theredsky

I was privileged in seeing this movie early at the SCAD Film Festival and it was absolutely amazing. Martin McDonagh absolutely knocked it out of the park again. Martin McDonagh absolutely knocked it out of the park again. Colin Farrell is so far my pick for Best Actor this year. His performance here is absolutely amazing and heart wrenching at points as well. He does an amazing job at embodying this character and all his little quirks. Brendan Gleeson did an amazing job as well. He did a great job at being the foil to Colin Farrell’s character with his more serious attitude. Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan did a great job as well with Barry Keoghan delivering probably the best performance of his career by a country mile. One scene from him in particular is heartbreaking. I keep mentioning how this film is heartbreaking and heart wrenching but this film is absolutely hilarious as well. Almost every joke here is very well written and incorporated into each scene and they are just funny in a dark way. This definitely falls under the black comedy genre. McDonagh does an amazing job at directing and incorporating the mix of dark comedy and drama tones together in a way that doesn’t feel jarring. The film starts out being funny but the end you’re definitely feeling emotional and sad as well. The story is really interesting. It’s fascinating watching Colin Farrell try to get back under the good graces of Gleeson’s character and all the incidents that follow that. The cinematography and music are both breathtaking and easily some of the best of the year. The cinematography and music are both breathtaking and easily some of the best of the year. As much as I love this movie, I would say that McDonagh’s previous film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is just slightly better than this. I would highly recommend watching this when you get the chance of you want a slow burn comedy/drama.

Every time I think the Disney Live Action remakes can’t get any worse, they pump out something even worse then their previous attempt setting the already INCREDIBLY low bar even lower. That’s what’s happened here with Pinocchio. I despise this movie with every fiber of my being because it feels unfinished and this time I don’t feel like I’m speaking in hyperboles. I genuinely think the movie just isn’t finished. The visual effects look like they were created not even 2 months ago and sometimes look like a parody of the Spy Kids movies minus the charm. Every scene feels like the first take and that they didn’t review the footage until they were in the editing room. I’m almost 100% positive that the script is a first draft as well in the sense that they tried to copy and paste some elements from the original film while also dragging the scene’s out with pointless dialogue and some incredibly unfunny jokes. All of the performances here are very underwhelming. Tom Hanks clearly only agreed to be in this because he’s friends with the Director and it shows in his performance. There’s no life in his performance and that’s the same for pretty much everyone else besides Joseph Gordon-Levitt who at least feels like he’s trying to do something. There isn’t anything in this film story wise that isn’t done better or more swiftly done than in the original. There’s an extra 20 minutes added to this film and I really struggle to understand why it was needed. Why was this film even made in the first place? Answer, I don’t know to be honest. I think originally it was money but they didn’t release it in theaters so. This is an absolute waste of time and I would highly recommend not watching this and staying as far away from this product as possible.

When I saw X back in March of this year, I wasn’t super impressed. I had fun with it the film just didn’t work for me. At the end of the credits, they showed a preview for this film and it looked so much better than X and I’m happy to report that that is the case here. Pearl runs laps around X and serves as one of the better examples of prequel films that are better than the original. X served as an homage to slasher and horror films from the 70s but the homage didn’t fully land and just felt more like a standard horror film whereas this is an homage to the 20s and 30s decades of film and this worked a lot more here. Mia Goth gives a phenomenal and honestly terrifying performance here. There’s an uncut 8 minute long monologue near the end that is done incredibly well because of Goth’s performance. I hope that the Oscars consider nominating her this year for Best Actress but knowing the Oscars, that’s a long shot. The film has a great use of color. The colors throughout the entire film are very vibrant and aesthetically pleasing to the eye which I can’t really say about X. I know that’s what X was going for but it still felt bland there. The story serves as a very interesting origin to the character in X and it honestly made me like the character more than I did in X where I didn’t care for her at all. My one complaint which is more of a minor thing is that I wish the kills had been more creative and gruesome as they were much more tame here (bar one death) than they were in X. That’s more of a minor critique but it’s just something I wish was done better. If you liked or even if you weren’t a fan of X, then I would definitely check this out as it’s even better than X.

This was definitely pitched to Searchlight as “What if Wes Anderson made Knives Out”. That sounds like a really fun concept but unfortunately this movie lacks the charm of both Knives Out and Wes Anderson and the good characters of Knives Out with more of an emphasis on the Wes Anderson part. So now this movie is stuck in a rut of being overshadowed by much better projects. These characters are paper thin. Most of them are identified by one discernible trait that doesn’t get developed or played with other than Sam Rockwell’s character. It’s definitely trying to go for that Wes Anderson dry humor and performance but it doesn’t work here because it isn’t a Wes Anderson movie. Most of the actors are just okay with Saoirse Ronan feeling like the only actor putting in effort. The story here is definitely mimicking a play as the core of this story is centered around a play but it doesn’t fully go into that. The story isn’t set in one location or anything like that which the movie wants to do and the actual story itself doesn’t have any satisfying clues. The reveal itself is incredibly underwhelming because all the “clues” they leave aren’t really clues so the reveal comes out of nowhere in the worst way. This was very disappointing but it was clear to me that there was effort put into how the film looked. The production design, cinematography and lighting are all very well done but the story lets everything down. Just watch Knives Out or a Wes Anderson movie instead of this.

Chaotic but in a good way is the best way to describe this movie. It’s mostly nonstop energy for the entire 3 hour runtime and that’s the best thing about this movie. The energy of this film is what makes this a must see from 2022 in my eyes. The performances and characters from N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan are great. They both have some great chemistry together and do a great job at developing their characters. S. S. Rajamouli’s direction is really fun and so much better than his directing on Bāhubali. The action is some of the most insane I’ve seen put to film ever. It’s something that’s hard to describe and is better being seen by your own eyes. You won’t be disappointed though. It also has probably my favorite dance scene ever put to film as well. I honestly can’t think of anything that tops it. When the film isn’t action oriented or doing something fun then it can really drag. There’s a 30-40 minute portion of the film that really drags on and on. Some of the performances here aren’t exactly amazing also like from Alison Doody. If you want a really fun action and character oriented movie to watch with friends or on your own then I would highly recommend checking this out.

George Miller’s newest film is odd to say the least. It has some cool ideas but it’s structure and pacing kill this movie. The movie presents itself with Elba’s character talking about different tales and stories to Tilda Swinton’s character. The stories themselves are definitely very visually interesting and conceptually interesting but some are just kind of dull and some are very engaging. The final story that Idris Elba tells is easily the best. However the transitions from story to story is really bad. One transition has Elba and Swinton finish an argument before Elba abruptly starts his next tale. The story then just becomes a completely different and odd love story in the last 20 minutes that doesn’t fit very well with the movie and comes out of nowhere. It feels like George Miller had 2 different ideas for movies but shoved both of them together without finding a decent way to blend them together into one. The films technical aspects are all pretty great though. The cinematography, production design, and visual effects are all really great especially the cinematography. Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba both give good performances however Swinton’s character really isn’t developed enough for me to care about her. The film does a good job at developed Elba’s character out. There are a lot of great technical aspects to this movie but it’s poor execution really takes everything down. You can probably pass on this unless you’re interested in the premise.

