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.

 

This still has plenty of showings near me, which is pretty cool since it seems like things leave the theater pretty fast these days. I still haven’t seen it a second time and at this point I’ll probably just wait until it’s out on VOD. I actually went to the theater on my way home from work a couple weeks ago with the intention of seeing it again, but as I was walking up to the entrance I decided I didn’t actually want to spend a weekday evening in the theater for 2+ hours, so I went home.

 

it's still got some premium formats here too

 

do i have news for you

 

Oh wow hell yeah

 

Movie made another $10 mill over the holiday weekend. This weapon has LEGS, baby!

 

splendid

 

Caught it again on Monday. A third act so nice, I had to see it twice!

 

Insane how well this has done, especially internationally

 

One of my favorite things about this is the subtext we get just from Brolin as a father. Him regretting not saying "I love you" to his son make the fact that he was a bully so much heavier.

 

I want to see it again in theatres just for the needle drop moment in act I. Been on a huge George Harrison kick since.

 

I love the needle drop in the bar scene and was thankful I could find the song after my second watch.

 

What is the song I do not remember please don’t leave us hanging Aaron

 

Weird Al - Albuquerque

 

got any bear claws?

 

I used to listen to that song every morning getting ready for school

 

"The Dark End of the Street" by James Carr. I knew I recognized it, but couldn't place it at first.