Green Room ❎
Happy Thursday! I hope you’re having a terrific week.
Today’s movie is Jeremy Saulnier’s horror-thriller Green Room (2015)—streaming on Netflix. This brutal punk rock thriller followed up Saulnier’s brilliant sophomore effort Blue Ruin (I’m seeing a pattern here), which helped launch the movie to a premiere at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. It would be one of the last movies featuring Anton Yelchin, who died a year later in a car accident.
Here’s what it’s about: The Ain’t Rights (Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, Callum Turner), a struggling punk band touring the northwest, take a gig at a clubhouse for white power skinheads led by Darcy (Patrick Stewart). After seeing something they shouldn’t have, they hole up in the green room to fight for their lives. [Trailer // 95 mins]
Why you should watch it: Green Room’s premise begs for violence and gore. I mean, Nazis with machetes versus punks with nothing to lose but their lives? However, therein lies the brilliance of Saulnier’s direction. He could have gone for a full-out assault of violence, not for the faint of heart. Instead, he’s measured and doesn’t linger on it. It’s there and quite effective, but not glorified. It reminds me of the non-violent violence of the original Halloween.
He focuses on building atmosphere, tension, and a cast of characters that for all their faults you can root for. Stewart is devilishly fun (albeit with a confused accent) as the clubhouse leader while Yelchin finds a journey from stoicism to lost inhibitions that makes him a formidable match.
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video | Apple TV | YouTube
Pair it with 🍷
Blue Ruin: After finding out the man that killed his parents 20 years ago was released from prison, Dwight Evans (Macon Blair) sets out to get revenge. But he proves to be an inept assassin and finds himself on the run. [Where to watch]
In movie news: Universal saves AMC Theaters from drowning 🍿
Something tells me Christopher Nolan isn’t going to like this…
In a stunning announcement, AMC Theaters (the country’s largest cinema chain) and Universal made a pact to cut down the traditional 90-day theatrical window to just 17 days, including three weekends. That means a Universal movie could be available to watch at home just 17 days after it’s released in theaters.
Usually, a studio had to wait 90 days to make a movie available for at-home purchase. With the coronavirus pandemic, studios, Universal in particular, have circumvented the rule by releasing movies as premium video-on-demand (PVOD) titles that cost you as much as a movie ticket to rent.
Though the specifics of the multi-year deal are shoddy at best, Universal movies will play in AMC Theaters for 17 days after which they will be released on PVOD. AMC will share in some percentage of the revenue.
My take: AMC made the move as a way to save their failing business in the face of nearly a full year without physical operations. If anything, they made out well. However, this could set a devastating precedent for the theater business as movies move more and more into the digital space.
Have a terrific weekend!
See you Monday —
Karl (@karl_delo)