November Movies Part 2: The Running Man, Die My Love, Wicked: For Good

There are a lot of movies to watch this month so let's dive right into two blockbusters and some arthouse cinema!

The Running Man: This film was directed by Edgar Wright, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Bacall (adapting Stephen King's 1982 novel, which already had a film adaptation in 1982, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which I have not seen, so this review will not help you with any comparisons). This is classic dystopian fiction about a man who is forced into a brutal game for the entertainment of the masses while he is just trying to win a fortune so his family can live a healthy and comfortable life. In this case, the man is Ben Richards (played by the charming as ever Glen Powell), a troublemaker who is always chafing against the restrictions placed by his capitalist corporate overlords, and who is therefore blacklisted from various jobs and struggling to make ends meet. In desperation, he applies to be on The Running Man, a TV show where contestants must try to hide and evade public capture for 30 days, winning money for every single day they are successful. But of course, no one has ever made it all the way to 30 days. Will Ben be the first to succeed?!

There are a lot of parallels to The Hunger Games, with Josh Brolin playing the evil executive who runs the TV network and is all about manipulating this show to garner huge audience ratings, i.e. President Snow; while Colman Domingo is having a whale of a time as the host of the show, giving it his best Caesar Flickerman energy. But overall, this movie is a bit of a disappointment. Yes, there are some good action sequences and fun chases, and the production design by Marcus Rowland is grand, but it certainly starts to overstay its welcome and has a very weird tone throughout. It's occasionally trying to be a comedy, but then the subject matter is quite dark and earnest, and I don't think Powell quite figures out how to make his performance work. He does get quite unclothed in one scene though, so I guess the studio executives figured that would be enough to satisfy audiences. This is not a great movie, but if you enjoy dystopian action, this is certainly not the worst way to spend your afternoon.

Die My Love: Directed by Lynne Ramsay, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Edna Walsh and Alice Birch, this is a wild movie about a couple, Jackson and Grace (Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence), who move from New York to a rural home in Montana and have a baby. And then Grace absolutely loses her shit, presumably in post-partum psychosis, but also maybe just from living a life of seclusion with only Jackson's family for company.

I have just read the Wikipedia plot summary of this film in preparation for this review and now have a better handle on what it was I actually watched for two hours. If it's not clear yet, I did NOT like this movie. It is supremely vibey, with the vibes being, having a baby and an absent partner and living in the middle of Montana makes life hard, which...duh. Lawrence spends the entirety of this film either being horny, angry, naked, or inflicting grave bodily injury upon herself, which is not a particularly fun experience after the first hour. Lakeith Stanfield is also in this movie, very briefly, and I honestly cannot tell you what the point of his character was. This is definitely a gorgeous movie that is shot beautifully and has very interesting and unsettling set pieces. But was I interested in the story at any point? Nope. 

Wicked: For Good: Director Jon M. Chu is back with the long-awaited sequel of last year's Wicked: Part 1. And as expected, it's not as good as the first movie, as the musical's first act is famously much stronger than the second. So, if you go into it with those mediocre expectations, you should be in for a perfectly good time. Honestly, you could just read my review of the first movie and apply that here - I was still stunned by the production design, and those costumes continue to bewitch me body and soul. But boy is the music lacking in this installment. There's a reason it's subtitled "For Good" - that song is honestly the only one that sticks in my memory from the entire movie.

Of course, the acting continues to be top notch, and we get to see Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo really sink their teeth into these characters and bring out all their complexities, particularly Galinda who is walking an insane tightrope of being complicit with the evil Wizard and Madame Morrible, and trying to justify all her actions despite the continual danger they bring to her best friend. Jonathan Bailey, newly crowned as People's Sexiest Man Alive, certainly lives up to the moniker in this installment, basically swanning around as Anthony Bridgerton and being perfectly swoon-worthy. Overall, this is a satisfying movie and a worthy kick-off to the onslaught of holiday blockbusters. It's the most wonderful time of the year!