September Movie Roundup: Bill & Ted, The Secret Garden, I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Another weekend is upon us and I have another set of mini movie reviews if you need suggestions for how to while away the time. Though this is a decidedly esoteric trio of films.

Bill & Ted Face the Music: I had never watched any of the Bill & Ted movies, so in preparation for this sequel, twenty years in the making, I rewatched Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Loved the first, thought the second was odd, and as a result, Face the Music, which is a mix of the two, is excellent fan service. For those not in the know, the movies follow William "Bill" S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and "Ted" Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves), two teenagers who have a band called Wyld Stallyns. They are flunking their history class, but then receive a visit from Rufus (George Carlin), a time traveler from 2688, who tells them to get into his time traveling phone booth and go back into history to talk to various historical figures to flesh out their final history report. Rufus is invested in their future because he hails from a Utopian society that is built around the myth of Bill & Ted as the Two Great Ones, who created a song that would unite the world. 

Yeah, it's the world's most absurd premise. In Bogus Journey, things get weirder with a whole trip to the afterlife, fighting with evil robots, and playing Twister with Death. And in Face the Music, our heroes are now middle-aged fathers who still haven't created that song that will save the world and the space-time continuum is getting increasingly warped. So what follows are extreme shenanigans that pull on themes from the prior two films with the fun twist of now including their teenage daughters in the mix. My favorite part of these movies is the dialogue - Bill & Ted have a very specific way of speaking that is an intriguing mix of California surfer dude and Shakespeare. And it's such a delight to see Winter and Reeves reprise these roles twenty years later and still have that enduring friendship. The time travel logistics are also surprisingly well-thought-out and it's all a lot of fun as long as you don't think about it too hard. It's 2020, and Bill & Ted are back. What more do you want dude?

The Secret Garden: We had to read The Secret Garden in school and I loved it. I also have fond memories of watching the 1987 Hallmark movie adaptation, where we all squealed in horror at the tacked-on epilogue where the grown-up cousins decide to get married. But now, we have our very own 2020 adaptation of this classic that stays true to the book and is a perfectly pleasant distraction for an afternoon. 

Set in 1947, the story follows Mary (Dixie Egerickx), a young orphan who is shipped back to England to stay with her uncle when her parents die in British India. She is a difficult child and initially does not endear herself to the servants in the house. Her uncle, Lord Craven (played by Colin Firth, who delightfully had a cameo as the adult Colin in the 1987 movie!) is a grieving widower and just tells Mary to behave herself else he'll ship her off to boarding school. Being an inquisitive child, she roams around the house and finds her cousin Colin (Edan Hayhurst), a bedridden, petulant boy who has been coddled all his life but also told that he is too sick to do much. He seems like a lost cause, so instead Mary befriends one of the maid's brothers, Dickon (Amir Wilson) and the two of them have adventures roaming around the estate, and playing in the eponymous garden, a mysterious but beautiful place that has been locked up and taken over by Mother Nature. What follows is a sweet tale of friendship and family mysteries, and re-introducing whimsy into the lives of adults and children who have been taking everything far too seriously.

Egerickx is a wonderful actress who seems poised to be yet another British child actor who goes on to do great things. And the movie's special effects and production design are lush and wondrous, particularly where the garden is concerned. It's a lovely movie if you want to re-kindle your childhood memories of the book, or experience the story for the first time. Is it the best movie of the year? No. But is it perfectly serviceable and entertaining? Yes.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things: I just watched this movie and I have no idea what happened in the past two hours. This film is an enigma wrapped in a conundrum wrapped in a riddle. It begins with a couple (Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons) driving in a snowstorm to visit his parents (David Thewlis and Toni Collette) for dinner. They get to his parents' house, have dinner, and drive back in the snow. But oh my GOD. So much stuff happens! And yet, I have no idea what happens! The entire thing is like watching a play and then a nightmare. It's classified as a psychological thriller and the soundtrack is always creeping up your spine and giving you goosebumps. The actors are absolutely extraordinary - I have always loved Jesse Plemons and he doesn't disappoint, but Jessie Buckley is a revelation and is bound to be the next big Irish import (seriously, it is astonishing that she is Irish, it's like we don't need any American actresses any more). This is the acting opportunity of a lifetime and the two of them get to deliver performances that showcase their complete range. But again, what is this movie about? I. Do. Not. Know.

Watch this movie so we can then attempt to discuss and dissect it together. I, for one, am thrilled I got through it because now I will go down the rabbit hole of reading every article about it and listening to every podcast about it, and have smarter people explain to me what the hell I just watched. There were bits I enjoyed, and the dialogue was rather delightful in its pedantry and wide-ranging references to literature, science, and movies, all things I love. But man oh man, as bonkers as I thought it was at the beginning, nothing could have prepared me for how bonkers it got by the end. This is an absolute fever dream of a movie. Do I recommend it? No. Do I still desperately want you to watch it so you can explain it to me? Yes.