I was completely taken by surprise by Anora. After the opening act, I was expecting merely a more down to earth and realistic version of Pretty Woman, but when the character's euphoria hopeful evaporated and the harsh reality of the situation revealed itself, the movie became something funny, alive and unpredictable. Ultimately this is a companion film to Parasite, showing the comedic desperation of lower-class workers living to serve the disconnected super rich. The ways that this deeper meaning revealed itself showed masterful filmmaking, reminiscent of Preston Sturges and Jonathan Demme, but something brand-new. I don't expect to see a better movie from 2024.
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Conclave 2024
Well made movie with a good structure and a couple interesting ideas. The setup of catty political intrigue combined with a bit of a locked room mystery had real potential but ultimately amounted to not much. The dialogue was all very obvious, with telling rather than showing. The big reveal comes a little too out of leftfield and is not developed enough to make it payoff. Similarly, the terrorist acts going on outside the vatican walls is barely touched on…
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Zero Dark Thirty 2012
Works on so many levels. A great procedural, a fascinating character study, a captivating thriller, and a thought-provoking contemplation on a crucial moment in history where we all shared in the dubious satisfaction of vengeance. In the hands of a lesser writer or director this could've played ponderous or phony or obvious, but it is matter of fact in a way that allows the viewer to process their own feelings on the subject without having it dictated to them. A great companion piece with United 93, and a less obvious meditation on the same theme as Munich.
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Django Unchained 2012
Stylish and ballsy, but far emptier than it seems to think it is. Tarantino can't resist excesses and doesn't justify them with meaning. Plus the disjointed story structure ultimately geeks lazy and rambling. But Sam Jackson is a force of nature in it and every moment of the film focused on him is extraordinary and a hint at the far more challenging and artistic film this could have been if Tarantino had truly committed to the meaning behind the method.
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