Roundtable: What movies did you see this summer?
It was a good summer to be a fan of movies — from out of nowhere box-office hits like “The Backrooms,” character dramas that kept you to the edge of your seat such as “The Drama,” the return of Spiderman to the big screen in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and a big-budget blockbuster from one of the biggest directors in Hollywood, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.”
The Life section is back from summer vacation to discuss the movies they loved, or maybe those they didn’t.
Ayyan Tamjeed, He/him/his, Associate Life Editor, art24001@uconn.edu
Kane Parsons’ “The Backrooms” is less a scary movie and more so a creepy one. The 21-year-old director did a fine job of adapting his web series for the big screen. Leaning more on the inherent creepiness of the concept and shrouding it in mystery instead of playing all his cards early in explaining the lore.
One nice touch was the storyline between Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his therapist, Doctor Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve). Their interactions helped center a movie about a 4chan copypasta and gave a human element to “The Backrooms,” making it appear less alien and grounding it within the human world.
Manya Trivedi, She/her/hers, Campus Contributor, manya.trivedi@uconn.edu
Going into seeing “The Drama,” I expected a fun-loving romantic comedy that concluded with a walk down the aisle and a bouquet being tossed. Instead, I was met with one of the most complicated and sarcastic dark comedies released by Kristoffer Borgli.
The trailer sells you a Boston coffee shop meet-cute: an awkward guy and charming girl, both hitting it off right away. What it doesn’t warn you about is the drunken confession that changes everything days before the wedding, or how long Borgli lets you sit in discomfort before you realize this was never going to be a happy ending.
I’m not going to pretend that this movie closes strongly. The back half never fully resolves what it’s asking about perception and judgment. But what makes this the movie of the summer isn’t even the plot; it’s the audacity of the producer, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson to bait the audience and then punish them for taking it.
Sean Aitken, He/him/his Campus Correspondent, sean.aitken@uconn.edu
This summer we had a science fiction blockbuster made by the legend himself, Steven Spielberg. You’d think a science fiction film led by Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor would be amazing, but it’s not.
“Disclosure Day” is a husk of a science fiction movie. The movie is dull and uninteresting; the plot feels like you spun a wheel of science fiction tropes and ran with it. The script feels like a rough draft; it builds to absolutely nothing. All this reaches a tipping point with a scene having to do with a phone and a car, which is genuinely the worst scene I have ever seen in my life.
This is not “E.T.” or “Close Encounters”; it’s a hollow film that provides nothing of substance to any modern-day discourse. It’s out of touch and doesn’t understand modern people. At least Emily Blunt killed it and got paid.
Jaylyn Davis, She/her/hers, Staff Writer, iue25001@uconn.edu
One movie I saw over the summer was “Supergirl.” I remember watching the trailer a year ago; when it concluded, I told my parents we were going to see the movie in theaters.
I thought “Supergirl” was fantastic. As a female college student, I love watching movies that involve female superheroes. Kara and Ruthye’s friendship was inspiring, and the film centering around Kara and Ruthye saving Kara’s dog, Krypto, was very heartwarming.
It’s a shame that the film received poor reviews. What irritates me is that the horrific reviews exist because “Supergirl” has female main characters. Like, come on.
In fact, Kara demonstrates that women have strength and they can fight off enemies just like men.
Jaylyn Davis, Staff Writer
Just because Kara is a woman doesn’t mean her story is horrible. In fact, Kara demonstrates that women have strength and they can fight off enemies just like men. I wish those who are against “Supergirl” could see that.
Zayda Shevlin, She/her/hers, Contributor, fhy24005@uconn.edu
This past May, “Backrooms,” directed by Kane Parsons, broke box office records and became studio A24’s highest grossing film, making it the ultimate movie of the summer.
“Backrooms” is a psychological thriller surrounding main characters Clark, a furniture store owner, Mary, his therapist, and their unsettling encounter with an alternate surreal world that bends their perception of everything they thought was real.
The film is based on a viral YouTube series Parsons created, which generated excitement and buzz about the film before it was even released. This launched “Backrooms” into becoming a cultural smash hit and stirred up conversation about the accuracy and execution of the concept.
Consequently, “Backrooms” became a huge topic for film enthusiasts and is ultimately the movie of the summer.