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What did I just watch? Terrible writing, acting, and directing. There was one compelling sequence in a sunken submarine. Grandpa Cruise runs when he’d get there faster in a car, and finds every opportunity to remove his shirt and orange around in his underpants. All the exposition and meaningless action clock in at a tight 2 hours and 50 minutes. It felt longer and I felt dumber by the time I left the theater.  Just another vapid comic book movie with nothing to say.

Endless long shots of Borg in a near catatonic stage of depressive ennui. A weak script about an interesting subject poorly executed. McEnroe is entertaining when on screen but there’s far too little to make up for the bleak aspects of the overall storytelling. One bright spot is the cinematography and the grade which gives the whole film a vintage aesthetic appropriate to the historical setting. The documentary is much better.

While the political commentary in this film is smart, the overall film narrative construction lacks any deeper emotional power. The broad attempts at humor fall flat and dilute the message. The visual effects are decent, save for a few rough composites. The film is long without need and largely devoid of any emotion or character depth. It could easily have just been an editorial cartoon.  If you like the tonal style of Bong Joon Ho, you’ll probably enjoy it, but for my money it felt shallow, soulless, and cynical.

The central characters in Thomas Vinterberg’s 2020 film “Another Round” are middle-aged men—teachers—who feel their lives are stagnating. The film captures the quiet despair of routine, lost purpose, and emotional disconnection. Their experiment with low-level alcohol consumption (inspired by the theory that humans are born with a 0.05% blood alcohol deficit) becomes a way to reawaken joy, confidence, and vitality. Mads Mikkelsen is excellent as are his co-stars.

Alcohol is both the literal subject and a metaphor. It unlocks spontaneity and emotion, but also leads to dependence, denial, and destruction. The film never fully condemns nor celebrates drinking—it shows both its liberating and ruinous potentials.

Vinterberg’s well crafted and naturalistic script explores broader existential questions about meaning and fulfillment in modern life, especially in affluent, orderly societies where material needs may be met, but deeper purpose may feel elusive.

The film presents male friendship as a space where emotional openness is rare but deeply needed. The characters seem to reconnect through their shared experiment, allowing space for confession, empathy, and camaraderie. As teachers, the main characters are all supposed to inspire their students, yet feel uninspired themselves, until their experiment takes root.

The tragic turn in the film (without spoiling specifics) shifts the narrative from comic experimentation to existential reflection. The final dance scene becomes a cathartic release—a celebration of life in its imperfection and unpredictability.

Another Round is both a deeply human story and a subtle cultural mirror. It critiques the repression and conformity that can characterize comfortable societies, and asks whether emotional liberation is worth the risk of chaos. Its popularity in Denmark—and internationally—may stem from how deftly it balances national introspection with universal resonance.

Watched on Thursday May 15, 2025.

A weird one. Currently a free watch on Tubi in the US. Magic “buttons” transform a small collection of characters who have found themselves removed from the front lines of the English civil war.  Their respective class, societal roles, and base values are shuffled in a hypnotic and psychedelic haze (brilliantly executed by the filmmakers on screen). Just over 90 minutes, and shot in black and white, it plays like a twisted episode of Masterpiece Theatre.

Watched on Monday April 28, 2025.

Watched on Monday March 24, 2025.

A bore. It’s amazing what gets made these days.

Beautiful.

Incredible screenplay, acting, and direction. Great visual storytelling. This is one of the most disturbing horror movies I’ve ever seen. It’s fantastic but so gruesome in ways that I could never have imagined. Don’t read anything about this movie before seeing it.

Sweet, funny, slice of life nyc.

It’s good. Intriguing. Feels like a space opera in a way with all the ritual. I like too how the filmmaker clearly has seen Maurizio Catalan’s sculpture of the Pope struck by a meteorite. Both the sculpture and the film have a kind of magical realism. This is deployed to suggest a greater divine hand at work in the lives of mortals who interpret the “word of god” to their own ends. The ending was totally unexpected and brilliant writing.

Bleak. Not a comedy. Definitely not the “Best Picture”.

Watched on Friday January 17, 2025.

A brilliant meditation on motherhood, transformation, and self care and self sacrifice for love. Excellent writing, humor, and emotion. Bravo!!  Amy Adams is phenomenal. Marielle Heller is a great writer and director.

Simplistic, dull, and clichéd morality play in the style of a Lifetime movie of the week. As deep as a puddle on a flat sidewalk.

Lashana Lynch should be the next 007. She’s a great actor with piercing expressive eyes and endless charisma. She is electric on screen. This series is solid. There are a few dud actors in smaller parts but overall an excellent adaptation of the Frederick Forsythe book.

The horror…the horror…the horror. EO is adorable. Poor EO.

Excellent, difficult, and gripping dramatic true story about “The Troubles”. One of the best limited series of the past decade.

Hmmm...okay. First off I suppose I should confess that I've never ben a big fan of musical theatre or the Wizard of Oz. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are incredible singers and solid actors. They both have a lot of charisma on screen. Without them this film would be straight up bad.

The translation of the musical to the big screen is a bold effort, but there's something that feels flat in the world building and the overall visual design. The sets feel cheap and the camera holds way back with actors almost always shot in full. It's an odd choice that leans too heavily on the fixed distance from the proscenium rather than embracing a more cinematic experience.