Another banger from A24 while also being surprisingly hilarious. This is a very engaging movie from start to end. The plot moves pretty quickly and doesn’t take too much time to stop and do other things that aren’t fully relevant to the story minus one or two scenes. All the characters are really fun and interesting to follow. Some get much more screen time than others but their interactions were hilarious. Every actor does a great job but Rachel Sennott was the major stand out here. She gave easily the best performance in the film and was definitely the funniest character in the whole film. It was actually kind of fun to watch a movie where every character is a jerk. The story and script was probably the best thing about this movie. It felt unique in how it took a very conventional story and flipped it on its head with a Gen Z twist. It’s a fun little parody of Gen Z while also treating the characters like real people with real emotions and not bland and basic shells that resemble characters for the sake of a cheap joke. The ending may throw some people off but I thought it was great. The dramatic reveal about what happened and why this all started was very out of left field and it worked very well for what the film was trying to do. If you’re a fan of A24 movies or want a fun murder mystery film then go check this out.

I wasn’t expecting a whole lot out of this but I came away pleasantly surprised. This is just as good as the original Predator film if not better in some areas. The cinematography, visual effects, and music are all honestly better than the original film with the cinematography itself especially standing out as one of the better shot films that have come out in 2022. The original Terminator film has a better lead character and better action though. That’s not to say that Amber Midthunder’s character is bad. In fact, her character is honestly pretty great but I prefer Arnold’s character just a little bit more. Midthunder does a great job in the role and she is one of the best parts of the film. This film does have some similar issues to the original film in that the side characters aren’t fleshed out enough, although they are more fleshed out here than in the original film, and the film doesn’t become truly great up until the last 30 minutes. This film however doesn’t have the issue of not knowing what the film wants to be like the original. Prey definitely is very slow at the start but once the actual predator shows up then it kicks into high gear. The death scenes here are particularly brutal at points and the action is really great all around especially the final action scene. I love how Naru has to find a way to kill the predator using its own weapons as it really brought her character into her own and not in the shadow of Arnold’s from the original. If you like the original Predator movie then you’ll most likely enjoy this.

My score for Nope is kind of in flux right now. It’s sitting at a 7 but I really want to give it an 8 however I need to watch the movie again before I do that so 7 for now. Nope is a weird film for me. 2/3rd’s of this movie is insanely good but the last 30 minutes are just kind of underwhelming to me. I’m hoping on rewatch that my thoughts will change. The ending only feels underwhelming because it felt somewhat less dramatic than the rest of the film. The whole movie for the first 2/3rds is creepy and downright terrifying at points and that isn’t there for the 3rd act. That’s really my major critique but since it’s the climax of the movie it does stick out like a sore thumb to me. Like I said though, the rest of the movie is insanely good. It’s scary at points and just downright disturbing in all the ways a horror movie should be. Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya are amazing in this and I hope to see more great performances from them in the future. Their characters are really fun to watch and get behind as they are just like us. Humans are naturally drawn to the unknown and sometimes we do whatever is necessary to try and capture it to show the world. The Gordy segments can seem a little confusing as to what they mean but not only are they downright scary and terrifying but it really adds to one of the film’s messages about not underestimating a wild animal as you don’t know how they will react regardless of how much you try to train them. The technical aspects of this film are pretty amazing across the board. The visual effects, sound design, cinematography, and music are all some of the best of the year and are definitely worth the price of admission. While I’m still a little unsure about the ending I still think that you should go see this film as soon as possible for everything else that I mentioned.

Not as bad as I thought it was going to be but still not very good either. It’s definitely very enjoyable though. There isn’t a ton to say about this movie as it’s a stereotypical Illumination movie. Animation is weird, voice acting is fine, humor isn’t that funny, and feels like like a cash grab which a decent majority of this film feels like. This is one of the “better” movies that Illumination has put out though. There are some moments here where the film is actually kind of funny. The airplane stuff would work as a fun short film if they released that on its own. The film got a ton more unintentional laughs out of me though. I was laughing at how stupid the film was which definitely wasn’t the intention of the studio but it definitely did make the film much more enjoyable that way. Its got some fun moments sprinkled ever so sparingly thrown out but it’s not worth watching the whole thing for it as when the film isn’t on the minions then it’s dreadful. I don’t care about Gru or the villains at all and their dynamic is incredibly weak and Alan Arkin’s voice acting for Wild Knuckles is dreadful. The story itself is incredibly boring as well but thankfully the somewhat funny moments here and there don’t make it a chore to sit through. Plus the film is short anyway so it won’t feel too long. If you really want to watch this film then definitely watch it with friends as it will be 100 times more fun watching it that way than watching it by yourself.

I’m usually not a Baz Luhrmann fan but his style and the high energy of a man like Elvis work almost perfectly together. This is what a movie like Bohemian Rhapsody should have been. This takes the grandeur of a man like Elvis and the energy of Baz Luhrmann and you get this. Luhrmann’s style can still be annoying here in regards to some of the editing and the use of modern music for a movie that takes place between 40-70 years ago. The editing works most of the time but there are definitely scenes where it can start to feel a little nauseating. The ending also turns into your standard biopic with the real life footage and after screen text and all that but the rest of the film is great. Austin Butler is absolutely amazing here. One of my favorite performances of the year so far. He gets the mannerisms and singing of Elvis almost down to a T. His singing scenes especially were some of my favorite moments in the film especially when he sings “If I can Dream”. That’s my favorite scene in the film. Tom Hanks was kind of a mixed bag for me. Sometimes his over the top performance and accent worked and other times it was distracting but it isn’t the worst thing in the world. I will say though that I could barely recognize that Tom Hanks was playing the character. The energy of this film and the visuals are great. The energy keeps me from getting bored. Any other director would have made this film boring but Luhrmann used that energy to make boring scenes really interesting and engaging. The musical segments themselves are incredibly well done. Elvis’s first singing scene in the film is great. I already mentioned the “If I Can Dream” song and anything relating to the Vegas Hotel was very well done as well. The music is obviously great and even some of the more modern songs are good when they aren’t attached to the film. The film definitely isn’t historically accurate and they do gloss over some of the more controversial aspects about him. They don’t ignore them but they don’t dive deep into them which I wish they had done. If you like musical biopics or you want something different out of the biopic genre along with being an Elvis or Baz Luhrmann fan then I definitely would recommend checking this out.

All of Pixar’s films that they released on Disney+ should have been released in theaters. This however feels like it actually should have been released on Disney+. Very disappointing in my eyes but it’s not as bad as some people claim it is. It’s got elements of the Pixar charm with a VERY fun side character in Sox. Sox is honestly my favorite part of the movie and the only character that made me laugh when the movie wanted me to laugh plus the animation here is great. The film looks gorgeous the entire time especially the space scenes. While I do miss Tim Allen as Buzz, Chris Evans does do a good job at making the character feel similar but adding his own charm to it. None of the performances here are bad but the characters other than Buzz aren’t very good. They have very little to almost no character development and are kind of just blank slates standing around waiting for development that just never comes. I can only name maybe one slight personality trait for the side characters but other than that, I couldn’t tell you what their goals or motivations are. The only side character that I liked is written out at the beginning of the movie after a great little fast forward in time scene. The story and villain are honestly the weakest parts for me. The story is surprisingly bland and basic for Pixar standards. It feels half baked and half formed. The foundations are there but the actual structure itself is weak and wobbly. The villain goes into spoiler territory so I won’t say much but it’s BAD. The villain honestly **** and the reveal about the villain is just the worst. We don’t get any development with the villain and they are just there at points even though they are screaming that they are important. Even the music from the legend Michael Giacchino feels underwhelming as well. Honestly, you can probably pass on this as this doesn’t really contribute that much to the Toy Story franchise at large.

