Author, church leader, fig roll eater and cinema enthusiast. I do some of these things simultaneously.
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Mad Max: Fury Road 2015
Arthouse action turned up to 11. It's insane and it knows it. The attention to detail (gargantuan man-driven pulleys, "blood bags", characters' ailments, Furiosa's arm, the plethora of vehicles and occupants... etc) elevates the series' previous world-building by a country mile. Hardy is great but Theron OWNS IT.
It's Mad Max 2 Squared.
Felt like a lemon driving home in my little Hyundai.
Further update... after a third watch, here's a little something I wrote about teeth: stevangelical.wordpress.com/2015/06/21/of-mad-max-and-molars/
...And after nine viewings in 2015, it had quite an effect on my top films of the year: stevangelical.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/stevies-top-films-of-2015/
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Mulholland Drive 2001
“Silence, there is no band.” Vacuity in Tinseltown, multiple personalities and the darkness beneath. It’s all there, none of it makes sense, and yet it holds together so cohesively. It’s not a film to try understand with your brain, but with your gut.
Had an evening in while Jennie was out, so enjoyed a couple of Old Fashioneds and let this beauty wash over me. Come for Naomi Watts’ remarkable performance(s) (that audition scene, holy heck), stay for Lynch’s melting pot of dream elements.
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The Ninth Configuration 1980
A strong ensemble first half that's funny and oftentimes ingenious, which gives way to a darker second half that to its disservice is somewhat too esoteric. There's a narrative device that bears obvious comparison to a famous film of 15 years ago (you can go hunting, but no spoilers here and tbh if you watch this you'll probably spot it straight away too). which in itself is fun to explore, but the overall effect strained my attention as it became more aloof and discursive. Nice try though, Blatty.
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The Electric State 2025
Extremely forgettable, even while you're watching it, while not without some fun ideas (a bot-within-bots), impressive FX work, and one funny joke (I counted: one). Tucci's villain is one-dimensional, the leads aren't likeable enough (they're both capable of SO much more), a paper-thin story comprised of tropes we've seen before and confounding character motivations (for all my criticism of THE CREATOR's script, that one did all this so much better; make of that what you will), and the final moments…
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Pacific Rim 2013
Brash and brawny. Doesn't pretend to be anything else. Some of the lines (and/or their delivery) are quite clunky, some of the trying-to-be-emotive threads are also quite brazen. None of that detracts from the depiction of a world on the brink and humanity's last desperate measures to actually pull off a miracle TOGETHER. That'd be nice for a change.
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