“Kajillionaire.” / “Cat Person.”

“Kajillionaire” (2020, Amazon Prime) crime comedy-drama. Pre-watch, I got multiple reasons why I clicked this on: Miranda July. I was cool with her “Me and You and Everyone We Know” (2005) and “The Future” (2011). Miranda also wrote and directed this movie. And then add Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, and Evan Rachel Wood, who never disappointed me. 

      Plot: Old Dolio Dyne (Ms Wood), an emotionally stunted 26-year-old woman, is in a manipulative relationship with her con artist parents, Robert and Theresa (Mr Jenkins and Ms Winger). They treat her as an accomplice to their petty thefts and scams rather than as a daughter. The family owes $1,500 of back rent on their apartment in Los Angeles, which is actually a leaking office space attached to a soap factory.

       Interesting plotline? Yup. Ms July, by the way, has authored several books, so she's pretty comfy with the raconteur bit. Old Dolio, hippie hair and oversized clothes wrapped around a sensitively smart mind, is a surreal intrigue. (Yes, Old Dolio is a weird name for a young lady.)

       The story gets a boost when a talkative stranger joins the Dynes. Played by Gina Rodriguez with eager gusto then warm allure, Melanie is a refreshing spike to the foray that would have fallen into the usual “this is supposed to be bizarre and funny, don't overthink” alibi. Now, there's some “sense.” Or Old Dolio became real. 🎥💻📽

“Cat Person” (2023, Hulu) psychological thriller, based on the 2017 short story of the same name by Kristen Roupenian. This little movie had a simple plot. College sophomore Margot works at a local movie theater. Her roommate, Taylor, moderates a feminist subreddit called "The Vagenda “ and tends to see the worst in men. Margot begins dating a frequent visitor of the movie theater, Robert. Margot begins to imagine Robert violently attacking her.

        I didn't expect that this film delves beyond the usual stereotypes of confectionary Gen Z love story fare. It has a simple story that shows us the disastrous complexity of e-gadget communication and internet world cliché and how young people view the “older” generation.

       Susanna Fogel's direction is witty sans the dark comedy visual trickery that annoys me. Ms Fogel shrewdly works around Michelle Ashford's non-pretentious screenplay without giving us the drained political correctness blah. Yet we get it. Emilia Jones as Margot and Nicholas (“Succession”) Braun as Robert Holt deliver exemplary performance. As well as Geraldine Viswanathan as Taylor. Veterans Isabella Rossellini and Hope Davis have short spots, too. 🎥👍📽

GAVE UP. “Holland” (2025, Amazon Prime) mystery thriller film. Plot: A teacher in a small midwestern town suspects her husband of living a double life but things may be worse than she initially imagined. Stars Nicole Kidman. I can’t “feel” it yet after about 17 minutes. Then I realized it’s all about man/woman/lover relationships and stuff. Not my kind of thingy. Next!