Welcome to I Have to Return Some Videotapes! Each month, film buffs Rhianna Mehta and Kevin Maguire will take you through their cinematic journeys with all of their usual insight and humour, as they take advantage of covid-induced indoor time to catch up on their favourite films and explore new ones.

For the first time in 17 months, we finally saw a movie in the theatres! While it has been very nice catching up on the classics at home over the pandemic, something really must be said for the experience of seeing a film in theatres. One thing we were not expecting to miss was the quality of sound in theatres, and how important sound can be to a film. As we sat watching The Green Knight, we realized that if we had watched this film at home, we would be missing all of the film’s impact. The quiet, meditative scenes spliced between loud, booming scenes would have left us fumbling with the volume button on our TV out of fear of disrupting our neighbours in our condo building. We are so glad movies are back in theatres, and we know we will be spending a lot of time watching them as the weather cools down and more and more films are to be released in theaters. We hope you enjoy this month’s recommendations on what to watch, what to skip, and what you may want to give a shot.

If you would like to connect with us further on Letterboxd, please find us at rhirhi19 and Kevin_Maguire. If you want to get a sense of our taste, some of our favourites in each genre, and the way we approach film overall, be sure to check out our appearance on The Generalists.

Monthly Favourites:

Rhianna: Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981) Brian De Palma pays homage to predecessors Blow-Up and The Conversation in this dark and gritty thriller. John Travolta plays a sound recordist who works on low budget films. One evening, while he is out recording sounds for his latest horror film, he unexpectedly records an incident involving a presidential hopeful. As he investigates the incident on his own, he uncovers a political conspiracy that he struggles to expose. There is so much to love about this film, especially the cinematography, The film features De Palma’s signature split-screen, but also incorporates unusual filming techniques and camera angles. The movie-making process is also a prominent theme throughout the film, particularly the relationship between film and sound. In Blow Out, we see scenes of the horror film they are making in post-production, that are deconstructed and reconstructed into a new scene using different sound effects and automated dialogue replacement (ADR). De Palma showcases his filmmaking skills remarkably throughout this film, but even if this was not enough, the acting is superb. This is probably my favorite John Travolta performance, and reminded me of his legendary role as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction – he is calm, cool and collected for the most part. This is now one of my all-time favourite films, I cannot recommend this enough!

Runner-up: Gaslight (George Cukor, 1944) A masterclass on the now popular colloquial term, Gaslight is an incredibly entertaining thriller. Lead by the incomparable Ingrid Bergman, Gaslight follows the tale of a newlywed who believes she is losing her mental stability as mysterious things begin happening in her mansion. Watching this film, I was reminded of how easy it can be to question your own reality, even your own mental health, when everyone around you disagrees with your perception. I truly care about the opinions and perspectives from my loved ones, so if they were questioning my mental stability, I would believe they are coming from a sincere place, and would take their comments very seriously. Then again, maybe they are just Gaslighting me.

Kevin: Pig (Michael Sarnoski, 2021) When it comes to Nick Cage films, you never know if you are going to get an eccentric, genre-bending performance, or the more nuanced brilliant side of him. This film is definitely the latter. Pig centers around Nick Cage’s character, Robin Feld, and his trusty truffle hunting pig. After his pig is kidnapped, Robin must do everything in his power to get his pig back. The beautifully raw performance from Nick Cage brings a fantastic story to life, of the bonds we form through love and devotion. In stark contrast to John Wick, which shares a similar premise, Pig is a deliberate melodrama that slowly unfolds as you follow Robin on this quest for revenge and redemption. This is Michael Sarnoski’s first feature film and with so much passion and realness, I am excited to see what comes next! I always give Nick Cage films a watch just to see which side of him makes an appearance, but this is one of his more thoughtful pieces in recent memory. If you love Nick Cage (and pigs), check out this film.

Runner-up: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990), Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004)

Least Favorite:

Rhianna: Mortal Kombat (Simon McQuoid, 2021) This film is not altogether as bad as it is disappointing. As a casual fan of the video game franchise, and having grown up on the 90’s films, I had very high hopes for a revitalized Mortal Kombat film. The film follows an MMA fighter, Cole, as he is hunted by a deadly assassin named Sub-Zero as a result of his heritage and skill as a fighter. Cole must seek out other fighters and prepare to fight against enemies from another realm in a battle for control of Earth. There were modernized aspects of the film that felt very organic, for example incorporating fighters from MMA, and providing an origin story for the legendary Scorpion. My main issue with the film is that there was no tournament, which is the entire premise of the video games. The film takes place just before the tournament, and the fighting and chaos is all the result of foul play from the villains. This plot point aside, the film also tries to ground itself in realism more than the cheesy 90’s versions, but by doing so, the film actually seems more ridiculous. The first film made in the 90’s, also called Mortal Kombat, has enough humor and campiness to lighten the mood in an otherwise dull movie. In contrast, the film from 2021 takes itself too seriously to ever be any fun, and no amount of fighting or gore can make up for that. If you are a fan of the video games, just stick to playing the games, they are much better.

Runner-up: Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (Colin Strause, Greg Strause, 2007) This film is truly awful – it leans into a slasher style horror, without any truly scary moments. Save yourself some time and read Kevin’s review of the film instead of watching it.

