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benjytudor
Reviews
The Fall Guy (2024)
Terrific movie, especially if you're an avid film goer
Saw this today, and it was a blast. It felt very much like an '80s/early '90s action movie done well, as well as an awesome, fun, and loving tribute to the people that make movies possible and never get acknowledged.
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are perfectly matched. The romance is entertaining, and you want them to get together. The final phone conversation between them is a highlight of the movie. All the action as a blast, and it's great the way the film stunt work is used as commentary and part of the storytelling to finish the film with.
The end credits are now maybe my favorite of any movie.
The film is maybe a little bit too niche to find a super wide audience, because it's more enjoyable to those who really love going to the movies. It's rare for a film that's about making movies to branch out to widely beyond that niche audience. Either way, it's awesome that this movie got made.
Civil War (2024)
Kirsten Dunst elevates a pretty good film
I loved Kirsten Dunst in this film; she's extremely underrated, and I hope she gets award by admission for this film. She anchors the film for the audience.
A lot of people think the film is amazing, and many aspects of it are very alarming and powerful. The concept of this film is really interesting, but for me, the execution left something to be desired.
For one, I could have really done without the cliched plot developments of the pseudo mother-daughter relationship between Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny. The climatic ending and what happens to these two characters is telegraphed from the moment the younger character shows up in the movie, because it's a trope throughout film history. For a film dealing with such audacious material, I would have hoped for more original storytelling with the characters, especially when there's two characters, trajectories over the film are the main arcs.
I haven't seen Cailee Spaeny in her recent films, thought I wasn't too impressed with her here. I found her to be kind of a weak point throughout the film, but I have a feeling it's more of the cliched actions her character is saddled with then her acting. She just keeps doing too many stupid things that one expects from a character like this. The screen time she has in which her character comes off better is usually as a result of being able to share the screen with Kirsten Dunst.
Towards the end, in the final moments with these two characters, though, the choices made are so hackneyed, like war movie cliches, that they don't feel authentic. And therefore what happens doesn't feel earned.
Abigail (2024)
Pretty good horror film!
Since this is from the writers and directors of the awesome Ready or Not, it's no surprise that this film feels very similar to their (first) previous movie. It's kind of strange that the movie feels like such a companion movie to Ready or Not, and I wonder what their motives were behind this. Maybe it was accidental. I don't see it as a negative thing, and I like the idea of using a house geographically as the horror setting, especially for an action-horror production. Maybe they were eager to go back to a more closed setting, single location story, after the last two Scream movies they made. It's also very cool that they attempted a very loose remake of an underrated film, the 1936 Dracula's Daughter.
I'm honestly not the biggest fan of Melissa Barrera (not because of her political controversy), but this is the most I've liked her in a movie. All of the everything is good, the use of the house and the way the filmmakers explore the setting is really well done and creative, making the viewer aware of the space, all the rooms, etc., is really well-done.
It's a fun, cool movie, but as I say really similar in many ways to Ready or Not, including the way supernatural characters die. So if you weren't a fan of that movie -- I thought it was fantastic, and I really wish Samara Weaving had shown up in this -- then You might not enjoy Abigail. But this is a solid horror movie, another strong showing for Radio Silence.
A little bit of cool information, I met one of their mothers a handful of years ago while working at a restaurant in Corpus Christi. This was right after they had made Ready or Not, before they got the deal to make Scream V.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Great Ghostbusters movie, now my second favorite
So, I was actually starting to dread seeing this Ghostbusters movie after all the hate it's been getting. However, it turned out to be my second favorite Ghostbusters movie, after the first. Everyone I went with felt the same, as well.
I liked Ghostbusters Afterlife, but less so after another couple viewings. This one is a huge improvement. It does have quite a few new characters, and sometimes seems to struggle a bit with how to incorporate all its returning characters and the new characters, but at the end for me it pulls it off really well.
Also, this film has the most scares and elements of horror (for a Ghostbusters film)of any of the Ghostbusters movies. This Ghostbusters movie treats the supernatural unknown more seriously and menacingly then any of the other Ghostbusters movies.
It also incorporates Dan Aykroyd's original fascination (and his father and grandfather before him) with the supernatural and its allure, which was how Ghostbusters came into existence in the first place. At the same time, it embraces the weirdness of the Ghostbusters world, especially, as the filmmakers that intended, touching on elements from the Ghostbusters cartoons, which I grew up on.
Very cool movie! Hope it's successful enough for another one to come!
Late Night with the Devil (2023)
Fantastic, original horror
Perfectly done, original approach to the demonic position horror film, in my opinion. One of my top five horror movies of the last 5 years or so. It is extremely well-paced and really excels in avoiding the repetition of past possession horror film tropes. When the horror hits, it's a very unique take, and, for myself and those I went with to see it, the climax, especially the last 20 minutes, does not disappoint. The setting is really well done, the production design is terrific. It feels very true to the late '70s, and it manages to create a great sense of its own logic and a tangible sense of reality. David Dastmalchian is really fantastic in his starring role.