This was the other film I was privileged to see during Sundance and it’s most likely gonna go down as one of my favorites of the year. Cha Cha Real Smooth has more of a personal connection to me with how it treats leaving home while you still have a younger sibling there. It really resonated with me and I’m not ashamed to say that the final scene of the film almost made me cry. It hit very close to home. The performances here are great. Major props to Cooper Raiff for Directing, Writing, and starring in this because the writing and his performance were fantastic. His direction was pretty good but the writing and acting outshined it. His character feels very realistic. He gets in over his head a lot but tries his best to make others feel happy and he usually succeeds at it. Dakota Johnson did a great job as well along with Vanessa Burghardt who plays her daughter. All of these characters that Raiff wrote are great. They feel personal and well thought out and play a major impact into the story. As you can tell, it was the characters and writing that really sold me for this film because those aspects genuinely are fantastic. The music and editing were good but really weren’t anything that special. I would highly recommend checking this film out whenever it hits theaters or streaming services if you want a more personal kind of story.

Miles better than the original 1986 film and one of my favorite sequels of all time. God this film is just awesome. That’s the best way to describe it; awesome. The flying is awesome, the characters are awesome, the music is awesome, and the action is awesome. Tom Cruise’s dedication to making realistic action films with little to no visual effects has paid off incredibly well here. The flying scenes were filmed practically but they look amazing. Some of if not the best shot sequences of the year so far. I absolutely adore how they look and it’s amazing that the actors were able to act in those conditions. They all do a great job acting. Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, and Glen Powell are all standouts here and their respective characters and journeys were really well done and even compelling at points. Val Kilmer did a great job as well under his own personal circumstances. The film handles Kilmer’s medical condition and character incredibly respectfully. It’s a great handling of his character. The action here is awesome. It’s incredibly well thought out and intense. You could know or predict the outcome of a scene and you could still feel your heart beating out of your chest just because of how well done the action is. It’s genuinely some of the best action in a blockbuster that I’ve seen in a long time. The final action scene itself is probably my favorite action scene of the year. It’s absolutely amazing and so much better than the final fight in the original film because it’s actually set up. The music here from the original Top Gun composer, Lady Gaga, and Hans Zimmer is great! The soundtrack itself isn’t near as good as the original 86 film but it’s still great here. I can’t wait to see how Cruise breaks the mold with action again in the future. This is a must see from me for everyone. This film deserves to break $1 Billion at the box office so go see it now!

This movie is definitely not for everyone however if you like Alex Garland’s other work (Ex Machina and Annihilation) then I think you’ll appreciate this more. As with Annihilation and Ex Machina, Garland’s directing style and the visuals are some of the strongest aspects of the movie. It was clear to me based on the story and characters that Alex Garland was directing this. The story is confusing and hard to decipher. I definitely need to rewatch it again to smoothen everything out but what I could grasp I liked. The themes that I could make out worked well for what this story was telling about who we are as people. I don’t wanna dive too deep into the story as most of it comes from the end and I don’t want to spoil that. The cinematography is absolutely stunning. There are shots in here that feel very surreal and unique compared to Garland’s other work along with the music adding a lot to the sense of horror and building tension. Jessie Buckley did a phenomenal job here. It’s not my favorite performance from her but it’s definitely up there but Rory Kinnear stole the show with his performances. Kinnear had to play multiple different characters throughout the film and he did an amazing job at making each character feel unique and different from the others. Definitely one of my shoe ins for Best Supporting Actor this year. The ending is definitely a lot in terms of story and visuals. If you can’t handle body horror then I don’t think it will be for you as body horror is a main aspect of portions of the film. If you like Alex Garland’s work then I would definitely recommend checking this out but if body horror isn’t your thing then definitely steer clear from this.

Probably the most underrated MCU film in my opinion and one of the more underrated Sam Raimi films. This film is an absolute blast to watch. I was very skeptical beforehand about this being a cameo fest film and while there were some cameos, it was relegated to one section of the film and there weren’t a lot of them. Plus they use those cameo characters in an interesting way. This isn’t perfect by any means and the script is easily the weakest part of the film. The dialogue is definitely VERY rough around the edges and it definitely could have used another rewrite or two but oh my god the directing, performances, and characters are great. I really enjoyed seeing Doctor Strange’s and Wanda’s arcs in this film. Both coming to terms with what they have lost. I really loved that Wanda was the villain of the film. I really wanted WandaVision to go in that direction but it didn’t and it seems that this film rectified that decision and saying what Wanda did in her show wasn’t okay. It’s safe to say here that all of the performances are great. Benedict Cumberbatch is still doing a great job as Strange and Elizabeth Olsen shines as Wanda but Xochitl Gomez shines as America Chavez. I hope we see more of her in the future. My absolute favorite aspect of this film is Sam Raimi’s direction. It truly feels that Kevin Feige just told Sam Raimi to do whatever he wanted as long as he followed the script and my god did he deliver. Besides the first hour, this film is screaming that this is his film. The camera movements, the horror elements, and especially the gore. There was a surprising amount of violence in this film that I didn’t expect to see from the MCU and it was definitely a welcome decision. I do believe though that this film would be so much better if the dialogue was ironed out more but this is so much fun that I can’t hate on it too much. The second post credit scene is also one of my favorites in the MCU however it really only works if you’ve seen Raimi’s other films. Definitely go check this out if you’re an MCU fan and especially if you are a Raimi fan. You won’t be disappointed.

Robert Eggers is definitely my favorite modern Director working today. He’s batted 3 for 3 with his films so far and I’m always incredibly excited to see what he does. This is definitely a masterpiece in my eyes. The story is simplistic yet effective because the character work is really good. We can get an understanding of everyone’s goals and why they do what they do. Alexander Skarsgård does an incredible job here. Same with the rest of the cast. I can’t point out one bad performance here. Everyone is on top of their game. Nicole Kidman and Anya Taylor-Joy give my favorite performances in film. Both of their characters are really cool and interesting but Kidman’s character has a really messed up and creepy twist that makes you feel differently about the film and it’s themes of revenge and family honor. Claes Bang does a fantastic job as the villain as well. The way Eggers directs and shots this film is incredible. Every shot looks absolutely stunning and it’s incredibly clear to me through the directing that it’s Eggers in that chair with his style of epicness to scenes. All the action in this is amazing. Eggers doesn’t cut around like most blockbusters do. He keeps the camera on the action at all times and makes sure that audience can clearly see what’s happening. There is a volcano battle at the end that’s absolutely amazing. The music here is great as well. Every aspect of this film is just incredible and shows it’s worthy of the title of masterpiece. This film lives up its title of a “Viking Epic” and it’s a must see for anyone who wants an action heavy epic.

Definitely better than the first and a really enjoyable time but still not amazing. It still has some of the same issues as the first with the humor not really landing most of the time, the story not being super engaging, and the human characters not being very good but these aspects are not as bad as the first. The aspects that were good about the first were better here. The main reason I decided to give this a 6/10 and not a 5/10 was Jim Carrey. Carrey once again absolutely steals the show here. His presence and acting really kept me engaged with the film. While I said the story wasn’t great, it’s definitely more competent and well structured but still not 100% formed. The voice acting is pretty good although I felt mixed on was Idris Elba’s Knuckles. Sometimes he worked and sometimes the performance was not great. The action here was pretty fun. A lot more fun than the first film. It was more colorful and interesting compared to the first where the colors felt muted and bland. The visual effects as well were pretty great most of the time. Sometimes you could see the green screen but most of the time, the visual effects looked really great. If you want a dumb fun video game movie then this is the perfect video game movie for you and if you are a Sonic fan then this is a must see.

