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Reviews
Tenet (2020)
A never-ending Rubik's Cube, Ph.D in Nolan Required
When Christopher Nolan introduced Inception and Interstellar, it opened a new part of cinema's brain. If you couldn't hang with those two, it will be nigh impossible to hang with this one. The ingenuity of this film stretches far and wide, from impossible performances to stunts, from screenplay to cinematography, from soundtrack to story arc, there isn't an effort I've seen that can match this one. I guess the most powerful takeaway is one never seen before--the bad guy (Branagh) is the only one who understands the weapon of inversion, and the rest of us, characters and audience alike, are fighting to understand it in order to stop him. Now, how clever is that?
Water for Elephants (2011)
Exceeds Expectations
There's something precious about this film. What it offers is a basic idea of filmmaking: find someone to play the good guy and the bad guy. Needless to say, this film has everything it needs to win over the crowd. Pattinson shows us he's ready for the next level, where Waltz is everything we need in a villain.
Maps to the Stars (2014)
Mulholland Drive on a Lesser Scale
A typical Hollywood psychological drama, if there ever was one. It comes together like some strange dream, but I suppose that's how Cronenberg wanted it. It's as much as it could've been, just wished to have gotten more from Pattinson. I felt like his role could've been played by someone trying to land a role, not someone already established.
Funny Games (2007)
Spellbinding, Cold and Calculated
These two young men are just awful, but it's what makes this film so effective. They have a process believe it or not, and a typical photograph family is their target. It's not that we should enjoy a film like this, but the raw dreadful emotion it brings out of its audience without being too off putting is almost unmatchable. The director is willing to lose some audience members, but only to blow away the strong ones.
It Comes at Night (2017)
For a Lack of Better Words
There's only so many post-apocalyptic concepts we can grasp anymore. If it isn't sure in what it wants, it will leave the audience wondering. There's a difference between drawing toward mystery and being lost. "It" doesn't help us out of the woods.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino Silences the Crowd
Possibly the greatest film of all time. A collage of images, stories and characters positioned in such a way that we tilt our heads in amazement trying to piece linearity to story arc. What we can take away is Tarantino's ability to revive a career (Travolta) and make one (Jackson) and still find a way to wrap a big kahuna burger into a tight foil. The soundtrack is also a clever collage, and so is each actor/actress handpicked and set neatly on the stage of a pulpy epic. And let's not forget about Willis, who, with his mademoiselle, adds another element to an already effective concept. After all, what's a gritty pulp crime story without its pugilist and his father's watch?
Schindler's List (1993)
Spielberg, One For the Ages
This film is exquisitely and beautifully made. All the horrors of the holocaust are displayed without shame. We must comprehend the ghastliness of this world event. Spielberg does his job with some of the era's finest actors. I'm convinced you can take any period event, any time, any place and make an epic war film with Neeson, Fiennes, and Kingsley.
The Dark Knight (2008)
Wow
Nolan gifts the modern age of film with something forceful and unique. It's reads like a melodrama, projects like a crime thriller, and lasts in your craw like any epic should. We see before our eyes a calculated set of performances, a screenplay that knows itself well, and a Zimmer score that builds the emotion. I can't put another performance above Ledger's joker. No one has ever embodied a role like this.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Greatest Sequel of All Time
De Niro displays the importance of exposition in any great story. What can be dismissed as a literary device can be just as crucial in cinema. This sequel not only added to the original, but it opened up a whole new way of thinking for filmmakers.
Legend (2015)
2 Hardys, Not enough Fun
This is proven evidence that Hardy isn't great at everything he does. Like Bale or Seymour Hoffman, he may need to find the characters he can play and attack at will. He's not De Niro or DiCaprio who can stand on stage and everyone start clapping. We've seen how great Hardy can be, he just needs to find the film before he gives us one.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Beautiful, but Listless
I've seen Cumberbatch comfortable in his own skin before, and it's as though he's out of place in this want-to-be western. The cinematography is the best part, I can't fault Campion for that, but I see too many areas needing improvement to call this a fine film. The biggest red flag is lack of on-screen chemistry. When four good actors and a good director come together, an expectation follows handsomely.
Out of the Furnace (2013)
Bale Delivers
There are many reasons this film would normally deserve a lower score, but this is an example of Bale making a film his own. Not only did his performance make everything what it was, but it made the screenplay and general gist something that maybe wasn't intended. That's the beauty of Bale--you get whatever he spits out, just know it'll never come up short.
The Godfather (1972)
The Best
It's hard to say what they could've done better. Much like Titanic, everyone fits their role like they were born for it. It ages well and pays a hefty price, and it's smooth and has legs. Like any fine wine, this classic will be put on the topmost shelf of the cellar.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
An instant classic
I can't think of a better American film. Two strong actors, a thorough director, raw emotion, and a tear jerking ending... and then let's not forget the memorable screenplay and score. This film is what makes going to the movies what it is. It's one of those cinematic defining films that's nigh impossible to replicate, and something like it may only come everything 30 years.
Heroin(e) (2017)
Yikes
It's depressing, but I guess that's the point. It wants us not to ignore reality anymore. The haunting part is what are we to do about such a problem.
No Time to Die (2021)
Craig Carries Another
It's a Bond film, don't get me wrong. It doesn't hold a candle to Spectre or Skyfall, but it tries too hard to mimic what it's not, and it has a villain that left too much potential out on the field. But all in all Craig, Fiennes, Seydoux, they don't do a bad job. I was hoping this director was going to spread his wings and give Craig a parting gift of a great film, but maybe we should've just stuck with Mendes to bookend a memorable Bond tenure. The best thing we can take out of it was a great opening song by Eilish and the tributes to the creepy and somewhat cornball villains of the 60's and 70's.
Les Misérables (2012)
Jackman Doing What He Does Best
From the costumes to the stage to the performances to the screenplay to the emotion in the singing and the story, there isn't anything the director or cast could've done to make it a better film. When you want more of a movie at the end of a long movie, I'd say everyone did their job. This is Jackman doing what he does best: being the MVP of an ensemble that no one could've done better. (Bravo to Crowe, Redmayne, Baron Cohen, Hathaway, Seyfried)
The Butler (2013)
Whitaker's Magnum Opus
If a journeyman actor could ever be awarded a magnum opus for their long arduous career, one perhaps of peaks and valleys, Whitaker could call 'The Butler' his. As tensions rise, the film stays balanced. When you expect the concept to fade or grow monotonous, Whitaker keeps us in it. Other great performances by Oyelowo, Gooding Jr and Winfrey make this a stellar film. If I had to change one thing, it would be the recasting of each president. (Although Madsen qualified for JFK).
The Irishman (2019)
Simply Bold
Although younger actors could've portrayed these characters just fine, I thought it was heartfelt of Scorsese to bring these three together before hanging it up. It uses hindsight like The Godfather Part II, narrates like Goodfellas, and hangs in my heart with the rest of Scorsese's gems.
Hugo (2011)
Classic Scorsese
The film rolls out before our eyes like soft velvet. Each character is loyal to their role and the story completes itself through each act. Just when you thought Scorsese was known for something, he shows a concept must adapt to him, and not the other way around.
My Bloody Valentine (2009)
Absurd but not far off from the Original
Its cornball persona does not precede itself. I must say, for a remake of a cult classic, it does its job of drawing out a compelling mystery and pulling us toward the two leads. Through all its cinematic flaws, this film embodies the spirit of the B movie and the original valentine, as bloody as the first.