Shang-Chi - 7.5/10

I learned that Shang is pronounced Shawng and not Sh-ann-g. Very educational film.

Old - 2/10

Believe it or not, this is the first M. Night Shamayalanana film I have ever seen. Friend wanted to go see it at the cheap movie theater right across the street from me.... I would not have gone if I had to drive somewhere, but all I had to do was walk across the street so I said sure.....

Probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Horribly written, badly directed, badly acted... it had it all.

unbreakable is the only film of his ive ever cared for. i do think its pretty excellent though...

Malignant - 7.5/10

Loved it. Basically a modern Giallo film. Very fun. Last half hour is bonkers and over the top gore.

I was thinking malignant was an ok mystery horror movie, but not really all that interesting. Then the 3rd act hits, and it goes fucking bananas. All I could think of was "what the fuuuuuuuuuuuuck for a straight 10 minutes.

Vacation Friends - 8/10

Was entertained.... John Cena is good... think he is really finding his "groove" in acting...

Vacation Friends is funny.

That’s all you really need from John Cena and Lil Rel.

World Trade Center - 4/10

I finally watched this yesterday after a week of watching Hulu and Netflix's doc's on 9/11 and the aftermath in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both are great and I learned a lot and saw a lot of footage I'd never seen before.

WTC by Oliver Stone is a movie that really shouldn't have been made especially just 3-4 years after the tragedy. To make a movie without complete mastery totally cheapens the actual events in a way, it's almost disrespectful. It's not disrespectful I'm sure the intentions were very good for all involved. But why?

Why would this story need to have been made into a movie? Attempting to portray these events with what amounts to a basic script and some pretty bad acting from the supporting cast, it's quite insulting. It's essentially a propaganda film to support the war in Iraq. There is no point to anyone making a movie about this day. Doc's are all we need to revisit this experience. Reenacting this day is an insult. Watching actors scream in pain and horror is just wrong and fake.

Fuck this movie it's worse than 4/10.

They made movies about WW2 while it was happening. Propaganda always works.

except in this case where it clearly didnt

Sure it did.

Bin Laden isn’t knocking any more towers down now is he?

oliver stone killed bin laden confirmed

Was that so much to ask?

That's not really the same. The more accurate equivalent would be a pearl harbor movie.

Do you think you’re disagreeing with me there?

Two quick wikis later and I discover an “Arnold Schwarzwald” making music for film in the 40’s.

Shang-Chi-7/10

It’s a Marvel movie. I liked the flashback and cultural scenes more than anything else. Interested by the second post credit scene.

Kingdom of Heaven: Director's Cut 8/10

I've always liked the theatrical version, Orlando Bloom's underwhelming presence not withstanding, but the director's cut feels like a superior version to me. The story is allowed to breath and develop, instead of just rushing to get to the final confrontation at the end.

SHang-Chi. It's a great marvel movie, easily one of my favorites, but I cant give it an accurate score quite yet. I went to the drive-in to see it and I could not read ANY of the subtitles unfortunately so I feel like theres a solid 30 minutes of stuff that I just have no idea what it was about. The score will be high regardless though. At least an 8.

Prob my second favorite Marvel movie at this point behind Dr. Strange. I fucks with Dr. Strange.

Jesus Seph...

If Dr. Strange is your favourite I’m genuinely scared to watch this new one.
I’ve been waiting on the HD version on my pirate site.

tbf I prefer Dr. Strange because of all the mind bending shit. I'm a sucker for that type of stuff.

visually dr strange was a treat. narratively...eh

Eyes Wide Shut - 9/10


There's a lot here. Like most art worth discussion is hands you very little and expects you to find meaning.

The score is outstanding. the way to piano is used to create tension is legitimately masterful. it may be the films the greatest strength because the tension is immense and its all driven through the score. this of course is a reliable cnstant through the bulk of Kubrick's work and its front and center here.

another constant is the frame compositions. in a lot of ways Kubrick frames his scenes to be murals. there's a good ammount of steady cam thats used to create satisfying one shots in some pretty tight spaces that i really appreciated.

one thing i found interesting was in the bed room scenes Kidmans character was shot hand held and there was an effort to follow her movements to keep her head in center frame through a medium close up shot. this was an active choice but one i dont fully understand. it added a chaos to the framing that makes everything seems unhinged. the why i dunno but the feeling it created i do understand.

there was one scene however very early in the film where kidman was shot hand held and cruise was shot steady which is find but they were mic'd different so kidmans half contained the acoustics of the room and cruise did not. i dont think that result was deliberate. the scene played oddly in what felt like an unintended way.

the acting from the films leads leave a lot to be desired. kidman and cruise have shockingly little on screen chemestry and it burdens the films primary throughline. cruise's performnce is reasonably strong when his wife isnt on screen however kidmans is never particularly revelatory. shes a fine actess but not here. perhaps not all of it falls to them however as the dialogue isnt written particularly well but i do have to imagine others could have gotten more out of the material mediocre though it was.

film itself is superbly eerie especially now in a time where we know with complete certainty that these satanic sex cults are very real and very much enacted by the cultural elites. and this is magnified by the notion that Kubrick had been high enough in society long enough to know for certain they were true as well. but thats obviously the surface observation and isnt what the film is actually about.

the film delves into sexual anonymity. nearly every scene has sexual context, even if its just undertones and this plays very well. even in the early scenes this sexual tension plagues the viewer. hauntingly. this is juxtaposed with the window dressing of christmas. silently loarding in the background. and thats a crucial factor.

in the background of the world is christmas. the shiny happy beacon of goodness...but its superficial. in the background of the mind is sexual deviantcy. and its much much louder.



that resolution is both dark and honest. i dont think id have accepted any other ending.

what i appreciated most by far was the tension and its done so well i cant not praise the film

You can split the Marvel movies any way you like, as long as you don’t put Ant Man last.

He’s the best one.

Yeah, there's no fucking way a Shyamalan movie would be the one where I risk going out to see in the middle of this crisis.

I'll go for you. you can live through me

We talking like a "Being John Malkovitch" type scenario?

theres plenty of room in my head so im sure that would work out just fine

it should be noted however that when i say "i will live for you" this does not mean i will watch an m night shamalan picture. this of course sounds like death

Jim Carrey is doing another Ace Ventura film...

Written by the guys who brought you National Lampoon’s Dorm Daze.

the 1st 2 were largely improv as far as the gags are concerned. anyone can slap a plot around the gags.


(the 1st 2 films werent any good either however)

fun fact the 1st film was written for rick moranis in the early 80s. script never saw the light of day and was workshopped for half a dozen comedians of the next 10 or so years. Carey did as much of the rewrite as anyone.

i dont enjoy wacky carey though. Cable Guy, Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine are 3 carey movies i reslly enjoyed. closest to the wacky carey i get is liar liar.

man on the moon was solid

i'm ready for the onslaught of netflix and shudder horror content

I must have seen them both twenty times

at the time they were huge hits. clearly resonated with audiences. the 2nd film played nearly daily on comedy central for what seems like a decade.


at the end of the day though the writer that matters is carey and he's still coming back. as long as he is given the room to work he was given the 1st 2 times in dont see why it wouldnt be able to be consistent.

unless the plot is what hooked you... then you might be fucked