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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 2022
35
It's pretty funny that after months of pre-release chatter such as "it's going to be a full-on Raimi movie, don't worry" and "Sam Raimi is going to be the director to break the MCU mold", we end up with a tireless exposition fest that still struggles with spectacle and character. For a multiverse film, we only see mere glimpses of any creative spark in the limitless possibilities that this story could've allowed. Instead of spending a decent amount of…
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Jurassic World 2015
The dinosaurs aren’t even the most unrealistic thing in this movie: it’s Bryce Dallas Howard running around in heels for two hours.
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On the Silver Globe 1988
93
Draped and drenched in a certain dreamlike, chaos aesthetic, On the Silver Globe captures the fearful delirium of space travel and the unknowability of what’s to find within the birth of a new, human civilization. Żuławski’s feral vision of mankind, settling on a foreign planet, is feverishly enchanting, with harmful, enlightening truths buried deep within.
“Freedom exists and is lying in darkness…”
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The Pied Piper 1972
Dark, weird Jacques Demy adaptation of the classic Black Plague story. Donovan is kinda great for whimsy and music but not so great of an actor on the whole. Great to see John Hurt and Donald Pleasance hamming it up. Also, there are dudes named Burgermeister (which gets chanted multiple times) and Poppendick (which gets shouted multiple times)!
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X 2022
Very creepy and unsettling slasher. I enjoy Ti West horror films, but have been waiting for him to hit the heights of one of his first efforts, house of the devil. Here he teams up with A24 and not only makes what I believe his best film, but also A24's most fun. Mia Goth is terrific in her duel roles here, and the film boasts what could be the most memorable killer in a slasher for some time. X marks the spot!
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The Nice Guys 2016
94
"Why don't we invite him in?"
"No animals in the house, sweetheart."
Goes right into a certain pile of movies (The Big Lebowski, Inherent Vice, The Long Goodbye) which utilize comedic trappings to explore emptiness, loss, and the strangling grip of capitalism. The tightest, snappiest, most deceptively beautiful screenplay in years.
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Elvis 2022
65
As a biopic of Elvis Presley's life, Baz Luhrmann's latest overstuffed epic of glitz and glam doesn't do anything beyond a cursory Wikipedia glance, but as a music film, it's often astonishing at capturing the mythic stature of Elvis as a performer. Luhrmann's bag of stylistic tricks don't always work, but they contribute to the film's messy canvas of American excess and exploitation. Austin Butler is really convincing as Elvis, and he embodies Elvis' extravagant superstar energy. As a…
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