The Drama

i liked it more than i thought i would and nobody really talks about how funny the film is. the absurdist nature makes the entire thing and because it actually explores a pitfall couple could fall into, it’s still able to draw you in and take the work seriously regardless

WALL·E

Do the Right Thing

Did Buggin Out do the right thing?

A Complete Unknown

This movie feels like nothing. Awfully close to being a bad thing if I didn't like Norton and to a lesser, but still solidly good extent, Chalamet's performances.

The Substance

not bad, a little long, and it just feels like the movie kinda thinks you won’t get the themes so it’ll explain it to you in a weird blunt way. but anyway, body horror feels like the more effective way to enable the tingle in your spine, and since they nailed that part, a lot of the movie still works well for me

Zoolander

Men in Black 3

Men in Black II

The Social Network

Men in Black

Top Gun: Maverick

Shin Kamen Rider

Coming into this super blind not knowing really anything about the Kamen Rider world but I think this movie didn’t do that bad a job of getting us up to speed. The problem now is it literally made us go through lore with SPEED. It’s also weirdly paced regardless in the first half because we rush through plot points but at the same time there are moments that grind to a halt because our view into this new world, Hongo (the newly realized Kamen Rider), needs stuff explained to him too, so it’s just a lot of exposition dumps in between some crazy action and it doesn’t feel good especially since Ruriko and the agents arent that great of actors imo. Interesting tidbits and themes do get introduced like grappling with immense power, lack of empathy when transformed as a hybrid and just the overall feeling/questions of what it means to be a human being (things that aren’t uncommon in Hideaki Anno’s filmography). We see this come to the forefront with humans which is fine however it seemed like it was also introduced to have the AI/robots be parallel to our hero and villain too (villain especially since they are losing humanity, but K is looking to gain or understand it) but the robots just get left in the background after a while which is a shame. Now the second half is where things really start cooking like omg it’s almost night and day I swear. The pace very much slows down for the greater good, I think for the wasp fight or just after. More time is spent with our central characters, you learn more about the end goal to this mission and understand the conviction. Hongo and Ruriko are finally friends in this section so when the latter ends up being killed it’s easier to feel emotion for it. Plus when she does die the movie makes us sit in it for a while, kind having the same change in reaction like Hongo where revenge and anger isn’t in our best interest and that’s the best thing about the movie. Hongo and Ruriko believe humans are able to change the world for the better, and it’s this individual uniqueness that turns into collective action even with mistakes that makes life beautiful. This notion challenges her brother who wants to merge all consciousness stripping uniqueness but claiming it kills all negative aspects like betrayal. The two Kamen Riders being super lonely guys who wouldn’t have mind dying being the ones to carry visions of the future is a good but albeit cliché way to go against the butterfly. Ultimately though that fight was peak. From the visuals, choreography, music, I just couldn’t look away and it was worth all the dross from the first half.

Marty Supreme

that’s what you call an exhausting thrill of a ride. relationships relationships relationships. can the pursuit of ambition be taken too far? marty supreme tackles martin’s desperate attempt to be seen as best in the world by beating the best in the world by any means necessary, resulting in turmoil and a downward spiral with each and every personal connection we see him have in the film. in the end you have to be as crazy as him to live in his world (or the complete opposite, like his child, completely pure), whether you think it’s good or bad is up to you, but one thing is for sure, there’s no time to look back

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Came out of this rewatch feeling worse about the story but better about the visuals which pretty much hold up well, and I don't know how but also appreciation of the score too more than I already had. John Williams is truly a master. Also Hayden Christensen is almost hilariously bad but the earnestness of it fits with Anakin anyway so it kind of works. I just find it funny that I thought one of his best moments through the entire thing was when he was alone in the council room, a scene where he wasn't talking! Found the second act to be my personal favourite section because of all the information, conversations and heart to hearts taking place. Feck, the premonitions, Darth Plagueis conversation, the aforementioned scene with Anakin in the council and Padme in her place. They made the dread feel real, showed a lot of promise with the grey areas introduced and the emotional conflicts that came with. Unfortunately, I feel only Anakin v. Obi-Wan was the only thing to stick the landing. Still very much enjoyed it because it's fun, they lowered the scale and made is personal/intimate with our central characters in a believable way and actors pretty much had good chemistry with each other. Ewan McGregor standout. Obi-Wan is the goat

Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc

One Battle After Another

enjoyed some bits and pieces of this but it was way too long for the father-daughter story it wanted to tell which to be honest was a bit basic. and for all the revolutionary and politics talk that i heard about with the film, it wasn’t all that crazy and was mostly on the back burner for most of the film. kind of disappointing

Superman

Angel's Egg

On second viewing there’s a couple things I like more about this film, firstly the ark upside down in the water.  Adding on the religious themes present already it basically ties everything up and visually represents the religious existentialism of feeling like you did everything right but still being abandoned by God and the tying into the survivors clinging on to the last bit of hope/faith even though time and again it shows the bird/angel that’s meant to save them has died too. God says you will be destroyed unless you have faith and get on the ark but seemingly that isn’t a guarantee either. It’s no surprise our male lead feels nothing for the future. Secondly, in retrospect after watching a couple other Oshii films (Ghost in the Shell, Jin-roh, Patlabor 2), I started thinking about the catching fish section and its relation to war and the military. Tying into the overall theme of blind faith, these faceless soldiers even in an apocalypse continue to do a worthless service chasing shadows like that’s all their programmed for regardless of result. There aren’t any people around in the city either, so who are they fighting/catching the fish for exactly? Maybe they believe if they continue to do their job, salvation would come, but it’s all smoke and mirrors. Additionally with how our main male lead wears the uniform it suggests he broke out of that programming and saw the despair that surrounds them. His carrying of the cross maybe points towards being a messiah figure but seeing as it’s all mechanical and not wood, it’s like a distortion. If he’s the messiah, with no one around, who’s he supposed to lead either? Or is the distorted messiah figure meant to be the killer of the egg because ultimately keeping up hope and faith in this cruel world abandoned by God is a fool’s errand and he’s meant to reveal that to us?

Mickey 17

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery