Watched on Sunday January 5, 2025.
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Inside me are two wolves: One is secretly-anguished Chill Guy Kieran Culkin getting zonked on the rooftops of beautiful cities, and one is neurotic Shy Guy Jesse Eisenberg writing/directing himself into situations which emphasise his neurotic shyness.
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This doesn’t quite blow my mind as much as it used to, especially now that every second movie is a lampshade hanging meta commentary - but god, Matthew Lillard is so good in that final act that he completely grounds the reality of the film, all the surreal campy comedy is left in the past and all the sobering horror is happening here now in the kitchen.
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Stop-motion animation really is the last untarnished magic of cinema - there’s no way to fake it or speed up the process without it defeating the entire point. Because of this I’m grateful to live in a world that gets, on average, about 45 minutes of new Wallace & Gromit content per decade. If these were easier to make, we’d be getting 4-8 Wallace & Gromit movies a year forever.
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I grew up quietly dreaming of maybe moving to a new place one day with no plan and immediately get offered a room above a quirky bakery or something.
When I was 21 I moved to Auckland and lived above a dairy. But I wasn’t as strong as Kiki and moved back home after a while - maybe this was my version of losing my witch powers.
I will remember how to fly again soon.
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Yeah 👍 is right!
It's entertaining enough, but anything that wasn't "Ryan Gosling trying to win back Emily Blunt between stunts on a movie set" was a waste of time and a good premise.
Initially I wanted to say the dialogue felt pretty 2018, but really I just missed it in theatres and early 2024 feels like it was an entire lifetime ago.
Outstays its welcome about 4 climaxes before the actual credits roll (and don't worry there's also a post credits scene).
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Surely trying to convince a prosecuting lawyer that the defendant is innocent is like complaining to the check-out operator about how expensive everything is?
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All the ‘sodgey goof of a 2000s boner comedy with the all the bittersweet schmaltz of a John Hughes wannabe.
Some good ideas hidden in the muck here and it’s fun to see a couple soon-to-be-famous faces in a project that feels so beneath them.
I wanted to put on something nostalgic and dumb to distract from late night doom spiralling, and ten minutes there’s a fairly realistic car accident depicted in a dream sequence.
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I really dig the more brutish character design but nothing will ever be as scary as what the original had 100 years ago: a guy who actually just looked like that.
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Pre-enlightened Grinch was right, the true meaning of Christmas is the presents. Let’s stop denying ourselves the truth - getting presents is the best part.
If I woke up on Christmas Day and someone had stolen everything, I would be inconsolable. He’d have absolutely won. I can’t imagine having the motivation to get in a circle and sing at 7am.
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It’s a little bit Looney Tunes, it’s a little bit Monty Python, and yet it’s completely brand new - brimming with inventive and unique filmmaking that manages to hold your attention for nearly two hours despite having the aesthetic of a mid-2010s Cyriak YouTube video and a plot which is basically a resource management sim.
It suffers slightly from the mostly-dialogue-free imagery not being quite as coherent as the Road Runner/Coyote cartoons of old, but it slaps stick just as hard.
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I genuinely got swept up by the stock standard Romantic Comedy set-up, but the stock standard Romantic Comedy conflict just kind of bummed me out. Don’t get me started on the stock standard Romantic Comedy third act.
There are flashes of a unique approach, but ultimately it’s unfocused, and struggles to really say anything about anything.
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Born friendly yesterday?
I loved the complex perspective on human connection and what we owe one another - but maybe a little too melancholy for my mood right now. I think the art style is pretty dull too.
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When people praise The Wild Robot, I feel like Flow is the movie they’re pretending it is.
I could say the same for that Stray video game from a few years ago, where the promising concept of playing as a cat was drowned out by cyberpunk window dressing.
Flow proves you can tell a complex, heartbreaking and spiritual story where the animals are simply behaving as animals do, without the immersion breaking celebrity voices or a grandiose sci-fi premise to beef it up. I feel like I have been wanting to see this movie for years.
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I felt very seen at the start when all the feedback the girl got for her play was that no one really liked it but they were proud of her for doing it. That’s show biz baby!!
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A theatrical Disney sequel is still a relatively rare thing to see, and between this and Frozen II I don’t think they’ve cracked the code.
There’s a lot of yearning in the culture for the Disney villains of old, and here the villain is maybe the most absent they’ve ever been. If you’re wondering what’s missing, it’s this.
