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Reviews
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Strong start, weak finish
Good movie. Plenty of suspense, good mystery and good movement throughout.
The first half is great. Strong suspense with danger in the air. A great stuck-in-a-cabin setup. The interlopers are just suspicious enough to cast doubt.
After a good opening and strong second act, it quickly breaks down. And abruptly stops with no plot resolution.
Overall it all felt very familiar. Like it's a movie I've seen before. It must have borrowed extensively from other disaster movies.
It didn't exactly energize me. I wish the second half could live up to the premise. But it felt like the first part of a trilogy. In a bad way.
Napoleon (2023)
Is the projector broken?
Impossible to see anything in half the scenes. It's like the filmmakers decided to abandon proper lighting. Maybe that's why they chose to shoot multi-camera. If every angle looks like crud, there's a uniform picture.
Maybe it's an artistic choice to have the focus of the scene engulfed in shadow. Baffling.
The story was fine. It flowed nicely for a movie of that length. Pacing felt good.
The strength by far was the battle scenes. There's a really tight setup in the opening for the first battle. We learn who the key players are, why they're there, the keys to victory and eventually see it playing out in exciting fashion. Almost like a heist.
I didn't find the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine particularly compelling.
It felt anachronistic at times. "You're judge, jury, and executioner" - "Are you enjoying yourself over there?" - "You think you're great because you have boats". Add in the mismatched accents and it was like a play set in France.
There were good funny bits. "Destiny brought me and this pork chop together" - "I know exactly where to place a cannon, but I cannot transfer my knowledge to my commanders. That is the hardest part. Learn to live with the failure of others."
Overall, a fine movie. Not great by any means. But it's a nice film to sit and relax to.
Ultimately, it's another Ridley Scott movie. Overly long, not that interesting, but shows enough promise that I'll probably watch his next movie anyway.
Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Confirmed: Godzilla is cool
Exactly what I was hoping for in a 2023 kaiju movie. Excellent action, excellent visuals and sound, strong story and just cool.
Really interesting seeing WWII from the Japanese perspective. We've seen it a million times in US war movies. But the filmmakers brought a fresh perspective (new to me at least) into the movie in a really organic way. And tied it all into the overall theme. Really well done.
The story stalled a bit in the first half. There's a great scene later where the scientist outlines his plan to beat Godzilla. It basically amounts to using bubbles and balloons - which is so silly and insane and I loved it. It's just crazy enough to work and it really made me want to see what happens next.
The human story wasn't just ham fisted or half baked. It was emotionally compelling and well done. It's easy to just make the monster carry the movie, but they went out of their way to tell a good human story.
The protagonists arc from cowardice to shame to acceptance to bravery and ultimately saving the day was satisfying.
Thematically it was refreshing. It brought traditional film themes of bravery and fighting for life. There are so many war movies that say "war is bad" by showing absolute depravity. But here, they chose to show the fight in a noble light and it was compelling and well done.
But most of all, Godzilla was just cool. He sounded BIG and mean. He's strong. He looks scary. The scene where we see him first use his heat breath was great. Starting slowing on the tail and accelerating upwards. Cool.
All in all, just a great movie. Must see in theaters.
Apocalypto (2006)
Atmospheric
The good parts are really good, and the bad parts are just kinda boring.
The opening showing tribe life was funny and nice. Generally good. The first half of the 2nd act was slow and boring. Not sure what it added to the story. Just matching thru the jungle. By far the best part was the temple scene. And the 3rd act worked. It was good.
There's not a ton going on story wise. The plot is simple, although not necessarily bad, I wish there was more. But, it was refreshing to see a period piece that reflected an underrepresented part of history.
Thematically it worked. He overcame his fears and saved his family. But, I wish there was more.
I really wish they did without the Spanish portions. It seemed to be a little victim blamey. "The conquered are never truly conquered until they fight amongst themselves" or something implies that it's somehow their fault for the genocide that followed? Ew
The best parts by far were the atmosphere, consumes and sets. In particular the scenes in the temple. The priests felt powerful, the royals felt royal, and the eclipse was bad ass. It felt lived in. And like a ceremony that we were witnessing. Really well done.
