FINALLY revamped my portfolio site thanks to the ever talented and amazing
@trebendesigns
! If you’re looking for a versatile entertainment journalist, I’m ready and available!
Rewatched FIRST MAN after reflecting on its spiritual link to
#Oppenheimer
& MAN...what a fucking triumph. Criminally underappreciated. This somber, melancholic meditation on masculinity is truly one of the most profound, horrifying, visceral cinematic experiences I've ever seen.
#DunePartTwo
is not only Denis's magnum opus; it's the definitive sci-fi epic of a generation. A tragic tale of blind fanaticism & corruption. A spectacular, soulful, awe-inspiring masterclass of aesthetics & mood beautifully echoing Paul's turbulent journey. Left me speechless!
I think it's safe to say that
#XMen97
is the absolute BEST the MCU's been in years. The melodrama is SIZZLING, the emotions pack a wallop. Idk what happened or why but Marvel needs to move heaven & earth to get Beau DeMayo back & have him direct the X-Men movie while we're at it!
Let's not do this. It's SO, so, silly and reductive. Two completely different portrayals with different aims & two tonally opposite filmmakers tackling two completely different aspects of the subjects. It's not an "either or," both can be excellent in their own ways. Ridiculous.
Jacob Elordi showcases an immediately convincing take on Elvis that is more human and heartsick than Austin Butler’s performance ever was. Read our
#Venice
review of
#Priscilla
here:
#TheCreator
is a MASTERFUL piece of original sci-fi. Gareth Edwards is one of our GREAT filmmakers. A soulful, nuanced, Lucas-like interrogation of human beliefs/biases & our insecurity in the face of something greater. Spectacle & heart to the highest order. Pure cinema baby!
#SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse
isn’t just a masterpiece, isn’t just THE definitive Spider-Man film…it’s one of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. I’m still picking my jaw off the fucking floor from this REMARKABLE work of art. Truly at a loss for words 🤯
Oh ffs…so now Mangold’s a “hack” and “always has been.” The guy who made Logan and the universally beloved Ford v. Ferrari. Fucking 3:10 to Yuma. Get a grip. Indy discourse is gonna be a fucking shit show.
#BlueBeetle
is a MASSIVE win for DC & an electric introduction to the first hero of the DCU. Xolo Maridueña's charismatic star making performance confidently anchors this intimate synthwave journey of family, heritage, & purpose. A fresh and endearing spin on the origin story!
I was fortunate enough to screen 30 min of
#RayaAndTheLastDragon
and hearing this does not surprise me in the slightest. I was floored by the action sequences. Extremely kinetic and realistic. Parts of it reminded me of Mad Max & Anime. People are going to love it.
Disney's 'Raya and the Last Dragon' directors say some OG parts of the movie would have received 'an R-rating for violence'
'There is a cut of the movie with broken bones and stuff'
(via
@empiremagazine
| Print)
#ThorLoveAndThunder
just cemented itself as one of my favorite MCU films. Bursting w/so much heart, emotion & sincerity, I teared up, I smiled from ear to ear. This film is a warm hug & plea to cherish the present, live in the moment do something that matters. I adore this film!
#BirdsofPrey
is one word: FUN! A frenetic hyper stylized Harley Quinn comic book come to life (it’s her movie). It’s DC’s Deadpool w/ a dash of Tarantino. COULD NOT get enough of McGregor’s Black Mask; hysterical, eccentric, & deliciously pathetic. A rockin’ kick ass good time!
#TheFlash
is simply sensational. A refreshingly weird, early Zemeckis like heartfelt look at coming to terms w/the scars that make us & a cautionary tale of nostalgia overload - we can’t have it all, don’t resurrect what’s bee, it’ll destroy us. One of DC’s finest achievements!
lol to all the people mocking Bay’s insanely rad use of drone cinematography.
We should honestly be so lucky that one of the premier action directors of our time is actually STILL TRYING to continue pushing the envelope.
I just think KENNETH BRANAGH is one hell of a filmmaker. The richness of his colors, the extravagant set & costume design, how he plays with space, symmetry, and canted angles, the intensity & intimacy with which he captures performances. It's all such a visual & dramatic treat!
2 things can be true:
1) the ridiculous obsession over director’s cuts is exhausting & silly
2) Taika comes off as a MASSIVE douche who couldn’t sound more anti-filmmaker if he tried.
