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The coog is just really amazing at making smart thoughtful.movies that are also palatable as big blockbusters. Great cast that helps this movie flow and elevate it from Dust Till Dawn fun to something that'll make you think. More of a thriller than a horror movie but a fun ride either way.

Funny thing about Providence, that mall was built to be it's centerpiece but it was never representative of the city. Now, artists building the secret apartment? That's some real providence shit. Great doc that both captures a vibe of a time and place and says something important about things that are disappearing from the world. It's well paced and flows the whole time. Loved it

This one sits in a funny place. I did not see it in 2015 when it came out but I do pre-The Bear people were trying to figure out how to do the chef story that resonated with people. This one was obviously influenced by Whiplash and there are some very Chef details but the main crux of the story seems to glorify awful behavior in ways that it's influences and the things that came after we're able to avoid. All of the character development is not earned and happens in such a small amount of time it feels like an afterthought. This one is a good background movie as the performances really drive it and it never gets boring but if you pay too much attention the holes become apparent.

Watched this on a Girl's Weekend I crashed and it turned out to be the perfect movie. In many ways it does what good horror does in a rom com template: it doesn't avoid the cliches, it uses them in interesting ways. It has a lot of the framework of movies you've seen before but it really does those things well and earns the moments so that even though you can see what's coming, it's not treated like a reveal and instead just a natural flowing of events. Dug this. Crash a girls night and watch it with your queens.

The Brutalist is a thinker. There's a lot of interesting themes, floated ideas and great performances in a well shot movie. The portrayal of the predatory wealthy class is timely and accurate in many different facets of the way they work specifically their coveting of the things that money can't buy. I also thought about Brutalist architecture (and just conceptual architecture) in ways I haven't before.
Flip side, it's long. I wasnt exactly bored at any point but not a lot actually happens either. While it is stimulating and intense at moments, I don't know that I'll ever feel like revisiting it. Many points of the story meander to the point it almost feels like a biopic and it's not totally clear where they actually fit into a grand overarching theme. Some things that might come out with repeated viewing, I don't think will get that chance. I think this one could have benefited from being a little more concise even if that sacrificed some of the vibe building.
I liked this one once but I got the feeling it won't really stick with me. Kind of an echo of There Will be Blood without some of the pinache that one had.

I guess it was time that they made be TV biopics like they do music biopics. Everything is at an 11 and the stakes are raised to unrealistic levels at every turn while making sure to sand off the edges of the actual unsavory behavior so that everyone is redeemable and we can root for them. The thing that always bothers me the most is that it's detached from the reality of the actual creative process (which is interesting on its own) so that it can be a fun roller coaster for the audience.
This one is definitely an Uncut Gems style anxiety ride as it just keeps raising the tension throughout. It's a fun walk through a couple of hours of producing a show that wasn't supposed to get made. This part works and is a fun way to describe the making of a TV pilot in the seventies.
I think what really soured me was the insistance of SNL as a counterculture piece of art that the squares wouldnt get. Now, I was a gleam in my pappy's eye in the seventies so I don't know exactly how counter-culture it was to dress like a bee but I can say for 40 of SNL's years, it's been more of the institution than the rebel. It's more like a trip to a TGIFridays bar than a dive bar (as teferemced in the giant speach Lorne gives). Lorne has an amazing eye for talent but to shine a spotlight on "this is who we are" which has been disproved by reality is stupid. Every time they banned Fear for doing something different musically or Sinead for doing something different politically while making sure that "the copymiester" skit gets a slot 10 weeks in a row, they gave up their right to claim counterculture status. If you started as anti and changed immediately for longevity or you were just rebellious in the way you did comedy, don't claim it is an identity and just it what you are. All the actual game changing comedy in the last 30 years came from people SNL stifled and they've been playing it safe my whole life. Nothing wrong with that but don't try to make it more than that.

