Sweet & Condensed: Monkey Man
Scorecard, The Tomatometer is busted, what we added to our watchlist & new podcast
What a week it has been, friends. We are just thankful we got to end it the only way we know how: going to the latest showing at the closest AMC theater to watch a great movie. Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this.
Here is what we have for you this week:
Concession Stand Scorecard: Monkey Man
Temp These Takes: We challenge the “gold standard” of movie scores.
Watchlist Worthy: All the proud New Mexicans here at 3M are crying tears of joy over this movie.
New Pod Tease: A beloved guest returns.
This week’s movie - “Monkey Man”
Letterboxd Description:
Kid, an anonymous young man who ekes out a meager living in an underground fight club where, night after night, wearing a gorilla mask, he is beaten bloody by more popular fighters for cash. After years of suppressed rage, Kid discovers a way to infiltrate the enclave of the city’s sinister elite. As his childhood trauma boils over, his mysteriously scarred hands unleash an explosive campaign of retribution to settle the score with the men who took everything from him.
Best Watched With
Friends who have seen, and love, all four John Wick movies. Anyone who has the stomach to watch gory horror films (Josh is gagging just thinking about it).
End credit thought
Dev Patel must be a fan of the The Bear, because he Let. It. Rip. in this movie. We saw it in Dolby, and the sound and action set pieces are worth enjoying on the big screen. The action and violence are absolutely brutal–there is a particular scene that has one of the most unhinged and creative kills we’ve ever seen.
The action takes enough breaks to let the story breathe and introduce a few laughs, a beautiful relationship between a mother and son, heartbreak, and explore elements of Indian culture and beliefs.
This movie checks a lot of boxes from the scorecard and is worth heading to the theaters to see.
The Tomatometer is busted - Movie scores Rotten Tomatoes got wrong
Josh - Rufio! Rufio! Ru. Fi. Oooooooooo!! How this got a 29% on RT is beyond me. Anything starring Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, and Maggie Smith could be written with a crayon, filmed on a potato, and still be AT LEAST 50% . The disrespect.
Kelly - The Meg is fin-tastic and I don’t care what anyone says, should have a higher rating (46% on RT). It is a good dose of thrill, excitement and character development. Okay, maybe not the last one but who needs deep character development when you have ocean monsters. It's like Jaws on steroids……it’s just enjoyably dumb okay?! 🦈
Eric - Stay Alive (2006) was the scariest movie of all time for little ol teenage Eric. The 10% rating that the criminals at R****n T******s gave this piece of cinema should be a federal crime. The movie haunted me for ages! Campy, sure. Terrible screenplay, sure. But REGARDLESS, it should at least have hit the low-to-mid-thirties...
New Mexico Drew - The critics over at RT are a bunch of “spitters and shitters” as far as I’m concerned. A rotten 58% for the 90’s action masterpiece Con Air? Anyone who contributed to that score deserves to be on a plane to a maximum security prison themselves. Nic Cage practicing Spanish with a southern accent is peak cinema.
What’s your take? Hit Reply or leave a comment below and let us know!
Eddington (2024) written & directed by Ari Aster
JP - I’ve seen 2/3 of Ari aster movies, they have f*cked me up, and I am not running to see Beau Is Afraid, but I still can’t help being excited for Eddington because it’s this cast in NM.
NMD - We can’t trust that this won’t be a weird acid trip, but we can trust that Joaquin, Emma, Pedro, and Austin plus the Land of Enchantment will make it the best trip we’ve ever had.
Letterboxd Description:
Follows a small-town New Mexico sheriff with higher aspirations.
There is no trailer available yet 😭, but here are some bts shots of Joaquin Phoenix on set.
Other movies written & directed by Ari Aster:
Midsommar (2019)
This is the perfect week to catch up on any Living A Stream or The Medium Project episodes you might have missed. But here is a teaser for what to expect on next week’s episode!
Back by popular demand, Josh and Eric will be joined by Living A Stream’s most requested guest to date. Together, they discuss a movie (hell, it might even be more than one movie) that really put the ✨sparkle✨ on the silver screen. Be sure to check back next week for the pod drop!
Three Milk Media Podcasts:
🎙️ Living A Stream: Apple Podcasts and Spotify
🎙️ The Medium Project: Apple Podcasts and Spotify
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