Beau Is Afraid (2023)
It's overrated
I'm a huge fan of Hereditary, I thought Midsommar was okay (but a rip off of many other past movies covering similar ground), but Beau is Afraid is overwrought garbage. Joaquin Phoenix is fantastic and completely committed to the vision, but Ari Aster has been given way too much freedom and money to explore his weirdest ambitions. It just goes to show how far his head is stuck up his butt that he was shocked at the critical and audience reception to this movie. He can't see his own films from the perspective of an audience, which means he doesn't understand the audience. Hopefully he's able to change his approach when it comes to his next film.
Thanksgiving (2023)
Best horror film of the year
One of my top five favorite slasher movies ever (and I've been watching horror films for over thirty years now, so I've seen a lot). I think it's also easily Eli Roth's best film. Actually, for what it is -- an extremely inventive, effective slasher film -- we thought it was genuinely perfect. And it's probably the most I've ever liked Patrick Dempsey in a movie (also cool that he's in this and Scream 3).
It's both a throwback to 80s slasher movies, along with 90's slasher movies ala I Know What You Did Last Summer, while also having a modern feel. However, it doesn't repeat what's been done, and makes the tropes feel new.
Eli Roth also really takes advantage of everything that he can think of relating to Thanksgiving in both imaginative, clever and disturbing ways.
People were talking to the screen while the movie was playing, and after the movie ended, people were standing outside the theater talking about how unexpectedly good the movie was.
It turns what could be a gimmick into one of the most fun horror movies in years. Pretty badass.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
Wonderful movie -- so much better than many critics' and others' reactions
I was hoping it wouldn't be disappointing, that the negative responses to it were reactions due to biases and perceptions about what the movie should be or coming from beliefs that the movie shouldn't be made at all -- the movie is elegiac, atmospheric and even beautiful at times, feeling very real at even its most fantastical moments.
Wonderful movie. My wife and I (late 40s) and my thirteen year old daughter, who has only watched bits here and there from the previous films, all thought the movie was fantastic. I'm shocked to say that this is now my second-favorite Indiana Jones movie, next to Raiders. It also feels and looks closest to the original film.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Enjoyable, old-school fantasy
Really enjoyed this embrace of old-school fantasy adventure. It reminded me of.80s movies like Willow, Ladyhawke, and the like. Loved the moments that seemed to avoid CGI, the deep dive into offbeat humor, and the camaraderie of the cast. It was great to see all these often underutilized actors given starring roles in what will hopefully be the first of other Dungeons and Dragons movies. I had no idea Beverly from IT was in this, so that was a great surprise. Loved seeing Michelle Rodriguez in her role. Hugh Grant was perfect casting, really capitalizing upon his natural personality. Chris Pine underplays everything perfectly and continues to be an ideal leading man because he doesn't seem the least concerned with himself. His last song was my favorite moment of the movie, again showing off the bizarre moments of humor. The dragon was my daughter's favorite scene. All the emotional beats were perfectly placed.
Winter People (1989)
Horrendously overwrought melodrama
Thought I'd give this one a shot, since I've always liked the title (sounds mysterious, like a snow-bound thriller), but the misperceived melodrama of the acting and the storyline, right to the atrocious, embarassing final shot is so ridiculous the filmmakers' choices border on insane. Maybe this is because the director's last film was Weekend at Bernie's (!), and his sensibility gauge for emotional honesty was out of whack. Kelly McGillis followed Witness, Top Gun, Made in Heaven, The House on Carroll Street, and The Accused with the one-two punch in 1989 with this film and Cat Chaser, another disaster, and she doesn't seem to have starred in a worthwhile film again. That's unfortunate, because she was good.
Mayfair Witches (2023)
I agree with the negative reviews - a crap on the Anne Rice legacy
After all these years waiting to see The Witching Hour become a movie or at best a series, and we get this bonfire of everything that worked so well in teh books, especially The Witching Hour. There's nothing creepy, no mystery -- at least none that feels mysterious -- and no grasp on the characters that Anne Rice created, or any authenticity to their actions. Alexandra Daddario is a good actress - I thought she was fantastic in The White Lotus -- and while I thought she was perfect casting for Rowan Mayfair, she's stuck in the hands of inept showrunners, coming off so badly that if one had only seen her in this, they'd think she has no grasp on a character. The blend of Aaron Lightner and Michael Curry in one goofy new character does not work and feels like a creatively inept construct the entire time -- their relationship/friendship has no credibility. The character of Lasher is treated like a joke, possibly the most poorly miscast character in the whole show -- so far. Jack Huston looks way too GQ casual. A better way to appreciate the Witching Hour, unfortunately, would just be to take a tour in New Orleans. You'd at least get more authentic feel of what inspired the story. The only audience that might find this appealing is an audience that has no prior knowledge of the Anne Rice literature, but the show is so disjointed and lacking any kind of character relatability or narrative cohesion that even those unaware of the literature couldn't find much to be invested in. And now we'll never see a worthwhile adaptation; this trash killed it.
