recent product reviews
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
More of the same. It feels like the Mission Impossible, Bourne, and Bond movies are all sort of converging into the same types of stories, characters, and style of filmmaking, doesn’t it? Only the scores seem to distinguish them. Twist after twist, but why don’t I care? I think I’m…
Full ReviewThe Station Agent (2003)
OK, so Fin likes trains. He hates everything else, and he’s cold and nasty to just about everyone. Why should we give a shit about this guy? Oh, because he’s a dwarf. Everyone looks at him, he’s ridiculed and socially shunned. Life is so unfair. Got it. Can we be…
Full ReviewIncredibles 2 (2018)
Overall, a pretty good story. Definitely a feminist thing. This may not have been written by women, but it was definitely written for them. There’s something a bit off with the dialogue in the scene where Elastigirl and Evelyn first get to know each other at the corporate event. I…
Full ReviewRicky Gervais: Humanity (2018)
He’s a funny guy, very natural on stage. Some good social commentary, with particular focus on social media and the intersection of comedy and free speech. But a lot of the material is a rehash of previous jokes.
Full ReviewAfter Life (2019–2022)
Very dark, very raw, and very tragic. There are a lot of interesting relationships here, but it’s the Tony’s slow transition from the lowest depths of despair to hopeful that is the most fascinating journey. All of this darkness makes the comedy that much more effective. Gervais’s performance and dialogue…
Full ReviewThey Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
A wonderfully edited collection of interviews. The process of reviewing all of the footage, selecting which clips to use, and putting all of it into a sensible and visually appealing order seems like a Herculean task. I like the anonymity of it. Not having any names but having these people…
Full ReviewCreed II (2018)
I guess this has to be the next story? How many more of these can they make? Supposedly, this is Stallone’s last. The story is a bit forced. We needed a better reason for Creed to fight Viktor, and for Viktor to fight Creed. Rocky says it himself, there is…
Full ReviewRoma (2018)
The backdrop of the film is a turbulent 1970’s Mexico City, and Cuarón captures it with incredible authenticity. Courageously long takes and courageously wide shots give us a voyeuristic, unflinching experience in this world. Roma may be one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen, with a rich…
Full ReviewTrainwreck (2015)
Dramatic and funny, not many movies like that anymore. Schumer’s character is flippant and lazy and sarcastic and hard to like, but we do like her because we believe that her character is a good person at her core and because Schumer’s performance is surprisingly authentic. Hader turns in a…
Full ReviewCoco (2017)
Disney has taken to making their movies more “cultural” in recent years. An argument can be made that it’s a noble, overdue effort, but sometimes it feels a bit forced. And for the first half of this movie, it felt that way. Scenes are driven more by how Mexican everything…
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