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Dunkirk by Christopher Nolan was just a fabulous experience. I definitely enjoyed the movie quite a bit from start to finish, and usually war movies aren't really my cup of tea (at least not anymore). However, cinematically, the entire movie is just a masterpiece. As a big movie buff, I could appreciate how meticulously crafted the whole movie was. It's so hard to create a movie like this within this genre while trying to remain "minimal", but Christopher Nolan accomplishes it in every sense of the word.

He seamlessly interweaves 3-4 different plot narratives/timelines, while using minimal amounts of exposition. He gives the viewer such a sense of a looming and foreboding threat, while never even having a Nazi soldier on screen at any time. He tells us "so much with so little" and allows the viewer to take in the conflict of each situation (and there are a lot of them) rather than point it all out to us. In that sense, you really feel like you're getting into the mind of each one of the soldiers/main characters when they are contemplating some very crucial decisions that literally determine life and death, for not just them, but many other men as well.

Nolan gives us continued development, closure and solid endings in each one of the tiny subplots that he sets off from the beginning. It's definitely a joy seeing how all the different plotlines intermingle with each other at the end especially with the civilian aspect added in. And, most importantly, he accomplishes all this in less than 2 hours (and by a damn good margin as well).

If you appreciate amazing direction, cinematography, and vision within a movie, this will be an absolute joy. It could definitely get Christopher Nolan that elusive Best Director Oscar come Academy Award season. I watched Dunkirk in 70mm, but, honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference, especially without being able to do a side-by-side comparison to a regular version. Overall, it didn't seem too different from the usual XD or IMAX type presentation at my local big theater. Still, the movie is a visual treat lending heavily to more practical effects that gives a nice sense of realism to it all.

Anyways, this gets a solid 9/10 from me, coming from a war movie curmudgeon. Watch it, and you won't regret it.

I finally watched A Star Is Born, and boy... was I just blown away. This film is a literal whirlwind of emotions culminating in one truly tragic ending. I was hyped for this movie for months, and it definitely lived up to expectations (even exceeded them). I was totally floored by the performances of Lady Gaga and especially Bradley Cooper who completely disappears into his role of Jackson Maine (in a good way). The soundtrack to this movie is just spectacular with some of the best ballads that I've heard in a long time in both "Shallow" and "I'll Never Love Again". That first scene where Gaga and Cooper perform together on stage is just a revelation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo_efYhYU2A

While this is a story that has been done many times (literally, this is the 4th remake), Cooper's version is just masterfully built and developed amazingly well even though it does run a bit long. It was over 2 hours long (135 mins), but at times I actually wish that it could have been longer due to how much I connected with the characters. It's a true "modern take" on a classic tale. And definitely prepare to cry as well. My god, the last 20 minutes of the movie were just... beyond brutal. If you've ever dealt with or really known/loved someone with addiction and/or depression problems, this movie hits so close to home that it is scary.

A Star Is Born is an instant classic and a definite Oscar favorite in multiple categories. If you told me that in 2018 the guy who played Sack in Wedding Crashers 13 years ago would direct and star in an emotional and moving film like this, I'd call you crazy. I'm definitely going to watch this again, but those last 15 minutes of the movie truly were gut-wrenching. Maybe I'll just stick with listening to the soundtrack over and over again... :P

I watched Annihilation on Saturday after being pretty excited to watch the movie for the past couple weeks as it was coming from Alex Garland, the director of the fabulous Ex Machina. I'm not going to lie though, I was a little bit disappointed in the end. Not because the movie was not good by any means. It was actually a very well done film with stunning visuals and art direction. It's just that I felt like it had the potential to be a "great" movie, and just fell a bit short in the last quarter/third of the movie or so.

I think that opinions on the ending sequence has varied quite a bit. Some people love it and have raved about it. I, on the other hand, felt that it was a just a tiny bit lacking and while visually stunning, not super original or "groundbreaking". I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't connect as well with the final quarter of the movie though (if that makes sense) without spoiling some major parts of the film.

While the movie is based on a trilogy of books (I've heard that it diverges quite far from the books though), the film borrows heavily from Tarkovsky's Stalker (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The influence is noticeable throughout, not just from both movies having a Shimmer/Zone. If you're a fan of Stalker (1979), I'd definitely recommend checking Annihilation out.

