Watched on Tuesday January 21, 2025.
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Captain... This is some spooky shit we got here
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Wow.
Tragic Masterpiece.
I thought the POV filmmaking would be pretty jarring but it wasn’t at all, it was really well done and felt so much more immersive than I initially thought it would. Sometimes you’d forget for a second that you were watching someone’s POV but then they (the camera) would turn or tilt their head to look at something else and it would click again instantly.
There were only 6 people at the screening at the only theatre in Toronto playing it and I’m baffled that every single person walked out within the first 40 mins. One group was with a little kid though so maybe it was too much for them to be fair.
RaMell Ross is an incredible director and will be sought after from here on out for sure.
They’re definitely gonna snub this one from an Oscar nom aren’t they.
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Silly. Predictable. Wasted Opportunity.
2.5-3/5
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Ferris Bueller could never.
I can't believe François Truffaut wrote and directed this at just 27 years old. It plays like it was made by someone who has lived a full lifetime (even though it is semi-autobiographical).
Even The Dukes of Hazard (2005) was inspired by it (at least I'm saying it was) with the "Left hand or right?"
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God dammit.
This is the second time I've done this.
I wanted to watch "The Damned" (2024), so I put on "The Damned" (2024), I went in blind but knew it was horror movie.
The opening shot is pretty horror-coded and I thought cool a Civil War horror movie. Than for the rest of the film nothing horror-like was happening and I thought maybe they're fighting a ghost army or something and there will be some revelation at the end.
With 20 mins left, I looked the movie up, turns out I was watching "The Damned" (2024) not "The Damned" (2024), there are two "The Damned" (2024)s and I watched the wrong "The Damned" (2024).
Boring movie. I like the overall idea behind it, the longer you're in war the more you'll start to question what you're doing and the journey to that revelation, but it just wasn't done very well.
Now I have to double-feature "The Damned" (2024) with "The Damned" (2024). Hopefully "The Damned" (2024) is better than "The Damned" (2024).
EDIT: I’ve been informed there is a THIRD "The Damned" (2024). It’s a trifecta.
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A lot of 'I like your other stuff, so I'm gonna pretend/convince myself this is amazing' going on here
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Religious Swedish Kurosawa
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Fun heist. Down for the franchise.
One of those movies where Gerard goes “fuck the police” and cuts to a closeup of O’Shea
Also the director is collecting MMA fighters like the infinity stones, Holloway and Bisping in the first and than Gané and a guy that look like Anthony Smith in this one
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Lot's of conveniences. Don't care.
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Longest trailer for a PS2 game.
I don't know why, but I love seeing reflections and the light bounce off things in animation and there's a lot of that here done really well
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A graceful study of love stitched with control, obsession, and the hidden seams of dependency. (that one's pretty good, c'mon)
Messages in the threads? Wanted (2008) did it first.
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I’d do anything to be in the room while Arnold is ADRing his arrrghhhhs
You know when a movie’s been on your watchlist for over a decade and you finally watch it and it’s nothing how you pictured in your head, for better or for worse. That’s me.
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Doing a reverse jump scare by going silent instead of loud noise is genius, honestly more effective than the traditional, the bus scene felt very reminiscent of Perfect Blue.
It started to lose me for a bit in the second half but than reeled me right back in when it almost turns into an Iannucci or Kaurismäki-esque satire which took me by complete surprise.
Also sidenote, no way a kid threw half of a fucking engine into the second floor window from outside and if like me you don't know what "Ratel" means, it means honey badger.
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This movie and Didi were two films this year, I wasn't expecting, that deeply affected me personally. Both of them have shown me relatability that I never felt before to an almost eerie extent.
Jesse Eisenberg shocked me, I think the writing is incredible and also very specific. These two characters and their relationship are so close to reality for me but I can also see some people seeing them as almost caricatures which is why I find it very specific. To me, that's what makes an interesting character.
Having gone on a similar tour down to staying in the exact same hotels, really elevated this movie for me. We all know the stories of the holocaust, but there is no way to describe the somber feeling you get when actually standing on a camp's grounds.
I hope we see more of Kieran Culkin he was fantastic. He's yet to show his range so it should be interesting.
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Gabrielle LaBelle's accent choice kept slipping in a Canadian hockey player accent
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This review may contain spoilers.
DARK of the south.