Every single VFX artist who worked on this should be getting employment emails IMMEDIATELY. WOW...not since TASM2 has a Spider-Man swing sequence looked this spectacular. Genuinely floored by the detail and fluidity of the movement.🤯
The Spider-Man Lotus VFX team really created movie level quality with their work! This is genuinely better than some of the web swinging we’ve seen in the movies with millions worth of budget.
I hope this VFX team gets recognized for this clip cause they are so talented!💯
#SpiderManNoWayHome
is the tale of 2 halves. First is everything I feared, cheap, gratuitous, nostalgia mixed w/nonsense. Second is the quintessential
#SpiderMan
story I’ve WANTED from Holland. Packs an emotional wallop & some of the best Spidey moments ever. Messy but satisfying
The Billie Eilish Doc
#TheWorldsALittleBlurry
is INCREDIBLE. One of the most grounded, intimate, authentic, & honest portraits of a celebrity I’ve ever seen. No BS here. The footage is unreal. Plays out like a Linklater coming of age film. Beautiful! One of my favs of the year!
No, you don't understand. Proper TENET etiquette is a standing ovation when Priya mentions "Oppenheimer" and cheering when Ives says "temporal pincer movement." That's just how it's done.
Rewatched THE DEPARTED last night & aside from being the definitive story of Irish Catholics in all their complexities, I was reminded of the lost art of cell phone scenes. The tactile use of a flip phone was an extension of the character, a tool for drama. Brilliant stuff.
#RebelMoon
is a blast! A mythological greatest hits that simultaneously chronicles Zack's filmmaking journey. Like a Heavy Metal, James Cameronish remix of Star Wars. Bit restrained due to the PG-13 rating (Director's Cut will be GREAT), but fuck if it isn't a visual/lore feast!
#XMen97
is FANTASTIC! It upholds the serialized melodrama of the og with more bite to its commentary. The writing is exceptional. Magneto is sensational, the action X-PLOSIVE, I don't think I've ever liked Cyclops more. It perfectly balances nostalgia with innovation. Loved it!
What??? I jus-…don’t do this. That’s such a fucking bonehead analysis of this whole thing. Perhaps the pandemic and day and date release model had something to do with this???
Also for the millionth time…BIRDS OF PREY WAS NOT A FAILURE!
#GodzillaXKong
is an ATOMIC BLAST! A fantastically weird, psychedelic trip through the Shōwa Era w/all the vibrance of an 80s album cover. This thing is an absurdist romp - crimson apes, frost dragons, a delightfully absurd Dan Stevens. Another FUN entry in the MonsterVerse!
There are COUNTLESS moments you know your watching a movie by people who GET Spider-Man…but one of the best is how they use Ben Reilly…ohhhh my god. That beautiful himbo has never been himboier.
#SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse
#IndianaJones
is SUPERB. An introspective sendoff & a spiritual sequel to Temple of Doom. A melancholic meditation on our relationship w/history, confronting Indy w/WHY he escapes into it. History is now. We’re shaping it. Bold, thrilling, WEIRD, subversive. Thank you
@mang0ld
❤️
#TheMatrixResurrections
is an absolute SLAM DUNK! A bold, deeply personal, vibrant, & BITING anti legacy sequel that challenges the complacency of our nostalgia-obsessed world & how the system has evolved to exploit that. THIS is how you "resurrect" a franchise!
There's quite literally nothing better. Genre defining. Era defining. Unmatched timeless classics. I don't know who I'd be without The Dark Knight Trilogy❤️🦇
Love The Batman but c’mon now…
The most brutal, viscous, viscerally intense, fight scene in all of
#Batman
. The sound design, the dialogue, what it represents thematically. Utter chills.
I can’t find the words, don’t know if I will find the words but
#Waves
is the most exceptional film I’ve seen all year. Intoxicating, ruthless, heartbreaking, moving, yet leaves you with optimism. It’s coming for all the awards this season & it DESERVES them.
#TIFF19
I just find it interesting that this is apparently “bad acting” and yet if this was Leo ya’ll would be fawning over it…because you DID when he had similar breakdowns in his films.
Uhhhh idk what movie everyone else is watching but
#HalloweenEnds
is GREAT. Wow, that might be my favorite of the 3. Horribly misunderstood, beautifully subversive, refreshing, brilliant, the culmination of the thematic pursuits of the previous film. God damn what a FINISHER!
#TheMarvels
is Josstice League levels of bad. Idk what the hell I just sat through. So many random threads, empty payoffs, a lack of any real emotion or character. Tonally & narratively a Jackson Pollock painting. A season finale to a non existent season of television. A mess.
