"Why do they always have to go bigger?" (Dr. Ian Malcolm)
Ant-Man is such a delightful little movie. I hadn't watched it for a couple of years and was pleasantly surprised by its low-key stakes and charming story.
I had also forgotten that it's one of the best looking MCU films. There's a warmth to the color palette that's so pleasant to the eye. They also did some rather interesting things visually with the tiny version of Ant-Man. Somehow they…
"Ok, let's go, Scarface. These arseholes ain't gonna kill themselves." (Deckard Shaw)
I'm inclined to declare this the greatest action nonsense ever made.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness joins the exclusive club of MCU movies that feature distinguishable director trademarks. Not quite a horror movie, yet it's littered with horror elements that feel very Raimi.
Universes crashing into each other sounds like another high stake scenario, but at its core In the Multiverse of Madness is a story about loss and regret, and how dealing with these issues in the wrong way can lead to dire consequences. The emotional stakes outweigh…
Today I watched M:I 2 and Ghost Protocol back to back and it's kind of jarring with how much ease Brad Bird's live-action feature debut obliterates the film of acclaimed action maestro John Woo. Especially in the action scenes. While I didn't loathe watching Cruise's first return to his signature role as much as I did last time, it still utterly bored me with its tedious story and godawful villain.
Whereas Ghost Protocol is simply such a delight from start…
The Lighthouse was one of my favorite cinema experiences ever. I haven't seen it since and I don't plan on ever revisiting it unless it is in a movie theater, but I loved it. As for The VVitch, I tried twice, but couldn't get into it at all.
Based on that I kept my expectations for Robert Eggers' third film in check in order to not set myself up for disappointment. Well, it didn't work out and I ended up…
The recent announcement by his family that Bruce Willis has retired from acting due to health reasons affected me more than I would've expected. It's been a long time since I cared for anything he did. Eli Roth's Death Wish remake was the last film featuring Willis as the lead that I have seen and Red 2 is the last one that I really liked.
Growing up there was only one actor - not counting Sigourney Weaver who I loved…
I guess it's been about ten years that I saw Crash for the first time. Back then I rated it very highly, but I never watched it again until today. Frankly, I've no idea what past me saw in David Cronenberg's film about people getting off on car crashes.
For a film with such a bold premise, I found Crash unexpectedly bland. What was the point? Neither story nor characters progress in a significant way. I'd even go as far…
For almost two hours I find the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman to be quite interesting thematically, but also some of Snyder's filmmaking choices. The infamous Martha scene is the turning point. The idea behind that scene isn't bad, actually. No, the problem is that it was written and directed by a couple of lumberjacks, when it needed to be handled by neurosurgeons.
After that the film devolves into mindless CGI vomit, because it was commissioned by feeble-minded bean-counters…
"Who thought we'd have a black son before we knew a Democrat?"
Yeah, it's that kind of movie.
Braveheart is as simplistic (to put it nicely), ridiculous and problematic as it is entertaining. With all its pathos, scrappy hair, Gibson's wavering accent, his need to paint himself as a Christ-like martyr in the end, the gleeful revelling in battlefield atrocities (Gibson would do it again in Hacksaw Ridge), enjoying the film is just as easy as despising it.
Braveheart with almost absolute certainty also holds the record for the Best Picture winner with the most bare male asses…
The nighttime scenes are some of the most atmospheric stuff Michael Mann has ever done. The symbiosis of Mann's camera and Tangerine Dream's score is beyond sublime.
Where Thief falls short is with its unbalanced script. The professional stuff is great, but everything regarding Tuesday Weld's character feels undercooked and clumsy. She's barely in the film, yet the story banks on the audience being invested in Frank and Jessie's romance, but I never was. Also Frank's quite an asshole in…
Although I am an avid moviegoer, Ambulance curiously marks only the second time I've seen a Michael Bay film on the big screen. Bay milks the premise of two bank robbers hijacking an ambulance and leading the police on a relentless hunt across town for all its action potential. The scrappy little Danish production this is based on was made on a shoestring budget and leaned more toward dramedy. When you watch it, it's obvious that they didn't have the…