They really went hard to spell it out for us
Lauren Ambrose continues off of Servant with her insane facial expressions. Incredible stuff.
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70mm at TIFF Lightbox
For Toronto's 'premiere' theatre (only in name and content) it's truly a shame they don't have larger screens especially for events like this one.
(Note: Brutalist architecture has and will always suck, sounds cool though)
From the opening shot of this film you know it'll be something special. The scale Brady Corbet is able to bring into a rather intimate story is something to aspire to. From the score to the cinematography it gives off a feeling that can only be purely described as 'cinema'.
Adrien Brody is so lost in his character he really is one of the best of our generation and has these formative roles at least once a decade that remind us of that [The Thin Red Line (so good it was hidden), The Pianist, The Grand Budapest Hotel/Peaky Blinders, and now The Brutalist]. On the other hand Guy Pearce also gives an incredible performance as a larger than life awful Philadelphian bureaucrat, with great comedic timing, alongside his movie son Joe Alwyn who has the unfortunate trait of looking like the most smug fuck ever you only want to hate, and it helps his characters immensely.
The film is largely a character study on a post-holocaust life of a singular victim and how they cope with it. This becomes more clear as the film goes on. There are many subtleties in the writing and acting that elevate this including some I can see as being misunderstood, particularly in the third act (proven to me by what I overheard someone say leaving the theatre). It's upsetting that some will find ways to be offended or willfully misunderstand or ignore parts of discourse explored throughout the film to align with their own feelings.
My one issue is Corbet's decision on how to end the film. They way he did it I think works fine, however there is a revelation revealed that I think could've been more powerful if it were to be shown before 'Part 3' and/or through the perspective of Brody's character rather than a related figure.
I didn't really feel the films length at all, which was surprising. That was until the intermission where for me hurt the experience more than helped as it felt like it put a halt on the momentum, that's just me though.
Just good stuff all around
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Watched on Wednesday July 3, 2024.
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It really had me going until it loses all its steam in the final minutes of the film.
After The Northman and this, Eggers has cemented his style in filmmaking that is undistinguishable from his use of shadows, his slow zooms into darkness, and down to his favourite use of a low reverberating voice that rolls their Rs. He even added Ralph Ineson for good measure.
Lily-Rose Depp is the easy standout here. Incredible work and took over the award for best possession acting of the year from Nell Tiger Free in The First Omen. Unfortunately, as great of a year Nicholas Holt seems to be having on paper, he was kind of just there in this, nothing to write home about, same as Aaron Taylor-Johnson. However Holt was able portray fear incredibly. Emma Corbin who has also been having an incredible year and creating whiplash with her range of character work also was not given much to do in this.
In the end I was pretty disappointed in the overall narrative of the film and expected more, especially in the direction it ends up going. The character design, as hyped as it was, was also a poor showing. Skarsgard is unrecognizable and puts on a great performance sure, but the design seemed pretty simple and didn’t much scream ‘Nosferatu’.
Eggers is an elite filmmaker who seems to be held back by lack of exciting narratives to work with. It felt like not enough was explored, yet it didn’t keep the ‘monster’ mysterious. It rushed to a conclusion that left me unsatisfied.
Still definitely worth to see and it is no slam on Eggers’ ability, but I expected more.
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Skarsgård definitely prepared for this role by studying the Techno Viking
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What a great biopic, Timothee is incredible, way above expectations and Boyd Holbrook steals as Johnny Cash. Now let the music biopic die. At least for a few years…
What a world it must’ve been where the biggest scandal in the music industry was a guy switching to electric.
By not diving deep into Dylan's background, mind, and process, Mangold is able to keep the 'mythicality' of Dylan and that's something I really appreciate, keeping him 'A Complete Unknown'. But I can also see driving people mad and ruining this experience. It will come down to what you look for in a movie like this.
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This will make you feel either enlightened or just plainly tricked, no in between
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The punch through the glass facade from the open kitchen is peak comedy
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Big Paul Blart vibes
As uncanny as that highway sequence was, it was awesome. The gun appeared out of nowhere in her hand like an AI video.
Just can’t get passed the awful Netflix mandated colouring
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70mm Film IMAX
I don’t think I’ll be able to watch a movie ever again, let alone this one in another format. Incredible. Thank you to the guy who returned his ticket, in a good seat, to this showing last second. Glad I didn’t miss this opportunity.