Obsessively listening to Zimmer's flawless
#DunePartTwo
score, and while he's unquestionably made a full-fledged turn into Vangelis, he's also delivering some of his most soulful, spiritual work since Gladiator. It's fucking transcendent. This closing...my god, the emotions.
#Wonka
is the family event of the Holiday season. A charming, delightful, whimsical tale of dreamers & the system that restricts them. King WONDERFULLY channels Dahl's cheeky disdain for the elite that enhances the enigma of Wonka while standing confidently on its own. A winner!
#AHauntingInVenice
is the perfect spooky start to the season. An old-fashioned haunted house flick w/impeccable labyrinthian sets, slick edits & shots alomb. An introspective interrogation of Poirot's id, masks we hide behind, & ghosts that haunt us. Branagh's BEST Poirot film!
#Oppenheimer
is one of the GREAT American epics. A viscerally chilling unraveling of scientific discovery & persecution, McCarthy paranoia, & man's collision course w/annihilation. Nolan's JFK. A staggering achievement orbiting a morally complex center. Completely beside myself.
Maybe it's because I just watched Anne Hathaway & Emily Blunt just shower Nolan &
#Oppenheimer
with love for 20 min, but the near universal love, adoration, & respect Christopher Nolan has from his peers & colleagues really makes me think it's his year...Best Picture & Director.
Zendaya's Chani was the standout for me. Floored by the complexity of her character and how organic & intimate her relationship w/Paul was. Ferguson's Jessica is also fantastic - goes full mama bear to a fault. Butler is unhinged & unrecognizable. Super unsettling!
#DunePartTwo
“Are you back, Indy?”
This one line. The emotional layers. Brings me to tears every time. Harrison Ford gives an all timer here especially in the 3rd act. Audience i saw it with LOVED it.
#IndianaJones
Fucking hell...God Bless Dave Filoni.
#TheMandalorian
Ch 13 felt like the product of someone who just f’ing gets & LOVES Star Wars. What a moody, atmospheric, lore enhancing episode that triumphantly welcomes Ashoka to live action...
My first thought walking out of
#ShangChi
is genuinely “holy fuck Tony Leung 🥵” No exaggeration, he brings to life a Top 5 MCU villain (hell maybe even character). Such a layered, compelling, sympathetic character. His performance is what I’ll be thinking about for a LONG time.
I'm sorry but
#FastAndFurious
is never topping this. F. Gary Gray should've not only directed Hobbs & Shaw but been the go to guy for the rest of the series post 8. Say what you will about Fate, but god DAMN does the action POP while managing to feel tangible & (mostly) practical
Angry, hard-boiled, soaked in angst,
#TheBatman
finally marks the arrival of "The World's Greatest Detective." A gripping & brilliant unraveling of fear & addiction
@mattreevesLA
flexes his extensive knowledge of film history to craft a noir love letter & a perfect Batman movie!
Saw 3 scenes from
#TheCreator
& holy hell GET HYPE! Gareth Edwards blends a guerrilla style Vietnam War aesthetic w/90s analogue tech to craft a breathtaking piece of original sci-fi. The sound is explosive, the sense of realism visceral. It's shaping up to be spectacular!
Man does
#TheRiseOfSkwalker
MOVE. This film hits the ground running & doesn’t let up. JJ’s energy is all over this thing. A Last Crusade style adventure. The bromance between Poe & Finn steals the film. Felt a bit more concerned w/plot than character, tad rushed, good not great.
WELL DONE
@rianjohnson
! Wow!
#KnivesOut
is even BETTER than I could’ve hoped for. A tight, topical, & delicious throwback. Daniel Craig, Ana De Armas and Chris Evans are utterly SPECTACULAR! Witty, funny, a whodunnit homage. Best Screenplay & Acting noms FOR SURE.
#TIFF19
#UncutGems
is sheer madness, sensory overload, RELENTLESS, and absolutely wild. This movie starts mid acceleration and never lets up.
@JOSH_BENNY
do viscerally gross and seedy New York like no one else outside of Scorsese. An Adam Sandler performance for the ages!
#TIFF19
#Fallout
is SPECTACULAR! Jonathan Nolan & Lisa Joy employ their Westworld musings of control, chaos, comfort, desire, & self discovery to great effect in this Leone inspired maze through human depravity. Viscous action, stunning set pieces, complex characters, My new obsession!
#AllOfUsStrangers
completely obliterated me. An intimate, tender, melancholic reconciliation w/memory & self - the conversations we wish we had, lost love, knowing your parents as adults. Andrew Scott gives an impeccable career best performance, Foy is incredible. Floored.
