Can we talk about "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel"?
The buzzy four-part Netflix "documentary" is part of the streaming platform's damaging subgenre I call bingebait, or docs that withhold and manipulate truth to keep you watching multiple episodes.
They're two old hats of Hollywood with a lot of experience making blockbuster movies, but far less with documentaries that aren't about the lives of celebrities.
#CrimeSceneNetflix is broadly about the Cecil Hotel, a massive space of 700 rooms in L.A. where, over nearly a century, some crazy stuff has happened, partly because it's a short stroll from Skid Row.
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down, I went to a movie last night.
Actually, I went to two movies.
Both were at the Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto. Here's what I experienced...
For context, it was cheap Tuesday so I made a night of it. I saw a second-run title ("Bloodshot") on Imax for a total of $2.69, an extra discounted price.
And then I watched "Peninsula," the new sequel to South Korean zombie movie "Train to Busan" for the usual Tues discount.
When I arrived at the Cineplex I was greeted by an employee who asked me to use their hand sanitizer. Masks were on offer, but I was already wearing one.
The lobby was roped to direct traffic and encourage distancing.