recent product reviews
Farha (2021)
In a horrifying, depressing, but beautifully simple way, Sallam shines a light on a bit of history that many may not be familiar with. As the first movie I can think of that makes the Jews the bad guys, it’s definitely making me rethink things a bit. This story is…
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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Probably the most horrifying war movie I’ve seen, with vivid grit and graphic brutality that eclipses even Saving Private Ryan and 1917. In this one, we have an interestingly sympathetic German perspective, but in the end, we get the familiar statement about the senselessness and futility and tragedy of war.…
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
A light-hearted, faithful story with lots of homages to the franchise. Good characters, fun voices, and great music, with lots of familiar themes thoughtfully reworked to fit scenes. Pratt does this stuff with ease, though maybe he wasn’t given enough free reign here. He’s not hilarious. Anya Taylor-Joy gives Peach…
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Werewolf by Night (2022)
Wonder, weirdness, and dark whimsy of Tim Burton with the realism and structure of Marvel. A wonderful play on the genre, with old school horror music and title cards and expressionist lighting and blood spatters. And the wonderful color twist at the end. A cute little story! Great casting and…
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Glass Onion (2022)
Blanc is in the tradition of Holmes and Poirot and Colombo. I wonder who’s the smartest? Watching these, we try to keep up with Blanc, right? We want to see if we’re as smart as he is. But there’s no way to do this if things are hidden from us…
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Tina (2021)
Nicely paced with great footage, dramatized just enough with a gentle score. She seems like a great woman.
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LA 92 (2017)
Definitely a lot of footage I haven’t seen. I knew the violence and destruction were bad, but I didn’t know this bad. And some cross-cutting at the end that ominously implies that things haven’t changed and likely won’t change anytime soon. Definitely one of many scars on the face of…
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Green Lantern (2011)
Silly story, characters, dialogue, and visuals. Iron Man had come out 3 years earlier, why couldn’t this movie take some cues? Effects are dated and overdramatized with cool colors and cool camera movements and cool sounds. We were supposed to be done with that in the 90’s. Reynolds and Lively…
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Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Recently crowned best movie ever by Sight & Sound magazine, so I had to give it a shot. Admittedly, there is something voyeuristically interesting about this. The long takes combined with dioramic, flat, Wes Anderson camera angles in rooms and hallways are strangely captivating. But the novelty wears off. Watching…
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My Octopus Teacher (2020)
Surprisingly delicate and sweet and sad. Foster seems like an interesting, articulate, humble, spiritual guy. His narration is well-paced and natural. His voice and accent are very zen, and I think that does a lot to make the film very gentle and warm and contemplative. I can’t imagine a guy…
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I'm a photographer, web developer, travel enthusiast, and movie buff living in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.In the summer of 1993, I started writing reviews for every movie I saw and haven't looked back. I'm up to 2,378 reviews now. This makes me cool or a complete dork, depending on your perspective.
Some of these reviews contain spoilers, so if that bothers you, don't read!
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