No. Stop this. Stop this stupid narrative. It didn’t underperform, hell even YOU predicted close to 60M. It made what it was expected to. Just because some predicted over 100M domestically (probably to push this failure narrative) doesn’t mean that was the general consensus.
Believe the hype folks,
#AStarIsBorn
is sure to be your front runner for Best Picture. Bradley Cooper expertly directs this film and gives arguably the best performance of his career. Such real raw emotion. Lady Gaga shines brighter than ever in a breakout for the ages.
#TIFF18
I can officially say I’ve interviewed Daniel Craig for his final
#JamesBond
film. This man has had such. Profound effect on my life.
Still don’t believe it actually happened AND he said he’s still proud of Quantum. Somebody fucking pinch me.
Best moment of my career.🍸
I left
#Venom
shaking. This is how people seeing 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY back in 1968 for the first time must have felt. The grandeur of this thing is off the charts. However blown away you think you’re going to be, multiply it by ten.
Sam Raimi on who’s more powerful in
#MultiverseOfMadness
“I think Wanda's magic is more powerful than almost any of the other characters in this picture, but Doctor Strange has the knowledge of the mystic arts that Wanda doesn't have.”
(Source: )
#Napoleon
is THE dad movie of the year. A good old fashioned historical epic w/some of Scott's finest set pieces! Waterloo is a jaw dropping achievement. A fascinating, yet hilariously pathetic portrait of a man caught between ego, duty, & desire. A bit formless, but solid!
#ArmyOfTheDead
is a BIG win for Zack Snyder. An innovative spin on the zombie genre that reconnects him w/his roots delivering an explosive, gnarly, action-packed thrill ride! Surprisingly personal, self reflection on fatherhood I found touching. Zack is back!
While a better film
#SpiderManAcrosstheSpiderVerse
possesses the same level of sequel confidence as Dead Man's Chest. A melodramatic sweeping epic that goes bigger in all the right ways. Jawdropping, ridiculously fun set pieces driven by fucking rock opera theatrics & drama.
#WandaVision
is nothing short of BRILLIANT. EASILY the MCU's boldest, most original & innovative venture thus far. The true genius comes from Jac Schaeffer's smart, sharp, witty, script & Bettany & Olsen's electric performances. I had the biggest smile on my face the whole time.
#Barbie
is a weird little existential romp that makes for one of the most unabashed, hilarious, & heartfelt films I've seen all year. A satirical look at gender roles, identity, confidence, self love & discovery, as we hurl toward the inevitable. Loved every min of it!
The trembling in his voice. God damn. It's beautiful. Never seen him this visibly emotional before. It's Nolan's time and I'm so happy for the guy.
#GoldenGlobes
Steve Kloves miraculously salvages a sinking ship w/
#FantasticBeasts3
but it doesn’t fully fix the larger issues w/the series. Still, by far the best of the 3. The series feels FUN again. The layers of #
#Dumbledore
are peeled back & explored in interesting ways. Had a good time!
#NoTimeToDie
is the biggest, boldest, most bombastic & emotional Bond film I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. It redifines what these films are & can be. Trust me when I say you’ve never experienced a Bond movie like this. Bravo
@007
. You’ve completed a masterful saga🍸
#BeautifulBoy
is one of the most brutally honest and emotionally gut wrenching films I’ve ever seen. Doesn’t hold back, shows the raw unfiltered truth of substance addiction. Carell and Chalamet give 2 of the best performances of the year. Difficult watch but exceptional
#TIFF18
Gosling is just SUBLIME here. Horribly overlooked during the Oscar race. The internalized pain of man unable, unwilling to come to terms with his emotions. A man who buries himself in his work as a reprieve instead who's only catharsis comes by way of complete and utter solitude.
#GotGVol3
is the purest extension of
@JamesGunn
put to film tonal pivots & all. A film about creators, their creations, friends, how they shape us, & how we grow beyond our mistakes & trauma. A fucking PLEA for empathy & 2nd chances. Sentimental & heartfelt. Adored it❤️
LOTS of emotional fan service. Leia truly is the heart of the film. Yes, all of your questions are answered if not immediately off the bat. Seriously though...
#DisneyPlus
green light The Adventures if Poe & Finn
#TheRiseOfSkwalker
JAMES CAMERON confirms the 4K restoration of THE ABYSS is COMPLETE, out of his hands, should he dropping on physical and streaming in a matter of months!
#BeyondFast