Dear Mick:
What makes you want to see a new film?
David Sironen, San Francisco
Dear Dave:
Usually it’s a matter of who’s in it, rather than who directed it. Though at this point, I wouldn’t miss anything by Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Richard Linklater, Margaret Betts (“Novitiate”) or Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (“The Mustang”) – plus anything by Martin Scorsese that’s set in New York. (When Scorsese leaves New York, he loses his sense of humor.)
As for actors, I’m always willing to see Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Lately, as I’ve said before, I’ve also become interested in the career of Sydney Sweeney. I like the choices she’s been making, but also she just might have the potential to be one of those stars like Sinatra or Madonna, where you look at them and see a whole generation.
Dear Mighty Mick:
Can you think of a movie, perfect in every way except one?
Mike Haworth, Vallejo
Dear Mighty Mike:
For most of its running time, “7 Days in Entebbe” (2018) was an exceptional fact-based thriller about the rescue of Israelis being held captive by German terrorists in Uganda. But the climactic rescue scene was intercut with scenes of a modern dance troupe in performance. It killed the drama and rendered the whole movie absurd.
In all my years of movie-watching, I’ve never seen a film commit suicide in quite this way.
Dear Semi-Retired Mick:
Some people (like my wife) watch movies trying to anticipate what’s going to happen. Others (like me) just watch and don’t mind getting fooled or surprised or shocked. What kind of movie-watcher are you?
Eric Ahrendt, Orinda
Dear Semi-Retired Eric:
I never try to anticipate what’s going to happen when I’m watching a movie. I want to get surprised, fooled or shocked. That’s sort of the whole idea.
Dear Mick:
A screening of “Project Hail Mary” carried the painful volume level all the way through the film. Who controls the volume level, the exhibitor of the distributor?
John Hamstra, Santa Cruz
Dear John:
The exhibitor.
The problem is that the volume is almost always set for a packed house. If you go to a matinee, and it’s empty, there are fewer bodies to absorb the sound, and so the volume can be deafening.
When I was first at the Chronicle, my job was to go to matinees on Friday morning to see and then write about movies that weren’t screened in advance for critics (usually because they were terrible). At 11 a.m. at the St. Francis on Market Street, I was often the only one in the theater. Finally, I just wore ear plugs.
Dear Mick my man:
Did you watch the last Bond film, “No Time to Die,” and if so, what did you think of Bond dying at the end?
Rocky Leplin, Richmond
Dear Rocky my man:
Are you telling me Bond dies at the end of “No Time to Die?” (2021). Are you nuts? Now you’ve spoiled the whole thing! I can’t believe it!
Actually, it’s been five years, so we can talk about it. I thought “No Time to Die” was a terrific movie, easily in the top five of Bond films, maybe higher. But it does present some questions: Are all future Bond movies taking place pre-2021? Or are they just going to ignore the unfortunate death incident as if it never happened?
Give the makers of “No Time to Die” credit for one thing: Bond didn’t just die. The guy blew up. This is in contrast to Captain Kirk, who, having survived every previous peril, died when some old bridge gave way in “Star Trek: Generations” (1994). That was laughably anticlimactic.
Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at [email protected]. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
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