Thus far in my attempt to amass 11 totally competent movies for the two NIT style spot-fill tournaments, I was able to get a sixth movie to join both Melissa Barrera-Jenna Ortega “Scream” movies, At Eternity’s Gate, The Land and Richard Jewell, with that movie being the newly released “Silent Night”. However, the number is still six, as The Harder They Fall (despite the presence of Idris Elba) proved to be a total drain of energy, thus it won’t be one of the 11 overall movies. So, with that being said, what movie could be brought in as a viable fallback option?
Well, how about a movie, The Holdovers, that reteams actor Paul Giamatti and director Alexander Payne 19 years after their first collaboration, Sideways.
Yes, I debated seeing this movie theatrically, especially now that I got a Regal Cinemas gift card as an early Christmas gift four days ago. However, its theatrical run is now over and I don’t want to pay $19.99 (plus sales tax) to rent it on either Apple or Amazon, thus jeopardizing its chances of being one of those 11 total movies.
Or so I thought, as one of my hard copy media connections just so happens to have this movie accessible to assess and at $10 (pre-sales tax) less than what I would have to currently pay to rent it via either Apple or Amazon. And given that I think The Holdovers has a cozy vibe that is similar to Somewhere In Queens (a pending Tier 5 movie), I jumped at the chance to get it via hard copy media from that hard copy media connection of mine. And while I won’t have it nor The Last Ride to assess right away, I’ll have them on hand to assess by this time next week. Plus, I’ll most likely round out the 11 total movies by next weekend.
Of course, there is no guarantee that The Holdovers will get either of the spots that were vacated by both Saltburn and Next Goal Wins. But based on it being a movie that has the potential to be a jump-starter for the Catch-22 Hundred Project, it could very well be a holdover as a movie vying for the one of the final 60 Project spots.
Here’s to hoping that The Holdovers is the last such movie that I have to summon under the circumstances of recent widespread movie incompetence for the Catch-22 Hundred Project.