Happy Monday ☀️Hope you had a great weekend.
Today’s recommendation is for The Invitation, Jennifer’s Body director Karyn Kusama’s thriller starring Logan Marshall-Green, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Tammy Blanchard, and Michiel Huisman. You can stream it on Netflix.
Here’s what it’s about: Will (Marshall-Green) is surprised when his ex-wife Eden (Blanchard) and her new husband (Huisman) invite him and his girlfriend Kira (Corinealdi) to a dinner party with old friends. Clearly, more must be stirring — or is it? [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: The Invitation is the perfect kind of slow-burn. Kusama is extremely patient. She waits and makes you question what kind of movie it is until it finally reveals itself in a stunning manner. With a jangling score and off-putting visuals, it slowly ratchets up the tension to an unbearable degree. Every beat feels like it’s going to be the moment that something is going to happen. You’re constantly preparing yourself for the jump and when it comes it’s as satisfying as you’d imagine.
Directed by Karyn Kusama // Runtime 100 mins // Year 2015 // Genre Thriller
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video | iTunes | YouTube
In theaters
Premature
This weekend, Premature, a new drama by Rashaad Ernesto Green that played at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, premiered at the IFC Center in New York and on VOD.
Here’s what it’s about: Ayanna (Zora Howard) is a young black teen poet making the most of the last few summer months before college. However, when she meets aspiring music producer Isaiah (Joshua Boone) she’s thrown into a whirlwind romance that makes her face adulthood sooner than she imagined.
Why you should watch it: Premature begins with so much electricity. The only kind of electricity you can find on a crowded New York City subway in the summer. However, it maintains it thanks to a star-making performance by Howard as a teen who thinks she’s wiser than her years but is reminded time and time again that she’s just a kid. Empathetically told and shot with the realism that a New York romance deserves, Premature is sincere and tender but unafraid to explore the highs and lows of young love and growing up.
📺 Buy or rent: Prime Video | iTunes
That’s it for today! Take a chance on something or someone this week. No time like the present.
See you Thursday!
Karl (@karl_delo)