The songs all feel like half-baked sequels to the first film’s soundtrack and you can really feel where the made-for-tv original draft is stitched with the “we should probably spring for Dwayne” full scale production.
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Me [having famously never seen Die Hard 2]: Ah it’s like Die Hard but in an Airport.
If all you’re looking for this Christmas is two or three solid action sequences then this should satisfy you.
Bateman and Egerton are two actors I would never think about sharing a screen together, but they both do a great job.
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We need more movies where the universe seemingly just despises the main character. It’s relatable.
Every moment of this film is drenched in this intoxicating misery - and with every new beat the story seems to take one more bite of itself.
A melancholy and understated upside down The Substance which asks “is life unfair? Or are you the problem?”
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This would have been better if the bad guy’s face melted off Indiana Jones style.
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Wow. Unsubscribed. I was a fan of them saving the day, I had no idea they aided Mojo Jojo in leading a super-intelligent primate uprising against the city of Townsville.
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This is Lord of the Rings so saying it’s “probably too long” feels more like acknowledging a stylistic choice than an actual criticism, but it does pick up a lot in second half once more weird freaks and goblin-mode sickos finally start showing up.
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Mikey Madison is a tour de force but she's joined by a god tier supporting cast of incredibly distinct and interesting characters, and they're all having the worst day of their lives.
Like life itself, it's all sexy fun and reckless games until you have to start paying the consequences.
This is the most extreme movie I've seen in ages. Everyone is so angry or fired up or violent. Every scene, whether it's an argument, a strip tease, a sex scene or a brawl, is directed with the same intensity. It's cathartic.
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Half a star for the Pentatonix publicist whose entire character was she was fucking sick to death of their stupid acapella bullshit.
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Netflixmas is such a magical time of year. A time for has-been celebrity career lowlights. A time for watching a one-star romcom in multiple sittings because they’re too bad to sit through in one go. A time for taking notes as I watch (something I don’t do for any other movie) because otherwise I’m not gonna remember what to talk about on my little podcast.
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Wikipedia tells me Lohan is the reason this wasn’t titled Merry Ex-Mas and if I was the screenwriter that would have made me leave the project over creative differences.
I would have also accepted Secret Santa.
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This is a thousand times better than the second one
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Wild how this has virtually no cultural footprint despite being an early example of a legacy sequel to one of the greatest movies ever, and bringing back way more elements from the original than I’d have ever imagined.
Similar to Doctor Sleep (another legacy sequel to a novel-turned-Kubrick adaptation), it’s at its worst when its frank dialogue tramples over the careful mystique of the original, but at its best when it taps into the same cosmic dread.
The vision of the future is so reserved, aside from the casual dolphin pool in the kitchen??
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Arriving late to the Wicked train and registering as a hater.
Structurally adrift for most of the enormous runtime - it is actually astonishing that this is only part one, and that part two will presumably be JUST AS LONG? This is edited like the Snyder cut.
They should have completely removed the useless hot guy that shows up halfway through and does nothing but distract from the much more interesting relationship at the center.
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Not without its charms - some surprisingly adequate star power and maybe a touch of self awareness has finally made its way to the Netflixmas bag of tricks, though not as much as you’d think with a title like Hot Frosty. Didn’t hate this as much as I usually hate these things, but didn’t like it enough to give it a heart. I’d give it a 👍.
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For years all I’d seen of this movie was the poster so I was expecting this camp comedy about a food fight or something? It’s certainly a lot less bombastic than later Seligman/Sennott collab Bottoms which I really enjoyed - but the quieter character dramedy here is equally as compelling. The thing that struck me the most was how authentic and charismatic all the supporting performances were.
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Crazy how this ended up being less existentially bleak than the actual 2001.
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When were jump scares invented? The vibes are 100% here, but the art of building tension has been comparatively mastered in the 100+ years since this came out. While I can totally see how some of these scenes could be absolutely terrifying if made today, the titular horrific symphony sure seems pretty jolly at times and doesn’t do a lot to emphasise or pronounce any of the would-be frightful vampyric imagery.
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Plenty greedy. Plenty spitty!
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Sometimes even the camera refuses to look her in the eyes. Like it’s shot from the perspective of someone who wants to leave the room.
Could potentially bump this up a star on a rewatch, or after reading half a dozen well-articulated Letterboxd reviews.
