Who has the time to read movie reviews?! I don’t think anybody even reads written movie criticism anymore, only watch video hype on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Heck, people are now commenting on movies on Tik Tok. How long written criticism will even last? In that spirit, I’m going to let you have my reviews in one brief paragraph.
Too Old To Die Young (Amazon Prime): Nicholas Wending Refn is insane, a twisted visual genius. TOTDY is case study in controlled insanity, his pacing is intentionally slow and deliberate. The first episode is a dark descent into chaos and moral ambiguity. Thumbs up! 👍
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Movie theater, 35mm): This is maybe the last new release movie anybody will ever get to see on actual 35mm film – the end of an era. But it’s too damn long. Three hour of excessive Tarantino jibber jabber with only 10 minutes in the end of action climax. Too little for the time investment. Thumbs down! Sorry, QT. 👎
Spiderman: Far from Home (Movie theater): My kids dragged me to see this latest superhero guy in tight pants movie. I don’t remember much about it except Spiderman is in Europe fighting some shape shifting monster being projected from a projector, which made little sense, at least to me. My kids loved it. I don’t know myself. 👎
Toy Story 4 (Movie theater): I think I loved it more than my kids. It’s brilliant. A great end to the Toy Story franchise and it returns Pixar at being the best at feature animation. Forky was the greatest.👍
A Quiet Place (Blu-ray): This is one of those great ideas on paper, but it’s just stupid on the screen. Terrible. Dumb. Ejected after the first 20 minutes.👎👎
Mary Shelley (Blu-ray): I rush to see nearly any movie dealing with gothic literature and when I heard about this I couldn’t wait to see it. It’s good albeit it’s got narrow appeal for those who are even familiar with Mary Shelley (she wrote Frankenstein) and how she figures into the gothic literature tradition and modern horror. 👍
Blaze (Blu-ray): If you’ve had enough of music biopics about famous musicians (Rocketman & Bohemian Rhapsody), this one is for you. Director Ethan Hawke delivers a dark, yet insightful depiction about an obscure musician, Blaze Foley, who had zero success in his lifetime. He was a failure, except he wrote some good songs other semi-famous musicians liked. Most people wouldn’t even care to see this one, I suspect. Not for most people’s taste, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. 👍
Anna (Blu-ray): A thoroughly enjoyable Luc Besson action flick taking tired premise and putting a new spin on it. I’m surprised it didn’t get more attention and find more success. Like Brawndo, it’s got everything you need. 👍
Yesterday (Blu-ray): Everything writer/director Richard Curtis does is just awesome and this is no exception. This time, Danny Boyle directs from a Curtis script. It’s superb. 👍
Tolkien (Blu-ray): This movie got hated on. The critical reviews were not good. I think they’re all wrong. To me, it showed how Tolkien’s life might have morphed into creating some of the most fantastical fantasy books of our generation after experiencing the horrors of WWI. 👍
All Is True (Blu-ray): Kenneth Branagh’s very dark and depression depiction of Shakespeare’s final years before his death. It’s very good with a focus on his family and what might have caused him to cease writing. A must see for Shakespeare fans. 👍👍
Never Look Away (Blu-Ray): A veiled biopic of German artist Gerhard Richter. I came across it by accident. Sometimes I miss the great ones and don’t catch them until years later. This is one of them. It’s epic. A masterpiece. It’s about how art is created and about seeing this world in all its horror and glory.👍👍👍
