Letterboxd — Your life in film

Across the Spider-Verse is bigger, its stakes are higher, it digs deeper, hits harder, it's more emotional - it's more on every level. There are now half a dozen animation styles, each reflecting a different universe, which sounds like a nightmare, but it's awesome actually. The different styles gel effortlessly and make Across the Spider-Verse a miraculous feast for the eyes.

Is it better than Into the Spider-Verse? Yes. And no. Yes, because as great as the first one is,…

Neither am I a big Spider-Man fan, nor do I have a deep-rooted affection for animated films. And yet I count Into the Spider-Verse among the strongest works to have come out of the superhero genre.

A big part of the why I appreciate this so much is the animation style. It looks like its own thing. It also hits the sweet spot of clearly being an animated film and being set in a world that feels real enough to…

Another simple concept that is hampered by a confused script. A few weeks back Cocaine Bear didn't know where its strengths lied and neither does Renfield. The trailer advertised a silly romp and wisely neglected the nature of Awkwafina's subplot about an honest cop in a thoroughly corrupted police department. It tries to add some half-assed dramatic heft that the film didn't need.

Also there's a lot more action than I expected. It's mostly well executed, except for a couple…

If the thought had previously crossed your mind that these movies are not exactly sticklers for logic and coherence, let me tell you, you are in for a wild ride with Fast X. The movie was heavily rewritten after production had already begun and it fucking shows. This thing is rough. It feels like it was edited on a chopping block, not under a microscope.

La familia is torn apart early on and the film keeps jumping back and forth…

Apparently Ari Aster's films and I are not meant to be a match made in heaven.

After an intriguing first act - by far the movie's most enganging part - Beau is Afraid disintegrates into a self-indulgent pacing nightmare. The second act is a ponderous slog that turned into an increasingly grating endurance test for my patience.

And for what? Joaquin Phoenix shuffles around for three hours, fully committed to the portrayal of a mind-numbingly one-note character who feels guilty…

With expectation out of the way, I was able to enjoy the Guardians' final hurrah a lot more the second time around.

I still think sidelining Rocket in the present is what's holding this film back. If only James Gunn had slightly tweaked the plot (not the story), Vol. 3 could've been a masterpiece. Even so it's top tier MCU and their strongest effort since Endgame.

It's an emotional rollercoaster that never lets up, bolstered by a visual presentation that…

A few months back my expectation for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was rather moderate. My appreciation for Vol. 2 had been on a steady decline since its release six years ago. As preparation for Vol. 3 I rewatched both Guardians movies and to my great surprise I really loved Vol. 2, maybe even more than the first one. Naturally, my anticipation for the final chapter skyrocketed.

And Vol. 3 is a worthy conclusion for these characters. James Gunn…

Black Adam feels like a relic from a time before Hollywood had figured out how to do good superhero movies. It's aggressively mediocre in every imaginable way, with not a single interesting character or memorable set piece in sight. An alleged passion project for its leading man, passion is precisely what the film is lacking.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He had the potential to become the defining action star of our time,…

I love movies about dysfunctional families. Of course Noah Baumbach, never one to shy away from self-important wankery, has to get in the way of me simply enjoying deeply flawed characters antagonizing each other and screaming at each other.

They say write what you know, which would mean that Baumbach lives in a bubble full of annoying douchebags, because that's what most of his characters are. None of them resemble actual human beings I've ever met. If such insufferable assholes…