I’m really not a Michael Bay fan at all so this film getting this high of a score is surprising. It’s definitely my favorite film from him and I did enjoy myself with it. It’s definitely mostly fun but it’s not great overall. The acting is pretty good across the board. Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have some great chemistry together and I want to see them lead more films together. Their chemistry is probably the strongest part of the film to be honest. The action was great for most of the runtime. All the explosions and car crashes were definitely keeping me interested and the use of drone shots to get action was very unique and I want to see more action filmed like that. While Gyllenhaal and Mateen II have great chemistry together, their writing and characters leave a lot to be desired. I just couldn’t really find a reason to care for them. The cinematography looks nice but the use of hand held and close ups felt nauseating after a while and the whole gimmick of drone shots and non stop action definitely wore off with about 30 minutes left. Those last 30 minutes felt like a slog to get through because I was kind of tired of it. It’s definitely not a bad movie though and I did have fun but it just kind of stagnated and fell off towards the end. The story hooked me at the very beginning and the progression of the story definitely left me feeling tense at points but just like everything else, I just lost interest during the 3rd act. If you want some fun mindless action then this is probably for you and if you want to see something a little different from Michael Bay then you’ll probably enjoy this.

Easily the best film of this decade so far. The 2020s have produced some phenomenal films but this wipes the table with them. Genuinely one of the most creative and heartwarming films to come out in a while. This film takes the multiverse concept that’s been trending for the past year or two and takes it a whole new original direction. The incorporation of it works and I loved it. The Daniels did a fantastic job directing this. There is a funny and unique style present throughout the whole film that keeps your eyes glued to the screen. Michelle Yeoh, Key Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu are fantastic here and all 3 of their performances are somewhere on my 3 favorite performances of this year. Their characters are incredibly unique and interesting to follow and it’s a great return to screen for Quan who hasn’t been in a major film since The Goonies. They did a fantastic job playing all these different versions of themselves and making them feel familiar yet different at the same time. The emotional beats work so well. The film made me tear up on multiple occasions in the last 30 minutes because these characters are just so wonderful to follow. Any scene at the end manages to make you happy for these characters and the struggle that they have been through. The action and cinematography go hand in hand with amazing they are. There isn’t an action set piece that feels repeated and every scene is so amazing in their own separate way whether it’s really cool and badass or just really funny as well. This film manages to use so many different cool and fun colors that immediately keep your eyes glued to the screen no matter what is going on. The film’s use of themes like existentialism and where we belong in this world work perfectly for this story and even we are no one, we are someone out there to somebody else. This is an absolutely necessary watch for anyone who enjoys movies. It’s a masterpiece in every aspect of filmmaking and it 100% deserves the price of admission. Go see this right now.

Yeah it’s just as bad as you’ve heard it is. Funny at points but really really bad. The writing feels very half baked as if the writers didn’t finish the story and just went with what was written. Hell, Leto kills the villain in the last like minute of the movie. No kind of calm after. The movie just ends there. It feels like they wanted to do more but were just too lazy to do it. The actual story is incredibly boring and confusing. Scenes just kind of happen with a very thin reasoning for it. The film doesn’t truly know what it wants to be. There really aren’t any characters here. No one has any sort of character journey or arc. They just do things because the plot tells them to. Matt Smith’s goal in the movie is just that he wants to kill people. This isn’t established at all in the flashbacks or even in the present day. He just wants to. Speaking of Matt Smith, he is easily my favorite aspect of the movie. Call if Doctor Who Bias but Matt Smith knew what this movie should have been. A goofy comic book movie and he absolutely 100% delivers on that. His presence and performance genuinely made this film so much easier to get through and his performance is truly great even if he has no character. Jared Leto is just kind of there. His performance really isn’t good or bad. Not worth doing all of that awful method acting he was doing for this movie. The post credit scene is probably one of if not the worst post credit scenes ever made. It completely character assassinated Michael Keaton’s Vulture in the span of 30 seconds and it feels like an afterthought and that they filmed it the day before the movie released. If you were to see this movie, watch it with friends. It’s probably more enjoyable that way because you’ll most likely being making fun of it the whole time.

There is nothing wrong with doing homages to classic films and using old tropes to say something about them. I enjoy films that do that so why didn’t I like this? Because it didn’t do anything with those homages or tropes to make it stand out from those original films. We’ve seen all the tropes before and the tropes aren’t presented in a way that’s unique nor did I see any commentary about them present within the film. They just used them because it made sense and that annoyed me as it made the story incredibly predictable and boring. The only part that makes this story stand out is the set up as it’s a group of people using an old cabin to film a porno. We haven’t seen anything like that and it was interesting to see a horror film have a different set up every once in a while. The film looks great though. The cinematography is great and it was the presentation of the film that kept me going along with the performances. Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega did a great job and I’m interested to see where their careers go from here. The actual kills themselves felt largely bland. There were one or two that caught me off guard with how unique they were everything else felt like your typical horror movie kills without adding anything unique to them. They showed a trailer for the prequel film at the end that looked so much better than this and it **** that the best part of this movie was that prequel trailer. I struggle to recommend checking this out as you can watch other horror films and get the same tropes but if you want some interesting presentation and setup for a horror film then maybe check this out.

A slight improvement over its predecessor. The reason I liked this more than the 2017 film is all down to story and presentation. The presentation isn’t great by any means but it’s better and the story after the first hour was really fun and engaging. The one major downside about the presentation though is the green screen. It’s absolutely horrendous, obvious, and distracting. It’s kind of embarrassing at points to be honest but thankfully, it’s only in the first 30 minutes of the film. The acting here isn’t as good as the 2017 film but the characters are more interesting. More of them feel like they have a personality and something to do although there were sections like the boulder scene being completely pointless. Gal Gadot was very distracting but she’s only on screen for the first hour and then is gone for the rest leaving room for everyone else to shine. Kenneth Branagh gives a great performance here and it’s a major step up in quality performance wise for him from the 2017 film. The story feels like it has consequences at points and that it’s actually leading somewhere with the characters. The mystery element was hit or miss. I could gather who did it before the halfway point but I still enjoyed watching the characters piece it all together. I definitely like this more than the 2017 film although this is still very flawed. If you like murder mysteries then I would still recommend Knives Out over this but this is a decent option if you’ve already seen Knives Out.

Sam Levinson writing this is what made me bump this film down from a 2/10 to a 1/10. It’s films like these that make me believe that he go extremely lucky in writing two good seasons of a television show but makes and writes bad movies. Everything about this film is bad. The cinematography is weak and bland, the music is incredibly forgettable and Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas aren’t very good. What really destroyed this film was the story and the writing. The writing and dialogue are atrocious. You have a 6 year old child who talks like a 40 year old man. The characters aren’t characters. They are hollow shells attempting to resemble characters but failing to do that and not because they are bad people. They are incredibly morally flawed characters but that’s not what makes me hate them. They don’t have any clear identifiable personality. They are blank slates from beginning to end and I despise it. This is true for all the characters. Jacob Elordi shows up at one point and the film makes a big deal about it but he’s gone after 30 minutes. I get that his purpose was to show Ana De Armas sleeping with other guys but why not give him a personality that rivals Ben Affleck’s if he had one. The story here is stupid. It follows Affleck’s feelings on allowing his wife to sleep with other men so it can save their relationship but it doesn’t go anywhere. The characters don’t go on any journey. They are the same at the end and not to mention how anticlimactic the story is. Don’t check this out at all. It was a complete waste of my time and it will be a complete waste of yours.