As I mentioned before, the visuals were stunning, and I thought that the set pieces and scenarios that evolved over the first 2/3 of the film were very well done. I liked the balance of the film being a thriller (both physically and psychologically), while adding lots of thinking points and contemplative questions of "who we really are", "what is actual destruction", just to name a few. The cast was well done for the most part, albeit I wish that the characters other than Natalie Portman's protagonist could have been developed a bit more.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and thought it was a grand visual experience. I was just disappointed a bit perhaps because I was expecting a bit too much coming in, and from what the first 2/3's of the movie set up. Also of note, the trailer definitely markets this film as something like a female Rambo/Predator action flick, which it really isn't. In the end, I think that I would give the movie a solid 7.5/10.

Wow. GLOW is such a fantastic show with a lot of unexpected depth to it. I didn't know what to really expect (other than Alison Brie wrestling other women) after just skimming some reviews online and trying not to spoil myself, but it was very well made dealing with a myriad of different social issues and themes. I never thought that so much drama and intrigue could come out of making a female wrestling league/show.

There are definitely a decent amount of feminism and SJW vibes, which can usually turn me off to a show/movie if taken overboard. However, I thought the tone of the show struck a very nice balance to those themes with wisely timed comedic dialogue and chose not to go too overboard on stating some of the "obvious". I really liked the emphasized theme of "things don't just happen; people make choices" that is expanded upon. There are some times you can't just blame society and everyone else for everything, and at times, you have to just take some responsibility yourself.

Alison Brie did a great job as the lead in this one, and hit the humorous parts quite well. She definitely doesn't play the typical spunky girl who never gets down in order to overcome all obstacles in this one. Lots of bad shit happens to her constantly in this show (some of it self-inflicted), and she has to eventually deal with the consequences. Some are dealt with better than others. She really developed her character throughout the course of this season, but she never really crossed into that "totally likeable" realm for me.

However, this is alright because the other supporting characters in GLOW were fantastic in their roles as well. I was pleasantly surprised that the show was really able to flesh out almost every single character/female wrestler introduced and give them all some plot lines and conflict to overcome (even Sheila the wolf girl!!). My favorite girl/wrestler was probably definitely Debbie, played by Betty Gilpin. She is just badass and goes totally YOLO at times. The end of episode 1 was just pure f'n gold. I could watch that entire scene over and over again. It was so well acted out between Alison Brie and herself. I also really enjoyed Marc Maron's character, the director Sam Sylvia, who adds a ton of crass humor into all the dialogue that he's given. He could have just mailed it in as the sleazy coke'd out director, but he completely owns the role and adds so much to the show.

Anyway, I really enjoyed GLOW and I'm hoping for confirmation of a second season ASAP because the creators definitely left a few loose-ends hanging and we still have a lot more potential story to unfold. Looks like Netflix has another hit on their hands. Watch/binge it if you can at least before GoT owns all our lives starting in July.

Got back from watching Ant-man and the Wasp. I really enjoyed this one. I loved how it was its own adventure and relatively self-contained in terms of the MCU. I actually really liked the original Ant-man a lot more than I thought I would when I saw it, so it's no surprise that the humor and tone of the sequel works for me as well. Paul Rudd definitely plays a solid Ant-man and I love me some Evangeline Lilly, who is the star of this one. Even the secondary characters of Ghost/Ava, Foster (and others) were pretty well fleshed out and had good backstories and development to them.

What really made me like this movie was that it had a very good "end game"/goal to strive toward (don't want to spoil it too much), so it made the adventure, journey and conclusion that much sweeter. It's definitely better than some of the other MCU movies where they just inject a rando bad guy trying to destroy the world for some nefarious reasons.

I definitely recommend checking this out if you liked the first at all. If you haven't seen the first, you'll miss out on a ton and not have a good idea of the what is going on emotionally and what is at stake. The original Ant-man is a great movie as well, so this just gives you another excuse to watch it :P

Just got back from Blade Runner 2049... Holy Shit! That was awesome. Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong in my eyes after this and Arrival.

