KK

Doesn’t really look/feel like LOTR to me…but I don’t hate them.

The movie looks fantastic visually. But I've only seen the trailer, not the new scene. The new Giacchino cue sounds like we're getting the most painfully pedestrian Batman theme yet...

Yup! And they strike an even better balance of that comedy in S2. I've been watching Search Party after seeing @Jay's posts about here. Three seasons in, it's such blast! Such a weird little show that mixes up drama and laugh-out-loud comedy in delicious ways. The cast is fantastic.

Hmm...that does not sound very Shore, maybe Shore loosely "interpreted" by a trailer music house...

Echoing Karol here, I like the ideas and I admire its heart. But the filmmaking (re: the action, production design, vfx, etc) just felt surprisingly subpar. The Matrix holds up because aside from its core ideas, it's also just a fantastically staged genre film. 2, and to a lesser extent, 3, retained that style to much effectiveness, but that signature is sorely lacking here. A shame, because there is some potential in there. Poor Keanu was indeed awkward. They gave him too much to do I suppose. There should have been more Carrie-Anne Moss.

The teaser was interesting. The photography reminded me of Tree of Life stuff, which was cool. The voiceover threw me off, especially the rhythm/meter of it, but probably because I'm conditioned to Blanchett's iconic reading. The trailer music was...not good...makes me think more of The Witcher/Wheel of Time-tier fantasy than LOTR, but it is trailer music, so guess I won't judge too harshly. The title is meh. Still have no reason to get excited about this. But will certainly check it out.

It's alright. I liked it, didn't love it. I remember feeling it pulled a lot from There Will Be Blood, in a more subtle way, and with much less plot to draw from.

It's a good film and the lead is great. Kind of loses its steam by the ending though.

Yeah, and judging by how ridiculously well the new Spider-Man movie is doing, in the midst of Omicron...he's not wrong. But no, they're certainly not saving film.

Yea, that's how I remember it too. It's the Zion stuff that I expect to cringe at.

Don't Look Up Ooph. This one is bad. It has all the wit, insight and subtlety of an Instagram meme...It feels like an angry white man screaming into space (quite literally) something we all already know, without anything particularly meaningful to say about it. And worst of all...it's just not funny. Satire is a powerful tool to communicate greater meaning, and boy did this film completely miss that mark. And to think, the millions that were flushed down the drain for all the pointless celebrity cameos (kind of ironic, given what the film is trying to say about the dangers of excess...), and no one really delivered aside from the usually reliable Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill trying to save the film from the sidelines. It's also worth pointing out that the film's use of an imminent comet hurtling towards the Earth is just a flat out poor metaphor for the climate crisis, and all it's logic gaps in the plotting seem to sort of miss the point to go after low-hanging fruit and cheap celebrity shots. So the film is neither a functional comedy, nor an intelligent political mouth-piece...it's kind of a bad SNL skit? Go watch the new Spider-Man film instead. It's much more fun.

The Matrix I always underestimate how fucking good this movie is. Maybe because I missed it when I was growing up, so I've only "appreciated" it for its legacy. But boy, was re-watching this so much fun. This is definitely one of those rare films that oozes replay value. The first act of this film is just firing on all cylinders and is pretty much pitch perfect. Also, post-apocalyptic worlds just looked so much cooler in the 90s... And Davis' score really is such an integral part to the world. Hearing Tykwer/Kilmer's anemic afterthought is real a blow to the grand meeting of such robust creative forces that was this original film. Going to check out the sequels before I hit the new film in theatres. Curious to see how well those hold up...

Licorice Pizza This is Paul Thomas Anderson's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a carefree love letter to 70s LA, but with characters that you actually care about. We follow Alana and Gary, two lost souls with endearing vices and faults of their own, as they move through various stories, vignettes and landmarks that define the valley in that decade. Anderson's world, as always, is so fully realized, that you just get to sit back and enjoy the ride. Stylistically, the long tracking shots and dollies of 90s PTA are back...but the energy is still different. This is an older PTA that's not interested in impressing you (he no longer has to prove anything), but rather building the worlds that he has fun in and we get to feast on whatever comes out of it. It's the best kind of "hangout" movie, one with heart.

My thoughts exactly. But sign me up for anything new by the guy!

Yes, Benjamin Button is quite bad. Gone Girl is fun. The Social Network is great. Zodiac is fantastic.

Brilliant finale! I think the cast was at the top of their game in this whole season, though I too had my doubts about where it was going, especially with the way they were handling Kendall, but boy did it pay off. Really nailing that blend of absurd comedy and Shakespearan drama. Also, the whole bit about Logan's little swimmers is hilarious. Britell's score was also quite good, especially compared to a more bland/repetitive second season. I've also been rewatching Curb lately. Was at the ninth season, which I thought was actually quite hilarious. Shame the new season feels so tired and limp in comparison.

Lovely track indeed. I hope Greenwood walks away with an Oscar for something this year.

I read that last year! It is a confounding and fascinating work. It took a lot out of me to digest and process, but boy does he really maximize the potential of the medium in all sorts of ways. He is clearly a brilliantly perceptive mind and writer, though sometimes impenetrable. And it is indeed, very much unfilmable.

Last of the titans indeed… RIP maestro. A loss to all music.

Watched the last episode...most of it felt really flat, anemic gags circling around a non-plot. Vaughn is now the best part of this show.

Agreed. Haven’t watched the last episode yet, but everything so far feels like it’s just sort of recycling the season 2 arc with some decent gags here and there.

The Power of the Dog by Jonny Greenwood Another enigmatic and rewarding cocktail from Greenwood. This time assembling a series of broadly cryptic horn duets, wonky mechanical piano solos and lovely chamber string miniatures. I remember these gestures really making me think of TWBB when I watched the film months back, but this feels more like its own thing on the OST, while very much in Greenwood's musical vernacular. And boy, does this guy understand the power of brevity when it comes to albums.

Don’t know how I feel about that trailer. But it’s cool seeing Toronto so vibrantly rendered in Pixar land.

I really enjoyed The Big Short. I think Vice was biting off more than it could chew. I'm just not feeling this one based off the trailer. There's just...a lot, going on, and everyone seems dialled up to the max. Guess we'll see how well it turns out!

Hmmm. Looks like it's trying a little too hard...