Hey there! How’ve you been? How did those changes in your life work out for you? Was it a huge mistake, or is it enriching your life in ways you’re grateful for? I hope it was the latter 🙂 While you ponder that, let’s see what’s worthwhile on streaming and in (a limited number of) theaters!
PARALLAX
This is a nice way to ease back into the theaters during these strange times, because it’s about an artist seeking to regain her life after her memories inexplicably vanish. But, if you’re the impatient type, you may want to skip this, because this is one of those slow-moving psychological thrillers with an ending that may be interpreted in many ways. If that does not do you in, the abundant voice-over narration may do the job 🙂
Naomi (Naomi Prentice) wakes up one day with no clue of who she is. She’s living with a man named Lucas (Nelson Ritthaler)—who tells her they are engaged—and who clearly loves her very much. There’s also the mental health system (Ted Gianpolis) at work through Lucas, who’s desperately searching for answers as to what’s happened to his sweet fiancee. Our heroine is withdrawn—until the day she starts to paint again. Suddenly things are in motion—but which reality is this? The real one? What is real? You decide!
RELIC
A (psychological) horror flick about the relationship between a mother and her daughter (great source material for a horror story, right?). Eighty-year-old Edna (Robyn Nevin) goes missing one day and her estranged daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and her child Sam (Bella Heathcote) decide to investigate. There’s excellent use of metaphors—for instance, the crumbling house Edna lived in is portrayed as symbolic of her deteriorating mind, and so on. Those of you looking for quick thrills will be disappointed by this slow-burning, if well-acted thriller. Personally, I like the fact that by making dementia the monster, this story hits a lot closer to home for many of us. Check out the trailer:
VOLITION
A predictable sci fi thriller about a man (Adrian Glynn McMorran) with a sad past trying to save himself and his girl (Magda Apanowicz) from various dangers such as gangs, overdue rent, and such. The dude has an ability to see the future… has a scientist friend who helps with time travel… and some other contrived plot points are churning about in there. You can guess what happens in each situation – to the point where it becomes a bore. Here’s the trailer anyway:
PALM SPRINGS
This may be the best option of all. Streaming on Hulu, this is a comedy about two people Nyles and Sarah (Adam Samberg, Cristin Milioti) at a generic Palm Springs wedding, stuck in a time loop and having to repeat the day over endlessly. I suppose you could call it another version of ‘Groundhog Day’ in which the unbearable and terrifying weight of our empty, private hells fill out the story—instead of some nonsensical idea of self-improvement. It’s the best sort of flick for these days of post lock down, where we’re still stuck in limbo at home, with each day feeling like an exact (boring) replica of the previous one… and consequently being forced to face such dreadful questions as the meaning of life, and what am I (still) doing here?! You know, questions we normally suppressed through the now-obsolete routine of the ‘workday.’ Anyhow. Nyles has made peace with being stuck, and the idea that life is misery; but Sarah’s determined to exit the loop somehow. The humor is fantastic, the chemistry between the leads amazing, but most importantly, it’s a satisfying watch because it’s so relevant to what the world is experiencing now—psychologically—with the virus-induced lock down. Here’s the trailer:
I’ll leave you with that. If you feel like it, tweet me! And nope, theaters will not go away. The world changes, but watching a movie on a huge screen with a lot of other people will always be fun. It’s just part of being human. See you next time!