I don't want to get into the story too much as it's honestly a better thing to go into this "sequel" with minimal direct knowledge of the sequel's plot (via reviews and such). However, being familiar with the original movie and watching the 15-20 minute anime short Blade Runner Black Out 2022 (made by the director of the anime "Cowboy Bebop") are definitely recommended imo especially as the anime short fills in some holes about the "Black Out" event that is touched upon in this new movie a few times.

As for the movie itself, it is defined by fantastic direction/editing, story and acting. The themes of discrimination between humans and Replicants, what defines humanity, and what is truly "real", standout in this film even in many of the tiny subtle moments. A fantastic performance by Ryan Gosling is without a doubt the standout in and drives this film, to the point where it almost essentially devolves into a single-man epic at times (of course, in a good way). I wish that there could have been a bit more Harrison Ford, but honestly that is just the homer in me talking. In terms of the actual story and flow of the film, his presence was handled beautifully as a perfect supplement to the movie and the more important story at hand (unlike a few of his more recent reboot/remake cameos).

The runtime is a bit long at 2 hours and 45 minutes, but don't let that deter you. I honestly never felt that bored or overwhelmed by it. A few beautiful action scenes and some atmospheric sprawling set pieces are interspersed among the emotional core and chilling dialogue that drive the film to give it a great pace. I could have watched this movie all day.

This is definitely an easy 9/10 for me at minimum. Once I get a little more time, I'm definitely go in for another rewatch (hopefully in XD/IMAX 3D). I also liked how the ending was handled very tactfully, leaving room for the possibility of a sequel, but not hammering it down our throats like it was rebooting a new cinematic universe. I pray that we don't have to wait 35 years for the next one though...

This is THE anime that we've all been waiting and yearning for. Many of us hardcore Mushoku Tensei fans have been waiting years upon years for an anime adaptation to finally hit, and HIT it has. I was a little skeptical with a brand new studio undertaking this, but all the previews had looked great so I was cautiously optimistic. The source material is my absolute favorite isekai series (which says a lot) and the light/web novel will always hold a special place in my fandom. So how were the first two episodes so far (first has aired officially and the first two were previewed beforehand)?

AMAZING. I really don't know if it's just because the source material is that good, but this has been a SPOT ON adaptation so far. Right when I heard "Gintoki" as the NEET narrator, I knew shit was gonna be good. The sense of humor and pervertedness of Rudy is really well incorporated throughout the first two episodes, and makes this more than just a "another OP isekai". But even with that sense of humor, the anime has taken great depths to give solid (but not overwhelming) background info on the characters and highlighting particularly serious moments. This was especially evident in the second episode where the handling of Rudy's "fall into NEETness" and past trauma was interweaved perfectly into his current situation and setting.

I can't wait for the rest of the anime to air. It seems that a second cour has already been green-lighted so let's hope this can turn into one of those long-running anime series. If they can make it to the school arcs, I'll have lived a complete life...

I finished The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and really enjoyed it. Another great production from "Amazon Studios". Very solid acting all around and I loved how it delved into (aka made fun of) the rich New York Jewish community/stereotype in addition to the standup comedy scene from the late 1950's. The episodes are a bit long at times coming in at a full hour, but the writing and delivery of all the characters is very well done. Rachel Brosnahan who plays the main character, Midge, is hilarious, and plays the Jewish housewife entering a life crisis to the T.

The only disappointing thing is that this show was obviously written as a two season order from the get-go (which it was). Season 1 definitely ends at a pretty big cliffhanger moment with a lot of things kind of hanging in the balance and more story to go, but that's more natural since a second season was already green-lit when this ordered. I would have preferred to get a little more resolution during the season finale, but it does have me wanting/begging for more. I also really wish that it was based on a true story, but alas...

Really looking forward to the second season coming ASAP.

So obviously, I had to see Lady Bird being the RT/MC snob that I am with a weakness for these independent films. Since it had a 100% RT fresh and 94% MC rating, I had to see what was all the fuss. I definitely enjoyed the film quite a bit and it definitely hit home with a lot of the emotional life situations the protagonist Lady Bird goes/stumbles through (even though I'm a guy). Saoirse Ronan has always been one of my favorite actresses and she kills it here. Her chemistry with Laurie Metcalf, who plays her tough loving and, at times, overly critical mother is fantastic and their relationship forms one of the major cruxes of the film.

