True Romance (1993)

I remember being bowled over when we first saw this: the way the violence contrasted with the romance and humor felt so audacious -- like nothing I'd seen before. These memories lead me to believe that this was my introduction to Tarantino since humor + ultra-violence is kind of his thing.

So, though we were entertained, it felt a little thin on rewatch.

B

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Very much in the same vein as Guardians of the Galaxy and Princess Bride: an eclectic group of adventurers work together to take down the bad guy & retrieve a powerful relic. Hugh Grant is in "hammy" mode as the villain and everyone else is just having a grand ol' time. I was especially surprised by how much Michelle Rodriguez (as the group's muscle) cracked me up.

Lots of fun even if the plot is a bit generic.

B

Nickel Boys (2024)

When the cops pick up a guy on suspected auto theft, his innocent teenage passenger is sent to Nickel Academy, a segregated juvenile detention facility in Florida. It's bad there -- like unmarked graves on the land for the black kids who wouldn't fall in line bad -- and I should've been occupied by those horrors. Instead, I was forced to think things like what the hell am I looking at? and am I Elwood or Turner right now? due to the bad idea of shooting this thing as though we're seeing through the eyes of the two main characters.

There's a reason that so few books are written in second-person: it's weird. The gimmick obviously works well for "Choose Your Own Adventure"-type things where the action is designed to be driven by the reader, but this felt like go-pro courtesy of a first-timer. I often had no idea where or even who I was. My husband lasted only 5 minutes, while I was sure that the conceit would be dropped after the introductory scenes (I was wrong).

In short: the power of the subject was completely overshadowed by the confusing perspective.

D+