This isn't as outstanding as I thought it would be - I had hyped this up in my head pretty high, unfortunately. That's what happens when any movie is fairly compared an equal to 8½. Some hail Day for Night as Truffaut's masterpiece, but from a director who also made The 400 Blows and Jules and Jim? No way.
Day For Night is surprisingly slight. It's not a very challenging or adventurous movie, at least from first glance. It's both…
I discussed this movie as a part of the University of Iowa's Bijou Banter podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
Besides being soft, Kedi isn't too much like a cat. It's welcoming, but uninteresting.
The highest praise I can give Kedi is that it made me realize how much I miss real cats, and how long ago it's been since I've seen one, let alone snuggled with one. The photography of Istanbul is fine, but not outstanding.
Kedi's…
I discussed this movie as a part of the University of Iowa's Bijou Banter podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
I was fortunate see this early for my university movie podcast. And guess what else? This is a great documentary.
Quest could be pinned down as a black documentary because its subjects are black. I'm not much of an authority, but I would say that is wrong. Quest is about family, because its subjects are a family, a beautiful,…
I discussed this movie as a part of the University of Iowa's Bijou Banter podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
There is no point to this.
The movie dabbles with magic, but shows none of it, which sounds like a smart, minimalist movie. But, The Alchemist Cookbook is dreadful, because it is neither cinematic or engaging. Ty Hickson is a talented actor, playing an isolated man with intense delusions. I hope he finds a more substantial role and…
Sorry nostalgia, this is actually pretty terrible. At least I know that Pokémon socialism will never be feasible.
It's not too bad at the start, at least not until Ash and co. are introduced into the movie. Mewtwo's origin is simultaneously heartbreaking, corny, existential, and dark, by Pokémon standards. From there, the movie feels like a long, bad episode of the iconic TV show. The story is flimsy, the action is dreadful, and the banter is hardly present. It doesn't…
I discussed this movie as a part of the University of Iowa's Bijou Banter podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
Pablo Neruda just might have been the most interesting man in the world. Not only was he an outspoken politician and a legendary poet, but boy also knew how to party. That's wild.
It's only right that one of Chile's most notable people ever is given the cinematic treatment by one of the nation's most notable directors. Pablo…
I discussed this movie as a part of the University of Iowa's Bijou Banter podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
Chevalier is a Greek movie by Athina Rachel Tsangari (Attenberg) co-written by Efthymis Filippou (The Lobster). So, it's safe to expect something weird from the duo. After all, the most prominent Greek films of the past decade have all been a certain kind of weird - dry, dark, and deadpan. Chevalier is all of those things, but unfortunately,…
I discussed this movie as a part of the University of Iowa's Bijou Banter podcast. You can listen to the episode here.
It's a simultaneously cheap-looking and good-looking movie, emphasis on the good looks. And is it ever dumb! Barbarella is storytelling at its sloppiest, but no one's watching for the story. It's really stimulating though, and unforgettable.
This right here is nightmare fuel.
It's some of the best nightmare fuel I've ever seen, though. The logic of the Other world doesn't always make sense (the movie has an explanation for why the rules are constantly changing), but that aside, Coraline is marvelous. It's creepy, beautiful, spooky, and exciting.
Later I read that adults are the ones most scared by the movie. Kids aren't as much; instead they treat Coraline as a fantastic adventure. In retrospect, Coraline isn't as much of a horror movie as I once thought. It's a fantastic and fun adventure.
I nearly cut myself on all of this movie's edge.
Captain Fantastic is not just bad. It's awful, which is tragic, because there's a really good movie that could be made from this material and cast. But what do we have here? A smarmy, self-righteous freakshow of a movie. And that's just the first half. The second half is melodramatic and sentimental, but I remained unmoved. I should have been invested and won over in the first half. I was…
I saw this with my family (mom's idea). Mom was the one most impressed with the movie, so if she's happy with it, I guess I am too.
The movie's got a heart, which is more than I can say about so many other movies in this age of remaking established property. Emma Watson and Dan Stevens are fine as the titular beauty and beast. They work better together than they do alone - their performances work not because they…
Forget the haters, Kong: Skull Island is awesome.
Really, I can't find much to dislike about it. It's often a gorgeous movie to look at (outstanding 3D), incredible visual effects (Kong looks awesome), and the human characters aren't too stupid. There are avoidable situations that occur due to Samuel L. Jackson's character being so militaristic, but in the movie it works. HE adds a tragic dimension the the on-goings, marching his men to what could be their deaths in pursuit…