The Last Black Man in San Francisco š
Today's movie is an indie drama streaming on Prime Video
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Todayās recommendation is for The Last Black Man in San Francisco ā streaming on Prime Video āĀ an underrated gem from A24.
Hereās what itās about: In an ever-changing San Francisco that becomes less recognizable by the day, Jimmie Fails (played by Fails; the story is based on his life) pursues his dream of restoring his grandfatherās (Danny Glover) Victorian home along with his best friend Mont (Jonathan Majors). [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: You can tell when a movie is made with love. Thereās so much care in The Last Black Man in San Francisco. With storybook-like cinematography to a score that has the longingness of memory and urgency to match the characters onscreen, Joe Talbot shows his appreciation for his home city while giving Jimmie Failsā story its just due.
In addition to its themes of gentrification, race, class, and change, it finds emotional depths in Failsā story where he yearns for the city he used to know. It almost feels like a dark fairy tale unfolding before our eyes. Since itās experimental in its form and presentation The Last Black Man in San Francisco may not be perfect, but itās honest. We need more of that in our filmmaking today.
Directed by Joe Talbot // ā± 120 mins // š 2019 // š Drama
šŗ Buy or Rent: Prime Video | iTunes | YouTube
One trailer you should watchBeastie Boys Story
Director Spike Jonze is back with his first movie since the Oscar-winning Her (šØ bonus recommendation). With Beastie Boys Story, he stitches together archival footage with clips from a 2019 live show featuring Beastie Boy members Mike āMike Dā Diamond and Adam āAd-Rockā Horovitz telling the story of their group.
šŗ In theaters April 3. Streaming on Apple TV+ April 24.
In movie newsThe Universal Monsters Universe lives on
It was announced this week following the success of Leigh Whannellās The Invisible Man (šØ bonus rec) update starring Elizabeth Moss that Karyn Kusama has been tapped to resurrect a new Dracula film with Blumhouse producing.
Kusama (whose film The Invitation I recommended here šØ) is an inspired choice. Her work, which also includes Jenniferās Body and Destroyer, mines familiar genres but infuses them with a distinct point-of-view, not unlike what Whannell did with The Invisible Man.
Matt Manfredi and Kusamaās husband Phil Hay, her frequent collaborators, are penning the script, which will also take place in modern times.
Though Universalās Monsterverse seemed dead after Tom Cruiseās dismal The Mummy remake, the newfound success and formula are sparking new life. The studio seems less interested in making a connected universe and instead is chasing interesting stories and filming them on modest budgets.
My take: A lot of studios have tried and failed to model a cinematic universe after Marvel. I think Universal is taking the right approach by keeping each movie as its own contained story, giving them modest budgets, and keeping them auteur driven.
Thatās all for today! Stay safe and healthy.
See you on Thursday!
Karl (@karl_delo)