I get that Lana Wachowski probably did the best she could with what were likely a lot of studio mandates, but it just seemed like such an obvious cash grab, trading on nostalgia. I found it extremely meh.
This movie had a serious tone problem. It had a couple of fun scenes but overall was bad.
Imagine the most generic action-spy movie possible. Now put ladies in it.
The best of the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies so far. This was actually self-reference done right, unlike some other movies I saw later in the year.
Loved it.
Pretty good.
Amazing.
Decent, but I didn’t like the ending. Also, I know that the crux of the Cyrano story is that Cyrano is ugly, but Peter Dinklage is not ugly—he’s just 20 years older than Haley Bennett, who is playing his childhood friend. It’s bordering on offensive. Peter Dinklage deserves a real leading man role.
This movie is exactly what it is trying to be and I enjoyed it.
Peak Michael Bay. Terrible, but in a fun way.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
This movie will probably win Best Picture and it deserves it.
My favorite critic called it “a celestial event.” In lieu of my own review,
here are some excerpts from the comment section of his YouTube review:
“I got out of the theater, went to my car, and EVERY SINGLE suppressed problem I've had built up all came out … I feel at peace now. #1 movie of my life”
“It got me to call my mom after to say I love her.”
“It deserves every oscar for the rest of time in my book.”
“I've seen thousands of movies in my life and this might be the best movie I've ever seen.”
“This movie was so good I walked out of the theater speechless. Then 10 minutes later walked back into the theater and watched it again.”
“I never knew a film could impact me so much.”
“Leaving the theater I felt changed and it made me want to appreciate life more.”
“it changed the boundaries of what I thought cinema was”
“it became a part of me”
“It made me forgive someone I never wanted to forgive”
Multiple commenters also described it as “life-changing.”
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Awesome.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Decent, but there’s too much tonal dissonance between Sam Raimi and Marvel. Let Raimi be Raimi!
Basically Avatar with slightly more interesting world building. You’d think we’d have outgrown this fetishization of colonizer savior narratives by 2022 but you’d be wrong.
Old-school fun without being pure cash-grabby nostalgia.
Absolutely peak Baz Luhrmann—wild, fun, over the top. Austin Butler is gorgeous and the camera eats him up. I expect a Best Cinematography nomination.
There were weaknesses in the production value and pacing, probably due to having an inexperienced director, but overall it was good.
Convoluted and too self-referential for its own good, but overall mostly fun.
Kind of cute.
Three Thousand Years of Longing
The ending made no sense but overall it was good and engrossing.
Bad. Some very weird acting choices and the cinematography was all over the place. Hallmarks of a first-time director who needs more experience.
This movie also had first-time director. I saw it and The Invitation in the same day and the contrast was stark. There was consistency and theming in the visuals that The Invitation lacked. It gave me strong Wes Anderson vibes and I found it delightful. It might get a Best Cinematography nomination.
Surprisingly not just a generic rom-com with gay characters. Pretty good.
Kind of interesting but the story wasn’t well thought out. There was a lot of potential lost in service of keeping the audience guessing for 90 minutes. The visuals were good, but am I the only one who thought the sound mixing was super overwrought?
The action was good, there was some strong exploration of colonialism themes, and I love a diverse cast, but the story structure was a total mess. (How Many People Does Black Adam Kill?)
Werewolf by Night (on Disney+)
Absolutely loved every minute of it. ('Werewolf by Night' Left Me Wanting More for Once, 'Werewolf by Night's Transformation Scene Deserves a Place Among Monster Movie Classics)
Boring and not scary. ('Prey for the Devil's Feminist Angle Fails Women)
Very good but flawed. The cinematography and editing in particular had some major weaknesses, not what I would expect from Ryan Coogler. It makes me wonder if he ran up against some deadlines.
Liked it a lot. ('The Menu' Is the Service Industry's Ultimate Revenge Fantasy)
Extremely weird. Overall it was good, but I’m not sure what it was trying to say. ('Bones and All' Scratches the Surface of Moral Questions but Fails to Dig Deeper)
It was fine. Ryan Reynolds has apparently decided that every movie he makes has to be meta and self-referential and it’s getting tiresome. It also looked very cheaply made. The dancers were the best part.
Emancipation (on Apple TV)
Pretty good, but had some pacing issues, especially in the final act. I was impressed by the historical accuracy though. ('Emancipation': The True Story of Peter's Courageous Escape to Freedom)
Slightly more nuanced than the first Avatar but otherwise basically the same movie. Also there is absolutely no reason for it to be three hours long except that James Cameron wants you to see how impressive his underwater CGI is. (Jake Sully Isn’t the Hero That 'Avatar' Wants Him to Be, The Na'vi Shouldn't Have Accents in 'Avatar: The Way of Water')
Really liked it.
WTF did I just watch?? Seriously though, this movie defies classification or description. I mostly enjoyed it, but I can’t really explain why.
