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Just Mercy 2019
By the numbers and direly paced—saw A Hidden Life the previous day of the festival and it felt half as long—but I can't deny there are some extremely compelling and emotional sequences here. It's a feel-good Oscar bait take on an ongoing atrocity, and not even a deftly crafted one at that, but its heart is enough in the right place that I can't discount it entirely.
(Well, okay, almost—Larson is on complete autopilot here and her casting is a distraction more than anything else. We'll always have Short Term 12.)
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Gemini Man 2019
young Will Smith shows up
Woman next to me whispers to her husband: "That's Will Smith."
(Actually though.)
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Total Recall 1990
Not the best PKD adaptation, but certainly the most PKD adaptation. This unfortunately extends to his treatment of women and his frequent affinity for the workmanlike over the lyrical, but hey, the good stuff is there too.
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Where'd You Go, Bernadette 2019
Enjoyed against my better judgment. Very anonymous in style--would never in a million years have thought it was Linklater if I hadn't already known--and Billy Crudup's arc zig-zags to the point of incoherence, but Blanchett is magnetic as ever and despite its general all-over-the-place nature it's a fun time.
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Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood 2019
"Huh. Well, this isn't great but it isn't offensively bad or anyt—"
last 20 minutes hit
Oh fuck OFF
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Toy Story 4 2019
Has its moments, mostly in the form of some very funny gags, but it feels like the mostly effusive praise is due to our collective refusal to admit this franchise is now less than perfect.
The whole exercise is curiously empty. Forky as both a character and a concept is rife with possibilities, but any attempt at an arc for him is just abandoned after the first act. Most of the old supporting cast is sidelined in favor of new…
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The Umbrellas of Cherbourg 1964
I have the same problem with this that I do with the OG Suspiria--so many pretty colors and astonishing art direction in service of a story that was putting me to sleep. shrugs Maybe I'm just a cynical bitch?
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