Weapons (Zach Cregger, August 8, 2025) Movie • Page 37

fine. never saw hateful eight for some reason.

jackie brown
basterds
once upon a time
death proof
django
kill bill

as a former video store guy I am not capable of judging res dogs or pulp fiction on their merits anymore. no desire to revisit or think about them again in my life due to toxic levels of overexposure. occupational hazard.

 

sounds like we need OSHA

 

Once upon a time #1

 

I watched this again today. It was *almost* as much fun watching it all again knowing what was coming.

I loved the chapter structure and how it played with POV and don't think a tight-paced, straightforward telling of the story would be better. The slow burn was awesome here. I think it made the payoff all the better when things get crazy.

I'm not sure why exactly or even if I can explain this properly, but some of the more mundane, social stuff made me cringe and had me squirming as much as any of the scary, gory stuff: the teacher overstepping her bounds and going to the kid's house, the alcoholic cop's wife catching him hungover and having had sex with someone else, etc.

 

maybe the real Weapons are the way we treat other people

hmm

 

also, I love how Brolin is presented as obviously a tough, strong guy but he only kinda reluctantly gets physical in this and hurts his hand punching and is always like "what the fuck?!?"

little touches like that are awesome

the best praise I can give is that Cregger gets me to buy into literally everything happening on screen and feel intense feelings whether it's scared or just uncomfortable or awkward

not to shit on the Dauberman guy unduly, but this movie made me think about the 2024 Salem's Lot movie which also had a pretty great cast and a similar budget (I think) and just squandered everything and felt silly & glossy & cheap & dumb whereas this one connected on all levels

 

Cregger has tapped into the rare ability to choose the most entertaining move at any moment, whether it’s a scary move or a funny move or a cringe-inducing move or a cinematically impressive move or a satisfying story move, as often as he can while maintaining the overall story. Jordan Peele does the same when he’s at his best.

Most movies sacrifice entertainment to hit obligatory plot points or include beats/elements that a movie “must have” or “must resolve” and the fun to work ratio is off.

 

100% agreed and I love the Jordan Peele comparison. On second watch, the movie Weapons made me think about the most was actually Get Out. The stories are obviously nothing alike, but Get Out is the gold standard of screenplays that waste absolutely nothing. That's how Weapons hit me. It just keeps moving and nothing is wasted.