Perhaps the most predictable of the Saw canon, but I love how concise and self-contained the film is—it’s a solid entry point, an appetizer for those who may be Saw-curious. Although Chris Rock and Samuel L Jackson are basically playing themselves, their characters really provide the most heart to this film—albeit through cheesy father-son flashbacks. Even though Spiral is so bluntly trying to make a statement about current-day police immorality, I still enjoy so many of the aesthetic aspects of this movie.
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Matt Rife: Walking Red Flag 2023
Miami is genuinely insane—the amount of crazy material this audience espouses is unbelievable. Matt Rife deftly juggles through most of it, roasting attendees without ever belittling them. The obnoxiousness of the crowd and the TikTok-motivated editing here may put some people off, but I can’t help but laud Rife’s quick-witted talent. He’s undeniably hard working,—earnest, crass, but tactful.
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Barbie 2023
Barbie is about the product but it also is the product. Power couple Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig layer it with just enough musings about existentialism without drowning in it nor claiming anything too assertive. It’s all so lightweight in the end. The titular doll and its company have had so much legitimate criticism lobbed their way over the decades, but Greta almost gracefully dodges any real scrutiny on the matter. Will Ferrell’s character is blatantly Mattel cashing in on them…
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Veer-Zaara 2004
I think there’s an inherent beauty in earnestness, and Veer-Zaara captures its essence through its truly genuine unconditional love. It’s epic in scale—yet another India v. Pakistan story in the Bollywood pantheon—but the heart of Veer-Zaara is never lost or distracted by geopolitics or anything else. Crystal-clear precise dramatization from the masterful Yash Chopra. An undeniable centerpiece in both SRK and Preity Zinta’s top-tier filmographies. Such a rich posthumous soundtrack work from Madan Mohan. Essential viewing.
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They Cloned Tyrone 2023
Savvy, fun, confidently stylized, and just a beautiful melding of the sci-fi and Blaxploitation genres. Stellar soundtrack and stellar cast. An understated career highlight for all three of John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx. Very much along the vein of Sorry To Bother You, Get Out, and Us.
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See How They Run 2022
A cute and sincere, albeit likely forgettable, tribute to Agatha Christie murder mysteries—a meta story layered atop the infamous The Mousetrap. Its runtime is pretty succinct, and Saoirse Ronan‘s charm carries the whole film. It’s a solid directorial debut from Tom George, with clear Wes Anderson influences—stylish and enthusiastic. All in all, See How They Run is mildly good fun.
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Oppenheimer 2023
On its own, Oppenheimer’s story—the moral quandary at its core combined with the WWII tug-of-war between scientists and politicians—is really worth learning about. While the movie is accurate to the source material (American Prometheus), it’s Nolan’s indulgent self-important editing that shoots the film in its foot. Seriously didn’t need to be 3hrs long; there’s so much redundancy with showing the same scenes over and over, it’s such a tired way of emphasis. Also, like most Nolan films with dominating soundtracks,…
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The Menu 2022
My tasting notes: Indulgent, decadent, not too surprising but nevertheless delightful. I wish it was a little more concept-forward, committed to its supposed theme, but The Menu’s brevity keeps it charming. Great tension between the incomparable Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy. All in all, it’s a bit of a toothless refresh of a satire a la Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel, but I enjoyed it still.
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse 2023
With near-perfect pacing and truly unbelievable kaleidoscopic visuals, Across The Spider-Verse makes all the right moves as the ambitious sequel that manages to maintain a compelling multiverse story. Though it’s packed to the brim with references and Spider-Man lore (there’s 60 years of comics here to work with), I think Across The Spider-Verse also works on its own an enjoyable story of two teens wanting to do the right thing and find their place in the world. The Gwen universe…
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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2018
Colorful, inventive, steeped in lore and tropes but always one step ahead. Undeniably an industry game-changer in 2018, curious how the sequel one-ups this.
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High and Low 1963
My thoughts basically match Eddie’s—this is debatably top-3 Kurosawa, but undeniably one of the best police procedural films of all-time. Really fantastic blocking for all of the actors, but once again, Toshiro Mifune exudes supreme confidence with his performance. The last scene is so reminiscent of the ending from Hitchcock’s Psycho. High and Low’s lasting impact is pretty evident.