Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Maria 2024

  ★★½ Watched 15 Dec 2024

  Painted over with enough lustrous gloss to give off the appearance of substance, so much so it almost conceals  the inertia hiding beneath the handsome surface. Angelina Jolie’s performance is competent, but it felt throughout like she was reciting a telegraphed sequence of words, rather than allowing any spontaneity or prickly humanity to pull us in closer. It does have a few interesting undercurrents about taking control of your own life even on the precipice of death. But it follows…

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  Last Night in Soho 2021

  ★★★½ Watched 01 Nov 2024

  The third act is a real letdown considering how thrillingly assured the first two thirds are, but I still appreciate the overall craft. The fact that Edgar Wright’s direction kind of goes off the deep end by isn’t even what really makes the ending so confounding, more so that the message it seems to so chillingly build up to throughout becomes tainted and undercut. It’s pretty disappointing, considering how solid the production values are. But for the most part, it still haunts and allures where it needs to.

Popular reviews

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  Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood 2019

  ★★★★ Watched 15 May 2024 1

  A loving tribute to old Hollywood and the lesser recognized individuals who contribute to making movies. The colorization and grain of film held something so nostalgic for me. Brad Pitt is a charming delight throughout. Cliff is such a lovable character, having a soft gentleness that veers into a severe grit whenever someone mistakes that for fragility. His never-ending loyalty to Rick is endearing and cute. Leonardo DiCaprio is able to almost poke fun at his own excessive method of…

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  Raya and the Last Dragon 2021

  ★★ Added 1

  I have a very personal beef with this movie. Going in, I was pretty hyped. Perhaps more hyped than a lot of other Disney movies. This was because I knew that the filmmakers were incorporating elements from Southeast asian culture into the world-building. I myself am Vietnamese, and finally having a main character in an animated film of that same ethnic background was really exciting to me. I came out disappointed. In attempting to represent so many south-east asian countries,…