7 Best Movies To Watch After Seven Samurai (1954)
Dune: Part Two
Denis Villeneuve finishes his epic two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel with sprawling scope and thorny politics. It's really a miracle that the first of Denis Villeneuve's Dune films penetrated the public consciousness as well as it did. It was released amid a worldwide pandemic; it was an IMAX-ready blockbuster that was simultaneously dropped onto people's streaming subscriptions same-day; it's based on a dense, impenetrable sci-fi novel Villeneuve patiently chose not to wholly adapt in one film. The results, blessedly, were commercial and critical success and a host of technical Oscars the following year. That success was enough to secure Dune: Part Two, a chance for Villeneuve to complete his vision of Frank Herbert's seminal work of political science fiction. Where Part One worldbuilds, Part Two barrels down the road of its inevitable conclusion in satisfying style, even as it makes some noted changes from the novel or any previous adaptations -- some for the better, some for the worse. Continue Reading →
The Garfield Movie
When I was around thirteen, two classmates, Christina and Taylor (their real names, it’s not like they’re going to read this), played a prank on me that resulted in my eating dog food. In retrospect, it could have been worse: nobody else saw it happen, and for whatever reason they kept it to themselves. But when I think about my teenage years (and I try not to much at this point in my life, other than at a superficial pop culture level), my mind often goes to that moment. Continue Reading →
悪は存在しない
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Sorcerer
If Sorcerer’s sole highlight was Roy Scheider's descent into hallucinatory madness amidst an almost lunar rock field, it would still be a special movie. Scheider is Jackie Scanlon, an American getaway driver turned washed-up exile in the isolated Columbian village of Porvenir. He’s the last survivor of a desperate mission to transport increasingly unstable dynamite to a burning oil well. The blaze is so bad that only controlled explosions to burn off its fuel stand a chance of extinguishing it. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, including Jackie’s kibashed truck giving out a long walk from the well. Haunted by—or just plain hallucinating—the laughter of his dead co-driver, he stumbles forward. Surrounded by the surreal with nothing but a rickety crate between him and the hair-trigger death, it’s all he can do besides die. Continue Reading →
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once is glorious. Continue Reading →
ドラゴンボールZ 超戦士撃破!!勝のはオレだ
I must admit something upfront: I am incapable of fairly reviewing a Tom Hanks movie. I simply love him too much. Not in a thirst Tweet way, but rather in an “America’s Dad” way. I would trust him to sell me a car, even if he had never sold a car before in his life. He simply cannot do any wrong in my eyes. While it’s true that Hanks hasn’t appeared in a film that, on its own merits, was more than just “fine” since 2013’s Captain Phillips, even his recent work remains at least watchable, thanks to the warmth and humanity he brings to every performance. So too does he in Finch, Miguel Sapochnik’s sci-fi drama that wins no points for originality, but still works, thanks (T. Hanks?) to its star. Continue Reading →
Kate
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the next cinematic revenge thriller brawler is too brilliant not to at least try. Her bonafides in 10 Cloverfield Lane as lead and then clutch supporting turn in Birds of Prey do more than enough to establish precedent. Throw in a unique location (Tokyo) with an urgent, grisly hook (an assassin only has 24 hours to enact revenge), and Kate should be one of the most satisfying Netflix originals to presumably hit the Top 10 in 2021. Sadly, the only watchers who might find this satisfying have either watched too many action revenge thrillers or not nearly enough. Continue Reading →