Skinamarink (2022)
Not worth a watch in the theater
My daughter and I love horror movies, and she wanted to see this one. It looked like it could be pretty creepy; we saw the trailer in the theaters. It had pretty good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but unfortunately it is mind-numbing and sleep-inducing (interesting, considering the movie's last line). Some reviewers must be easily creeped out, because there was at best two moments that gave me creeps, and for a nearly 2 hour film, that's not enough. What kept coming to mind is that the film like a very low budget riff on Sinister.
I wouldn't even really consider it a movie. As mentioned in other reviews, it's way too long. I can't say whether the filmmaker saw David Lynch's Lost Highway, but it definitely seems to attempt the exploration of darkness and potential evil lurking in the darkness of Lost Highway. However, Skinamarink comes off as about too little, in which the choice of using the darkness and the lack of anything specifically seen definitely feels more because of the limited budget and not so much creative choice.
As well, the endless shots of the tv playing Skinmarink cartoon and the legos are ridiculous and really irritating. These shots may have consisted of up to 25% of the entire movie. The filmmaker uses a lot of low angle and high angle shots to give off a distorted reality and distorted perspective, but it just gets annoying and feels less creative than it is just trying to make the viewer wonder why the shots are like this. It does eventually play some kind of purpose in the film, with gravity changes having something to do with the "mystery" of what's happening.
Aside from the angle shots, which I'm aware are supposed to be representing young children's confused perspectives, there are also several minutes total of what feel like absolutely meaningless shots of wall lights.
The purpose of what is supposed to feel as if the film was footage from a video camera is also confusing. The filmmaker has said he loves The Blair Witch Project, but at least that filmmaking style had a definite purpose. Here, about 60% of the film consists of weird angles of things, but then the other 40% consists of the same camera being used in the POV of one of the kids. Therefore, we're supposed to assume every shot is from a video camera that one of the kids is either sitting down with or walking around with. If that's the movie's logic, then the movie doesn't stick to or think carefully enough about it's own logic. The camera is obviously not in the child's perspective or being held by anybody but deliberately filming the events of the story, so then it suddenly being seen as part of the kids' perspective really just makes the choices made here seem amateurish, not a deliberate filmmaking choice but a filmmaking mistake. One thing you can say about David Lynch; anything that doens't make sense to the viewer in his films is a deliberate choice.
It also doesn't help the film that all the credits including emotional acknowledgments to the family whose home this was filmed in, along with one of the filmmakers that passed away before this film was released, are put at the beginning of the film. The film would have been creepier if it didn't have these credits at the beginning of the movie, as if it just started with the camera recording in the house. The goal of this film seems to be to not feel like a film, to be a somewhow recorded perspective of the kids experiencing something scary in their house. Unfortunately, making the choice to put these credits, especially very personal comments about how the film was made, where it was made, and who helped get it made, immediately handicaps any attempt at creating a creepy mood. I was thinking the entire length of the film about how they filmed it in a family friend's house with the help of that family.
The film could possibly be a creepier experience if it's watched on a tv at home with the lights off. It doesn't feel suitable for a dark movie theater. Most of the people in the theater all laughed and talked about wasting their money after it was over. Watching it alone in one's house might be a better experience. I wasted almost 45.00 at the theater seeing this, because it wasn't playing at the theater I get discounts at. It wouldn't have felt wasted if the film was actually scary. The only positive experience I had seeing this in the theater is that I contributed to the theater experience and helped support cinemas and their employees.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
10 out of 10 stars because there really is nothing that could be improved upon
One of the best films of the year, one of the best animated films of the last several years, and a welcome and unexpected enthralling return to the world of stories of Dreamworks Far Far Away. Myself, my wife and my teenage daughter actually had the good luck to see this a month ago, right after Thanksgiving, but I forgot to review it. The story is complex, both structurally and philosophically. It brings in some surprising darkness into the Puss in Boots/Shrek film world while keeping it grounded in its imaginative, kid-friendly exploration of fairy tale legends. It never feels redundant to the previous films or a rehash of what the characters did before. It explores real character growth. At the end, I was really excited by the idea of a 5th Shrek film and what this kind of complexity could do for one. I was going to rate this 9 out of 10, but I realized I couldn't think of any way it could be improved upon, so there's no reason why it shouldn't be 10/10. I hope it makes enough money to encourage a new Shrek film.
