I was involved in the first and second acts of this opus (before the intermission). The third act takes a turn which is heinous, repulsive and basically topples the film, shattering this pseudo masterpiece into pieces. Brady and his writing partner Mona Fastvold do not trust the audience to draw their own conclusions. They feel a need to underline and make blatant their political intent, telling not showing. I thought this was going to be a nuanced and subtle story about the immigrant experience and struggle, instead it feels like a lecture. The poorly judged epilogue sounds a sour note.
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Nosferatu 2024
Robert Eggers continues to hone his craft and push himself as an artist and filmmaker to deliver something unexpected and extraordinary. This methodically paced work of hushed atmosphere is gorgeous to look at and a pleasure to drink in with one's eyes. The first act especially establishes a crackling good sense of creeping dread and supernatural foreboding. The performances from the actors sometimes tip over into histrionic melodrama, but this seems intentional, like a nod to the large "Acting" of the silent film era. Willem Dafoe is a delicious highlight as a very crazed "Van Helsing" type.
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The Holdovers 2023
Life is hard, gets harder as you get older. The creeping decrepitude is one thing, having things and people taken from you is another and the aching regret of the opportunities missed, squandered or bungled is maybe the worst of it. Paul Giamatti gives another sterling performance as a man whose soul pain and regret sours all of his interactions with others. He uses his intellect like a cudgel to badger and bash those to whom he feels superior to or is jealous of. The thawing of this grump is not new material, but Payne and company invest it with palpable depth of bittersweet, earned emotion.
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The Killer 2023
Slick film plays to Fincher's strengths as an exacting craftsman. The most fun genre exercise Fincher has created since "Panic Room." The first half hour is all set-up which establishes the world and the code the Killer lives by. Movie then takes off with machine gun narrative proficiency that would make Hitchcock envious and never slows down. Fincher achieves the apotheosis of his cinema of process. Fincher celebrates artistry as rigorous discipline. What beautiful, razor-sharp images Fincher and his team conjure! Felt joyful to witness a cinematic master creating with such formal control.
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