Columbus (2017): This isn’t my first time visiting Columbus, but now, with the added architectural perspective I got after viewing it through a Floor Plan Croissant lens, it was almost like a first watch. To be fair, I didn’t remember much of the minimal plot, so that helped too. I really liked how the movie is both pedantic about its love of architecture and ironic, because whenever it pushes the envelope saying something cringey about how a beautiful building changes the way we look at life, it also slaps itself to wake up from this reverie. What really stuck with me is this sense of how we end up ignoring the landmarks we grow up amongst, by internalizing them as part of our routine life. Taking a step back to rediscover them, to look at them differently, is worthwhile. 8
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974): I guess I can see why TTCSM came across as something terrifying fifty years ago. Tobe Hooper’s big break is an unconventional slasher, very much in the spirit of the decade, with many handheld shots giving it a documentarian style. The story isn’t much to go on and it takes a while to get to where it’s going, but once it’s there, it knows what it’s doing in an unhinged final act. There is an engaging simplicity to it, to its violence and the rift that expands to hint the breakdown of society, but I also understand why none of its sequels went anywhere, given the particular circumstances that make this original work. 7
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die (2024): The name sounded familiar, but I don’t think I had ever seen any of NG’s material before watching this HBO special. It took a while to warm up to it and to her, with the first part about people wanting to be parents playing rather routinely, in spite of the attempt to make things funny by inappropriateness. But there were some ok moments and things got a bit better along the way, with the finale about gangbangs culminating big. Was it good big, I wonder. I’m unsure, which is not to say that I didn’t chuckle occasionally and even laugh a couple of times. Is that good, is that bad, is that enough? It’s more than nothing, at least. 6
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022): I think the most interesting thing about this movie is the decision of whether to position it as a “Despicable Me” entry or a “Minions” entry. Pretty clearly, Minions is the bigger brand, so here we are. Beyond that, it does little to surprise, yet still finds ways to be entertaining. There’s still some juice in the minions cuteness and the positive story, (re)introducing familiar characters, is just about enough to keep the thing afloat. 6
The Exorcist: Believer (2023): I expected something unredeemable from David Gordon Green’s Exorcist. As Friedkin himself put it: “(When I Die) I Plan to Possess David Gordon Green and Make His Life Hell”. Alas, this is sadly not a horrendous movie in the sense that it has no ideas or ambition. It does, however, have no cohesion and is let down by some of its performances, especially Leslie Odom Jr. as the (distantly) ailing father of a possessed girl. DGG also fails to show any sense of dread and horror, failing to conjure anything that might be deemed as “atmosphere”. So even as it surpassed by non-existent expectations, the movie still managed to disappoint – what a spectacular predicament. 4
tributary stu 