Babylon (2022)
Extreme portrayal of the good and bad of Hollywood
This would make a good companion piece with Mulholland Drive. Intense, extreme, funny at times, with some moments from the actors, but the movie is so scattered that the characters feel one-dimensional, slaves to the ideas of the film. I did not feel it dragged, though; it has enough energy to keep up the momentum. The main problem is it that is too scattered, and the audience doesn't connect or really relate to any particular character.
Margot Robbie definitely comes off the best, Brad Pitt does well but doesn't bring much more to role than other actors playing similar characters -- the male star struggling with the transition from silent to talkie films. Diego Calva as Manny obviously has the most historically relevant role, but I didn't care much for his acting. Tobey Maguire probably makes the strongest impression here, giving off Nosferatu vibes. One thing this film does a good job is not showing preference to its white cast. The white cast is not portrayed more significantly, with less value/importance, than the non-white cast. Babylon shows how Hollywood chews and spits out anyone and everyone.
This is definitely a love it or hate it film. Despite its flaws, it was worth watching, and I'll watch it again. My daughter loved it, but she is very open-minded when it comes to films she can handle and enjoys darker films. An older couple sitting a few seats down from us actually left the theater an hour into it. The ending took on a suprise abstract quality with a sequence about film with a little bit of a 2001 Space Odyssey vibe (when Dave Bowman goes through the monolith)...that is probably the best moment of the film, when it doesn't try to shock but actually steps out of the narrative structure of the film as far as it can go. I could have done without the Avatar moment, but I understood the point of it.
Overall, a worthwhile film! However, it doesn't do justice to its talented actors, though, (again, Tobey Maguire was the exception for me -- he puts a lot into the screen time he has, and this is the most I've enjoyed him since Spider-Man 2 -- although he was also my favorite part of Spider-Man No Way Home), and therefore it doesn't really give an opening for the audience to care too much about happens to them. The more obscene parts of the film end up being what the audience will remember versus the more poignant ones, unfortunately. For the money spent on this film, it should have been more accessible to an audience; there is really no audience for it. But that doesn't mean it's not an interesting film.
Interview with the Vampire (2022)
Definitely not what made the novels so great
The negative reviews about the show are, unfortunately, correct. The main characters feel miscast. Lestat definitely feels miscast. I did not have high hopes for this show with the awful previews, but the strong critical reviews made me interested. I have no problem with the emphasis of homosexuality between Lestat and Louis, or any revelantly racial casting choices made, but overall the changes the show has made, in difference to the books, are much less effective and intoxicating than Anne Rice's original artistic genius. I've stopped watching the show already.
I was looking forward to The Witching Hour series much more than the Interview With the Vampire series, but the previews for The Witching Hour are already not inspiring much confidence. It will really be too bad if they misunderstand and reinterpret what makes Anne Rice's work such effective storytelling.
Coming 2 America (2021)
Do not listen to the bad reviews, give it a chance
Much better movie than I was worried it would be. They are not beholden to the first Coming to America movie, but they definitely connect the sequel to the first one, both in characters, settings, and theme. If you are looking for a sequel vastly different than the first one, this will disappoint. Just like the first one, this movie is about the relationships, both between family members and the romantic relationships. I would have liked to have seen Louis Anderson spill another milkshake and talk about fries, but it really puts a smile on your face seeing all the old characters show up. And Sexual Chocolate ends up being a huge crowd pleaser. A very successful sequel that refuses to phone it in or go for the cheap laugh.
Shadow in the Cloud (2020)
Extremely imaginitive filmmaking -- disregard the criticism
I haven't felt a need to write a review on imdb for years, but seeing the criticism for this film made made me go ahead. I just finished watching it, and if it weren't so late, I would watch it again immediately. It is high-octane, highly-imaginative filmmaking. The listed writer Max Landis sounds like a self-obsessed, narcissist, abusive creep, and thankfully the director and star (I believe both of them) reworked the script over so any contributions of his are nil.
Any criticisms about it being unrealistic are pointless criticisms, because the film is not intended to be realistic. It is an extremely creative and innovative fantasy-action-thriller pushing female-led action and carefully constructed female-empowerment that does not feel forced.
I would have loved to have seen this film on the big screen, but it is not playing in my local theater. I'll be watching it again soon!
Long Shot (2019)
One of the better romantic comedies of the last few years
Just saw a sneak preview of this. Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron throw themselves into a politically relevant twist on Pretty Woman, with the roles reversed. Lots of oddball humor interspersed with an actual commentary on today's US politics with a genuine interest in the development of an actual love story. The movie slowly shows that it wears it's heart on it's sleeve but in a very non-forced R-rated way. My wife and I would definitely see it again.