Watched 08 Sep 2026

Not a perfect movie, and not even a subject matter I much care about. The casting is weird, sure, but if it means Travis Scott is a Greek bard, I'm in. Give me that sweet anachronism; it's icing on the cake. I've always been forgiving of Nolan's weakness in portraying the human heart because I think he gets the human spirit right. Here it is in all its glory, all its failings, and all its tenacity. Impeccable filmmaking, incredible on IMAX, built on a timeless tale with a new twist of relevancy.

Watched 08 Sep 2026

I was curious to see an older woman badass role, and I got what I came for. I dunno much about Allison Janney, but her grizzled, loner character worked for me. The other characters, though, were tropey, thin, or both. The plot twists are kinda cheap, so the way they inform the characters feels cheap. The visuals are glum, which enables a few nice shots. Lots of rain. I still lost interest by the final two set pieces. An ok diversion if it fits the mood, but I'm not sure it had much to say.

Watched 08 Sep 2026

Lots to love here. My favorite parts of the whole film are the peripheral gags & easter eggs, jokes that felt so clever, yet so Looney, that its tonal worldbuilding hooked me. Absolute magic. I wanted to stay. But not exactly for the narrative, which is topical and cute but ultimately tepid. Wile E. is great. Will Forte is fine. The CG animation has its moments, both good and bad. Might be the best live action animation hybrid since Roger Rabbit? But it's still a far cry from that masterpiece.

Watched 31 Jul 2026

Despite the warm critical reception, I had low expectations from a few key reactions I heard, and yet still, I was disappointed. I love the idea of blowing genre to bits, to be clear. This makes all the moves of a rom-com and subverts them all. But what's left? Ridiculous in-world logic and a metaphor so frustratingly messy that I gave up by the finale. Hathaway does her best, Jason Sudeikis is fine, but neither character is convincing. Then it teases the Bechdel test only to fail it. No thanks.

Watched 24 Jul 2026

I thought I'd avoided all of these product biopics (Nike, Flaming Hot Cheetos, Tetris) until I watched Nirvanna & learned that Blackberry is from the same creators. Gosh bless them Canadian can-do kids. I gather this is very exaggerated, and no doubt the timeline of events was squished together for the sake of efficiency and pacing. It works. I was glued to the screen. The handcam zooms capture tech garage dreams as they are eaten up by cheap, glossy capitalist machinery. Smart, sad, inevitable.