My family visited for my 27th birthday on Saturday. One they rolled out after dinner, there was only one logical course of action… I got some water, kicked back on my couch, opened Disney+, and played one of the best Star Wars movies out there. <3
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Dune: Part Two 2024
A bold, sweeping, confident space opera. I think I'll have to watch it again, though; there is SO much to digest, especially in comparison to part one. Part one took its time introducing you to the universe of Dune, and part of me wishes this had all been worked out as a trilogy to maintain the pace and intricate worldbuilding that was central to 2021's release.
As a side effect of that, I feel that part two here generally prioritized…
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The Heroic Trio 1993
I’ve seen a lot of batshit movies in my day… and The Heroic Trio might be one of the best ones out there. There’s something very Suspiria-esque about the whole thing, from its absurd set pieces and unnatural lighting to its varying degrees of tone and atmosphere. It’s absolutely bizarre… and I enjoyed the hell out of it all.
Michelle Yeoh absolutely serves in every frame she’s in, and Maggie Cheung being the leather-clad source of comic relief was so unexpected but so very welcome.
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Dune 2021
The only thing more solid than Oscar Isaac's beard in this Zimmer's score. Hans always delivers an emotive product, of course, but what he manages to do in Dune feels genuinely interesting. It all feels alien, like it was made with instruments that don’t exist yet. It’s so god damn good.
Something else that really stuck out to me this go around is that Villeneuve really knows how to help craft graphic, iconic imagery. All of his films immediately call…
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Perfect Days 2023
I saw a 1:40 PM showing of Perfect Days five days ago. When I left the theatre, I stepped out into a mild, sunny February afternoon in Chicago. Something had quietly shifted in my worldview; everything was making me feel… happy.
After looking up into the blue sky and bare parkway trees, I hopped back onto my bike and went to get groceries. While zipping down the aisles, I kept smiling off and on, be it at how delicately a…
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The Abyss 1989
Y'all can hate, but I fuckin' love it when kickass sci-fi action movies ultimately end up veering into the mushy-mushy fantastical. It's such a fun combination of suspense, thrills, and not having to end a movie feeling kind of down.
Another thing y'all will hate is how this movie hade me appreciate Cameron and Avatar all the more. This man LOVES doing shit in the water. It's nuts. And I adore it.
PS: I was absolutely floored by how good this movie looked for '89. WILD.
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The Two of Us 1967
It's very hard to swallow how timeless and pervasive bigotry is; in some ways, we've hardly progressed as a race over the last century… and it's so upsetting.
This movie was a delight—but also deeply depressing. Seeing how media has always been weaponized as spite-inducing propaganda was especially fascinating; it feels like such a "now" problem but is old as time. Initially, the (mild spoiler?) lack of a firm resolution at the film's end was jarring—but over time it began…
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Silent Running 1972
I hadn't seen Silent Running since I was a kid, and it was fun to revisit as an adult on blu… although I was definitely left feeling that it wasn't as cool as I recalled, haha. That being said, what this movie lacks in good writing and directing it makes up for in killer worldbuilding, scoring, awkward needle drops (lol), and genuinely-killer visuals.
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Let the Right One In 2008
As Chicagoans were gearing up for our first bout of below zero weather, I decided it was time to finally give this one a go after having it sit on my watchlist for years. Let the Right One In is such a quiet, small movie… but beneath its surface is an absurd amount of commentary on gender and sexuality that I did not seeing coming whatsoever.
One of my favorite moments is when Oskar finally deduces what Eli is and…
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Spider-Man 3 2007
After the highs of its predecessor, it’s easy to feel a little let down by Spider-Man 3.
still like it for what it is—and the nostalgia of it all—but I sort of wish it was split into two separate movies with one villain each. I love the battle of inner toxicity with the symbiote/Venom storyline, and I also love Peter’s journey with Sandman, but… together each one overshadows the other for me.
Alas! I guess a trilogy has more appeal than a set of four… thanks for that, Star Wars!! Ugh.
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Spider-Man 2 2004
This might be the best comic book superhero movie of all time. I love my Nolan Batmans as well as R-Pats', but there's something different about a movie that feels like it's lifted directly from an ol' fashioned, campy-ass comic book; after all, those are the kinds of comics that get you into them as a kiddo.
I was thoroughly obsessed with Doc Ock when Spider-Man 2 came out, and revisiting it for the first time in probably ten years…