Watched 31 Jul 2026

Despite the warm critical reception, I had low expectations from a few key reactions I heard, and yet still, I was disappointed. I love the idea of blowing genre to bits, to be clear. This makes all the moves of a rom-com and subverts them all. But what's left? Ridiculous in-world logic and a metaphor so frustratingly messy that I gave up by the finale. Hathaway does her best, Jason Sudeikis is fine, but neither character is convincing. Then it teases the Bechdel test only to fail it. No thanks.

Watched 24 Jul 2026

I thought I'd avoided all of these product biopics (Nike, Flaming Hot Cheetos, Tetris) until I watched Nirvanna & learned that Blackberry is from the same creators. Gosh bless them Canadian can-do kids. I gather this is very exaggerated, and no doubt the timeline of events was squished together for the sake of efficiency and pacing. It works. I was glued to the screen. The handcam zooms capture tech garage dreams as they are eaten up by cheap, glossy capitalist machinery. Smart, sad, inevitable.

Watched 20 Jul 2026

All I know about Dune is what I've seen in the Lynch version and Villeneuve's Part One (and Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice"), but my partner confirms it's as faithful an adaptation as one can expect. I couldn't appreciate those details, but I do love this darkly calculated epic grandeur. It's edited to utmost efficiency, its visuals hum with originality, and thankfully someone told Hans Zimmer to simmer down. A satisfying middle to a trilogy is never guaranteed, so I was exceptionally pleased.

Watched 20 Jul 2026

I struggle to critique it. It's an expertly crafted, passionately told story that feels more definitive than any take in decades on this classic tale. I don't know the source material, so I had to find out later which elements were new and which were standard. It didn't make much difference; my feelings are the same. The reliance on CGI, especially in impossibly picturesque wide shots, felt too perfect to me. Somehow, I find the tailored filmmaking undercuts the flawed nature of what it serves.

Watched 20 Jul 2026

Maybe I'm too used to conventional Hollywood storytelling, but I wanted this to be either more streamlined or more unhinged, more family-friendly or more adult. A friend had to explain to me the context of its gay director and the story's rationale for being about incest at all. It helps, as do the anachronistic elements. The songs are fun. (I'm less partial to the score.) The colors, costuming, and set design are truly iconic, but the plot detours and pacing kept me at odds with the experience.