The story is essentially about a girl learning (the hard way many times) what is truly important to her in this world (and, more specifically, in the town of Sacramento) and realizing to not take for granted what she has even though she is coming from an unideal situation. However, this theme is explored in a funny, witty and non-pretentious manner to the viewer that allows you to really relate and sympathize with the protagonist (while chuckling along as well). So many times, I was like "ohhhh man, that is just not a good decision, but I totally did the same stupid thing when I was younger..." moments that just really resonated with me throughout. It's a coming-of-age story that really progresses the protagonist but by using what seems like "common and mundane" life events that we've all undoubtedly experienced before at one point of our lives. They took a lot of cliche coming-of-age scenarios (gay boyfriend, going to a Catholic school, confronted by a nun, etc) but put a nice and realistic spin on them different from other movies. This relatability is what really sold the film for me.

In a short time, the viewer experiences a profound yet truly realistic and believable transformation of the protagonist, Lady Bird. I am reminded of another movie, The Edge of Seventeen, that I watched last year and didn't really enjoy or connect with, where the main female character undergoes a similar "journey", but I felt like I could connect (and, thus, sympathize) far more with Saoirse Ronan's complicated and stumbling character than Hailee Steinfeld's edgey for-the-sake-of-being-edgey interpretation of her protagonist.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this movie, and highly recommend giving it a shot. I think that it will really resonate with viewers who have experienced some financial and social difficulties at some point in life, and have gone through the embarrassing pains and those seemingly obvious and avoidable mistakes when trying to "grow up".

Just got back from seeing the new Tomb Raider. Not bad. Solid action albeit nothing too original going on here. Alicia Vikander was a pretty good Lara Croft, and I actually liked the way she developed in this one from the newbie that constantly gets 'owned' to the badass dual-gun tottin' lady at the end. As for the movie itself, there is fun action, some ancient "riddles", and a little bit of the "supernatural" thrown in. It was basically an update on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (like almost verbatim with the formula minus Nazis), plus some National Treasure bits thrown in. A tried and true plot line, but not groundbreaking.

While I wasn't the biggest fan of the "bad guy" played by Goggins in terms of his intimidation factor, I thought that they did a real good job on making his motivations quite real and believable. He's not out to destroy the world or conquer everything. He just wants to get this thing over with, find/give the weapon to his evil organization, and go back home to his family. Not bad. You could really feel his desperation in everyone of his scenes. As for the other characters, I didn't really like the incorporation of the twist, but it is what it is. Can't really go into it much more without spoiling things.

I'm not too confident with the way that they setup the sequel/s to come. I didn't really get the whole "the evil Trinity organization is everywhere" vibe that they really wanted to emphasize in the end. Plus, the movies to come will have quite a different feel since we now have a relatively "proven" Lara rather than the girl making all these rookie mistakes and learning from them. Kind of like how Casino Royale was for the Bond reboot, with Quantum of Solace being a big let down. Anyway, solid action and adventuring. Nothing too original here, but some decent character development along the way for this reboot. I give it a good 6/10.

My god... Does Ava DuVernay know that you can actually zoom out a camera? I've never seen so many "closeup" face shots in a single movie in my entire life. I'll never be able to get Oprah's giant-sized face out of my mind...

As for the movie itself, It's a bit all over the place. Some parts and themes are very well-done, such as Meg's journey to accept herself, while others are really half-baked (especially the relationships between Meg & Charles Wallace, Meg & Calvin, etc). Too many things just get thrown together or just suddenly happen by sheer "coincidence" without a solid lead-in or development. This could have definitely used some additional scenes and runtime to flesh characters and their relationships between each other out a bit more. Reese Witherspoon's character is actually my favorite of the 3 "Mrs."'s. Oprah and Mindy Kaling's characters definitely did not hit home.

Visuals were pretty stunning for the most part, but sometimes went a bit too overboard. Don't even get me started again on the cinematography and editing... This movie definitely had potential and I was excited to watch it, but it just misses out on some major points. It was enjoyable overall for the visual fest and seeing the world of A Wrinkle in Time, but other than that it is just an average film. I'd temper my expectations for sure. 5/10 as it is just an average movie...

Apparently this is just the third $100+ million budget movie directed by a woman. I'm not sure that Ava DuVernay's movie is going to help buck that trend...