Definitely better than I thought it was going to be but still weak. There is some really good stuff here. Ryan Reynolds is doing some of his usual stick but he leans into the more dramatic and he’s really good. I was very impressed with his performance here. Walker Scobell did a good job at portraying a young version of Ryan Reynolds. The quips and how they are delivered is exactly how Reynolds does it. Mark Ruffalo is pretty good as well. The emotional beats are definitely very effective at points especially towards the end with the final scene featuring the 3 core characters. Really good scene and really good character work throughout. The actual story here is weak. The time travel made some sense at first but fell apart by the end and besides the characters, there wasn’t anything about the story that stood out. The third act especially is very weak and anticlimactic. There isn’t a strong conclusion and the conflict just kind of ends. There really isn’t a great buildup and that was very frustrating. As strong as some of the characters were, others were pretty bad. Zoe Saldana gives a good performance but her character doesn’t do anything. She is just there to be Reynold’s wife and that’s her only purpose to the story and this isn’t some flashback. She’s essential to the story and then she just kind of leaves. Catherine Keener was a bad villain. Her motivations are confusing and unclear and there isn’t any actual character there. Just a stereotypical villain. This definitely felt like a passion project from those involved but it just need its story to be improved and it would have been great. If you like Ryan Reynolds then you’ll definitely enjoy this but you could probably pass on this.

I’ve never played the Uncharted games before and I’m still unsure if I would like this any more than I do now even if I was familiar with the games. This is everything I hate about Hollywood blockbusters. Weak performances, boring, bland, and dumb. I really didn’t enjoy these characters. They felt very thin and bland with any sort of nuance to them being surface level. I didn’t enjoy following their character journeys. Tom Holland is fine I guess. He wasn’t bad but wasn’t great. I’ve never liked Mark Wahlberg and this didn’t change my opinion of him. The rest of the performances and characters were bad. The villains were incredibly bland and any other side characters had so little to do. The story here was very generic and I guarantee you that the games probably take this similar story and make it much more interesting. I need to make a clarifying note that I know the games action scenes are over the top and they are the same here but I didn’t like the action scenes here. Not because of how unrealistic they were but because of how they were presented. It’s the most bland filmmaking you could see in a movie. For the final boat scene the lighting doesn’t change even though the boat is dodging all over the place so you would think the lighting would fluctuate but it doesn’t. The camera work is very static during these scenes as well. The camera work is incredibly bland throughout the rest of the movie as well. There wasn’t one shot that I thought looked nice because most of it was on a green screen. Some moments though just didn’t make a lot of sense to a point where it was distracting. There were no cameras anywhere during that museum auction? Some of these scenes felt like they were missing small bits of them. Characters would drop information causally that hadn’t already been established and it made me think on whether I missed something or not. That’s mostly the fault of the editing because it really **** here. If only the filmmaking was more interesting then I would have enjoyed this a little bit more. If you enjoy the games then you may get something out of this? I would still recommend avoiding this all together.

Pixar’s newest film isn’t bad at all but it doesn’t really hold up to the studios other films. It’s a good movie don’t get me wrong but it wasn’t super memorable. It was very sweet though. The characters are fun and it’s a nice story about coming into your own and making your own decisions. The art style is different from Pixar but I did like it. I liked that it was different and that its character designs were unique compared to other Pixar films. The writing isn’t anything too special. It services the story nicely but it doesn’t really stand out in anything other than animation and character designs. The story was nice and sweet but I wasn’t fully engaged with it. The film was also kind of annoying to sit through for the first 30 minutes but it got better as it went along. The voice acting is pretty good. I can’t pinpoint one performance that I loved or hated. Everyone did a good job. The humor definitely was hit or miss. When it landed, it really landed. The film can be REALLY funny sometimes but other times the jokes just didn’t work. The animation is beautiful as always. The environments looked gorgeous. Even though I wasn’t fully engaged with this, it was still a fun time. I would recommend checking this out if you like Pixar or want something a little different from them.

The quintessential Batman film. Almost everything about this film is perfect in my eyes. Robert Pattinson is now my favorite Batman. He brings a new layer to the character and we see how Batman has essentially pushed Bruce Wayne away. We get to see that obsession with Batman that people only ever talk about. This Batman is an inexperienced Batman. He is only in his 2nd year of fighting crime so he makes mistakes and learns from them. He goes through a very compelling arc that fighting for vengeance isn’t the goal. Fighting to protect others and bring hope to those who have none is the goal. There’s a scene at the end that does this and it’s probably my favorite scene in a Batman movie. Paul Dano’s Riddler is amazing. Dano gives a performance that can rival Ledger’s Joker although Ledger is still better. He’s terrifying in a scary and funny way. Colin Farrell’s Penguin is a highlight as well. He’s completely unrecognizable here and brings plenty of comic relief to his performance. Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman, Jeffrey Wright’s Jim Gordon, and Andy Serkis’s Alfred are also absolutely phenomenal. The story revolving around Batman learning the truth about his parents and the city of Gotham is a very compelling and engaging story. For an almost 3 hour long movie, I wasn’t ever bored. Sure you could definitely cut a small handful of scenes out but the film is very well paced in that regard. Michael Giacchino’s has one of his finest scores on full display here. It will get stuck in your head almost instantly and really does a great job at showing how characters feel and adding tension to scenes. The action here is phenomenal. The highway chase is incredibly well edited and shot and Batman fighting criminals feels brutal. I prefer the action scenes in The Dark Knight but it’s still great here. The cinematography and directing are all fantastic. The film looks beautiful in almost every shot and you can see Matt Reeves on full display here. Definitely excited to check out more of his work. I’m unsure if The Dark Knight or this film is my favorite Batman movie. I would highly recommend checking this out when you get the chance.

There really isn’t too much to say about the Jackass movies. They don’t have a story nor do they have any “characters”. It’s just an hour and a half of silly pranks and I love that. All of these pranks were really funny. Some were better than others but I really enjoyed all of them to an extent. You could hear me audibly laugh and/or cringe at the pranks in the theater and same with everyone else around me. These pranks and sometimes balls to the wall crazy and sometimes are more laid back but how the people react is what sells it. The pranks can definitely be very crude sometimes but that is what makes them funny. My only major complaint is the final prank. The final prank is really funny but it feels a little bit anticlimactic. There were some pranks earlier in the film that you could have out there or maybe even continued the opening stunt from the beginning to make it feel more bombastic. If you can handle very crude humor and visuals then I would recommend checking this out.

Easily the best Scream sequel. It still has some similar issues but it’s message, acting, and stakes really bring this up against the rest of the sequels. Obviously it’s nowhere near being better than the OG but this does a lot right. There are actually stakes in this plot. The film doesn’t hold back with both the new and old characters. The film hints to you that anyone can die now. They aren’t protected anymore and we do see some gruesome deaths. I was able to call the major death but it still hit hard as their death was poetic and a final salute to that character. The new characters definitely were hit or miss for me. I really enjoyed Jenna Ortega’s character a lot and she gives a great performance. I’m excited to see where her career goes from here. Melissa Barrera’s character was also pretty good as well. She has ties to the original movie that don’t feel too forced as they actually do something with this connection in the story. Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette are all having a blast here and it was a ton of fun to see them on screen again. I really enjoyed that the film’s main message this time was to poke fun at toxic fandoms. This is definitely something very prevalent in franchise films such as Star Wars, Marvel, and the DCEU and the commentary about how studios shouldn’t appeal to these people because they won’t be happy regardless. Their franchise films have to be exactly the way they want it but that’s not how the business works unless you are the Director with unlimited creative freedom. The villains are tied to this idea throughout the villain. The message is good but the actual villains are once again weak. One of them is important to the story and is kinda good but the other isn’t. The other villain comes out of nowhere but their death scenes were very satisfying. I would definitely recommend checking this out if you really liked the original Scream film.

