93
"Can you find the wolves in this picture?"
Martin Scorsese's latest (and frankly, the last few pictures in the previous decade) proves he's one of the best to do it. Handling a criminally overlooked historical period, Scorsese tackles the Osage murders from the 1910s to 1930s in Osage County, Oklahoma; Scorsese takes the straightforward route when adapting David Grann's book, with some of his personal touches. But Scorsese is no longer young nor naive. As he approaches his 81st…
100
In IMAX
Somehow, even more overwhelming this time around. But hardly surprising, isn't it? Given the fact Nolan has practically perfected the IMAX format all these years, but to think he'd do it in a three-hour biopic with people talking in rooms. Beyond that, Nolan clamps down on American exceptionalism, as Oppenheimer, as well as America, reckoned with its cardinal sin, having gained the power to destroy the planet with a bomb, a force that's only increased in the…
66
"Never set foot on the wrong side of history."
Teaching full-time is going to take your time away from this wonderful website, but I'll always be around going forward. At least I get summers off!
Anyway, often divisive filmmaker Zack Snyder swings for the moons and beyond, this time with Netflix, starring Sofia Boutella as the lead. I've always respected his vision, warts and all but this one felt too derivative, obviously pitched as some continuation of Star Wars…
46
"You're just a stranger."
Before we get into it, I want to say that this had a far more, ahem, promising start than Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman. The editing is sharp, supplemented with a terrific, mysterious vibe. Sure enough, I was in until it fizzled out on an ending that made me feel like the director didn't trust us enough with what she was going for. I'm not entirely sure what she was going for in the first…
47
"Go."
As a deaf person, it's been nice to see an explosion of our presence throughout various media, whether it be articles or television, but sometimes it does come at a price. While I really enjoyed the deaf talent here as they are Marlee Matlin, Daniel Durant and Troy Kotsur, I found their framing to be frequently eye-rolling, manipulative and it's all the more obvious that some of the drama was created to heighten tension or to gain sympathy.…
93
"Rick fucking Dalton."
Well, this is it. If Quentin Tarantino wanted to ride out into the sunset, he could do it now. Simultaneously going back to what catapulted him into fame with Pulp Fiction all the while this film is a throwback to classic Hollywood just as the Golden Era ended, it's both a love letter and a lamentation. Tarantino might as well have been building his entire career towards this, as he gets to delve deeply into what…