This movie only gets better with time, ironic. Bumped from 4.5 to 5, I think it’s the best shot film ever made. It’s a complete tragedy that this only won one Oscar and not even a nominee for cinematography or best picture. It’s mind boggling. Looking back at the 2015 Oscars it’s clear that year was the biggest sham in history. Not to mention Jake Gyllenhaal not even getting nominated for Nightcrawler and American Sniper getting 6 noms.
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TIL Stephen Rea was married to a terrorist
This miniseries portrays a true story about a group of IRA members during the Northern Irish Troubles.
This production team pulled off something very difficult to do and did it perfectly. Weirdly similar themes to The Penguin
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For someone thinks the first one is very overrated this really surprised. This was miles better than the original. The pacing was spot on, where I feel the first lacked, Paul Mescal is fantastic, and Denzel’s character worked a lot better than I thought it would. Denzel and all his isms was fun to watch in Ancient Rome he almost reprised his character from Training Day. Maybe I could ask for a better ending but it wasn’t anything to write off. I also thought they did Lucius’ reunion with his mother a lot better than it could’ve been. Glad they didn’t go for the cliche. I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve seen good violence and blood in a film.
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A very solid courtroom thriller. This is what movies used to be and I hate that it was dumped. Can’t believe it’s only playing in a single theatre in Toronto.
Solid performances throughout and Nonagenarian Clint put out a great commentary on the justice system without it being preachy and feeling overdone. There are some plot contrivances which lead to really no full understanding of any one’s character fully fleshed out to have a complete understanding of their motives. No crazy twists or turns as one might expect but really just a solid portrayal of a possible reality and the shortcomings the legal system has on our reality. It makes you sympathize with the outcome but also question what is right or wrong. Nobody is a winner in whatever outcome was possible. The final shot keeps an ambiguity that compels me to want to know what Clint’s ‘day after’ answer is.
Leslie Bibb is inherently funny even when not doing much. Hoult’s having a year and this is the first time I really started to see Kiefer’s age.
We need more legal thrillers. When at their best they’re pure cinema.
Also REAL BABY ALERT, Clint learned from American Sniper.
I hope he’s thinking,
“I Got One More In Me” - Vince Carter
- Clint Eastwood
The Conversation toilet walked so The Shining elevator could run
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Kelly-Anne is the average Montrealer tbh.
Only 3 good things have come out of French-Canada: Denis Villeneuve, my dad, and Juliette Gariépy's stare.
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Watched on Tuesday November 12, 2024.
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They made the movie they wanted and did it well, but it’s just not very interesting. It’s a decent slice of life movie with the backdrop of the Blitzkrieg, but the significance of this event was never really felt.
The movie should’ve been focused more on the boy’s journey rather than it being another plot line. It was always more interesting when we were watching the kid as not only his story was more interesting but also there were some cool sequences with him and their could've been even more if given more screen time.
Saoirse was good but they didn’t give her much to do, and you’d think the movie would be more about her and Harris Dickinson, but nope, Harris Dickinson’s character wins the award for most pointless character of the year. Literally did nothing and added nothing.
One thing that bothered me was that a lot of the emotional beats were predictable and felt the choice was made just cause. That always feels weird to me in a historical film specifically ones about war.
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I lived in Utah for 6 Months.
Yes.
Hugh Grant is great I think he’s gonna be doing some really good stuff in his older years.
Borderline 4 star but can’t get behind some character choices which are usually the crux in horror movies.
Topher Grace looks crazy and the actress of the ‘final girl’ wasn’t that great and I think could’ve been cast better, but to be fair the direction, by all means isn’t bad, but rather had some awkward choices of where to have some lines being said and possibly how they were read.
The directors probably wrote this after watching the original Speak No Evil and hearing the antagonists answer to why they did what they did
In real life Sophie Thatcher is an ex-mormon, wonder what that was like for her playing this character and 23 year-old Chloe East married a 32 year old mormon 3 years ago. Interesting dynamic
Overall, one of the better horror movies of the year and it kept me intrigued the whole way through although they rely heavily on exposition at parts where I think could’ve been explored more cleverly.
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What I gathered: Never accept an offer to be put on a billboard in Japan
And someone check on the writer of Grease's kid who's obsessed and prints out thousands of photos of that one anime character
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Watched on Friday November 1, 2024.