An improvement from the previous film but not a great improvement. At least it felt somewhat like a Matrix film in concept but not visually. I don’t mean the visuals are bad. The visual effects look good and so does the cinematography but it’s missing that iconic green tint. This is obviously a minor issue but it impacts the film a lot. The green tint is iconic to the trilogy and it not being here makes the film feel like it’s lacking something. A lot of this film feels like it’s lacking. The story is really weak and contrived and it’s meta commentary is awful. It’s possible to do meta commentary on your own films/genre right, look to the Scream films for that, but it’s awful here. They make fun of the tropes but then do the exact same thing without a hint of irony. It feels like they forgot there was meta commentary to this film. It’s my biggest issue with this film and it really drags it down. Some of the action doesn’t necessarily **** but it isn’t great either. It’s hard to tell what is going on and it’s filmed in such a bland way. The performances are fine. Keanu Reeves is being Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss is fine. Neil Patrick Harris and Jonathan Groff are standouts but I take issue with their characters. Groff plays Hugo Weaving’s role from the original films but he just kinda starts being Agent Smith. There isn’t any build up prior and he just becomes him. The issue I have with Neil Patrick Harris’s character is due to his presentation on screen. They lower the frame rate whenever he is on screen and it looks awful. They lower the frame rate a lot in this movie and it never looks good. This film really didn’t need to have been made but at least it has some sort of message which is more than I can say for Revolutions. I probably would recommend passing on this movie and just watching the original again.

Paul Thomas Anderson releases another banger of a film. The characters, performances, and writing really sell this as one of the best films of the year. The one big talking point with this film that I have noticed is the age difference between the main characters. Alana Haim’s character is 25 while Cooper Hoffman’s character is 15. If you’re looking from the outside then this can seem really weird and predatory but what I got out of this film is that that was the point. These two characters aren’t supposed to be together. They are both incredibly toxic human beings who shouldn’t get together at all because of who they are. It makes their character moments more interesting because it is obvious that they care about each other and want to be friends but Gary doesn’t want that. The relationships between the characters is fascinating to watch. Each character brings their own unique portrayal to the table even if they are only on screen for about 5-10 minutes. Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Benny Safdie, and Tom Waits being key examples. They have limited screen time but that screen time is dedicated to furthering the relationship and toxicity between the main characters. All of the performances here are excellent especially from Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman who haven’t acted almost at all before and give potentially career bests. The cinematography and music are once again top notch and Paul Thomas Anderson’s direction is one of the best of the year. I wouldn’t place it super high on my PTA ranking just because some of his others have left more of an impact on me. I would definitely recommend checking this film out when you can as it’s definitely gonna get nominated for a lot of stuff.

This was an absolute blast to watch. I really loved the smaller scale story here. Disney animation movies are usually on a much larger scale and it was really refreshing to see the they focus on one central location instead of multiple. Most of the characters are pretty great as well. Mirabel, Luisa, Isabela, and Bruno were all well thought out and perfectly written. The other characters were fun but they were nowhere near as good as those 4 and I kinda wish some of them were on the same level. The animation and visuals are phenomenal. It’s the best looking animated film of the year. The movements look incredibly fluid and the environments look gorgeous. The music as well is great. A majority of the songs are really fun and catchy. The other songs I found to be somewhat forgettable though. The performances were all pretty good. I didn’t think there were any major standouts nor did I think anyone did a poor job. Everyone was good. The story itself and it’s message that you don’t need to have a special gift to be yourself works wonders for this film. I would definitely recommend checking this out when you can. It’s one of Disney’s best in my opinion.

The message this film is sending about climate change and how our leaders react to it is something I 100% agree with and it’s a topic that should be talked about more in our society. A film like this presents that opportunity but this film does it in the most out of touch and bland way possible. I found a majority of this film to be insufferable with Leonardo DiCaprio’s being the only thing keeping me going. He’s the only thing I really loved about this movie. His performance is great and the rest of the actors here do a good job as well with Jonah Hill and Jennifer Lawrence being great as well. Ariana Grande though felt so forced. Her performance wasn’t very good and it feels like they just shoved her in to say “Look guys it’s a singer that you know”. The scene where Leo screams about climate change is the best part of the movie and the film does very slightly improve from there but not enough to redeem it. The writing and jokes are pretty awful here. Every line has to end in some sort of the joke and the film never once got a laugh from me not even in a so bad it’s good way. It just goes on and on and on until the end of the film. The films presentation is so bland here. The camera is constantly shaking and moving around but there really aren’t any cool shots to look at. The visual effects for space look good and that was the only time I really thought the visuals looked nice. The editing here is some of the worst I have seen in a movie. It jumps all over the place and makes no sense at all. It’s all rapid fear and it becomes nauseating after the first half hour. I do wish the subject of climate change here was handled a lot better. It feels so in your face about it and I wish the film had presented it more subtlety. For me, messages in movies that stick the hardest are the ones that aren’t always obvious. They make me think but this didn’t make me think. It shoved the issue in my face and while I agree with it, it should have been handled more delicately. I don’t think I could honestly recommend this to someone. Pass on it and watch something else.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Definitely a very slow burn but an engaging and character driven slow burn which I love. The film doesn’t really have an overarching story but instead focuses on small character journeys instead. The main focus of this story is on Benedict Cumberbatch’s character with the other characters contributing to it without really having a major story of their own. I would take a bigger issue with that if the performances from the supporting cast wasn’t great but they are. Jesse Plemmons and Kirsten Dunst give amazing performances. It’s fascinating seeing them contribute to Cumberbatch’s arc with both of them showing his character what love is even if Dunst’s character goes about it the wrong way. Jodi Smit-McPhee gives a good performance as well but he’s usual overshadowed by Benedict Cumberbatch. Speaking of him, Cumberbatch gives the best performance in the entire film. His character goes through this arc of learning to be more open to others about who he is. He mascaradas around as a tough cowboy but he isn’t like that at all on the inside. He has a more feminine side in him that he doesn’t want to come out but learns by the end that that’s okay. It’s a very compelling arc even if the story does it very slowly and subtly. The writing and directing here are top notch. Jane Campion has a great eye for what she wants to show and her style for slow burns works great for a western. The music and cinematography are some of the best aspects of the film. The film just looks and sounds absolutely beautiful and I loved how it looked. It’s amazing what you can show if you film a western on location. This is a film I would definitely recommend checking out when you can. It’s a great performance piece for Benedict Cumberbatch.

It’s hard not to compare this to the Live Action films from the early 2010s so I decided that it’s fair to compare them to the original films and when you compare them, it’s terrible. If the original films didn’t exist then this would be a 4/10 or 5/10 but because those exist, it makes this pointless. All of the charm and personality from both the original books and movies is just gone. It feels very bland and boring. The film only has a runtime of just under an hour but it feels longer. It goes by the book’s plot beat for beat with minor changes and there’s nothing wrong with that but it doesn’t have that personality. The film decided to try and differentiate itself from the books in two ways, cutting whole sections it and changing Greg. There are whole sections from the book that don’t happen here such as the play. It feels incomplete without those fun scenes. Greg in this isn’t the sociopath he is in the books and movies. In fact, Rowley is the one in the wrong this time which completely goes what the books are about. The animation is fine I guess? It never looks terrible but it never looks good either. The voice acting is fine as well but it still lacks the personality and humor from the original films. Greg’s Mom did a decent job but there didn’t edit her audio sometimes so you could clearly hear that she recorded her lines in 2 completely different locations. I definitely would not recommend checking this out. Watch the originals instead.

