Every time I rewatch, I’m bowled over again by just how vulnerable and empowering and critical Howl’s Moving Castle is about aging, love, and the evil of war (especially, in this film’s case, the United States’s warmongering). Such a massive film.
Joe and I FINALLY covered a Ghibli film for our House of Animations series and it is available NOW
This is probably one of the most devastating and tragic horror films out there? Mia Farrow plays Rosemary so well that you wind up with a very tangible sense of anguish over all that is happening to her.
Can’t help but replicate some of its worst qualities found in the first film, but Terrifier 2 is leagues better than its predecessor and I’m feeling a lot more excited about seeing Terrifier 3 tomorrow.
Narrative works, although it does leave you wanting more, which is a bigger downside when set beside a longer runtime. I don’t think any part is a waste of time, but I do think it gets lost in its own gorefest a little too often.…
Veronica’s connection to the women killed on the land she walks upon is presented visually and thematically like a mycorrhizal network. A riveting illustration to present, and one, thanks to its more atmospheric leanings, that is conveyed with a rhythmic intensity and efficiency. She Will’s tackling of aging and the systemic abuse of women make for an engrossing watch, even when the film sits in narrative lulls intended to bring us deeper into that haunted network. Really, really interesting and satisfying to chew on.
They basically gave Megatron Sith eyes. That’s dope as fuck!!!!!
Really impressed by how swiftly this got me to fully buy in. Gorgeous animation, impressive fight sequences, and some really solid voice acting. I love the weight that’s applied to the characters. There’s this very tricky line between giving them enough lightness to perform the agility required and enough weight to convey their metallic structuring and the film does a fantastic job of walking that line perfectly. Humor worked very…
If you listen carefully, you can hear middle school aged me crying in despair over what they did to my series like how Cedric Diggory’s dad wails for him in Goblet of Fire. They made a poorly constructed adaptation of one of my favorite book series from middle school and it includes a not great cover of “Such Great Heights”, a song I was obsessed with in middle school. Middle school me is LOSING today.
People in their mid-20s playing…
ETERNALS IS VERY GORGEOUS TO ME!
An epic, sprawling story built almost entirely on relationship dynamics, a setup that Marvel has a tendency to veer away from. Certain aspects feel less essential than others. The vengeful deviant is a dope villain if it had more room to grow/was the central villain instead of the 4th most threatening antagonist on screen. But the glue of the film, these characters who have evolved together and apart having to come back together in…
Take my rating with a grain of salt. Either I’m rating higher than I normally would because I love when James McAvoy gets to play a big, beefy man who could crush my head with his bare hands or I’m rating lower than I normally would because I love the original version and still dislike an American remake arriving so close on the original’s heels.
Suffers in similar fashion to The Strangers: Chapter One, eagerly providing reasoning to atrocities that…
Would work if it leaned full throttle into either its more silly aspects or its more serious aspects, but in its attempt to encapsulate both, Something in the Water struggles to stay afloat in a pool full of far more effective shark films. There’s hints at something like Open Water here, but the flimsy characterization of everyone involved strip the film of any sort of emotional impact. Its greatest shortcoming comes with how the film manages to really drag despite its less than 90 minute runtime.
Possesses a very tangible sort of eeriness that really sucks you in. I do think the first two stories are a bit stronger than the last two, but each one feels fully realized and steady, which is not a sentiment I often feel towards anthology films. I love that Kwaidan’s through line is storytelling, and how the different forms of storytelling can open the door into other worlds, some imaginary, and others more tangible. The way the act of storytelling can blur those lines between the tangible and intangible is such a treat.
Arguably one of the better legacy sequels of the year. Still internally debating on whether Beetlejuice Beetlejuice or Twisters takes the top spot in that regard.
Bob is the real star of this film and steals the spotlight every second he’s around. I love that guy. The cast as a whole feels so fun to see on screen. Zany conversations and delightful character designs and silly gags abound. Really appreciate how tangibly practical the film feels. I miss movies like…