The greatest bromance to ever touch the screen. RRR is constantly surprising and thrilling, though I'd be lying if I didn't say I got exhausted by the second half of this 3-hour epic. The action scenes are jaw-dropping, the musical numbers are exhilarating, and both N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Ram Charan are extremely charismatic. This is filmmaking at a constant 10 and should be experienced on the biggest possible screen.
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The Black Phone 2021
Better than Sinister, which I always thought was a little cheesy. The kid actors are seriously terrific, especially Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw. It's like watching the most fucked up game of an escape room, and I also really dug how weird it was. It's all-around a solid flick from the Derrickson/Cargill duo.
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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert 1994
The section with the cartoonish, Filipino wife is wildly racist and over-the-top, but if you can ignore that bit, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is an entertaining flick with great performances from its three leads, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp. Like To Wong Foo, I never thought these actors would play drag queens and a trans woman in my life, but there's not a false note in any of their performances. Also, Pearce is very hot in this, like wow.
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To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar 1995
Not sure why I put this off for so long, but this was an absolute joy to watch from start to finish. I'm shocked by how good the performances from the three leads are. Swayze, Snipes, and Leguizamo really do give it their all as these fabulous and hilarious drag queens, and the love and affection they put into these characters bring a heartwarming quality to the film. Also, Rachel Tensions is a great drag queen name!
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Death on the Nile 2022
This is actually a lot better than what people are making it out to be and maybe even better than Murder on the Orient Express?? I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy the film as much as I did, but a big part of why I liked it is because Kenneth Branagh is fantastic as Poirot and the character undergoes such a compelling arc. I knew people were making fun of how his mustache gets an origin story here, but I found it quite heartbreaking and unexpectedly moving. 🥺
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Love & Basketball 2000
I want to run up a mountain and shout out from the top of my lungs about how amazing this film is if it gets even one person to watch it for the first time.
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Top Gun: Maverick 2022
Marvel and other studio blockbusters have long conditioned us to accept CGI that when we finally get something as tactile as this, it's thrilling, and you can feel the stakes. Who knew a Top Gun sequel released 36 years later would have some of the most exciting and stressful action scenes since Cruise's own Mission: Impossible - Fallout? And there's a genuinely emotional story at the center of it too!
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