It’s films like this that make me want to check out more musicals. I’ve never listened or watched any plays by Jonathan Larson but now I want to. After reading up on him more after this movie, I can say that Andrew Garfield absolutely nails him. His movements from what I saw feel perfect and the performance itself is just phenomenal. It’s probably my 2nd favorite Andrew Garfield performance behind The Social Network. His performance is also one of my favorites of the year. The other performances in the film like from Robin de Jesús are also phenomenal. The music and musical sequences are fantastic. Each piece sounds incredible and does a great job at adding to the story and when the film decides to have these long song sequences, they are very intricately planned and directed beautifully. Lin-Manuel Miranda did a fantastic job for his first major directoral debut. His style is plastered all over this film and it works beautifully. I would love to see him direct more musicals. The writing here works wonders as well. Each person feels brilliantly characterized and how it incorporates the one man play into the film is done almost perfectly with it maybe feeling off once or twice. If you like musicals or Lin-Manuel Miranda, then I would definitely check this out.

I definitely really liked parts of it but as a whole, it has a lot of issues. I normally have issues with films having too much focus on nostalgia and I do have that issue here but it does it better than others. For the first two acts, the nostalgia is way too overbearing but for the final act, it feels tasteful and justified. The story and pacing here are just kind of average, they once again rely on nostalgia from the 1st film while adding more information to it to make it more interesting but the story just isn’t as memorable. The comedy here is all over the place, sometimes it’s really funny and sometimes it’s worse than Marvel humor. The music here is incredibly forgettable which is really only something you notice about a day after watching the movie but I don’t remember any single piece of music here. Jason Reitman’s direction though feels refreshing. It’s not similar to his father’s direction from the first two but it isn’t so dissimilar. The performances here are pretty good. Most of my enjoyment from this film comes from the third act and it’s a GREAT third act. All of the nostalgic beats hit perfectly and the emotion here is amazing. The third act is all spoilers but I definitely recommend checking it out for the final act alone. If you are a Ghostbusters fan, then you’ll definitely get something out of this.

Is it as bad as the critics are saying? No. Is it a film that breaks the boundaries of a Marvel film? Also no. Eternals is in this weird limbo where there is a lot of stuff I like but for everything I liked, there was something I didn’t like. The film’s visuals and directing are honestly some of the best in the series. The environments and shots look consistently great. Sometimes there is the awkward visual effect but that’s expected at this point in Marvel. The music is pretty good at points but very forgettable at others which **** because the good pieces are really gold but the bad pieces are really bad. Half of these characters I found interesting (Sersi, Ikaris, Sprite, Gilgamesh, and Druig) while the other half I found to be boring and uninteresting. Chloé Zhao is a great director but I’m not a big fan of her writing. I feel the same way about her previous film Nomadland. There is a lot of exposition that can be interesting sometimes when combined with the pretty visuals but also really boring. Sometimes they prioritize the exposition over character work which is one of the reasons I found some of these characters to be uninteresting. The action is this way as well where it can be really fun and different sometimes but other times it does nothing to stand out from other Marvel films. I am glad Marvel tried to do something much different. I truly am but it definitely could have been done better. I really hope the negative critical reception doesn’t disuade Marvel from making something different in the future. I would really only recommend this if you are big into Marvel movies.

A film that breaks the conventions of a biopic by taking a real person and placing them in a real life event while being abstract and looking at how the person thought instead of how the people around her felt. It’s everything I wanted it to be and more. I have to say that Kristen Stewart’s performance as Princess Diana is absolutely amazing. It’s my favorite performance of the year so far and absolutely deserves the Oscar for Best Actress next year. Stewart is unrecognizable here and I loved that. All of the other performances were great as well especially from Timothy Spall and Sally Hawkins. The costumes are on point here. Each of them helps contribute to Diana’s mood and tone of the overall scene which was amazing. The costumes help us understand Diana’s mood and what she is thinking without directly telling us. The direction, cinematography, and writing are all amazing as well. Pablo Larraín does an amazing job at showing and not telling us Diana’s mood unless it was absolutely necessary and his style contributes greatly to the final product. The writing does a fantastic job at showing us someone who is crumbling under the weight of being a member of the Royal family and feeling the need to just run. The cinematography looks stellar here. It looks like a film that came straight out of the 1990s in a good way. The music has a jazzy feel to it which helps us show the impulsiveness of Diana in this film. I also loved how we get almost dream sequences here where we see how Diana is feeling and what she wants to do. Those scenes feel very uncomfortable at points and it works beautifully. All of these qualities come together beautifully to show us the inside of Diana Spencer. Please go check this out when you can but know it’s a much more different kind of biopic.

Another great film from Wes Anderson. This film focuses on 3 separate stories and all of them are great in their own way but some are definitely better than others. I’ll rank them at the end. All of the performances are great with my particular favorites being from Benecio Del Toro and Jeffrey Wright. Every cast member is fantastic in their role although I wish we saw more of Owen Wilson and Bill Murray. As always, the production design, cinematography, and writing are top notch. Although I like the more streamlined writing of his other films, Anderson does a great job at juggling three different stories here. Some stories are more interesting than others though and that kind of diminishes some of the other ones. I also found this film to be really funny as well. There were a lot of moments were I found myself laughing especially in the first and third story. The third story even goes through an animated segment and while the animation looks rough, it’s intentional. It’s truly something to see on the big screen. My ranking for the stories goes: 3. Revisions to a Manifesto 2. The Concrete Masterpiece 1. The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner Definitely go see this when you can. It’s a great film.

For Edgar Wright’s weakest film, it’s still pretty great. I know I said that after I saw it that it was my favorite film of the year but I have changed my mind. It’s still pretty great but the longer I thought about it, some cracks started to show mostly within some of the actions the characters make. Thomasin Mackenzie almost stabs someone in the eye and she doesn’t get in any trouble for it? Just little nitpicks like that but it does pull you out. It was also really easy to call out the big twists of the film long before they actually happen. The twists were great but easy to see coming. The ending also felt a little too cliched. It should have ended at a certain scene but it didn’t and gave us an ending that feels like it’s ripped straight from other films. All of the performances were great. Anya Taylor-Joy was pretty great here. Her character was constantly engaging and the way she transforms throughout the film was great to watch. Thomasin McKenzie gives a career best so far and I think her performance very effectively shows the main theme of the film. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to reminisce about the past but it isn’t as perfect as you want to imagine it is. Easily my favorite performance of the entire film came from Matt Smith. That may be my Doctor Who bias talking but I thought Smith’s performance was phenomenal and one of my favorites of the year. He is able to distinguish himself from his other performances and it was amazing to see him play a compelling and screwed up character. The writing is great but doesn’t really compare to Wright’s other films. His direction however is as good as always. His style is still very distinct here along with the editing. Even though this is a completely different genre for Edgar Wright, he still knocked it out of the park with the horror elements. There is a clear homage to other horror films like Rosemary’s Baby but they only serve as homages up until the ending. Wright’s editing style is still present but feels very toned down compared to his other films. It’ll be exciting to see if Wright continues to work in this genre. I would definitely recommend checking this out. It’s not Wright’s best but a worthy film in his filmography.

Denis Villeneuve creates another banger. This isn’t my favorite of his films but it’s still fantastic. My main issue with it though is that it is on the slower side and there is an emphasis on set up here but with the knowledge that it’s set up similarly to the Lord of the Rings films then it wasn’t something I took a major issue with. Even if it’s a lot of set up, it’s an engaging and investing set up. Besides a couple of scenes, I was fully engaged with the story and characters throughout. On a pure technical level, this film is masterful. The visual effects are off the charts. All of the ships, locations, and animals feel incredibly realistic and whimsical. The cinematography is fantastic. I prefer the cinematography in Blade Runner 2049 but it was still amazing here. Every shot looks incredible with how it’s lit or the framing. The performances were pretty great. I wouldn’t say this is the best performance from these actors with the exception of Jason Mamoa and Rebecca Ferguson. Both of them do a great job and I’m excited to see what else they can do. Hans Zimmer once again puts out another banger score. This is easily the better between this and No Time To Die but both are still great. The character work definitely helps the set up feel engaging. We don’t get a lot of exposition dumps about our characters but we are shown how they act and it’s great. I wouldn’t put this at the top of a Villeneuve ranking but it’s up there and I can’t wait for the sequel. Definitely check this film out when you can. It’s worth the price of admission.

