The Denim Record

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“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Knives Out (2019)

What a slippery slope we weave, when we tangle... Wait what? This is kinda how I felt watching this. It takes a different approach and shows the crime in detail from the early parts. Then after that, it meanders and finally rallies to a frenzied end. It was not the intriguing, exciting whodunnit that the trailer made it out to be.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Uncut Gems (2019)

The story goes that Danny calls Sandman and exclaims that he was gripping the seat in front of him the entire time. It was that intense.

It made my back hurt watching it. I may not be able to say that I really enjoyed it, but I like the Safdie Brothers' style. Every other shot seemed to be behind glass or through a narrow passage. The effect creates a sense of claustrophobia and anxiety, unlike anything I recall ever seeing before.







“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Little Women (2019)


This was an enjoyable film on all accounts. Saoirse Ronan seems to act so natural and effortless. Florence Pugh was captivating as well. All around a joy to behold.




Little Women (2019)


This was an enjoyable film on all accounts. Saoirse Ronan seems to act so natural and effortless. Florence Pugh was captivating as well. All around a joy to behold.
Glad to here you enjoyed it! I'll probably watch that as I've seen all the other versions of Little Women and liked them all.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

1917 (2019)

All of the superlatives about this movie are true. The visuals and the performances are top notch, yet something didn't click with me. As neat as the "one-shot" approach is, maybe it doesn't quite work. In order to progress the story (and distance) it seemed like some unnecessary things were added in.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

The Gentlemen (2020)

If you like this type of movie, you're not gonna be upset. Probably not gonna be impressed either. What used to be snappy and clever movies with memorable characters, seems watered down and a bit stale. I don't know who this speaks more about, McConaughey or Ritchie. I think I've already forgotten the majority of it.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Good Time (2017)


I'm a big fan of the Safdie Bros. visual style. Frenetic, real, grimy.
I can't say I'm as big a fan of the anxiety inducement they offer alongside it.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

The Squid and the Whale (2005)

I enjoy stuff like this, even though I don't really catch the themes trying to be relayed. It did get ridiculous and unbelievable. I mean come on, all those old people in an auditorium and nobody ever heard Hey You? Preposterous




Spenser Confidential (2020)


It's that bad.






“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Bloodshot (2020)

Oh what to say, what to say. Hmmmm... Do you like Eiza González? She's in this and she is a gem. What else? Yeah, I've got nothing.

I usually skip out on these mid-tier movies, but damn that trailer made it look good. It's just a lot of nonsense. They don't even explain why the bad guy is a bad guy...unless that happened when I dozed off.

Vin Diesel is an actor I like, when he is spread out among an ensemble cast. If I have to watch him by himself, it's gonna be a rough one.

Nothing to see here.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Big Time Adolescence (2020)

I still don't quite get Pete Davidson, but I find myself watching his stuff. A lot of times (outside of this film) it doesn't work. Too vulgar, too crass, with not enough funny to balance the teeter-totter


Big Time Adolescence is one of the times when he shines. I don't know if it is close to who he is IRL, or maybe he IS a good actor. He really portrays the guy reaching back to hold onto the past versus moving forward to the next thing in his life.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Den of Thieves (2018)

This isn't high art, high concept or well-executed. There are plenty of issues and holes if you want to look for them. If you want some bang-bang, tuffies stone-facing each other, this is perfect.


It is kind of a bad movie, but it's great. Gerard Butler's face is so swollen, that I don't know if he is a heavy drinker or he just got into character. Pornstache needs more bad guys roles.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

End of Watch (2012)

I didn't realize how long this movie has been around. It doesn't seem like 8 years and yet I never cared to see it. Why? Probably Michael Pena and JG's faces. Seriously. I never bought those two as beat cops.


The cam footage style seemed to be a good choice, except for certain "chaos" scenes. Stuff got lost and it just seemed like a mess. Otherwise, the movie was solid. The conspiracy angle seemed to be wasted in that it didn't provide enough information to really go anywhere. Maybe that was the point.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

The Social Network (2010)


2020 is the 25th anniversary of Se7en and my membership in the David Fincher fan club. Maybe everyone feels this way, but he is a director that overwhelms me with his attention to detail and cohesion.

The Social Network did not resonate with me emotionally, provide me a profound enlightenment of Mark Zuckerberg, or make me think of Andrew Garfield as anything other than the guy that played Spiderman. It did further my love of Fincher and stir a glimmer of hope within that I will be able to make it through Zodiac one day.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

Harvey Keitel plays Harvey Keitel doing all the dope. Gritty representation of New York City. I’m not sure this offers much outside of its bleak portrayal of a broken man.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

John Bronco (2020)


"I don't catch frisbees, man."
That's about all you need to know about this one.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Wonder Woman (2017)


WW84 is on the horizon, so I figured I needed to get a little backstory. In all fairness, I was wrapping presents, so I may not have been 100% locked in.

As far as comic movies go, this one was an enjoyable watch. Really felt like a Zack Snyder movie, so that quelled some of the excitement I had for seeing what Patty Jenkins did.

As soon as I saw David Thewlis, I knew I smelled a rat. He seemed miscast, but I’m always glad to see him. The Doctor Poison character also seemed kind of shoehorned in.

I would be curious as to how this script came about. “Hey, let’s have WW in WWII! Now let’s fill it in from there.

The movie was good, effects were on point, but not many of these movies are gonna be GotG.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Arizona (2018)



You've seen the distressed mother trying to protect her child from an unhinged psycho before. More than likely that movie was on Lifetime. Arizona (say it like the kid from the Wizard says Cali--four--nyyaahh) doesn't stray from the formula much. I will give it credit for minimal setup before the crazy starts. We all know why we're here, lets skip the foreplay.


Dear Godfather, what the F' happened to you man? You're better than this.






“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

Wonder Woman 84 (2020)

Well look who's here, someone else that wants to pick apart WW84. If this was a movie with no expectations, without having an original to equal or improve upon, maybe it would be different. It's not.


There have been examples of how to do colorful, cheeky, serious when we need to comic movies (the current GOAT being GoTG). This felt like an avalanche of notes from myriad people having to be involved. Cohesion is the thing that seems to be lacking the most here. There were just too many moments where I felt lost. To parrot many before me, "It's not bad, it's just not good".


As a side-note, I'm intrigued by the greenlighting of the 3rd WW immediately, while we are still waiting for a MoS sequel. There are obviously a lot of moving parts with this stuff, but it smells fishy. I think that WW84 has to be a success, between the HBOMax angle and the history of the DCEU. I'm not trying to rain on the party, but I can't drink the KoolAid that they're handing out.






“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”

The Dead Don't Die (2019)



This is easily the most approachable Jarmusch movie I've seen, even though it still seems unconventional. I'm sure there are all sorts of metaphors and other insights to be gleamed, but I'm not even going to act like I caught much of it.


This was a movie of bits that hit home with me. Chloe Sevigny's performance, Tilda Swinton, Caawwwfffeeee, Tom Waits commentary, breaking the 4th wall. I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.