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Oblivion, 2013

Jack (Tom Cruise) and Vici (Andrea Riseborough) man a sky-high station as the last humans on an Earth that has been devastated by an alien invasion. As a large spaceship prepares to transport the survivors to the moon Titan, Jack and Vici service the technology that allows the spaceship to collect energy from the Earth's oceans before the flight departs. But when Jack finds a human survivor, Julia (Olga Kurylenko) in the wreckage of a spacecraft, he begins to question what he's believed about his mission.

This is a really neat premise that succumbs again and again to tropes and half-developed ideas (some of which feel overly borrowed from other sci-fi properties). That said, solid performances and a steady pace of plot reveals keep it at least interesting to the end.

It's hard to talk about this movie without sounding like I'm damning it with faint praise. And I don't think that's entirely fair, as I did mostly enjoy the film. But frustratingly it feels like it's only about 65% as good as it could have been, leaving gaps in the story and character development that could have elevated the film as a whole.

A good example of this is the relationship between Jack and Vici. The two are seen to be sexually and romantically involved, though right off the bat you get the sense that (especially for Jack) this is more a matter of convenience than genuine love. Both Jack and Vici have had their memories erased, and Jack often sees bits of a memory involving a beautiful dark-haired woman. Later in the film, we get a hint that maybe Vici had some memories of her own that she kept concealed. Unfortunately, the film is more interested in using Vici as a plot point than a character, and the way that her relationship with Jack begins to erode after the discovery of the survivor never mines the interesting question of how she has understood their time on the outpost.

While staying very vague about specifics, I liked the overall direction of the film's plot. I was caught by surprise several times, which is always a thrill. There are moments when the film will introduce something only to push on with the plot without taking a breath to get into implications. There are many times where it feels like the film is afraid that if it slows down too much, it will lose its audience. It's a shame, because a nice story beat will happen and then it feels like there's a rush to get to the next chance to fire a laser gun or make something blow up.

Overall the film looks good. A lot of the space sequences are that sci-fi mix of beautiful and daunting.

I did get a bit tired of feeling like pieces of it were just taken from other films. (I'm mainly referencing visuals here, no spoilers!) A little bit of La Jetee. More than a small debt is owed to a certain late 2000s sci-fi film. It felt overly referential to me, to the point where it was a bit distracting.

There's also this, for lack of a better word, commercial tilt to the whole thing. It feels like two vibes are fighting here, and that becomes REALLY apparent in the last act, where the film wants to have its cake and eat it, too. It's unfortunate that the film has this tendency to undercut its own most powerful moments.

Decent sci-fi that too often gets in its own way.




I forgot the opening line.

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The Whale - (2022)

Good and bad feelings about The Whale, but the good I saw in it ran deep and at least gave me a filmgoing experience that I tend not to get when watching most mainstream films - it's to do with characters. Complex characters. There are no angels in this tale - so while the screenplay works hard at peeling back layers of humanity so we can see the true person inside, life has still twisted and hardened all of the players in The Whale, and I appreciated seeing that in such an unapologetic way. There's no magical elixir given, and no magical transformations, but we see a lot of what I recognize as real humanity. The bad was when everything became a little too theatrical, and all of the sudden I could see the film crew, the screenwriter mouthing the words, the director urging the players on etc. Too much. Overall I enjoyed the film very much, and my mind was reeling at the real competition Brenden Fraser is going to give Colin Farrell at the Oscars. You see, I want Farrell to win. Fraser's role is a very Academy-friendly one which gives it such a boost.

In the meantime Hong Chau, who was one of the most diverting actresses in The Menu with what little she had to work with, really steps up in this and is my favored actress for Best Supporting Actress. Go Hong Chau! Overall, The Whale is a treat for filmgoers who are willing to go along with a drama, even if it oversteps it's bounds a little. I thought it was great, and daring considering what the characters end up throwing in our faces - be it overeating, religion or just plain sociopathy. It challenges us deep down to accept what we might find confronting, and see past our own prejudice - these are people who have made many mistakes, just like us.

