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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

  This is the closing chapter of a modern action masterpiece. This is John Wick: Chapter 4 . What is it? John Wick (Keanu Reeves) takes one last run at The Table. But a ruthless Marquis (Bill Skarsgard) intends to make a name for himself by ending the legend of Baba Yaga himself. It begins in the Tokyo Continental, and ends in the streets of Paris. The Good Stuff In Conversation With Action Classics This whole movie series has been one long, reverential conversation between its stars and filmmakers, and the lot of action cinema. There are visual and audial references to the masters. The choreography is thrillingly new, while also hearkening to the greats of the genre. Past installments have let innovators of action cinema ply their trade against our besuited super assassin, and have cracked open the international action scene for American audiences (see this Polygon Piece for further reference). THIS installment features the talents of Hiroyuki Sanada, and Donnie Yen, and Scott Ad...
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RRR (2022)

This is the biggest, most insane movie you've probably never heard of. What is it? Bheem and Raju are two powerful men, who form a powerful friendship. That friendship is tested against the might of the British Empire. There is dancing, and singing, and tiger fights, and explosions. The Good Stuff Epic This movie is three hours long. And yet, it is paced so well, and so well constructed that it never slogs. The action set pieces are all insane: a lone policeman fights a violent mob single-handedly; a man armed only in a loin cloth outsmarts both a wolf and a tiger in the jungle; a dance battle at a garden party. And if that last one doesn't feel as cool or interesting as the two that precede it, trust me: it is just as exciting and riveting. SS Rajamouli knows what he is doing, and has created a dazzling, mythic epic. The colors are vibrant and rich. The camera is dynamic, flowing around the action without getting lost in it. The song and dance breaks are earned at highly emoti...

Avatar: The Way of Water (2023)

It's the biggest movie in the world. And it is a sequel to one of the previous biggest movies in the world. It's Avatar: The Way of Water  (2023). What is it? Jake Sully and his family need to leave the safety of their tribe because they are being hunted by the Skypeople. They travel to New Zealand the coast, and meet the Maori  Metkayina tribes. There they settle into a new life, learning new ways... of water. Until the Skypeople find them anew. The Good Stuff Technical Marvel This movie looks insane. The CG is as good as CG has ever been. The skin textures, and hair, and water elements, and lighting are all incredibly detailed and realistic. This movie has set a new benchmark for CG elements, much like its predecessor. James Cameron Knows How to Tell a Story Visually James Cameron knows he has a lot of world building to do. So he devises shots and sequences designed to deliver information to the attentive viewer. You can see the Na'vi culture, and the skypeople technolog...

M3GAN (2023)

It's been a while. There's a reason. Or a few reasons. Suffice to say: the Pandemic depressed me. More than I originally realized at the time. One of the side effects of that depression was the complete loss of interest in the things that brought me joy. Namely: writing and drawing. I started to feel pressure to keep churning out content. And then it wasn't as fun any more.  I tried to get a big fancy website. And I hated it. I tried sticking to a schedule. And I hated it. I forgot that I started doing this because it was fun. And some of my friends really enjoy reading my thoughts. I'm not sure why I deluded myself into thinking this was ever anything more than what I started it as: a way for me to talk about movies, even when I only have myself to talk to. But recently, I've started to get the itch again. And so, ya know, new year, new me, right? I though the very best way to bring this blog back to life was to write about a movie that proved to me that movies can...

Small Axe - Mangrove

I am a huge fan of Steve McQueen. No, not that one. The British auteur who delivers intense, thought-provoking cinema at its finest. I fell in love with his debut, Hunger  (2008), and had my jaw dropped by his recent heist thriller, Widows  (2018). It occurred to me recently that I had no idea what McQueen was up to. It turns out he was up to a lot. He's made five (count 'em, FIVE) films as part of a collection called Small Axe . And those five films are dropping on Amazon Prime over the next few weeks. I had little to go on: the trailer is a mood piece more than a story spoiler; and I have no real knowledge or understanding of British Civil Rights history (so the word "Mangrove" meant nothing to me at first glance). And, if I'm being honest, going in absolutely fresh made my viewing experience all the more intense and memorable. What is It? Small Axe (2020) is a collection of five films that explore the black civil rights movement in Britain in the sixties, seven...

Prospect (2018)

If you've read this blog at all, you know that I am a fan of the western film genre. One of the things I really enjoy about it is that it is a set of archetypes that can be laid over just about any other genre. One of the most successful pairings has been what I call the "Space Western." The Space Western maintains the character archetypes and themes of the classic western, but trades the windy plains of America for the wild alien frontiers of space. The inherent danger of being stuck in an environment that will kill you (lack of oxygen, alien biomes, radiation, etc.) enhances the western genre's great themes about survival and the struggle of morality in a lawless place. Enter Prospect (2018). Prospect  is a film written and directed by Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl (Earl also handled cinematography duties). It is the story of a father-daughter duo who make planetfall on a frontier moon where they hope to harvest some valuable gems. Those gems being their ticket...

I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

So it's been a while since I watched something really truly mind boggling. Something that forced me to reconsider it and turn it around in my hands like a Rubik's Cube. So I was a bit thirsty for something challenging. And in walked I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020) by Charlie Kaufman. I. What Is It? This is the story of a Young Woman (Jessie Buckley) who goes to visit her boyfriend's (Jesse Plemons) parents (David Thewlis and Toni Collette). There's also a side story about a school janitor (Guy Boyd). To say anything else would be giving the game away. II. A Work of Art I love movies that fire on all cylinders. And this one bangs. Kaufman's script is playful, but drenched in ennui and pain. The acting, which I'll talk more of anon, is exquisite. The art direction is incredibly detailed and lush. That scary old house is filled to the brim with wonderful wallpapers, and winding stairs, and candlelit dinners. And the colors are constantly shifting: we have ...