Starts off great as a slimmed down, relatively low stakes John Wick knockoff, but hopelessly loses its way in the final act as it unnecessarily tries to expand the scope and depth of the story.
Some of the worst green screen I have seen in a modern blockbuster, absolutely embarrassing. And made all the more ergrigious by the fact that the scenery is such a pull for the original film.
Jim Cummings continues to be one of the most interesting young filmmakers to watch develop. Not everything here works, but he has such a unique voice, and his larger-than-life performance has enough energy to carry the film even when it would otherwise be lagging.
A ploding bore. There's not even much about the Citizen Kane writing process, which instead of being used to drive the narrative forward is a mere excuse for countless meandering detours and vignettes which never build together into anything cohesive. The references are cute but also don't add up to anything at all other than sly winks to the audience. Oldman is... fine, I guess? It feels like he can turn in a performance like this in his sleep but at the end of the day it's a black and white film about golden age Hollywood so Oldman and the film itself will doubtless do very well at the Oscars.
I really liked this, one of my favourite films of the year. Like Before Sunrise meets Superbad, with impressive performances and a lot of heart. The final few minutes feel very out of place however, a more subtle ending without the
A pretty tight and tense single location thriller that for the most part manages to keep the momentum going, although it loses steam a bit in the final act and starts to drag. Also very impressed by Gordon-Levitt, who carries much of the film by himself. The use of the quotation at the start is very pretentious but once you get past that there's a lot to like here.
I'd love to know the thinking behind making this nearly two and a half hours long. There's a fun 90 minute action b-movie hidden in here somewhere but Megaton takes himself and his film far too seriously - he must have thought he was making a modern Heat or something - and the result is joyless and dull.
The corporate interference angle of the film is way overdone; a problem that is only exacerbated when you learn that it's almost entirely fictitious. It's clear that Mangold needed an antagonist more involved in the story than Enzo, and the answer is the portrayal of Leo Beebe, a character so hilariously machiavellian that he may as well be wearing a monocle. It's about the level of subtlety you can expect from a film which has such little faith in its audience that it has a character repeatedly exclaim "That means he needs to lap him twice!" during the climax of a race, as if looking directly into the camera and making sure everyone is on the same page.
It's not a bad movie (although that's down to the performances moreso than the script), but it desperately needed a bit more restraint and nuance.
A really lovely, effortlessly charismatic film. My only real misgiving is that, while I get what Gerwig was going for, I'm not convinced the ending works.
It makes sense for the train station kiss to be a fantasy as a meta part of the in-movie book, but the subsequent scene in the manor throws me. It's filmed with the same over-saturated look which indicates fantasy, but if it is a fantasy sequence then it's entirely unnecessary and if it's not a fantasy sequence then it's just confusing and nonsensical.
It's a relatively minor complaint but it's a shame that, in my view, an otherwise nearly faultless film doesn't nail the landing.
I genuinely don't understand how this can be an Oscar nominated short, other than the very obvious political statement. It's literally just archival footage presented without comment, narrative, or notable editing. It could easily be made by a High School media student or your average YouTube video editor.
