Metropolis You might not know this, but the secret to a good sci-fi movie is world-building. The plot is almost secondary. What people really want to see is how the future is being represented (or the past, for that matter). Don’t believe me? Watch Blade Runner and think about what happens. A character is given a job, and it takes him 2 hours to do it. What makes Blade Runner truly great is the world in which...
Hereditary In a way, I feel bad for the movie Hereditary. Partly because it’ll never get the feedback it deserves for its creators to really make a great follow-up, but also because this is a perfect example of a movie killing itself through its own advertisement. Before it was even released, Hereditary was presented as the new scariest movie of all time, the new Exorcist, and how watching it will basically ruin your life because it’s so scary. And...
Predator 3-Movie Collection I remember a time when Predator was not just a scary movie but also a cool one. It had all the right ingredients: military heroes, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a contra-like scenario, aliens, cool visual tech, and a squid-like monster with what clearly were supposed to represent dreadlocks. It also gave us a cool shot of muscled arms clutching each other. The backdrop of Predator is very simple both in setting and colors: a claustrophobic jungle...
Documentary Now! Season One and Two The mere existence of a show like Documentary Now! is baffling. Because, let’s break it down. It’s spoofing documentaries by recreating them and adding a new twist. In order for this to work, the show must 1) understand the subject matter (the film it is spoofing) 2) develop an intriguing enough twist to reinvent the documentary 3) have actors who are versatile enough yet bring their own sensibilities to the roles and 4)...
Super Troopers 2 Whether you like it or not, you gotta admire the underdog nature of Super Troopers. It’s a comedy that’s aged surprisingly well that fortunately never fell victim to many of the popular comedies of today. It’s not dependent of cameos for its performances but focuses on writing. Instead of relying on a “remember them?” neuron firing when we see an actor on screen, it instead focuses on its script actually being funny on the page...
A Quiet Place I love a good success story. Especially one that gives credit where it’s due. There’s no denying that A Quiet Place has been a resounding success at the box office. It’s made over $300 million worldwide with a “measly” budget of “just” $20 million. Well done, Mr. Krasinski. Of course, we have to be careful before we resoundingly applaud Hollywood, because plenty of garbage movies make a bundle of money. Just look at the Fast...
Thoroughbreds Of all the movies I’ve seen so far this year, Thoroughbreds has managed to rank near the top. Forget about those garbage rehashed superhero movies. In this environment, it’s originality that matters. And Thoroughbreds has plenty of that. There’s an immediate appeal to this movie from the look alone. Thoroughbreds looks meticulously shot with Wes Anderson-esque attention to detail. It’s a perfect depiction of the prim, proper, and sterile environment that these two protagonists live in, and are...
Endless Poetry ABKCO In the featurette for Endless Poetry there’s a plea by writer/director Alejandro Jodorowksy where he claims that he wants to undo modern filmmaking and instead make something that’s an artistic expression by its creator, a film that will stay with the viewer after they watch it, that has the power to change lives. This is the bar Jodorowsky has set for himself and it should be enough for us to give him a chance. Having been...
Phantom Thread I’m a fan of the Best Show with Tom Scharpling and in one of the host’s many ramblings, he’s expressed his feelings for Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA) and how he believes him to be a genius: one of the few geniuses on this earth. Now, I wouldn’t go that far because I don’t really believe in geniuses. Although I do know one. What I can say about PTA is that all evidence points to him being the...
The Post Manufacturing Consent, a book by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman should be required reading for every person living in the United States. Among the many subjects it covers are how the media, while loving to pat itself on the back for swaying the course of the Vietnam War, was in fact very much in favor of it when it first started. In fact, it misreported, ignored inconvenient facts, and straight up lied to the public in...