Further to my recent cast iron pledge that I wouldn't be mentioning A Minecraft Movie again, I must just take a moment to acknowledge how good it's been for cinemas. Although clearly not designed with me in mind, it's certainly put bums on seats, and took £233 million in its opening weekend alone. Not only that, it's also given star Jack Black a spot in the Official Charts top five this week with his 31 second track about Lava Chicken.
It's the shortest song ever to chart, and even beats some of the trusty short songs we use in radio when we're short of time before the news bulletin. I'm giving away a trade secret here, but if you ever hear Del Amitri's 90s classic Roll To Me just before the latest headlines, someone has messed up their timings and pressed the short song button.
Anyway, away from baffling video game films, a genre mash-up arrived in cinemas this week, and absolutely should be seen on the biggest screen possible. Sinners is a hybrid between a western, a zombie flick and a horror movie, and Michael B Jordan stars as twin brothers who are looking to make a fresh start in their home town. It soon emerges after they open their new venue that something is not right, and some unsettling visitors as their invited guests dance the night away spark off a gory sequence of events.
It's writer/director Ryan Coogler's first blockbuster, and a testament to the power of his imagination. A friend advised me to see the film 'blind', so I'm not going to give anything else away, but trust me when I say it's one of the best movies I've seen so far this year. It's got a lot to say about American culture, both past and future, and the soundtrack is pulsingly superb. There are a few decent jump scare moments, but it never relies on them. And the first of the two extra scenes during the credits is definitely worth staying in your seat for.
Also this week, Sofia recommended I watch Heaven Is For Real (2014), about the real-life experience of a kid who sees into the next life. Whilst it was a little schmaltzy at times, I thought young Connor Corum played the part of Colton really well, and whatever your beliefs are regarding the next life, it's certainly an enjoyable watch, as we see pastor Todd Burpo struggle to convince his wife and friends that his son's visions are the real deal. He also doubles up as a volunteer firefighter and small town businessman...almost as many jobs as former chancellor George Osbourne.
This week, I've got tickets booked to see The Accountant 2 (a sequel to the 2016 movie that I've forgotten all about, so I'm hoping they do some kind of plot summary at the start), Until Dawn,The Friend, and Thunderbolts, which I'm hoping will be the antidote I need to my mild case of Marvel overload. Happy film watching!
