Each month, I share a trio of recommendations spanning theaters, physical media, and streaming. Here’s this month recs…
On the Big Screen
I Play Rocky
Sometimes you just see a trailer and know the movie’s gonna hit. When I caught the I Play Rocky trailer for the first time before The Odyssey I was rolling my eyes at the start and clapping my hands by the end. I’m betting the movie will play the same.
We haven’t had a good old-fashioned crowdpleaser in a while—and the Stallone-Rocky mythology is one of Hollywood’s great stories (and Hollywood REALLY loves its own mythology). Anthony Ippolito has both the look and voice of Stallone down. And say what you will about Peter Farrelly, as long as he’s not making movies that win Best Picture, he’s a pretty solid commercial director.
I initially questioned whether people would want to hear this guy do Stallone voice for two hours, then I remembered that moviegoers have bought tickets to watch Stallone do Stallone voice for five decades.
I Play Rocky reaches theaters in wide release November 20
As an added bonus the original Rocky is also returning to theaters for its 50th anniversary November 7-11. Check that one out too.
On Physical Media
Vice Squad
I recently picked up Vice Squad on 4K sight unseen during Kino Lorber’s Fall Haul Sale.
Not sure exactly what drew me to this movie. I grabbed Night of Juggler on 4K from Kino a few months back and loved it. So maybe I just had an appetite for another gritty, grimy early 80s movie (though this one is set in L.A. vs Juggler’s NYC). Then when I found out none other than Martin Scorsese called Vice Squad his number-one movie of 1982, well, that sealed the deal for me.
I’m happy to report this movie delivers the dirt, taking you deep into the gutter with the story of a cop and call girl out to stop a killer. It’s a juicy thriller with an off-the-rails intense performance from Wings Hauser (father of Dazed and Confused and Good Will Hunting actor Cole Hauser) as a pimp named Ramrod.
But what really surprised me was how much of this was just a hang-out movie. Hanging out with the cops on the vice squad. Hanging out with the hookers on the street. Just living in this world with all its weird and violent details.
The movie also might have the single craziest theme song of any movie ever (sung by Wings Hauser himself).
Vice Squad is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K from Kino Lorber or GRUV
On Streaming
The Invite
In the running for my favorite movie of the year, The Invite is smart, funny, incisive filmmaking at its finest.
While I liked Booksmart and thought Don’t Worry Darling wasn’t as bad as everyone seemed to think (looking back at my Letterboxd review from 2022, I gave it 3 stars and wished it would have “pushed harder, gone more subversive”), The Invite has me buying season tickets for whatever Olivia Wilde directs moving forward (including the oddball holiday movie she’s making next). She really directs the shit out of this, orchestrating the comic chaos and tonal shifts masterfully.
Maybe even more surprising is how good her performance is here. Same goes for Seth Rogen (who I found incredibly relatable). If it were up to me (it’s not), I’d slot all four actors in for acting Oscar nominations, Wilde for Best Director, and Will McCormack and Rashida Jones for Best Adapted Screenplay (the script is based on a 2020 Spanish film).
After you watch, check out Wilde’s interview on The Big Picture—where she talks about how her and Seth Rogen had completely different reads on the ending.
The Invite is currently streaming on HBO Max (if they’re not calling it Skydance Supreme yet).
Other Notes
One to Binge: I typically avoid Amazon Prime shows like the plague. Couldn’t tell you why, they just reek of low quality to me (maybe because they come from the place where I buy garbage bags). But Mike Flanagan’s Carrie was really good… at least until the last episode. Still, a show that’s 90% good is better than most. And you can always stop after episode 7.
One to Skip: The Ben Affleck-directed Animals on Netflix was entertaining but also crushingly disappointing. After his first three movies I thought this guy really had it as a director. Now we’re at this? A hysterical High and Low retread filled with AI drone shots. Where’s the guy who made The Town?
One for Fall: I’m gonna close out the fall season with one of the most orange movies ever made—Wes Anderson’s The Fantastic Mr. Fox. A stacked cast of voice talent, a meticulous and hilarious visual style, and a runtime under 90 minutes. This one never gets old.