Closed for Storm (2021)

In 2000, New Orleans opened the amusement park Jazzland. In 2002 -- after bankruptcy for the previous operators -- Six Flags took it over. In 2005, Katrina hit the city and killed the park. Since then, despite many grand plans, it's remained abandoned and an eyesore. 

There's no need to watch this as I pretty much told you everything above. If you're interested in abandoned buildings/parks in general, you'll still be jonesing after watching this since we get almost nothing. Instead of haunting shots of quiet/moss-strewn rides, we enter the administrative offices and visit several rooms just so that our narrators can exclaim over yet another water-lined wall and act surprised that the calendars they see are from 2005. I got the feeling they didn't have permission to film there, otherwise I can't make sense of the weird choices they made.

This felt like a high school report rather than a focused documentary with a point to make.

D+

Martha (2024)

I watched (and enjoyed) Martha Stewart's season of the Apprentice, a few of my much-made recipes are hers, and when I decided to make slipper socks as Christmas gifts, I went straight to her site. And, while I was aware of her jail time and her re-entry into popular culture as Snoop Dogg's best bud, I still didn't know much about the woman. In truth, it's not like she completely bared her soul here (though she did share some very vulnerable romantic insights), but I enjoyed spending time listening to her because she's simply fascinating.

The fact that the "talking heads" were voice-only was pretty interesting. It made me wonder if Martha demanded that no one get the spotlight except for her. I mean, I have no idea if that's the reason we were only hearing her daughter, friends, and ex-friends, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit. And honestly? Queen.

B

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

Wallace has invented a robotic garden gnome (Norbot) to help with gardening and other household tasks. Gromit is skeptical, but everyone in town wants to hire Norbot. Once the nefarious Feathers McGraw (incarcerated at the zoo) gets wind of the new invention, he makes it his job to use it to his advantage.

Fun, but almost too familiar at this point.

B-

22 July (2018)

Based on an actual domestic terrorism attack in 2011 Norway in which a lone gunman distracted the country with a car bomb in Oslo before traveling to a summer camp for teens to gun down scores of victims. The story focuses mostly on the victims and their families as they recover and prepare for the gunman's trial.

I was unfamiliar with the details of this tragedy and, while the movie was compelling on its own terms, I can't help but be swayed by its Norwegian detractors who take issue with the "attack" portion. While horrific as-is, I was guessing that the shooter was on the island maybe 15 minutes rather than the hour-plus it was in actuality. I'm not asking for more carnage, but I do believe that sticking with different groups of kids as they hide and wait to see if their luck will hold or even a "time since first shot" running clock would've been more impactful than spending most of that time viewing things from the shooter's perspective. I would've also liked to a nod to the neighbors who used their own boats to rescue kids who'd escaped into the water.

Despite all that, it's an effective and informative film.

B 

Villains (2019)

A young couple is robbing gas stations on their way down to Florida, but hit a snag when their car ironically runs out of gas on a little-traveled road. But, hey, there's a house right there with a car in the garage and no one's home! Too bad that house has some truly twisted owners and they arrive home before the robbers can get out of there.

I've seen this kind of thing before -- where the scariest people in the room are also weird enough to seem easily beatable -- but this felt a bit brighter than most. I think it was the young couple, who clearly believed in each other and were the opposite of hopeless. I wasn't rooting for them in the generic "get yourselves out of there!!" way; I truly hoped good things for them.

The denouement was an especially sweet touch.

B-