Good news, everyone! It’s my birthday month! I will be accepting donations of scented letters and wilted flowers, many thanks in advance. Also, September is usually a pretty good month for movies, so hopefully we get some bangers over the next few weeks. I’ve been underwhelmed by way too many movies this year (as good […]
Film
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Run, Rabbit
“Ready or Not” hides from the bigger ideas
Every once in a while, a premise comes along that’s so simple and elegant that it’s astounding it hasn’t been done before. While there are definitely aspects of “Ready or Not” we’ve seen before, the film is executed with such gusto that it’s hard to really be mad at it over the dumb stuff. This […]
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On the Ropes
“The Peanut Butter Falcon” wants us to love each other
Sometimes a movie makes you feel so good and so attuned to the human race that it’s easy to overlook the flaws. It seems like we’re more divided now than ever, and even things that everyone used to agree on are able to court some level of controversy. A few weeks ago, I posted a […]
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They All Float
“47 Meters Down: Uncaged” is shark schlock
Shark movies are, at heart, monster movies. Yes, sharks exist in the world and are much different than say, some weird and creepy creature designed by a filmmaking team, but their goal is the same regardless: killing teenagers. Whether it’s a shark, an alligator, Bigfoot or a redneck, they populate horror movies to rack up […]
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Alone Together
“Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is a missed opportunity
As a filmmaker, Richard Linklater is what you might call affable. In his movies, going all the way back to “Dazed and Confused,” he loves to find the truth in human interaction, but seems uncomfortable with pain that isn’t easily fixed. His best work (The “Before” Trilogy) comes close to really exploring damaged individuals, but […]
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Learn to Say Goodbye
Awkwafina refreshes in "The Farewell"
I‘m not sure what I expected from “The Farewell”—maybe something slightly schmaltzy, with multiple moments of unearned conflict and manipulative attempts to get the audience to reach for their hankies. That sounds harsh, but I don’t trust tearjerkers. They try so desperately to cash in on my emotional dollars that most of them feel like […]
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May the Source Be with You
August Edition
Look, I realize it’s incredibly impersonal to talk about the weather…especially with you. We’re closer than that. I’d rather find out how your summer has been and whether you’ve been properly hydrating—but I know you have. You’re responsible; I just worry because it’s so hot outside. If you need something to do while cooling down […]
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The Slow and the Curious
Hobbs & Shaw is like bad pizza
I didn’t expect this movie to be smart, but I’m not sure I expected it to be so stupid, either. As an unabashed fan of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, I’ve been looking forward to “Hobbs & Shaw” all year. Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs has been the best character in the series since his introduction […]
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California Dreamin’
Tarantino weaves a wondrous fairy tale
I think Quentin Tarantino is a misunderstood filmmaker. He’s an unembarrassed cinephile who regularly comes under attack for his movies containing sexism, racism, brutal violence, a deep-seated foot fetish and enough bad language to make a sailor blush. Yeah, most of his movies contain those things, but they exist to serve a purpose, not to propagate […]
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See Ya Later, Alligator
“Crawl” is a classic throwback to “Jaws”
I‘m a grown-ass man. Yes, I spend too much money on comic books, physical media and having strangers cook me food, but I still feel like I’m more of a grown-up than I was, like, three to five years ago. I’ve seen upward of a thousand movies in theaters over the years—yet, amazingly, I had […]