It's a mixed bag
The good: it's fun. Anthony Mackie really shines and does a great job picking up the mantle of cap. I wasn't sure if he could handle it. Wasn't a big fan of the tv show and it takes a lot to carry the role but he definitely pulls it off. Action sequences work and are fun to see that marvel style again. The leader is also done in a fun way and works as a villian.
The bad: it's a mystery thriller where the mystery is way too heavy handed. Part of that we'll never totally know since they made sure you knew the third act reveal in. Every single bit of marketing for the movie. It makes that stuff a pretty big slog and if they were going to do that they needed a second big surprise or mystery to carry it. Also the two new characters of kid falcon and another widow didn't really bring anything to the table in interest or charm. They just feel a bit shoehorned in there.
The ugly: why they felt they needed to make this a political allegory with a "can't we all just get along" message is beyond me. President Ross does unethical and illegal shit throughout the movie without ever being held to but hey, he WANTS to do better so his daughter will talk to him again. It was obnoxious, idiotic, I can't imagine I appealed to anyone and it takes you out of the movie.
Anyways, this one isn't bad, it's a perfectly fine Sunday afternoon action movie but it's not good either.

This was the best of my flight watches. It was a kids movie that followed some familiar pathways but took a few unexpected turns along the way. It's about the people that step up and choose to parent kids that need someone to do that. I'm a sucker for that as I believe in good foster parents, teachers and step parents the same way some people do for cops and veterans. Thank you for your service! It tugs at the heartstrings but in an honest way. Probably the best one of these family movies I've seen in a few years but I don't catch them often.

Clint Eastwood in between Unforgiven and Letters from Iwo Jima is really amazing. So many amazing movies and very few duds. It's such a bummer he let his bullshit politics take over and turn his nuanced ethical dillema movies into flat and boring propaganda. This is more of a return to form and what I want to see out of him but it's now so hard to separate the two. Even this film felt like it was about the persecution of white men but in the end, I don't think it was. He made that bullshit American Sniper so he's made it hard to give the benefit of the doubt even distracting you from the movie. This was small, concise and told an interesting story. That's all I want from him anyways. This isn't mystic river but good performances, interesting writing and it flowed well which is a big step up.

This was a mixed bag. It was clear that Button had as much creative license as he wanted but sometimes he used it to flesh out the Beetlejuice world in fun ways, other times he used it to just put in his partner in a completely shoehorned plotline. There were a lot of things he seemed like he just wanted to do but he didn't want to do the work of making them fit into the movie. There are big scenes where you can tell he is having fun but there's really no reason for them to be there. It's like watching a good guitarist noodle when you'd rather just hear a song. Keaton is great as a Dirtbag, Ortega us along for the ride and O'Hara and Rider have some fun chemistry even when they both might not really be working.

How can you make a boring movie about tornados? Mission accomplished. I made it maybe 30 min into this one where the 50 year old YouTube streamers showed up before quitting.

Interesting concept with a bit of a dull execution. They set things up but at some point it felt more like "here's some shit that happens" than an actual journey. I don't think anything really shined here but it was a movie? Might be set up too hard with the award buzz but I wasn't wowed by anything here.

Sonyverse really is one of the most disappointing things ever. They have these movies based on the weird side characters of SM and instead of just giving the reigns to weird artistic writers and directors, they try to make generic brand marvel movies. Obviously there was an awful executive who kept shoehorning in the same bad ideas to try and get mass appeal but if they had just taken big swings, at least one of them would have hit as opposed to the shitty 6 movies we got. Kraven has more of a john wick to it than the typical comic movie which is way more enjoyable but there's a really bad cgi battles shoehorned into the third act. There's also problems with trying to make you root for a villian and therefore removing the characteristics that make them interesting. People want to root for a protagonist so you don't need to remind them all the time how good they are. This one is fine for a background watch but not much else.

I heard somewhere that a third act is only as good as the way you set it up earlier in the movie without showing your hand. This film suffers a bit for twists and turns that you can mostly see coming and the ones you can't, are kind of out of left field. That being said, great performances and an interesting topic keep the story flowing the whole time. All this culty weirdness is fascinating for those of us non-catholics with all its pomp and costuming.

Another really fantastic movie from 2024. It takes you on a really emotional rollercoaster and probably best to not know much before heading into it. As the story unfolds and you begin to explore the characters, it really earns the payoff in the third act. Much like pro wrestling, the movie gets you to really care about the characters so that the emotional depth has real resonance when you get to the end of the ride. Small, heartfelt and will probably hit harder for those with boomer parents

I came into this not even knowing it was even made this year and I loved it. It is the most faithful to the original comics Hellboy has been on screen and a super fun ride. It's more of a horror movie than a comic movie which sets it apart from the del Toros which are great but different than this. It's small and it's not slick which is a great strength. It gets to be a bit weirder and doesn't rely on cgi battles and while sometimes the seams show a little bit, it more than makes up for it with taking some bigger swings. You don't know exactly where it's going and seeing the creepy folklore set against Hellboys ascerbic tone is why I love the comics. It's captured in a bottle here. good performances, great job adapting the story faithfully, fun directing style on an obviously limited budget. This deserves way more shine.

