movies

Slow week for me, including two rewatches from this year:

Iron Man (2008) 2.5/5 - I wanted to see if Marvel has changed or if it has always been like this. It was better than some of the recent stuff without the "omg I recognize that!" fan service and the theme about the military industrial complex will always be timely. Unfortunately it lands on the libertarian "good guy with a gun" message and is far too long. Side-note: imagine how filthy fucking rich Terrance Howard would be if he wasn't pants on head crazy

Predator Killer of Killers (2025) 5/5 - told my family this movie rocks so we watched it. It still rocks

Molly's Game (2017) 3.5/5 - Man, Sorkin is really Sorkining all over this thing. I like his style and he tells really compelling stories, I just can't believe that anything besides the core of it is true. His writing is just too neat and fantastic for real stories, which is why I think The West Wing and Newsroom are more his speed

Ocean's Eleven (2001) 4/5 - What a great heist movie, good cast, good music, good story. My only complaint is about Don Cheadle's character who is poorly written, poorly acted and not particularly relevant to the plot. I think there are a lot of ways you could write knocking out power from the strip without a whole sidequest to a school to steal an EMP. If they used that time to explain the heist just a little more clearly it'd be perfect

Joy Ride (2023)
Buckle up for a gloriously raucous hot rod in female-led comedy. It's unabashedly ribald, fiercely sex-positive, and a welcome reprieve by flipping burnt-out gender stereotypes; although its brazenness may eject sensitive viewers. Even a perfunctory "finding roots" theme and the Deadeye character equivalent to a flat can't stop it from punching the accelerator. Rare proof that empowerment and raunch can both ride in the front seat.

The Idea of You (2024)
A piquant romcom deploying familiar tropes yet elevated by the taboo pairing of an older woman with a younger man revealing societal hypocrisy. While the male interest is the unfortunate embodiment of the manic pixie dream guy, a charming undercooked fantasy, Solène's family-first sacrifice adds emotional ballast, making the happy ending feeling earned. Formulaic but compellingly human.

Robot & Frank (2012)
A warm, quirky tale about a retired thief and his android caretaker forging an unlikely bond. Sadly undermined by extraneous subplots, the most egregious is Madison's irrelevant character; and a forced revelation defies credulity. Thankfully, its brisk runtime and central heart prevail.

Wyrmwood (2014)
Aspires to be a hybrid of Mad Max's chrome fury and Dawn of the Dead's dreadful horror but misfires and sputters into shambling neutral. Campy absurdity sparks too late amid tonally jarring shifts, while neither horror nor humour properly ignites. Brief spurts of fleshed-out scenes injects potential but is ultimately devoured by the undead. Choose a lane.

Eat, Pray, Love (2010)
"Americans know entertainment, but don't know pleasure" is this film’s inadvertent epitaph. Profoundly American superficiality, tailor-made for "live, laugh, love" audiences mistaking spiritual tourism for enlightenment. It fully embodies the banal aphorism of its title, pleasant Kodak sunsets masks the starvation of authenticity. A hollow triptych of postcard profundity.

All this vehicular imagery was fun and a little exhausting to write.

Novocaine - it was OK. Amusing enough to recommend.

Bullet Train - loved this. Highly recommended.

Uncut gems - not my thing. I'm always willing to watch an A24 movie. I can see what they were going for..... But not my thing.

Drop - this was a turd.

A Nice Indian Boy - amusing. Average. They didn't really go terribly deep, but it's nice as a light movie.

I watched Minecraft this weekend and honestly didn’t like it. I wish the issues between Jason Momoa and Jack Blacks characters resolved a lot faster. The young boy was fairly annoying. The two girls were entertaining but missing for a large chunk of the middle of the film.

I can’t believe the movie made 940 million.

https://youtu.be/3pP6HPfc0Ww

Sorcerer. Remake of "Wages Of Fear." Four desperate men have to drive two trucks full of unstable dynamite across the jungle.

Got several Rifftrax and, armed with that, finally worked up the courage to watch Old. Left me speechless. The amateurishness of the writing was astonishing. So, so, so many things wrong with it and I don't even necessarily include the basic premise of "beach that makes you old". I watch Doctor Who religiously, I can deal with weird nonsense.

Maybe at least hint at the big thing that is vitally important to the plot being there at some point before it becomes relevant and you reveal it out of absolutely nowhere? Seems like basic writing rules.

Hair and nails may be technically "dead" but there's living cells that produce the material and would obviously continue doing so. If you're trying to address your (many) plot holes and inconsistencies, do think your solution through.

Who the fuck came up with the idea that cells in children's bodies need to be fed because they're still growing while adults only "age" and don't grow new cells so adults wouldn't need food? What? That's not how that works? If you're grasping at straws to explain your shit, don't bring it up at all.

And stop making your characters say what is happening. Oh emm gee. Seriously. Staaahp. Is this one of those movies that I'm supposed to watch while looking at my phone?

The Rifftrax helped me through the thing, as expected.

I haven't yet but planning to watch Kpop Demon Hunters later this week(end) with my wife. Looks like a fun romp.