The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar; Russian doll story within a story within a story climbing back out of itself is expertly performed by a most exquisite cast. Dahl’s clever and fun prose is hard to transfer to the screen but the way Anderson uses sets and framing to unfold it all is perfection; A
 

The Rat Catcher

The Rat Catcher; The stylistic choice to keep the original short story narrative almost spoken word performed by a sparse talented cast, in what feels like an improv game played to wild perfection, comes across as insane genius. Pairing Dahl’s darker work w/Anderson’s aesthetic is fantastic; A-

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom; This was truly bonkers, which seems to be the only way to make an Aquaman movie. Gotta love Mamoa going for it, knowing how goofy it all is on the page, and having a great time with the lamest character. It’s astounding we got two of these given how silly it is; C

The American Society of Magical Negroes

The American Society of Magical Negroes; The balancing act btwn cutting satire & conventional, accessible rom com doesn’t quite come off throughout each scene but the leads are adept at both. If only direction/script succeeded to a better degree. Worth a watch for the deeper discussion to follow; B
 

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour; Overly ambitious in scope & length, it’s made for true Swifties, who will respect the breadth of catalog & style changes w/each era, along w/ the quality of concert capture. But the lack of any extras, insight or BTS makes it all seem very one note for casual viewers; B-

This Is Me...Now

This Is Me…Now; Lopez has been equally fascinating & frustratingly cheesy throughout her career, displaying glimpses of extraordinary talent & work ethic alongside questionable choices. This extended long form album/music video has the same highs & lows. Cameos are super fun, rest not so much; C+

Bob Marley: One Love

Bob Marley: One Love; Does an excellent job of capturing what the singer meant to his family, friends, fans & his people. Follows biopic trend of focusing on a particular era rather than his whole life story, centred on the music. Ben-Adir & Lynch are equally phenomenal in their portrayals; A-

Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two; Every aspect of the craft of filmmaking is exquisitely done by each department, distracting from the relatively boring story. One would (and very well still could) fall asleep if it weren’t so spectacular to look at and listen to. An insanely talented cast adds to the ruse; B+

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon; A real slow burn of seedy, detestable characters subtly played expertly by an astounding cast. Despite its long runtime, Robertson’s score keeps the pace moving towards its tragic conclusion. Scorsese’s been a truth teller all his career, this story may be the ugliest; A-

Poor Things

Poor Things; Wild production design + eccentric performances establish a framework for the bizarre story of Bella Baxter on a feminist awakening from woman child to expressing agency in her own affairs. The film has to be seen to be believed, and not for audiences who are adverse to the perverse; A-

Damsel

Damsel; Not exactly what it seems, yet every bit as predictable as a fairytale. Heightened by big budget effects and the powerful acting of agony by MBB, the realistic take on fantasy content is a bit jarring, unsettling but hard to turn away from. The story is simple yet strongly executed; B-