From the outset of director Chloe Okuno‘s Watcher, there is a barrier. Julia (Maika Monroe) is sitting in a taxi, looking out the window as the city of Bucharest reflects on the glass. We are watching her and she is watching us, but there is more than voyeurism at play. Even once the camera moves into the car, the barrier is still there. Instead of being between the audience and Julia, it is between her and the…
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Top Gun: Maverick 2022
Top Gun: Maverick does not try to rewrite the original and it is filled with fan service, dropping the needle on “Danger Zone” within two minutes, mentioning Goose at every turn, and playing like a “yeah I’ll give you my homework, just change it up a bit” version of the original at times. Yet, it is a good film. A lot of that is a credit to director Joseph Kosinki and the cast, particularly Tom Cruise, Miles…
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Dr. Who and the Daleks 1965
The 1960s, Pt. II: 48/100
1965 RankedThis was my first encounter with Doctor Who in any medium, so maybe I am not the best gauge of how effective an adaptation Dr. Who and the Daleks is, but I was underwhelmed. Though it features gorgeous set and production design that more than capably transports the viewer to this futuristic world, the rest fell flat. Even Peter Cushing as Doctor Who felt out of sorts, having a manic energy about him…
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The Garment Jungle 1957
Indicator Challenge, Pt. II: 30/100
1957 RankedThe Garment Jungle had a tumultuous production process that saw director Robert Aldrich fired part-way through filming. He intended to make a film that was a bit nastier, more centered on Lee J. Cobb’s Walter Mitchell, a garment business owner who pays hoodlums to keep the union out of his shops. As Cobb fought to soften the picture and as Columbia boss Harry Cohn decided the focus should be more on Walter’s son…
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Once Upon a Time in America 1984
Checking in at just under four hours, Once Upon a Time in America takes a long time to say absolutely nothing unique. A gangster film, the film does nothing for the gangster genre that could not be accomplished in a far shorter runtime because oh my God is this thing long. It just takes forever to end and even then, I still had no idea why it took so long. I love gangster films with The Godfather Parts I and…
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