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If the Gladiator movies were video games, I think this would be regarded as the better game. It’s more of a graphical and gameplay upgrade than a story which breaks new ground.
]]>Watched on Thursday November 14, 2024.
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Tis the season! (Hugh Grant’s in the news)
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I watched this across 3 separate sittings like a Scorsese movie
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I admire It’s What’s Inside for taking this same concept the logical next step further, though I think this benefits from a leaner script. The character conflict here is conveyed organically and doesn’t bog down the pacing with exposition.
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Watched on Saturday November 9, 2024.
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Rose Byrne’s seldom heard secret aussie accent will forever fascinate me in this, but it sounds like she’s forgotten how to do it when she fleetingly refers to a “cooler” instead of the famously problematic Australian term. And this is a broad Seth Rogen comedy that came out in 2014 so it’s not like they were trying to be sensitive.
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I fear this may be the only way to teach Gen Z critical thinking
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Nothing is more terrifying than not being able to leave the venue when you had planned to.
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Definitely the New Testament to Bruce Almighty’s Old Testament (much less horny)
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This is, for better or worse, the era of comedy I am most nostalgic for.
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Don’t judge your Eggers before he’s hatched
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This series does so many things so well, but its greatest trick is how believable the insane character motivations are - what is obviously sinister and demonic is totally reframed as holy and pure in a way that isn’t contrived at all. Sacrilege is instead viewed as divine progress - which is exactly how every new religion begins.
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A 5-star 3-star movie
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It’s never been more clear that these movies are just Tom Hardy talking to himself. This and Folie à Deux should switch subtitles.
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Gonna recommend this to all my weird friends
]]>- The Substance
- Anora
- Dune: Part Two
- I Saw the TV Glow
- Challengers
- A Real Pain
- Hundreds of Beavers
is this a 2024 film? Will remove if literally anyone challenges me.
- A Different Man
- Cloud
- We Live in Time
...plus 47 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Horrible Bosses 2
Sydney to Christchurch, 2015
- Slow West
Auckland to San Francisco, 2022
- Osmosis Jones
Auckland to San Francisco, 2022
- C'mon C'mon
San Francisco to London, 2022
- Gunpowder Milkshake
London to San Francisco, 2022
- The Lost City
London to San Francisco, 2022
- Mary and Max
San Francisco to Auckland, 2022
- Loop Track
Auckland to Vancouver, 2024
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
Auckland to Vancouver, 2024
- Lisa Frankenstein
Vancouver to Toronto, 2024
...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Maisie's Taste
- The Somerfield Sausage Sizzle Gang in: The Mystery of the Shattered Sigil: The Final Mystery: A Somerfield Sausage Sizzle Gang Mystery
- Babysitter's Club
- The Morrigan Challenge
- You're the Killer
- Hope to Die
- Melissa Gillespie Audition for Unnamed Strong Female Lead
- Of Mice and Mice
- Citron
- Mother Goose
...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Eat the Witch
- Pain Killer
- Maisie's Taste
- Big Baby
- You're the Killer
- Hope to Die
- Babysitter's Club
- Of Mice and Mice
- Melissa Gillespie Audition for Unnamed Strong Female Lead
- Greed of the Spit
...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Mayday
N/A - Did not appear in this one, so that means it's the best one?
- Greed of the Spit
N/A - Not in this either
- Too Cool for Christmas
Chester: Cynical-Yet-Charming Romantic Rogue
- Stoner Boner
Blake: Sweet/Stoned Slacker Discovering his Sexuality
- Six Winters Since She Died
Detective Ulysses Gethsemane Scrivener/Special Agent Radley King: Wacky Detective/Secretly American CIA Agent
- Melissa Gillespie Audition for Unnamed Strong Female Lead
Emergency Operator: Nervous, relatable.
- Romantic Getaway
Dumbass: Dopey Criminal with a Heart of Gold
- Gran's Like a Bird
Son Maid Raisins Man (Reprise): A Logo on a Raisin Box, But Seems Wholesome. More likeable than first appearance as less overbearing.
- Of Mice and Mice
Son Maid Raisins Man: A Logo on a Raisin Box, But Seems Wholesome.
- Babysitter's Club
Mr. Ross - Sympathetic but also just pathetic. Probably dies.
...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Movies featuring characters or dialogue which sound like they’re directly quoting my podcast
]]>Films which resurrect dead actors, often for a quick buck and a fleeting spike of nostalgia.