So, the problem with all three Venom movies
(To varying degrees) Is that they sold the concept on being a funny buddy action comedy. That format plays to none of the strengths that the production has in its arsenal. The jokes aren't good and while Tom Hardy is great, he's not a comedian and the jokey jokes never land especially when he's doing the venom voice. There is comedy to be had here and even with TH at the lead, but it would have to be less jokes and more setting up a situation and letting that be funny. Instead, Everytime you want to like the movie, it's interrupted by bad jokes. The horror of venom and the action of a comic universe just constantly interrupted by not funny jokes.
So, I knew I wasn't going to like 3 but I wanted to at least enjoy it. This one had enough good stuff in the middle to be a nice sidebar movie. There's some bad writing with sode character choices but it flows, it entertains and goes down easy. Three things that the carnage movie did not even with Woody putting in great work. Put this on in the background and just know that when you're paying attention it gets worse.

I went into this one based on my love for Psycho Goreman and Ghoulies. I mean, I was already a slam dunk for this movie. It subverted my expectations and that lead me to have to readjust while viewing and figure out if I liked it. I did, in fact but I had to think about it. It embraces 80s campiness in a really great way and it's very funny. That line is being tightropes though, with the kitchy special effects and cartoonish acting hitting the mark and falling flat at different times. That being said, the movie never stops going for big swings and it never stops entertaining.

Pretty schlocky post apocalyptic fare. Fine for a Sunday afternoon background watch but all the ideas seem like reheated leftovers from better movies. Nothing new here and pretty lukewarm performances.

Is there a way to 3.5 a movie on here? I liked this one and it had a great cast doing great work. It just kind of dragged at parts and I think that had to do with the "based on a true story" of it all. It was tied to facts and that caused the narrative to get bogged down in parts. It's an interesting bit of history though and maybe it needed retelling but it also walked a moral line that it points out itself when Bob states that he just wants notoriety for what seems to be forgotten crimes. Is it parallel to what's happening today and good to bring up or is it just introducing a wider audience to some bad people and ideas. It never really took a stance on it for the worse.

This review may contain spoilers.

There's gotta be a term for this genre of chaotic anxiety inducing film that takes you on a real roller coaster for it's entire length. It reminded me of Uncut Gems but without the crime which I kept expecting throughout. It was a great choice as it seed like an Eastern Promises b plot was always ready to happen but never arrived (for the better). It didn't need it and this one had great performances to keep you invested the whole ride long.

This really lived up to the hype. It's a real page turner of a movie that every time you think you'll know how it'll play out, they instead make the more interesting choice and renews your interest to see how that keeps playing out. The plot circles around the three main characters as they entangle each other jumping back and forth through their lives and their collusions with each other. I was hooked in the whole time and in between the character studies, that director/DP is having the most fun they've ever had with some tennis shots.

This one made some of the top ten lists of the year so I gave it a spin. I'm not sure if it came out before immaculate but I think it suffered from me seeing that first. Everything it does is turned up to an 11 in that movie and it was more of a fun ride. In the first omen, the twists are all fairly predictable and it kind of kills the suspense. I think it had low expectations and that factored in to the positive reviews or maybe other people are just way more invested in the Omen universe. It's a serviceable prequel but fairly unimpressive.

A comic book movie that's not for comic book fans and a musical that's not for musical fans. This was destined to be hated but I think that was the point. I loved it. It's a movie that's was such a middle finger to the people that were going to see it, that I think it will be destined to be a cult flick. Beautifully shot with the two leads just killing it. Songs don't distract from a surreal and fun very original movie. I watched it well after the tidal wave of haters so hard to tell if that played into it my surprised enjoyment, but it doesn't really matter in the end.

It's hard to pull off the fragmented timeline but they used it to great effect here. Good performances and a fun twisty story kept this a fun ride throughout. Could have used more Bagley though!

Loved this. It's really fun when someone can take a story you've seen before and make it feel really fresh. Also, it was just gorgeously shot so it's easy to get lost in the world they build.