Kevin: Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (Colin Strause, Greg Strause, 2007) What is the only thing with the power to destroy both Alien and Predator, you ask? Well, it is this movie. With a cast of lesser known actors, this feels more like a direct-to-video type of movie. For such big franchises, you would think they could have sprung for one actor who would be recognizable to the average movie goer. The same can be said for the choice of directors. It would be intimidating to follow the likes of Ridley Scott, James Cameron and John McTiernan, and this shows with the lack of originality and a heavy reliance on shock value over actual substance. This movie picks up where the original Alien vs Predator left off when a Predator ship, now infected with Aliens, crash lands in a small town in Colorado. It is now up to the townsfolk along with a Predator named Wolf to destroy the Xenomorphs and the newest lazy mashup, the Predalien (Predator + Alien, you get it). They also must escape the town before the military flies in and nukes the shit out of everything in sight – the usual tired Hollywood trope in crises. With a terribly generic script and mediocre delivery from the actors, one would hope the film’s special effects would at least be somewhat redeeming. However, the special effects appear cheap and very dated, so you are left without anything really worthwhile about this movie. This is definitely the worst entry in both the Alien and Predator franchises. Absolutely skip this movie.

Runner-up: Alien Resurrection (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1997), AVP: Alien vs. Predator (Paul W. S. Anderson, 2004)

Biggest Surprise:

Rhianna: Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991) I was worried this film would feel tacky or perhaps dated in a post #MeToo world, but I was pleasantly surprised. Thelma & Louise is the story of two women who are on a weekend vacation, and find themselves running from the law after Louise murders a man who attempted to rape Thelma. I felt myself quickly wanting to blame Thelma for getting them into this mess, but when I reflected on her actions, I truly cannot blame her as I probably would have acted the same way. More often than not, I am too trusting of others, too willing to see the good in everyone and ultimately, this is what puts Thelma in the situation to begin with. She makes mistakes like any human being, but she has done nothing explicitly wrong, yet it is easy to forget that. Even Louise at times seems to blame Thelma. This made me question why I was victim-blaming Thelma, and I was truly impressed that a film made 30 years ago was nuanced enough to spark this internal debate. However, as dark as the circumstances of this film are, Scott focuses more on the relationship between Thelma and Louise, and layers in enough humor to make this an extremely enjoyable watch. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon give stellar performances as the titular characters, and all of the supporting cast is outstanding, which includes the likes of Harvey Keitel, Brad Pitt and Michael Madsen. The supporting cast is primarily male and represents external male conflicts that Thelma and Louise tackle together. Whether it be the law (Harvey Keitel), lust (Brad Pitt) or love (Michael Madsen), these external conflicts help demonstrate how deep Thelma’s and Louise’s relationship is. Definitely check this film out if you have not seen it!

Runner-up: Blood Simple (Joel Cohen, 1984) The debut feature from Joel Cohen, Blood Simple is a mystery thriller starring Frances McDormand, John Getz and Dan Hedaya. Like most of the Cohens’ filmography, the film does not cleanly fit into one specific genre, and feels like a mix of westerns, noir, and comedy. When a bar owner finds out his wife is having an affair, he sets off a series of misunderstandings and accidents that lead to chaos for himself, his wife, and her lover. My favourite part about this film is that due to its genre-bending nature, it feels a bit like a satire on noir. The miscommunications have such dire consequences, it is almost comical and makes you reflect on how such a series of events could have possibly even occurred. At the end of the film, I was in awe at how all the storylines came together – if you love the Cohen brothers this one cannot be missed!

Kevin: The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956) With so many fantastic films from Stanley Kubrick, it is not surprising I had been missing out on The Killing. This film has some of the best pacing I have ever seen in a thriller or drama, and is also one of the first films to utilize multiple perspectives to reveal the narrative. It is the story of a group of men performing a heist of two million dollars at a racetrack. The team is gathered from various walks of life, and all play an essential role in making sure the heist goes off without a hitch. However, when one of the men involved tells his wife about the plan, things begin to unravel. As things go from bad to worse, you watch as the group struggles to make it out with the money and their lives! Several directors have cited this film as a huge inspiration on their career, most notably Quentin Tarantino and his film Reservoir Dogs. As well, Christopher Nolan used similar clown masks as the ones used in The Killing in the heist sequence in his film The Dark Knight. Both Resevoir Dogs and The Dark Knight are favourite films of mine, and really makes me appreciate The Killing more, knowing that some of my favourite directors were also inspired by this film. It may also be the first film to use the trope of hiding a gun in a box of flowers, which has since been used in several hit movies. I am shocked this movie is not more popular given that so many major films were influenced by it. While The Killing definitely has a Kubrick vibe, I think it is very distinct from his other films. This might now be my favourite Kubrick movie of all time and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you enjoy heist movies.

Runner-up: Gaslight (George Cukor, 1944), Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)

Coming Attractions:

As summer is winding down, we are excited to get out of the scorching heat we have been experiencing, and to celebrate fall we will be watching horror movies exclusively all month! It is Rhianna’s favourite genre of film, and she has racked up 67 horror films on her watchlist – some are good, some are gory, and some are just laughable. We are excited to share our horror picks of the month, until then stay safe!