Avengers: Endgame
I’ll post a more in depth review in the coming days, once I’ve had a chance to digest it fully. However, I am completely stunned by the execution of this project. It is a near perfect coda to this 11 year experiment.
February (AKA The Blackcoat’s Daughter) (2015)
Atmospheric, slow-building horror which, like many of today’s excellent horror films is more about mood and subtlety than gore and guts. Two girls are waiting for their parents to pick them up from a remote Catholic Girls school when strange things start to happen,
Directed by Oz Perkins, son of Anthony of Psycho fame.
Avengers: Endgame
Not as good as Infinity War, but still great. A grand finale of an enormous project (even though some MCU movies are really medicore). Fantastic execution, even if flawed at some points (hard to explain without spoilers).
“The Blackcoat’s Daughter” is the best horror movie I’ve seen in years. The sense of building dread is fantastic and it pays off with an excellent ending as well. Genuinely chilling. I watched it with my 23-year old daughter and she proclaimed it the single most intensely scary movie she’s ever seen and the only film that has ever made her involuntarily tear up in fear.
1 Like
Doing an MCU rewatch post-Endgame and I didn’t realize this until my most recent viewing, but Michelle Yeoh has a cameo role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.
1 Like
EDGE OF TOMORROW
Wow, the second time around I had even more fun. I actually think this is one of the most criminally underrated fun movies in ages.
2 Likes
They made a mistake not sticking with Live, Die, Repeat as a title.
2 Likes
Completely agree.
I don´t think “Edge of Tomorrow” is a good title - but the title itself had no impact on the reception.
The posters and the trailer made it very clear what the movie was about.
I guess Tom Cruise just wasn’t in fashion at that time.
He is very hit or miss. But still, Live Die Repeat would have been a much better title and more attention grabbing. As it is, it’s been retroactively titled that, but that doesn’t help it much at this point.
I dont think it did either, I just prefer “Live, Die, Repeat” as a title. Something very 50’s pulp about it I like.
I would say every star these days is “hit or miss” at the box office. Gone are the days when superstars could guarantee a huge opening. It all depends on the film they are starring in.
However, Cruise is always a guarantee for a supremely made movie.
The Mummy?
Still, most are good.
Vanilla Sky? I agree that most are quality, just not all…
I love VS, even better than the original.
On the topic of an actor attracting success in the movie star mould, The Rock, of all people, seems to have it. Who’d have pegged a Jumanji 2 as a success?!?!?
3 Likes
Ugh, I hate Vanilla Sky. But that’s just me, to each his own.
The Rock definitely is, right now, the superstar around the world able to open a film.
Then again, BAYWATCH and SKYSCRAPER and that ape movie underperformed, too.
Dark River
Focused and tonally rich. Performances are impressive. Story is a little thin for a feature and could’ve been done justice in a one-hour tv special.
Ali
Finally got round to this (i’m ashamed to say as a huge Michael Mann fan; not such a huge Will Smith fan)
But there’s no doubting that when given the chance Smith can step up and do enough to convince us (if only just). The religious analogies to Moses etc were completely out of left field for me, but very welcome, as they added much needed imaginary scope to this biopic (the imaginary is something biopics can lack)
The fights are very well shot imo - always visceral and direct. The climactic rumble in the jungle is pretty awesome and a surprise coda that strangely alluded (probably unwittingly) to Dune. For me that’s a win-win!
The Perfection (Netfilx)
Starts out as an edgy seduction into it’s genre mixed depths. However, when all’s said and done it’s a disappointingly traditional, superficial genre piece and left me wanting my 90 minutes back.
The Mule
I grew up with Clint’s movies and so i watched this, rather forlornly since it may well be his last time on screen and the reviews were fond, but luke warm. Now, i’m not going to say it turned out to be a GREAT movie, but it’s certainly better than reviews would suggest and well worth 2 hours, even if you’re not a die hard Clint fan like me.
The fact that it’s also based on a true story makes it all the more fun and Clint turns in one of his best performances (behind Unforgiven and Josie Wales). The support cast are top notch and Clint’s direction is just as good as ever (which is pretty damned amazing, considering).
Leave No Trace
By far the pick of the bunch i’ve reviewed here. A beautiful evocation of a father/daughter relationship that’s taken a detour from normality and is all the better for it. The direction and performance are really, really, no really outstanding.
Best of all is the understated, yet totally visceral and poetic storytelling that this group of talents create. Several times there are easy wins that many a filmmaker would’ve taken in order to contrive extra drama and empathy. But consistently the filmmakers are well aware of the these attractive, but short lived pitfalls and avoid them in favour of an ultimately far more rewarding journey. Truth instead of sensationalism is a rare thing in modern cinema.
Criminally ignored at the Oscars.
1 Like