It's also a movie where sound design really shines. Especially given the minimal dialogue. The sounds of the jungle, the bugs and bird. The roar of the jaguar. The thump of arrows and breaking of bones were all so visceral.
The Holdovers (2023)
Families are hard
Life is hard. People are complicated. We hide the hard things we carry (don't hide them very well). The film felt very real in that way. Many of the boys have tough backgrounds. Their parent abandon them over break. And some react by becoming menaces.
This movie doesn't add a ton of new material to old ideas, but is exceptionally done. "Sometimes we need to go into the past to understand the present."
The setting of the boys school was vivid. Excellent job making it all feel real. The parties, the dinners, the classes all felt as if we were dropped in.
Great movement throughout the story. It's so easy for these character driven stories fall into plot-driven traps. But every plot point felt organic.
Every character was VERY fleshed out. Their backgrounds were palpable in their actions. Even the minor characters. Even the other holdovers.
The main characters were compelling. Giamati's portrayal excellent.
The dialogue was natural and fluid. Good humor throughout.
Very interesting visually. The colors were dull and wintery. Punctuated with color to make a point.
So many great moments
- Lydia's boyfriend entering the party
- The dad visit in the hospital
- Alise the niece and the boy
- Choosing the songs to play at the party
All in all, strong film. Strong themes around the holidays: loneliness, family, failure, tradition.
It was not an epic story. It was more grounded. Which made the characters feel like real people.
Although definitely a grown-up, adult film. And heavy. Thank god for the well timed fart and poop joke to remind us that life still has its silly bits.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
8/10
Strong movie. Very funny. Great action. They take full advantage of his abilities. Instead of simply throwing punches and wrestling with bad guys.
The vultures motives were clear and well articulated.
This version of Spider-Man felt real. He was a kid. He's scared. He's nervous. He's nerdy without playing a stereotype. And thank god we didn't have to sit through another spider bite origin story. It's so good that I could forgive him for somehow playing a 15 year old??
The entire scene where the vulture is Liz's dad is insane. What a great reveal. Great insight to both characters. Such a great choice between being Peter and being Spider-Man. He's so scary. The lighting is perfect.
The Social Network (2010)
Masterclass
A masterclass in writing by Sorkin. So many memorable lines:
A million dollars isn't cool...
Get to the point...
I want you to know it's because you're an ***hole...
The writing is so tight. The drama isn't driven by explosions and gun shots. It's driven by good writing.
Even if this wasn't a story about a global social network it would still work.
The acting is well done. Good enough to make the characters come to life.
Fincher's direction moves the story at the perfect pace.
The framing device of the lawsuits was interesting and well done.
So sharp. So good. Instantly transports you to the early 2000s.
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
One long note
Incredibly well acted. Not only by DiCaprio and DeNero, but also from the rest of the cast.
Visually interesting. Although they greatly differ from traditional western style and opt for a more city-like cinematography. It almost made the small town feel like a busy city street.
Despite its strengths, I found the story very one-note. There is one story, one theme, and it unfolds as you might expect.
The series of murders were compelling.
The relationship between Leo's character and Molly was the heart of the story. Particularly well done as we move from their introduction, flirtation, courtship, marriage, difficulties, and eventual separation. It felt like a journey.
The third act is when the story got some real moment with the arrival of Jesse Plemons and his fellow investigators. Certainly the strongest act.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Actually a good movie
Watched this for the first time in a long time and it's better than I remember.
It's both easy to understand for families AND dramatic/interesting. There's good plot movement throughout with minimal fluff (although I could do without the teen drama and the dance)
The story is great fun centering on the tournament. The opening with the quitich (sp?) tournament being crashed by death eaters thrusts you into the action. And sets a scary backdrop for the tournament that follows. There's always an air of menace throughout. Setting up the 3rd act with the port key trophy was clever. It was satisfying seeing Harry save Cedric and choose to win together - only to face death shortly after.
It's the turning point in the HP franchise. It has the first death, a notably darker tone, and formally introduces Voldemort - who is excellently portrayed by Ralph Finnes.
The CGI still holds up - despite being almost 20 years old.
It's great to see Robert Pattinson here.