n472w

Let His Holiness cook.

Michael B. Jordan^2

I'm never beating the "dude bro movie enjoyer" allegations.

Really don't like biopics, really do like Bob Dylan.

STOP THE COUNT (ORLOK)

Where Dune introduced the world with breathtaking visuals and tragedy, Dune: Part Two expanded on the intimate personal and prophetic narratives, with the overarching theme of colonization and commodification of a people and their rituals and history. Dune: Part Two took all the things that were great from Part One and expanded on them wonderfully.

A sweeping cinematic adventure, driven by breathtaking visuals but rooted in a deeply personal tale of mostly tragedy. The first Dune film sets a brilliant stage.

A super interesting concept! I really enjoyed the plot and all of the individual performances, ESPECIALLY Katy O'Brian. (Kristen Steward was pretty solid too) And the 1970s/1980s aspects of the film, plus the Albuquerque setting (very personal bias there) were cool.

I didn't love the more absurdist aspects of the movie, especially the ending. Of course there's a gigantic (pun intended ahahahahahah) metaphor there, but, as a self-avowed literalist (if that's even a thing) it didn't land form me.

Still, a very enjoyable watch!

This review may contain spoilers.

I don't understand why this movie was made.

I understand, despite the title, the film isn't supposed to be any sort of political commentary. But if it's not that, then what is it?

The production here is very good. It's clear this is A24's most expensive film with its $50M budget. It's an okay watch just because of that aspect. The combat scenes, gunplay, general cinematography, all excellent.

The narrative? Not good. If it's not a political commentary or a war movie, then I guess it's supposed to be an exploration of photojournalism and what being a dedicated photojournalist means and looks like? Which, if so, I absolutely - as a former journalist - get behind. I think there's a really really interesting movie there.

This isn't it, unfortunately. I felt no connection with the characters, such that the heavy-handed emotional moments fell completely flat. Maybe because a lot of the pacing felt rushed? I would have much preferred longer, drawn-out sequences in single locations as opposed to the rapid bounce between various sets. But I guess that's sort of built into the whole "we need to get to the capital before X date" plot driver.

It's weird because I didn't think any of the individual acting performances were that bad. Somehow Jesse Plemons stole the show on that front even though he was only on screen for like 10 minutes.

But the writing itself offered nothing. And the ending sequence? One of the worst, most faux-dramatic sequences I've watched. So telegraphed, so cliched.

"CALLAGHAN"
Two most off-putting male leads you could possibly imagine, plus Lindsey Lohan.

Pure vibes. Plot?

Poor Things is quite weird and really enjoyable. Emma Stone is great. A bit like Cate Blanchett in Tar, her performance makes the whole movie. Scratch that — her performance IS the whole movie.

All of Jordan Peele's thrillers are laced with metaphors, and Us is no different. What's the driving metaphor in Us? I think it's not being able to escape history, or the past. We all see versions of our past selves that are often stranger and harder to understand than our present selves. History, both personal and social, plays a big part in that understanding. I thought Us explored that main metaphor really interestingly. It'd probably take another watch or two to really pull out all of the more minor metaphors.

I will say: I really appreciated the Black Flag shout-outs in the t-shirts different characters had on.

Maybe I just don't watch enough pre-2000 action movies, but wow, I was blown away by Strange Days. It does get a bit longwinded toward the end, which is what keeps it, for me, just off a full 5 stars, but everything else about this movie — the acting, the colors, the cinematography, the ACTION (especially the action), the concept, the sci-fi, the political/social commentary — is spectacular.

This pissed me off so much.

Cher is IMMENSE.

Please see 'https://jacobmaranda.me/books/on-oppenheimer-an-american-prometheus'.

I don't control the railways, nor the flow of commerce.

One of my favorite horror movies of all time and, if I do say so myself, one of the best horror movies of all time. The way the film builds suspense without really any action, all based around the relationship between the mom and son and their pair of brilliant acting performances, is unique and deeply unsettling. If I had to pick one qualm, it's that the climax maybe deserves a bit more "oomph." (I have the same complaint of Hereditary, what I think is a very similar horror movie to this one.) Anyway, terrific, underrated film.

It's funny how other peoples' opinions can impact your impression of a song or an album or a piece of clothing or, even, a movie.

I loved Everything Everywhere All at Once when I first watched it. I watched it at a very, very particular time in my life, when the culminating theme of parental acceptance and family bonds felt more pertinent and much deeper. I cried after watching it, and I teared up again watching the film win best picture, Michelle Yeoh win best actress and Ke Huy Kwan win best ing actor, among its other award wins.

Yet, after listening to other film folks talk about it, and after thinking more about the specific details of my viewing experience, the movie maybe isn't as great as I initially thought. Don't get me wrong — it is excellent. But I don't think it was my favorite movie from last year, after watching more of the best picture nominees.

Still, I appreciate EEAAO for everything that it is — a groundbreaking, real triumph of eccentric movie magic mixed with deep feeling and emotion.

An absolutely gut-wrenching story of a deeply flawed father and a daughter he loves maybe just a little too much, watching her grow up before his eyes. Mescal and Corio are phenomenal together, Corio especially. I don't often read essays on films before watching them, but I'm so glad I read Laura Zornosa's essay in TIME Magazine on the themes of familial depression that resonate through the film. It really made my watch deeper and more intimate, and gave me moments to watch out for. Sad, but really lovely.

Tar was a solid movie. Cate Blanchett is immense, like really good. Does it get a bit tedious at times? Yes. Is it really long? Also yes. But it brings a lot to the table to lovely, drawn-out, extended sequences that envelop the viewer and pull them into the tale of one deeply flawed woman and her path down from greatness.

Shoutout to all the dull guys out there. We keep the world spinning, for real.