Comments 1 - 25 of 377
Movie comment on The Beekeeper
lachyas
Starts off great as a slimmed down, relatively low stakes John Wick knockoff, but hopelessly loses its way in the final act as it unnecessarily tries to expand the scope and depth of the story.Movie comment on The Greatest Beer Run Ever
lachyas
It is seriously hard to nail the tone this film is going for and let me tell you, Peter Farrelly is NOT the man for the job.Movie comment on Death on the Nile
lachyas
Some of the worst green screen I have seen in a modern blockbuster, absolutely embarrassing. And made all the more ergrigious by the fact that the scenery is such a pull for the original film.Movie comment on Spider-Man: No Way Home
lachyas
Light on story and memorable dialogue, very heavy on nostalgia and fan service. I was definitely expecting more after all the buzz.Movie comment on G.I. Jane
lachyas
Really looking forward to GI Jane 2 now after the Oscars.Movie comment on The Novice
lachyas
This was surprisingly good. The Whiplash of rowing movies.Movie comment on Red Notice
lachyas
It's like someone fed an AI every modern action comedy and then made it try to write, direct, and cast its own version.Movie comment on The Beta Test
lachyas
Jim Cummings continues to be one of the most interesting young filmmakers to watch develop. Not everything here works, but he has such a unique voice, and his larger-than-life performance has enough energy to carry the film even when it would otherwise be lagging.Movie comment on V/H/S/94
lachyas
The third segment is awesome despite the low budget; second only to Safe Haven in terms of my favourite VHS segments. The rest is very meh..Movie comment on The Voyeurs
lachyas
Brian De Palma eat your heart out. I actually thought this was a decent throwback erotic thriller, with a bonkers final act.Movie comment on Bo Burnham: Inside
lachyas
This will be seen as one of the defining artistic works of the pandemic.Movie comment on Stowaway
lachyas
Interesting moral questions, butMovie comment on Godzilla vs. Kong
lachyas
Look how they massacred my Skull Island.Movie comment on Mank
lachyas
A ploding bore. There's not even much about the Citizen Kane writing process, which instead of being used to drive the narrative forward is a mere excuse for countless meandering detours and vignettes which never build together into anything cohesive. The references are cute but also don't add up to anything at all other than sly winks to the audience. Oldman is... fine, I guess? It feels like he can turn in a performance like this in his sleep but at the end of the day it's a black and white film about golden age Hollywood so Oldman and the film itself will doubtless do very well at the Oscars.Movie comment on Saint Maud
lachyas
That has to be one of the best jump scares in recent years. Got me good.Movie comment on Shadow in the Cloud
lachyas
Bizarre how everyone is praising this film's feminist chops whilst ignoring the fact that it was witten by Max fucking Landis.Movie comment on Wonder Woman 1984
lachyas
Basically a full length version of Gal Gadot's Imagine video.Movie comment on Shithouse
lachyas
I really liked this, one of my favourite films of the year. Like Before Sunrise meets Superbad, with impressive performances and a lot of heart. The final few minutes feel very out of place however, a more subtle ending without theMovie comment on Hamilton
lachyas
Fuck Disney for censoring this.Movie comment on 7500
lachyas
A pretty tight and tense single location thriller that for the most part manages to keep the momentum going, although it loses steam a bit in the final act and starts to drag. Also very impressed by Gordon-Levitt, who carries much of the film by himself. The use of the quotation at the start is very pretentious but once you get past that there's a lot to like here.Movie comment on The Last Days of American Crime
lachyas
I'd love to know the thinking behind making this nearly two and a half hours long. There's a fun 90 minute action b-movie hidden in here somewhere but Megaton takes himself and his film far too seriously - he must have thought he was making a modern Heat or something - and the result is joyless and dull.Movie comment on 1917
lachyas
If this was the best they could do they really should have tried a second take.Movie comment on Ford v Ferrari
lachyas
The corporate interference angle of the film is way overdone; a problem that is only exacerbated when you learn that it's almost entirely fictitious. It's clear that Mangold needed an antagonist more involved in the story than Enzo, and the answer is the portrayal of Leo Beebe, a character so hilariously machiavellian that he may as well be wearing a monocle. It's about the level of subtlety you can expect from a film which has such little faith in its audience that it has a character repeatedly exclaim "That means he needs to lap him twice!" during the climax of a race, as if looking directly into the camera and making sure everyone is on the same page.It's not a bad movie (although that's down to the performances moreso than the script), but it desperately needed a bit more restraint and nuance.
Movie comment on Little Women
lachyas
A really lovely, effortlessly charismatic film. My only real misgiving is that, while I get what Gerwig was going for, I'm not convinced the ending works.Movie comment on A Night at the Garden
lachyas
I genuinely don't understand how this can be an Oscar nominated short, other than the very obvious political statement. It's literally just archival footage presented without comment, narrative, or notable editing. It could easily be made by a High School media student or your average YouTube video editor.Showing items 1 – 25 of 377