8/10


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The Black Phone - (2021)

This was a film I was a little interested in at the time of it's release, but didn't end up seeing. When Netflix throws these at me I usually end up impulse-watching them - seeing as they're just a button-press away. This wasn't really horror - it was a paranormal thriller where the main character doesn't act as freaked out as he should when dead kids start giving him instructions on how to escape serial killer The Grabber (Ethan Hawke). It didn't work for me - it was far too sanitized and clean for what was meant to be a horror/thriller involving a depraved killer. I never felt main character Finney (Mason Thames) really went through much, and everything else about the other kids was vague. The screenplay was clunky, and apart from Hawke and Jeremy Davies (not his finest hour though) nobody stood out. Any attempts at Sinister vibes fell flat.

5/10


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Black Widow - (2021)

This was an okay action film - a kind of unnecessary Marvel film that I don't think anyone was screaming out for, where we see how Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow character deals with her past. She was raised in a fake-family situation, but these Russian agents are the closest to family she has, so when she finds out her old boss, who she thought she'd killed, is still alive then there's lots of explosive action at hand - and a reunion with fake-mom, fake-dad and fake sister. Like I said, decent action - and a mid-tier Bond film transformed into a Marvel Cinematic Universe chapter.

6/10
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Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)






Massive disappointment. I loved the first one, but this is really bad. I did like Namor thou
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Victim of The Night



Massive disappointment. I loved the first one, but this is really bad. I did like Namor thou
Interesting, I was half the opposite. I also loved the first one and also thought this was pretty bad, but I thought it might have actually been good if they cut all the Namor stuff out.



Interesting, I was half the opposite. I also loved the first one and also thought this was pretty bad, but I thought it might have actually been good if they cut all the Namor stuff out.
I kinda agree with you, those wings on his ankles were really goofy. But the actor himself wasn't bad.



Victim of The Night
I kinda agree with you, those wings on his ankles were really goofy. But the actor himself wasn't bad.
Oh, I agree with that.





On Gaku: Our Sound, 2019

A trio of seemingly indifferent high schoolers led by the too-cool Kenji (Shintarô Sakamoto) form a rock band. When they become aware that another student group has the same band name, they seek them out. Encountering a mild-mannered folk trio, the two very different bands find something resonant in each others' music.

Should the story around a film influence how highly you rate it or how much you like it? Some people say no, and they are very obviously wrong.

On-Gaku: Our Sound was a passion project, born out of a modest crowd-funded budget and 7 years of animation work. The energy and passion behind the making of the film is nicely echoed in its plot about a group of teenagers who, almost against their own will, become passionate about their music.

While the lower budget is apparent in the animation, there's no lack of creativity on display. I was particularly fond of the way that the film uses the frame, getting some solid laughs out of action taking place just off-screen. Probably the best example of this is a long sequence where Kenji witnesses a man stop a purse-snatcher. We see the guilty party flash by, and then a musician thrusts his instrument case into Kenji's arms as he takes down the culprit. As Kenji stands, indifferently, an absurd dialogue plays out between the thief, the musician, and the woman who was robbed. Finally, Kenji simply absconds with the stranger's bass guitar.

And when it comes to the portrayal of the music, I liked the story's take on how different genres can influence each other. Kenji and his crew are floored by the folk music, and the folk musicians are floored by the trio's rock music. They meet somewhere in the middle. I loved that the movie didn't waste time sewing unnecessary drama. The two bands meet each other and, after just a little misapprehension on the side of the folk musicians, get along just fine. The real conflict is character based: it's about whether cool-as-ice Kenji can be brave enough to drop his outer shell of indifference and actually be vulnerable.

Just an absolute delight.




I forgot the opening line.

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The Eyes of Tammy Faye - (2021)

I brought my own prejudices to The Eyes of Tammy Faye - I've always seen televangelists as low-down hustlers, always on the make with their vulnerable marks who really trust them. I had no doubt at all when the Jim and Tammy Baker scandal hit that these two charlatans really deserved their downfall - but during the course of one movie my feelings for Tammy really softened. I kind of felt the wool was being pulled over my eyes, but when I searched online after the movie, all I could find were good things being said about her. Was she really this good-hearted person who advocated so passionately for the LGBT community, and who was really down to earth and saw the good in everything? In fact, after seeing the film and watching interviews and news clips, I found myself rather liking her personality and the way she comported herself. Anyway, the movie itself, while being yet another biopic (I still get sucked into watching them) was an interesting look at both PTL (Jim and Tammy's conglomerate, which at one stage included a satellite broadcasting their shows around the world) and Tammy herself - she was outspoken, bubbly, optimistic and a fun person. If you watch the film you'll grow to love her, and still manage to hate the whole televangelist scene. I couldn't even see Jessica Chastain in there at all - amazing.