Ranked in order of most egregious to least egregious.
- Rabbit-Proof Fence
- The Last Unicorn
- The Plague Dogs
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Battleship Potemkin
- The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
- Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest
- Time Masters
- The Silent One
- I Married a Strange Person!
...plus 125 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Alien
- Kramer vs. Kramer
- Mad Max
- Life of Brian
- Moonraker
- Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
- Rocky II
- The Muppet Movie
- Going in Style
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Signs
- The Sixth Sense
- The Village
- Split
- Trap
- Unbreakable
- The Visit
- Knock at the Cabin
- Lady in the Water
- Old
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Hollywood movies where New Zealand actors/characters pop up unexpectedly, people visit NZ or even just the country is mentioned by name.
- Don't Tell Her It's Me
Steve Guttenberg pretends to be a Māori guy named Lobo Marunga
- Point Break
New Zealand is mentioned by name
- GoldenEye
"New Zealand" is briefly mentioned twice in reference to the location of some secret transmitters.
Note: While director Martin Campbell is a kiwi, GOLDENEYE is still a Hollywood blockbuster, and considering James Bond's franchise stature, it is still an endorphin rush to hear it spoken aloud. - Heat
Robert De Niro's character talks about moving to New Zealand.
- Zoolander
Owen Wilson's Hansen mentions having a threesome with Māori tribesmen
- Jurassic Park III
Billy recalls hang gliding off cliffs in New Zealand
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan play Jango and Boba Fett respectively with their kiwi accents
- Around the World in 80 Days
New Zealand is specifically mentioned as a country the characters didn't visit
- Mission: Impossible III
Ethan and Julia are said to have been married in New Zealand, Lake Wanaka is mentioned (through pronunciation is butchered)
- Eight Below
Has a scene set in Christchurch
...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Sequels to five-star films that still improve upon the original
]]>- How to Have Sex
- All of Us Strangers
- Past Lives
- Saltburn
- Bottoms
- John Wick: Chapter 4
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- The Zone of Interest
- Femme
- Barbie
...plus 44 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>I don't know how better to explain the subgenre I'm going for here?
Understated, often quieter movies that are less about the global chaos and disaster of an alien invasion and instead focus on individual characters.
Alien movies which prioritise the spooky mystery instead of any satisfying answers, necessarily.
I've noted some here which I haven't actually seen yet, but feel like they get it. I will remove them once I watch them if I decide they don't fit.
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- Communion
- Fire in the Sky
- Contact
Haven't seen yet.
- Signs
- Dreamcatcher
Haven't seen yet.
- Love & Saucers
- Nope
- No One Will Save You
- Inside Out
- The Incredibles
- WALL·E
- Finding Nemo
- Toy Story 2
- Toy Story 4
- Toy Story
- Toy Story 3
- Monsters, Inc.
- Inside Out 2
...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Furious 7
- Fast Five
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
- Fast & Furious 6
- F9
- The Fate of the Furious
- The Fast and the Furious
- Fast X
- 2 Fast 2 Furious
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Bullet Train
- Monkey Man
- No One Will Save You
- Bottoms
- Late Night with the Devil
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- Cocaine Bear
- Wendell & Wild
- The Menu
- Barbarian
...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Is there a better name for this genre?
]]>- Porco Rosso
- Spirited Away
- Kiki's Delivery Service
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Princess Mononoke
- The Boy and the Heron
- Castle in the Sky
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
- The Wind Rises
- Howl's Moving Castle
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- Star Trek
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
- Star Trek: First Contact
- Star Trek Into Darkness
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
- Star Trek Beyond
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
- Star Trek: Generations
...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- The Dark Knight
- Dunkirk
- Inception
- Batman Begins
- The Prestige
- Memento
- Oppenheimer
- The Dark Knight Rises
- Interstellar
- Following
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Barbie
- Barbie as The Princess & the Pauper
- Barbie and the Diamond Castle
- Barbie in Princess Power
- Barbie & Her Sisters in the Great Puppy Adventure
- Barbie & Her Sisters in a Puppy Chase
- Barbie: Princess Adventure
- Barbie in the Pink Shoes
- Barbie Presents: Thumbelina
- Barbie: Star Light Adventure
...plus 33 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>- Spider-Man 2
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- Spider-Man
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage
- Venom
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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