grainofsalt1

grainofsalt1

Movies. They shit all over TV series.

Favorite films

  • Heat
  • Casino
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  • The Social Network

Recent activity

All
  • Nightmare Alley

    ★★½

  • The Final Countdown

    ★★★½

  • Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

    ★★½

  • Color of Night

    ★★

Recent reviews

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  • Nightmare Alley

    Nightmare Alley

    ★★½

    Guillermo Del Toro at his most self-indulgent. Bradley Cooper with a blocked nose. A gothic drama thriller brimming with talented supporting actors - Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe, David Strathairn - all of whom try to inject life into a painfully slow moving story. After an hour, Cate Blanchett shows up as a psychologist, and with her some proper intrigue. But it doesn’t last long. The film embarks on other subplots and a character reveal that sure as hell ain’t worth waiting 140 minutes for.

  • The Final Countdown

    The Final Countdown

    ★★★½

    While in mid-ocean a US aircraft carrier travels through a vortex ending up in 1941, where the crew have an opportunity to avert the attack on Pearl Harbor. The premise is engrossing, the set design and flight sequences are excellent and although the ending is perfunctory, this is an enjoyable piece of sci-fi popcorn which feels like it inspired certain X-Files episodes.

Popular reviews

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  • Jurassic Park

    Jurassic Park

    ★★★★★

    Spielberg spends time on character while also teasing the audience with creature effects, leaving the T-Rex reveal until over halfway through the film. With the scientific angle, he treats his subject matter with respect rather than as a gimmick while also telling a cautionary tale about man’s desire to control evolution. The action doesn’t truly kick in for an hour but never lets up thereafter. The cast is absolutely perfect. John Williams’ score is majestic and helps create a sense…

  • The Brutalist

    The Brutalist

    ★★★★

    An epic immigrant story spanning nearly four decades and engrossing such that the sprawling runtime goes unnoticed. It touches on trauma, xenophobia, power, corruption, jealousy, addiction, heritage and ‘The American Dream’ but for me, doesn’t satisfyingly explore any of these themes. That said, the film looks beautiful. Some of the framing is truly awesome. And above it all, Adrien Brody is magnificent as the frustrated visionary and is surely a lock for his second Best Actor Oscar. The issue I had was with the conclusion, which feels unworthy of such a powerful story.

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