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The Midnight Sky 2020
This is George Clooney’s strongest work as a director since The Ides of March, and you essentially get two movies for the price of one - an arctic survivalist adventure with a rugged Clooney, and a leisurely space opera with an excellent Felicity Jones and Kyle Chandler. Viewed at Austin’s Lake Creek 7 cinema.
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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 2020
George C. Wolfe’s screen adaptation of August Wilson’s play is astonishingly good, not least because of its remarkably creative staging. It irks me when people dismiss a play adaptation as “stagy” simply because it only has a few locations - when in fact many of these films are helmed by directors who know how to block a scene and make dynamic use out of a small space (look no further than any play-to-film adaptation by Sidney Lumet or Mike Nichols).…
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Borat Subsequent Moviefilm 2020
Jagshemash! This film is NOT bad!
I admire that Sacha Baron Cohen didn’t make the same film twice. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm may not pack in as many laughs as the original, but it has something different going for it - a strangely moving relationship between father and daughter.
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The Beach Bum 2019
Although it’s not quite as strong as Spring Breakers, I was fascinated by The Beach Bum from start to finish. Is this a film that supports the supporting characters’ belief that Moondog is a genius poet? Or is Korine lampooning an audience expecting a “just keep livin” film full of good times and stoner-friendly life lessons? The fact that The Beach Bum is neither seems to infuriate people - I heard folks upset both that there were no consequences for…
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The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part 2019
Before I discuss the film itself, let me first encourage you to stay for the end credits of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, in which we’re treated to a new song, Super Cool, from Beck and The Lonely Island about the joy of watching ending credits. The song (along with an accompanying animated sequence) distills all of the film’s cleverness and originality into a few minutes, all the while serving as an ode to those of us who…
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Avengers: Infinity War 2018
It’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since the original Iron Man (2008), which officially kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe and redefined the career of one of the best actors in Hollywood, Robert Downey Jr. In the years since, I’m astounded that it’s grown to this – a seemingly unending series of 150-minute films stuffed with more superheroes and divergent narratives than anything else I can recall. It’s certainly something to behold, even if it doesn’t seem exactly…