Some Dude Reviews Movies

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

When a beloved classic film is remade, the filmmakers must always toe a line. A line between fidelity to the original and presenting something new altogether. In the past few years Disney has trotted out a handful of remakes of some of their classic animated films. All to great financial success, but very few to critical claim. Part of the reason these remakes are not well loved is that Disney has skewed more towards the fidelity side of that line I presented above. It is certainly the reason that I have not really enjoyed any of the recent remakes. But Mulan  (2020) looked different. It appeared that the movie would swap the musical genre for the wuxia epic. And that captured my attention. It actually made me excited for one of these bloated vanity money-traps Disney has been selling us for years. Maybe it wouldn't be so shameless, so tired, so cynically profit-driven? And so, after many delays, some controversy involving Hong Kong protests and the lead actress, and a world-wide p...

When I was in college, I took a Theatre History course. I mean, I had to: it was required. But it was an excellent experience with an incredible professor and it remains a source of many happy memories. That class covered all of the major styles and movements in theatre. Which included a brief stint in melodrama and minstrelcy. I was shocked and taken by American Minstrelcy. So my professor suggested that I go find a film called Bamboozled (2000), by Spike Lee, and give it a watch. It was hard to find. I believe I finally found a copy to request at Fresno State's (my alma matter's) library. I honestly can't say that I was ready for that movie. I was confused and a little angry at it. But it stayed with me. Then, flash forward some many years later, to 2019, and The Criterion Collection announces a restored transfer to be released on BluRay. Fast forward to a few days ago, in 2020, when racial tensions in this country have been brought to th...