7/10



Victim of The Night


By http://www.impawards.com/2021/black_widow_ver21.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61327223

Black Widow - (2021)

This was an okay action film - a kind of unnecessary Marvel film that I don't think anyone was screaming out for, where we see how Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow character deals with her past. She was raised in a fake-family situation, but these Russian agents are the closest to family she has, so when she finds out her old boss, who she thought she'd killed, is still alive then there's lots of explosive action at hand - and a reunion with fake-mom, fake-dad and fake sister. Like I said, decent action - and a mid-tier Bond film transformed into a Marvel Cinematic Universe chapter.

6/10
I'm not gonna lie to you, I loathed this movie despite wanting so badly to like it. Scarlett, Florence, Rachel ****ing Weisz (?!!!), and even David Harbor for fun and this movie was still just an abominable green-screen nightmare not truly intended to give Scarlett her due but to move the MCU along to the next Black Widow (in this case White).
I wouldn't piss on this movie.



I forgot the opening line.
I'm not gonna lie to you, I loathed this movie despite wanting so badly to like it. Scarlett, Florence, Rachel ****ing Weisz (?!!!), and even David Harbor for fun and this movie was still just an abominable green-screen nightmare not truly intended to give Scarlett her due but to move the MCU along to the next Black Widow (in this case White).
I wouldn't piss on this movie.
I feel trepidation heading into Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals. It didn't feel like Black Widow was a bad film in my estimation, but it was far too average for me to be wasting my time if there are many more Marvel films like it.





The Vast of Night, 2019

In a small town in the 1950s, virtually the whole community turns out for a high school basketball game. On the other side of town, high school student Fay (Sierra McCormick) works the switchboard as her friend Everett (Jake Horowitz) hosts a radio show. But when a strange sound comes over the airwaves, Fay and Everett discover that something is happening in their town that connects to strange events from the past.

When this movie first came out, it was definitely the little sci-fi that could. When I initially tried watching it, it didn't really capture my attention. This time around, though, I definitely got into its rhythm and found it a very rewarding watch.

This film does a lot with a little, and it makes the most of a very solid cast. Horowitz and McCormick are both very engaging leads (although Fay is saddled with some dialogue that hews a little too "gee golly gee!" for my taste, something that thankfully ebbs in the second half). There's also an excellent vocal performance from Bruce Davis as a man who calls into the station to share his own experience with the strange sound. The final act is anchored by a fantastic near-monologue Gail Cronauer as a shut-in who summons Everett and Fay to her home to tell them about her own tragic past.

What works so well in the film is the way that it perpetually pushes contrasting tones and energies. Fay and Everett approach their investigation with youthful, borderline-reckless zeal. But their excitement is framed---via some gorgeous long sweeping shots--with the emptiness of the town. The teens worry about what the authority figures will say about them breaking into the library or leaving their posts unattended. It doesn't occur to them until much too late that there might be forces at play far more serious than an irate librarian.

This is, for the most part, a very low-key film. But it builds and builds all while keeping you and the characters on the border between fear and awe. A lot is built from very simple moments, such as the eerie effect of a recorded sound on two car passengers. Where the film ends, and where the characters find themselves, is very moving.

I didn't vibe with it the first time, but on this second viewing, I feel like I get the hype.




Victim of The Night
I feel trepidation heading into Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals. It didn't feel like Black Widow was a bad film in my estimation, but it was far too average for me to be wasting my time if there are many more Marvel films like it.
If you thought BW was acceptable then you'll probably be able to tolerate the abominable Shang-Chi.



I feel trepidation heading into Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals. It didn't feel like Black Widow was a bad film in my estimation, but it was far too average for me to be wasting my time if there are many more Marvel films like it.
When you watch as many movies as you do, does it become difficult to rate them on a personal level, and do you ever take a break to recharge your movie nerves?
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I wouldn't piss on this movie.
This gave me a much needed laugh.



'EO' (2022)


Really lovely film about the adventures of a donkey. Part homage to 'Au Hasard Balthazar', part statement on the environment and sustainability with a little Fellini mixed in. Also got some 'Watership Down' vibes at one point! Perhaps not as moving / dramatic as some reviews have made out, but still very watchable.