The animal visual effects are strong and add some fun to the universe. The best sequence in the film is the end ride on the broom and the flowing cape of Erivo's Elphaba. There are some great compositions in the end sequence.

This is just "Part 1" clocking in at a whopping 2 hours and 40 minutes. It's a slog at times (I even feel asleep for about 10 minutes somewhere in the forest). If the musical was only 3 hours with an intermission, the translation to the big screen seems to have added too much to make what could be a two part, ostensibly 5 hour movie.

I'm sure people will love it who love the musical. There's something infantilizing to me about this kind of entertainment. We live in a time where so many adults vacation every year at a Disney theme park. Its a time of simple mind-numbing cultish behavior devoid of criticality. This movie is a wonderful opiate for the masses.

A brilliantly written, directed, and acted procedural about the true life murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. Stellar dramatic performances from Søren Malling, Pernilla August, Rolf Lassgård, Pilou Asbæk, Laura Christensen, Hans Henrik Clememensen, & Henrik Birch.

Written and directed by the genius Tobias Lindholm (Borgen, Another Round, A Hijacking) The Investigation isn't flashy but takes a page from the great Alan J. Pakula in his straightforward telling of "All the President's Men". Lindholm creates gripping drama and mystery by showing the hard work and dedication of those tasked with bringing justice to Kim Wall and her family.

It doesn't get much better than The Investigation.

So sweet.

No where near as good as the original, but mildly entertaining. The script is weak and character development thin to say the least. Paul Mescal is a fine actor but he’s miscast in this role. He lacks the charisma and gravity of an actor like Crowe required for the demands of the role.

The set pieces are fun but the stakes feel lower with the lack of meaningful character dev. Scott is a master of visuals and spectacle and this is true here too. The opening recap animation looks like the Scott Free logo and feels fresh.

Denzel Washington is fun to watch in his role. He just eats up the screen every moment he’s in frame. The twin brother emperors are ridiculously cartoonish bozos a la Ude and Kuse Hussein or Don Jr & Eric Trump. Derek Jacobi gets short shrift and is quickly dispatched. Connie Nielsen and Pedro Pascal are shouldered with some challenging dialogue that fails to showcase their acting chops and leaves them looking stilted. 

The baboons border on alien in their design. The best shot in the film is a gladiator entering the arena standing atop a massive rhinoceros. The visual effects work is stunning and consistent throughout.

An amazing documentary about an American treasure. Pakula was an unrivaled genius.

A sweet film about the temporal nature of life, youth, memory, family, and the beauty of living in the moment.

Cronenberg for the 21st century centering on women in our society and the pressures to live up to a false standard of youth and “beauty”.  Worth a watch.

A strange and powerful narrative musing on grief. The visual effects of the bird are well done for a small film like this. It’s an odd film, but I love that this kind of story can still get made.

Robert Zemeckis’ 2024 movie entitled “Here” could be one of the worst movies ever made. A sad sack melodrama of joyless people, perpetual victims, who possess no agency in their own lives trapped in a single room akin to a prison. You could make the case that the film is about the prison of the “American dream”and the distortions and lies required to believe it actually exists. There’s an underlying suggestion in the movie that the house they live in is built on an Indian burial ground much like the movie Poltergeist. Cuesta Verde anyone? I found myself hoping a nuclear bomb would go off outside their widow vaporizing their self-inflicted misery and mine. All the characters are cursed to live an unfulfilled life, vapid, and void of any kind of fulfillment only to die unable to anything but tragedy.

A brilliant first feature film and a metaphorical tale of the effects of grief on family.

So fun and ridiculous.

I don’t know if I’ve seen a movie that has affected me so deeply in a long time. The Outrun is a spiritual, metaphysical, and deeply emotional narrative connecting the natural world to ourselves, our family, our myths, and so much more. This is what makes for truly GREAT storytelling. One of the most powerful experiences I’ve had at the cinema in decades. It will resonate for years to come.

Watched on Monday September 23, 2024.

Perfection. So much quiet beauty and meditative contemplation. How can one not love this most human film?

Watched on Wednesday February 14, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday February 14, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday February 14, 2024.

Watched on Monday January 1, 2024.

short Napoleon review: amazing visual effects work, the costumes are incredible…especially the crazy hats of the era. The musical score is very good. The best bits are the epic battle scenes. They are beautifully lit, staged and the shot composition is beautiful. Some of the shots look like paintings. Phoenix as Napoleon is also somewhat funny in ways that I didn’t expect. It’s an entertaining historical epic. But it’s likely an interpretation of history…not an actual history lesson. It’s a movie. 3.5 stars out of a possible 5. Fun to see but likely wouldn’t go back and watch again unless there is a longer director’s cut someday.

The horse in the field. So much life in death.

Watched on Thursday July 6, 2023.

Watched on Wednesday June 21, 2023.

Watched on Saturday February 4, 2023.

Watched on Saturday February 4, 2023.

A near perfect film. Brilliantly written and directed in the style of a 1970s paranoia thriller. Stellar cast and the great Sydney Pollack in one of his final on screen appearances.

Watched on Thursday December 22, 2022.

Watched on Saturday May 1, 2021.

Hitchcockian in its intent. Kind of like Prisoners but with a holocaust tint. Rapace is fun to watch. Amy Siemetz also has a good bit part.  A fun and suspense watch but overall not too deep.

Watched on Sunday December 29, 2019.

Watched on Sunday March 3, 2019.