I can't argue with the people who claim this is more of a wiki page visualization than it is a documentary, but Woodstock 99 is a wiki page worthy of this treatment.
The found footage and framing device of attendee journal entries adds a interesting narration element to this story and provides a unique insight to how the festival was perceived at the time.
The major flaw of this film is choosing to focus on the societal and political factors that led to the angry "white dude bro" crowd and eventual rioting. I am not denying that those forces outside of the festival were a factor, but I believe it was opportunistic and bias driven to make those the main target of the documentary. I believe it is fairly apparent that the prominent white dude bro crowd was attracted by the nu metal heavy lineup and the aggressive angry vibe of the festival was more caused by the poor planning and high water/food prices than it was having first generation feminist parents.
The incredible footage combined with my potent nostalgia for late 90s culture was enough to overcome some of the forced political commentary and enjoy the contextualization of this infamous event.
The bones are here for a engaging drama/survival story exploring the deep agony of grief, but it doesn’t fully deliver. The bad styrofoam snow and storm special effects are distracting. Naomi Watts’ performance is solid but overshadowed by the peculiar characterization of John. Intimate survival films need to thread the needle as they do not have the typical structures that a traditional 3 act film can lean on, and this one just misses.
Every time I worry I am becoming too cynical, I realize I am not even keeping pace.
Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy was inspired by the gritty nihilism of The Long Halloween but The Batman fully captured it. The true future home of this film should be in between Thief and Manhunter in the Neo Noir Collection on The Criterion Channel instead of its inevitable dishonest placement in the DC hub on HBO Max next to Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
Is Kate Netflix’s cynical version of John Wick and Atomic Blonde? Yes. Was it placed in a hyper stylized Japanese setting to fit some algorithmic attention grabbing thumbnail and trailer? Yes. Am I ashamed for liking it so much? Yes.
I have never watched a film that felt like it was built by an algorithm without one free thinking human involved like Jurassic World Dominion.
Mine is an intimate survival film that has a plot and concept with a lot of potential. Other films in the genre like All is Lost and Arctic successfully captured the subtle character development and constant suspense that make survival films enjoyable. Instead of using creative direction and storytelling to learn about the main character, Mine chose to utilize dreams/delusions where the character literally punches his inner demons and vulnerabilities in the face. Armie Hammer is a capable actor who has several performances that I enjoy and I think with a few script changes he could have been more of an empathetic character instead of a tired cliche. In a parallel not too far off universe, Mine is a great film.
Sweeney’s performance in the final scene is shockingly intense.
This is a film that focuses on the foreground but presented in a way that forces your attention to the background. The visceral details and images of Auschwitz are already imprinted in everyone's mind and compelling the viewer to call upon those on their own instead of recreating them is powerful.
Fall is the survival sub genre at its best. This feels like it should be a found footage film but I believe its sprinkled use of the technique was much more effective and practical. This film has a predictable plot and mediocre performances but overshadowing those are its adequate special effects, satisfying set ups and payoffs, a decent plot misdirection, and its genuinely terrifying premise.
The fax machine and random guy at the house are so random. Random things are funny. Hahahah.
The structure and execution of this film overshadow its corny script and lame comedy gags. It has several satisfying set ups and payoffs with very little fat making it a solid real time action story.
Even with measured expectations it’s surprising how cynical this film is. A studio threw $100 million at a movie only based on the idea that Halle Berry looks hot in leather and a mask. As bad as they are, the acting, screenplay, and CG all are better than the PS2 era loading screen esque score. A truly and objectively terrible film.
Lance Stephenson in 2020 being the big signing for a valuable sports agency worth millions in of dollars is one of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen in a film.
Expectations have a huge influence on my perception of a film and there is no better example than J. Edgar. I had only heard criticisms of Clint Eastwood’s biopic of the infamous FBI director which led to my surprise on how much I enjoyed it. Yes the color gradient is too grey and the old man make up is jarring, but J. Edgar is a competent period piece that chronicles the modernization of America through the life of a highly flawed man. This film dips into the fascinating post WWII American history which blends well with the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, and Judi Dench.
I scoffed hard at the over the top actions scenes, face swaps, bad acting, dove explosions, and poorly choreographed flip kicks, but by the end of the motorcycle chase scene I was cheering at the anime style stunts. M:I-2 cranks it up to 11 and its hard not to appreciate it for at least that. I changed my rating from 2.5 to 3 stars due to the inclusion of the Limp Bizkit song during the end credits.
Much of the action is undeniably thrilling, but the GTA homage and unhinged Gyllenhaal performance is not enough to overlook the embarrassing dialogue, characterization, and childhood flashbacks. I am not above big dumb action movies but Speed this is not.
Born on the Fourth of July is extremely dramatic but I believe that is with intention. Oliver Stone always goes hard in the paint which can create as many flaws as strengths but it has to be respected.
This is the first Tom Cruise performance where it felt like I was watching a real character, not him being a movie star in a specific setting.
There are a few moving shots with massive set pieces and extras that requires the coordination and skill of true professionals.
Chris Penn’s character rivals the burnout greats. Living the double life of high school janitor and schwag weed dealer who watches BDSM porn in his living room at full volume while hosting teenage customers. That is plenty enough to make him memorable but one of the plot twists reveals his illegally owned pet baboon named Mr. Poopy complete with a satisfying set up and pay off explaining his name.
My favorite performance aside, this is a mediocre thriller (that appears queer coded through a 2024 lens) with inadequate special effects that somehow manages to be entertaining.
This feels like a “and thats why you always leave a note” George Senior scared straight bit from Arrested Development.
This didn’t reveal anything insightful that wasn’t already well known, but I can (and have) watch Barry Sanders highlights all day. Jeff Daniels serving as a poetic thesaurus for the word despair to contextualize Lions fandom and some incredible footage including a top down view of Barry breaking tackles in the 91 NFC Championship and reflections of the defense he was dissecting in his face visor make this necessary viewing for football fans.
This is a smidge too preachy and very much looks like a made for television movie, but it has a loaded cast with convincing performances telling a fascinating (and terrifying) story that was a brightly colored domino in a series of historical events that led to the existential crisis our society faces today.
An explanation for the cat food spoon lick would go a long way.
Godzilla makes for a compelling and worthy Angel.
This is the left wing equivalent of a Daily Wire produced film. I don’t disagree with its interpretation of historical events, but there are much more subtle and much less preachy ways of portraying them.
This film has a lot of problems, but its vision of being a jovial retelling of the origins of professional American Football managed to infrequently shine through the thick layers of continuity errors, jarring tone shifts, and uneven pacing. Learning Rick Reilly was a script writer post viewing connected a lot of dots as you could feel his perplexing dad humor scattered throughout and recognize his unfounded confidence in being a funny sports writer. Officially I rate this film 1 Kate Upton boob (IYKYK).
2.5 stars on concept alone. Underwater The Descent. Unfortunately that’s all it had.
We all now know the answer to the question, “what if there was a mediocre version of It Follows?”
Nothing diminishes my enjoyment of a film more than being able to feel the algorithm's influence behind it. This documentary feels rushed to avoid missing the tail end of the discourse surrounding a pop culture topic, not to properly analyze and asses a tragic situation with the nuance it deserves. The glaring cynicism of Netflix's algorithm becomes more visible with every original release.
12 one hitters. 12 one hitters.