Legally, I cannot say anything about that show until August 10th, but I can say that I got Very Wrapped Up in the romance of baseball. I needed to watch something else about baseball and Bull Durham has been on my list for forever, so I put it on. Yeah, some stuff didn’t age well, but Susan Sarandon in her twangy Southern accent saying the opening line of “I believe in the Church of Baseball” as gospel music plays is extraordinary. Over the course of Bull Durham and the Amazon Prime Show That Shall Not Be Named, I decided I am All In on baseball and desperately needed a team to root for. So, based entirely on colors and nothing of substance, I am a Chicago Cubs fan until the day I die.
Witness for the Prosecution
United Artists
A lot of contemporary movies like to boast that they have a crazy, unexpected ending that is so mind-blowingly new. And then you go see it and it’s like, we’ve seen aliens before, Steven, calm down. When I tell you I audibly screeched at the end of Witness for the Prosecution…they just don’t make ’em like this anymore.
American Carnage
Saban Films
American Carnage is not the best version of what it could be, but it’s enough of a good ride to be worth your time. Also, I haven’t talked about Jenna Ortega once in these monthly recaps which is poor journalism on my part. 2022 is Ortega’s year and we’re all just lucky enough to be witnessing it. Consistently the standout in every film and her performance in American Carnage is no different. It’s worth the price of admission alone to hear Ortega perfectly deliver this line: “That’s some racist shit, though. To assume that I use drugs. Do I assume you dance poorly to Vanilla Ice dressed in your khaki shorts while stress eating a kale salad?”
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
focus features
I believe there’s a genre of movies that can just be grouped together as Kind Cinema. It’s what I classify movies like Paddington and Downton Abbey. They just envelope you with a sense of warmth and make it so easy to love them. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris fits nicely in this genre. Never did I think I would get emotional about a lady and her dress, but I got quite emotional.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
a24
Immediately in the running for favorite film of 2022. There’s just something quite extraordinary about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.
A Love Song
Bleecker Street
I’m genetically predisposed to adoring any movie that takes place in the American west that’s about romantic longing. That’s what happens when you spend your formative years listening to Bruce Springsteen. You get stupid ideas like owning an old school Chevy truck and falling in love under the desert skies of Arizona. Anyway, A Love Song is stunning. A quiet, potent heartbreaker.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
20th Century Fox
For Film Cred’s Patreon, I was a guest on their Revue show. (I also host Behind the Zines on the Patreon! Consider becoming a member to support diverse voices in film criticism!) My guest episode was released to coincide with the release of Jordan Peele’s Nope and was a look back at alien invasion flicks through the years. I watched the original The Day the Earth Stood Still in preparation and loved it. Even as a lesbian, I know that alien was a hottie, so I have no idea why people were so mean right off the bat. (I mean, I know why, but still.)
Arrival
Paramount Pictures
Yet another movie I watched in preparation for the podcast episode. As much as I love Amy Adams, I held off on this movie because I don’t care for Jeremy Renner (or his app). Anyway, Renner ruined what is a genuinely perfect movie otherwise.
Nope
universal pictures
I might be in the minority on this one, but I didn’t fully love Nope. Visually, it’s stunning. There’s nothing else like it. Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya are a dream team and I am obsessed with Steven Yeun’s cowboy amusement park. I also really liked the thematic notes Jordan Peele was trying to hit. Toward the end, it didn’t fully fall apart for me, but it was definitely straining those seams. However, Peele is still an exciting filmmaker and I will keep showing up.
For the Love of the Game
universal pictures
As I’ve already said, I am All In on baseball. Is this a quarter-life crisis? Maybe! Anyway, I’ve been working my way through the Unofficial Kevin Costner Baseball Cinematic Universe and I was intrigued to see Sam Raimi direct a sports movie. Apparently, people think this movie is cheesy and terrible. Costner got a Razzie nomination for his performance. Look, maybe it’s just because I am so swept up in the romance of baseball, but I loved this. Yeah, I wish Kelly Preston’s character was a little more fleshed out and some of the dialogue was ridiculous. (I’ll never recover from the secondhand embarrassment of Preston, standing in a hospital, screaming, “Is this not America? Is baseball not America’s pastime?”) All that being said, I love big, beautiful emotions and baseball.
Honor Society
paramount+
This one was a true surprise for me. As I’ve been preaching, Angourie Rice is one of the best young talents working right now, so I had it on my Watchlist. If you are able to steal every single scene from Ryan Gosling in The Nice Guys (which is one of his best roles), then you’re something special. Honor Society is about Honor’s (Rice) ruthless scheme to get the coveted Harvard recommendation letter from her principal. No one has Paramount+, so no one will watch this, but you’re missing out.
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