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Toosh
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Roman Catholic set pieces are unmatched.
I thought there was gonna be more clever of a mystery going on, but that's not really the case.
I wonder what the actual Holy See will think of that ending. Caught my theatre so off guard
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I'm not really sure why people didn't like this, especially if they liked the first. I thought this was great and totally on par with the first one. For a movie that didn't need a sequel, they surpassed my expectations completely. I thought it would be a similar rehash with new characters, but making it a prequel and introducing the idea that the prison society can and will change over time I think was really well done.
I personally thought the idea of 'the law' seeming moral and hopeful at first to than showing the dark side of it was a really thought provoking analogy to socialism/communism making you ask the age old Platonic question of "what is morality?"
My armchair psychologist take is that I really think the people who didn't like this didn't due to the first one introducing a really cool and original concept, in the prison itself, which that alone I think adds some rose coloured glasses to any film that has a cool/original idea. So watching this one, because there was no immediate new or cool setting/concept I think didn't give them the same 'dopamine' feeling they got from the first one. Or they just didn't get it or care.
There's a few things up for interpretation but I think there is more than enough there to lead you to an answer, like the question of the children. The one question that I'm not sure about is how eating the painting kept her awake from the gas, maybe lead paint but not sure how that would make someone immune from sevoflurane gas.
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One of the best written movies of the year. Incredible example of how to write a character and their reaction to a situation that is impossible in the real world, but completely believable down to the nuances. I was worried it was just going to be a 'lesson on being happy in the skin you're in' type movie, but it's so much more than that. One of those that will keep you thinking, after the fact, without ever really coming up with a morally right answer.
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Everyone's Crazy and Gaslighting: The Movie
The rare low-budget 4 star straight to streaming movie
Jake Gyllenhaal must have a great skin care routine
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Todd Phillips really just wants to have Joker on Broadway. This was a proof of concept and that’s about it. Took an interesting idea, made it boring, and added trivial filmmaking decisions, in adding musical elements, instead of focusing on a good story or expanding the character, that of which he in turn diminished.
A very well-made bad film
But too well-made to give it anything lower than a 3/5
Who knew that the voice of Stitch would one day become the most valuable asset Dreamworks Animation has. Chris Sanders is pretty much batting 1.000 with them so far. With The Wild Robot he’s proven that he is the best person out there right now to kickstart animated series, it’s unfortunate he doesn’t follow up on the sequels ever and relinquishes his position. Hopefully that changes with this one.
The Wild Robot tells a fairly simple story that is nothing exceptionally new and is in something we’ve all seen before, but even still it’s able to hit you when it matters.
The most refreshing thing about this animation is that it actually has texture! None of that boring smoothness we see too often in Pixar and other Dreamworks projects, but rather something that looks like it used paint strokes.
I will say the first half is much better than the latter, but it still concludes satisfyingly. The voice work all around was great, I didn’t know who was in this beforehand yet and didn’t recognize any of the voices just from watching which I think is a huge asset in animated films as to not take away from the immersion. So I was surprised to see the cast in the credits as none of it clicked while watching. Specifically Pedro Pascal who has a pretty distinct voice, he was lost in the voice acting. But I’m sure now knowing, I would probably recognize them so in retrospect I’m glad I didn’t know.
I’ve never really been a fan when the original song is played during the classic montages these types of movies have. To me the music always slightly makes it seem like an in memoriam type of scene, if that makes sense. Same thing happens here, but the rest of the score is great.
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I have no idea.
But I was never bored.
Don't let my 2.5/5 rating fool you, my true rating for this movie is perpetually moving up and down from 1 to 5 and back again and repeating forever.
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Schrödinger's Rating.
Really curious what this would've looked like 10, 20, 30 years ago during the other times it was supposed to be made.
The special screening started with a live interview of Coppola, De Niro, and Spike at NYFF and it was completely unhinged. Seeing that interview and watching the film right after you could easily tell this was a movie made by the same incoherent Francis Ford Coppola we saw in that interview.
This screening also had the 4th wall break and wow was that disappointing, such an unnecessary thing to do, you won't be missing out on much. Total haughty behaviour.
