Ty Watches "Weapons"

Now that I have finished my preseason football stuff, I have some movie and album write ups I want to get to. The first movie I want to talk about is "Weapons".

I wrote a blog a while back about the trailer and how much it made me want to see the movie. And I found a way to see it on opening weekend, going to see it solo on the Sunday it opened. And I absolutely loved this movie. I will be as spoiler free as possible moving forward by the way.

The story of the movie is as follows, 17 kids from one single classroom all leave their houses at 2:17am and "never come back". The movie then tells the story of the aftermath from different perspectives. Julia Garner plays the teacher of the classroom and we get her story first. It's clear she has some deep seeded issues, but in the end she is a person who cares about her kids. She wants what is best for them, she just doesn't really know how to go about it the right way. Garner does some great stuff in this movie, and after seeing her in "Fantastic Four: First Steps", which she is also very good in, she is amazing here. I was very impressed with her work. Alden Ehrenreich plays a local cop who isn't on the job about the missing kids, but he has insight because he works in the police office. Ehrenreich does some solid work too. He is always anxious and nervous about everything around him. He has an overbearing girlfriend.His girlfriend's dad happens to be the chief of police in this town and he may or may not have issues with alcohol. He is also a friend of Garner's, and they may or may not have a personal past. Ehrenreich was fun to watch. He also brings a little humor in an otherwise very scary movie. Josh Brolin plays a parent of one of the kids who left their house. Brolin is about as reliable as they come in Hollywood. He portrays the ache and anger of a parent whose kid is gone. He wants answers and he will stop at nothing to figure it all out. He is also involved in what I found to be the scariest part of the whole movie. There's a long scene with him that made me jump in my seat in the theater. Benedict Wong plays the principal of the school and he is incredible in the movie. He has to do a bunch of different things in his ten minutes on screen and boy oh boy does he nail it. He is probably my favorite part of the whole movie. I also appreciate how he handled the whole scenario as the principal for the school where the kids left. Austin Abrams plays a local junkie who is the catalyst for uncovering the mystery of the movie. But, since he is constantly high, no one will listen to him. It doesn't really end well for him. And then we have Amy Madigan, who gives a performance of a lifetime. She is top notch in this movie and I hope she gets some kind of awards consideration. I was absolutely blown away by the work she did.

"Weapons" worked on a ton of levels for me. I thought about how I would handle this situation if it happened to me. I thought the kid actors did good work. Zach Cregger knows how to make a scary and mysterious movie that always has me on the edge of my seat. "Weapons" is definitely scary, but it also has moments of humor and levity. I appreciate that it isn't entirely shot at night. They created a universe that I'm interested in seeing much more of.

Overall, I'm stoked I was able to see this movie on a big screen and I cannot recommend it enough. "Weapons" is amazing. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Better Late than Never on the Cult Classic "Streets of Fire"

RD contacted me the other day saying he had some "homework" for me. He doesn't do this often, but when he does I know that I am in for something. It can be good, bad or weird. It is a true grab bag. But I am also excited at what he is going to recommend. Even if it is really bad, it is at least memorable. He told me about "Southland Tales". I had never heard of "Gummo" until he let me know about it. He told me I had to watch "The Boys". He introduced me to Beck and Talking Heads. All of these things have made an impact on me one way or the other. So when he told me that I needed to watch this movie from the 80's called "Streets of Fire", I was intrigued.

I saw that “Streets of Fire” was on Netflix, that it was only 90 minutes long and that it had a great cast. I just finished watching it. It took me two days because this movie is bat shit crazy. RD told me it was his new "Southland Tales", and he is not wrong. There have been a few things I have watched recently that will stick in my mind, and this is definitely one of them, but for many other reasons than shows like "ITYSL" and Bo Burnham's new special "Inside". "Streets of Fire" is straight up wacky. There are these long, meandering scenes that are underscored by Ry Cooder's music. It is very dirty blues, but with a very 80’s sound to it. I enjoy Ry Cooder from time to time, but I wouldn't pick him to listen to in my top 10 blues choices. He would be further down the list. I find his music to be "white person" blues, and man does it play loudly, and constantly, in this movie.

As I said before, the cast is excellent, but they all seem to be in a different movie. Willem Defoe is the main bad guy, and he is as creepy and weird as ever. But he is almost a cartoonish version of his Green Goblin character from the first "Spiderman". He chews so much scenery in this also. The final fight scene is one for the ages. Michael Pare, who some of you may know from "Eddie and the Cruisers" seems to be playing a bad boy turned good in a noir movie. He is dark and brooding, but he is also beating bad guys up left and right, but he also steals cars for some reason. Amy Madigan is his sidekick, and she is probably the only person who I bought. She seemed to know this movie was insane while they were filming it, and she just had fun. Rick Moranis plays a kind of bad guy club owner in a total departure from everything else I have ever seen him in. It was weird to watch him yell and curse at people and call ladies "broads" and "skirts". It wasn't fitting to his persona that I knew as a kid at all. Apparently he didn't like this movie much either from what I read. Robert Townsend is a gang member and he is in something like two scenes, and they are very bizarre. Diane Lane, who was 18 when this movie was made, is some kind of rock star that Defoe and his cronies kidnap. She looks great and does a good job, but much like Moranis, this was a miscast. It just didn't make sense. Also her band dressed just like David Byrne in "Stop Making Sense". It was very weird.

“Streets of Fire” was so scatter shot and so weird. I still do not fully know what it is about. I do not know who the hero is supposed to be. I think it is Pare, but he is kind of an asshole. There are wild cuts and overlong musical numbers. The fight scenes are filled with bizarre slow motion and sometimes they have credits rolling over them. Defoe is disturbing, and that is saying something.

Would I recommend this movie? It depends on who is asking. I wouldn't pick it for date night with my wife, but I may watch it with my running buddy because he would get how crazy the movie is supposed to be. We would laugh at it. All in all this movie is nuts. RD was right that I had to see it because it is burned in my brain. I am sure I will watch it again in the very near future because I will try to make sense of it. But do not get me wrong, "Streets of Fire" is a mess and not a very good movie. You have to be in the right headspace to watch it. But, I think it has achieved cult status for a reason, and it will keep you thinking. That much is true.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.