An immensely satisfying conclusion to Daniel Craig’s James Bond. It isn’t a perfect movie by any means but its highs hit so high that they are impossible to ignore. All of the performances here are great. Craig gives his best performance as Bond. He feels more vulnerable than his other films. His range of emotion here is great and much better than the other films. Lea Seydoux is a major improvement from the previous film Spectre. Her character there was weak but here, she is so much more fleshed out and that’s the same for Christoph Waltz even though he has very limited screen time. Ana De Armas is a scene stealer here. I absolutely loved her character and performance and I would love to see more of her in the future. Rami Malek gives one of the best Bond villain performances but the issue with him is that his character is criminally underutilized. He isn’t in the film a lot and I really wish he was because he was that good. The action set pieces here are fantastic. Each set piece works to up the previous one and it works with the final action set piece being a one man army scene and I loved it. The cinematography, direction, and music are all fantastic. Hans Zimmer produces one of the best Bond scores ever while Cary Joji **** Direction gives the film a sense of finale and scale. The emotion in this film is off the charts. I’m not lying when I see the end of the film almost made me cry. The film knows how to tug at the audiences heartstrings and it really tugs hard here. If you love James Bond then this film is essential viewing. Please check it out when you can.

A massively uncomfortable film that is still powerful with its emotions. The subject matter and visuals the film shows are internationally EXTREMLY uncomfortable. I felt myself squirming and not feeling right after watching this film which has not happened in a long time but the way the film uses it’s stellar sound design to make you uncomfortable adds to this story of family and accepting others even though our protagonist is a horrible person. The performances and direction here are some of the best of the year with Vincent Lindon being the standout here. He gives an Oscar worthy performances. His wide range of emotions and how his character interacts with our protagonist is powerful and terrifying to watch. I really hope he isn’t snubbed during this year’s award season. The cinematography is pretty great at points with several shots looking absolutely phenomenal. The shots add to this powerful story and even add to the sense of uneasiness especially the final shot. The music while definitely being a weak aspect is still pretty great towards the ending with the final piece sealing the deal with the emotion of it. As much as I would like to recommend this, it’s hard to with how uncomfortable in makes you and I could definitely see some getting physically sick after watching it.

A film that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still falls into the same traps as the first film. In regards to the first film, this is definitely better. The first one took itself way too seriously and was very poorly lite. This film definitely becomes much much goofier after the opening scene and has more of a sense of personality to it than the other film. There isn’t a lot of personality as it becomes very formulaic. All of the acting is pretty bad but in a fun kind of way. Tom Hardy is definitely having a lot of fun and gives the best performance but Woody Harrelson and Naoime Harris are so bad that they are funny. Their chemistry is nonexistent and even leads to some logical issues in the final battle with Harris’s powers. The visual effects range from pretty good to awful in the span of seconds. There is a scene where Woody Harrelson in his Carnage form is breaking a cage and it looks absolutely awful but the rest of the visual effects don’t look bad at all. The action and editing are both pretty bad but it’s more the fault of the editing than the actual action itself. The editing is very fast paced and cuts very rapidly where it can be somewhat hard to see what is actually going on. This is an improvement from the first film though. One major thing I will give the film is its enjoyment and runtime. It’s very short plus it’s hilarious. Most of the time it’s unintentionally funny but still very funny none the less. I found myself to be laughing at the film a lot more than usual. Even though I don’t have a lot of positive things to say about this, I would definitely recommend checking it out. Watching it with friends would probably be the best option.

A film that I would like a lot more if it didn’t feel like it wanted to be a serious horror film. That’s my biggest issue with this. Sometimes it feels like it’s homaging the shock value horror films of the 70s and 80s and sometimes it feels like it’s trying to be a serious horror film. If it was going for that first one, then they did a terrible job at trying to present it that way. If it had just stuck with that tone, then the score for this would be much higher. James Wan’s visual style is definitely on point here. The camerawork is great and the transition of visual effects between scenes looks great. It’s the story here that is the problem. It’s incredibly nonsensical and I can’t tell if it’s trying to be like that or not. The performances are fine. No one is doing anything outstanding although you can tell that some performances are very over the top which I did like. I didn’t think there was an awful performance though. The use of gore is kind of cool sometimes but the action scenes are hilariously nonsensical. There is one Police Station action scene that is hilariously bad. The film being enjoyable is another compliment I can give it. I was definitely having a blast watching this one. The plot twist at the end is what showed me the two conflicting ideas for this. It’s hilarious and awkward and I think that’s what it’s going for but the rest of the film takes itself so seriously that I can’t tell if that’s what it was trying to do. If you want a weird, campy, and hilariously bad horror film then I would definitely recommend this but I would suggest watching it with friends like I did.

This is yet another film that I appreciate more than I actually like it. I’m really glad this movie exists and we have more diverse characters in the MCU. The Film nails Shang-Chi. Simu Liu gives a great performance and while his motivation isn’t exactly clear, his character is and I like that. It’s good to see that the origin movie does a great job at giving us a somewhat compelling character that I am looking forward to seeing more of. However, all of the other characters aren’t anywhere close to being as good. The performances from most everyone is good with Tony Leung giving a great performance. His villain isn’t great character wise but what I really adored was his villain’s motivation. We finally get a true villain who is motivated by grief and the inability to accept the loss of a loved one. I love that about him and it’s refreshing to see that. The story here is very weak. I didn’t engage with it that much and it was hard to understand the motivations of anyone except the villain. The plot progresses quickly but it’s hard to remember individual story beats because it kinda melds into some of the other MCU films. One thing that does stand out are the visuals and some of the action sequences. Some of the action sequences here were great like the final battle while others felt lackluster. It’s a mixed bag in regards to that. As always, the visuals for this film are great for the most part. There is the occasional weird visual effect but it doesn’t get absolutely horrible. The production design was surprisingly great here. All of the sets look really cool and it’s obvious they spent a lot of time on that. There really isn’t a lot more to say. On one hand, there are a lot if great things here but in the other, it feels like a standard Marvel movie. I would recommend checking it out if you are still into the MCU.

An oddly experimental film that I throughly enjoyed. This film definitely isn’t for everyone however, I really loved its presentation. A lot of this feels like a weird musical and I think that’s what it was going for. All of the music here is great and since the music and writing go hand in hand here, that means I think the writing is excellent too. Sometimes it’s a little weird with its presentation and writing but those moments were usually few and far between. Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard did an excellent job in their roles and I hope they get some recognition for it during the awards season. Leos Carax’s directing is one of the best of the year so far. His style and tone is extremely clear and feels unique to this genre. There a lot of moments in this film that kept me extremely captivated and I loved that Adam’s and Marion’s characters daughter is a puppet most of the time. It gets its point across clearly and I loved the daughters inclusion. There were moments here where the film subverted my expectations in different and unique ways in terms of character development. The final scene between Adam Driver and his daughter is heartbreaking and leaves you feeling both joyful and heartbroken. It’s a film that isn’t going to be for everyone but I would definitely recommend checking it out if you like weird and unique musicals.