I think the idea of having an ancient Roman society in the modern day is such a cool concept, but not enough was explored here to justify FFC's use of it. It was cool seeing characters clearly being counterparts to people of the Roman Imperial family though, however Coppola would not commit fully to the history and made them betray how these emperors of the past are perceived. For example, Shia's character is clearly a Claudius-like figure, even indirectly references the Lyon Tablet which is a relatively obscure one, that was interesting. But than the character kinda departs from the real-life figure's personality and nature which kinda made it useless in the end.
Also I doubt there's a connection, but the homes in the actual Megalopolis were exactly how I pictured the homes of the future in "The Dark Forest" by Cixin Liu
I also thought Grace Vanderwaal was a de-aged Kate Hudson
Weird movie, more of an experience.
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I’d like to think I’d put those pills to good use, but I’d end up just being the ultimate procrastinator
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Now that’s what a GOOD Shyamalan movie looks like.
To me what makes a psychological thriller above the average is when it is able to keep me second guessing myself throughout the entire runtime. This movie gave that to me up until the very last second.
Now the hard part there is the choice of how to deal with ambiguity. I think this film plays with it well enough, but it did leave some burning questions I wish were answered. For the most part, the ambiguity is portrayed very well, not being frustrating, but there was still an inkling of frustration left at the end because it felt like it primed me to ask questions rather than just leaving them with me. Not enough to blow off the movie as a whole though.
Overall it had a lot of things going for it that I think they could've capitalized off of or explored more.
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The most, 'I wanna watch someone else watch this' movie in a long time
Alongside the most insane scene ever set in a theatre, this movie will create existential crises among a lot of people. I understand that the message is the opposite of that, but this is too bat shit to have a message mean anything.
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“I’m looking for a samurai”
“Oh I got one in my backyard”
Saw the new 4K version in theatres and it’s stunning.
Kurosawa really was 60 years ahead of his time and his sense of humour is gold. I have so many questions on how he was able to get some of the shots and his process as a whole. One of the greats.
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Besides the SD cards, Serpico, and the escort being a little Deus Ex + not making much sense, this movie rips.
It's always a shame when a movie like this doesn't get a theatrical run, but to be fair the trailer doesn't do this movie justice.
Aaron Pierre fucks. Glad Boyega dropped out.
XX-SPOILER-XX
Oh and to really nit pick, he turned the dashcam on at 1:55:40. The cop was shot at 1:51:42, 4 minutes before and if it only goes back 3 minutes, the cop was already dragged behind the car when the recording would've started at 1:52:40
This is definitely one of the movies of all time, it just never started.
I’m sure there’s some deeper meaning to this crap but I just don’t care. This was a load of nothing.
The only redeeming factor is Kathryn Hunter, I hate everything about her character, absolute psychopath, and forced me to learn that elderly body fluids is the grossest thing ever put on screen. Great actress though, knows how to be extremely annoying.
The husband was one of the worst characters ever written, it felt like the actor was trying to cosplay as a normal person and husband, can’t really describe it but there was something really off about his performance.
The wife goes to sleep with her newborn in her bed! That’s one way to suffocate a baby. It’s not even a plot point, just weird choice.
The final scene feels like it was a table read.
If nothing else, you’ll come out of this asking yourself “what the fuck did I just watch?” But not even in an interesting way.
]]>My 2024 Movie Rankings [ongoing]
(North America 2024 release date)
- Dune: Part Two
- The Brutalist
- Nickel Boys
- Challengers
- Dìdi (弟弟)
- Manjummel Boys
- Anora
- A Different Man
- The Substance
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
...plus 67 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Theatrical Release in 2025
]]>- Ex Machina
- The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- The Brutalist
- Aftersun
- A Different Man
- Uncut Gems
- Lady Bird
- Good Time
- Green Room
- The Zone of Interest
...plus 30 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>My 2022 Movie Rankings (North America 2022 release date)
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- The Fabelmans
- Aftersun
- TÁR
- Top Gun: Maverick
- The Batman
- Decision to Leave
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Triangle of Sadness
...plus 28 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>My 2023 Movie Rankings (North America 2023 release date)
- Oppenheimer
- The Holdovers
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Anatomy of a Fall
- American Fiction
- Godzilla Minus One
- The Zone of Interest
- Perfect Days
- Asteroid City
- The Iron Claw
...plus 31 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Films that where a big part of the feeling you get from watching is due to an existential like scene that feels super eerie and is related to sex in a way.
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