Somehow, Iron Man 3, even when filtered through Marvel's (often) anti-auteurism, is more subversive and stylish than this. I am so unbelievably disappointed with this film; it completely fails comedically, it's directed with only the briefest style-glimmers, and is actually quite ugly in aesthetic and spirit.

Black's previous three films are each comedic gems, and of course, that's not a box to be exclusively placed in, but this film butchers every joke, cleverness totally extinct. When "fuck" is a placeholder…

Cynicism spilling out a little love, where even hearts promised to be closed off deserve a chance at being proven wrong. Fucking god, heartbreak hurts but regret slithers into your atoms and warps your chemistry into a bitter self-disgust. And the only way we can avoid that pain is by opening ourselves to the possibility of that pain, but also, to the possibility of something lighter.

Levin's minimalism separates Reeves and Ryder from the rest of the world, because after…

Five years ago, as I walked out of Prometheus, my imagination was ablaze with the possible trajectories the sequel would go as David and Elizabeth’s journey to their creators continued. That film, while certainly dreary, had a streak of optimism in discovery that high school Austin expected to continue. I was totally unprepared for Ridley Scott to submerge my soul into an inescapable hell.

Alien: Covenant is unrelentingly nihilistic in its philosophy, seemingly suggesting that humanity is a disgusting species…

Fading memories and crumbling nostalgia filling the emptying spaces in time. Almost (absolutely) infinitely complex, with small time fractures ripping through lives and leaving everything confused and broken. Lynch's testimony to aging's heartache and the simple sadness of being unable to fix the past.

Of course, nothing about The Return is simple; dimensions flood into "reality," which is also a distorted concept bred by dreams and nightmare shards. If I can slice through my foggy synapses and find a single…