Miyazaki's new film The Boy and the Heron is absolutely fantastic. See it on the big screen while you can.
Miyazaki's new film The Boy and the Heron is absolutely fantastic. See it on the big screen while you can.
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Damn, that's some high praise y'all. I'll add it to my holiday viewing.
WONKA. SO, we went to this not knowing it was a musical... which I hate. HOWEVER.. this is so damm good, I found myself stuck there in my chair. Then signing along with the words. IT was good. This movie was REALLY GOOD. A must see for sure. 9/10
HELP ME FIND
Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
Poor Things is an absolute masterpiece. Go into knowing absolutely nothing, other than this, and just let it's deranged madness work you over.
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Took my wife and college daughters to see the rom-com, Anyone But You. I teach Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing, so I enjoyed the many homages to the play, but as a film it did not have much going for it other than some eye-candy. An inoffensive comedy that made me smile to the tune of 6/10. My wife and daughters liked it a lot more than me.
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Viewed "The Iron Claw" a couple of days ago. Somber movie about the tragedies that befall the Von Erich boys as there father essentially forces them into entertainment wrestling in the 1980's.
A flawed movie in that there were actually 5 Von Erich sons (one died at age 5 after stepping on an energized tow hitch and falling into a puddle face down and drowning... sounds so bizarre and was never really investigated). Spoiler alert!- 3 of the 4 remaining sons effectively committed suicide at an early age. An incomplete movie that could have been a masterpiece, yet is compelling and almost tear-jerking.
4/6 Beers on the RFSRS.
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Some quickfire ratings of stuff I watched over the holiday break
Saltburn - 5/5
Leave The World Behind - 5/5
No One Will Save You - 4/5
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Poor Things
A bizarre, endearing, thought provoking masterpiece. Best Emma Stone performance ever and favorite Ruffalo performance ever.
5/5
Just watched The Silence on Netflix starring Stanley Tucci. It was basically A Quiet Place but the monsters they were fighting are smaller and can fly.
At one point dude turns on a big ass woodchipper and the things fly directly into it and kill themselves. Then he just shuts it off for no discernible reason. Like... WTF? That IS the solution.
There was also a sub-plot of some weird religious cult that lasted all of 15 minutes and totally unnecessary to the movie's plot.
Hearts are tough, she said, most times hearts don't break, and I'm sure that's right . . . but what about then? What about who we were then? What about hearts in Atlantis?
Went to see Migration and I forgot how joyful a fun movie can be. It's delightful and I recommend. 3/4
Oppenheimer: 7 out of 10 stars
I wanted to love it but parts of it bored me to death.
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I saw The Iron Claw last weekend. It was a well-made film with solid performances. The wrestling stuff was handled very well. I'm not sure why people were hating on the guy who played Ric Flair. I think people were expecting someone to do a perfect impersonation of Flair, but the guy did a great job with the mannerisms and evoking Ric Flair without sounding Flair.
Ultimately, the film suffers from a lack of characterization, which hinders the more poignant moments somewhat. Every character in this film could have benefited from more screen-time, more small moments. It's just a really large cast...the 4 brothers, the father, the wife, the mother, plus you need your Wrestling characters to take up screen time. I thought Pam was written really well in the first half, but kind of fades away in the 2nd half. I would have like Maura Tierney to get some more screentime because she was in a narratively fascinating position with a unique perspective on the family.
The Iron Claw could have worked amazingly as a limited series. It could have fully fleshed out the characters and buttressed the heavy emotional moments.
4/5
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Big two weeks for me with the Academy Awards movies.
First was Poor Things - loved it. I wish the final act were a bit longer, but Emma Stone deserves the Oscar in my mind. 9/10
Second, my wife and I rented The Holdovers. Also excellent. A bit predictable at times. Giamatti was excellent, but the real stars were Da'Vine Joy Randolf and Dominic Sessa, especially the unkown Sessa. 8.5/10
Third, my wife and I went to see American Fiction last night. Loved this one too. Of the three, I think this one will linger the longest. Funny, poignant, surprising in every way. It was great to see Jeffrey Wright in a non-supporting role - well deserving of his nomination. 9/10
Saw Dune again and I liked it much better the second time knowing what the story was, never read the books. The visuals in that film are simply amazing and there was a long preview for part two that looked really cool.