This week we received word that not only is the sci-fi epic Francis Ford Coppola wrote in the ’80s finally nearing realization, but also that his Movie Brat peer Brian De Palma’s first film in seven years received a trailer. This all comes at a time when we’re still piecing together details on Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited passion project (how many of these does he get?) and coming to terms with Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake and—please, god, no—additional Indiana Jones sequel. In fact, this was even the year Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote film defied insurmountable odds and made its way to theaters. I really feel like I should care about at least one of these things—but I kinda don’t.
As someone who appreciates The Godfathers and Taxi Driver as much as I’m supposed to, I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t think I have the attention span to endure another “but the acting is phenomenal!” Bridge of Spies or “you probably just don’t get it!” Shutter Island or “it’s an unseen masterpiece!” Femme Fatale or “but Nicolas Cage is in it!” Dog Eat Dog. With the exception of the best movie we saw last year, at best, I’ve left theaters with a “that was…fine?” attitude regarding Silence, or maybe a “should I be spreading the word about this movie?” feeling regarding the lesser-known Tetro. But for each of these filmmakers, and many others their age, the twenty-first century has mostly proved a fertile time for redundant, unremarkable, out-of-touch, or just plain bad directorial choices which I, a person who sees movies, incessantly feel the need to subject myself to.
At this point, there’s obviously no saying whether Megalopolis or Domino will be any good, but both pieces of news have exhausted me in a time of overwhelmingly exciting releases from young, diverse filmmakers, not to mention fascinating crossover hits from the Brats’ underappreciated European peers. What if I just don’t see these movies? Can I do that? Can I get away with it? Can everyone promise not to create any memes based on these movies?
If you have the energy, you can check out the new trailer for De Palma’s film below.
