Shrouded in its beauty, THE BRUTALIST narratively falls alongside its titular character. It’s hard for me to not compare the falsehoods of the American Dream with the hype around this film. The promise of a new American cinematic epic among the likes of THE GODFATHER is not too dissimilar to the promise of the white picket fence. Unfortunately, neither quite reaches its intended heights.
THE BRUTALIST’s runtime has been much discussed but I don’t see that as its core problem.…
The vandalism subplot is wildly unnecessary. An extra scoop of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving when you’ve already loosened your belt.
DUNE: PART TWO is one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all-time. Without hyperbole, there are moments during this film I felt genuinely grateful to be alive having this experience. It’s revelatory — who knew you could make blockbuster films at this scale and gravity? It is almost as if Denis Villeneuve was born to put this story on the screen. The story of Dune has long been considered “unadaptable,” yet here we are with two films that are not just…
Will it make you want to go home and hug your dog? Yeah.
Will it make you forget you just wasted two hours on another failed reclamation project for Mark Wahlberg? No.
Will it make you interested in the true story? Yeah.
Will it make you forgive one of the worst scripts you’ve ever heard? No.
Does it have a good boy? Hell yeah.
Does it end up being a good movie? Hell no.
