Watching
My last 10 watched from Letterboxd.
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The Furious
Some of the best action I’ve seen since The Raid 2. A lot of movies have tried to ape The Raid but end up just overdoing it on the gore. This hits the sweet spot between visceral combat and inventive choreography without trying to make you avert your eyes. The cast is stacked with great martial artists but Brian Le really shines with a physicality and fighting style that’s incredibly unique. The whole movie I’m thinking, “this is pretty good,” and then there’s a fight in the last act that just made me giddy. But then the movie kind of wears out its welcome after that fight. Overall, definitely top tier action with a decent story. (Who doesn’t love watching a pedophile ring get mercilessly beaten to death with a hammer?)
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Disclosure Day
Definitely some classic Spielberg hallmarks here but good lord is the script terrible. So much is told through exposition it’s exhausting. At one point a character says, “you wouldn’t believe me if I told you. So I’ll show you.” And then they proceed to cut away to an entirely different character. Colin Firth is comically evil and determined, but ultimately just throws his hands up and says fuck it at the most critical point. Just when you actually want them to tell you something the movie cuts to credits. Just really lazy script writing where a character just flat out says what the aliens want, and it’s like the most naive and earnest thing it makes you want to roll your eyes into the back of your skull. It sounds like I hated this movie but Emily Blunt is fantastic here and Coleman Domingo can be in every movie, as far as I’m concerned. Those performances and Spielberg’s direction elevate this well above the material they were given.
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In the Grey
A couple of cool set pieces but otherwise this feels like 90 minutes of “here’s the plan” montage that doesn’t amount to much. Fun cast that’s largely wasted across the board.
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Michael
My 7-year-old has been wanting to see this. I was his age when Thriller came out. I tried to explain to him how wildly famous Michael was. Yes, even more famous than Bad Bunny, I assured him. Jaafar Jackson does an incredible job channeling his late uncle here. Unfortunately the script is largely just a checklist of Michael’s rise to fame and ends shortly after the Victory Tour and severing ties with his abusive father. Nothing important or interesting apparently happened after that, though the movie tells us his story continues — presumably in Avengers: Doomsday.
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Gladiator
Happy Pride to the gay giraffes!
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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Surprisingly, I hadn’t seen this since joining Letterboxd. I’ve seen it so many times I could still probably recite it from memory. So many great lines. “Smells like Bigfoot’s dick!” gets me every time. Next time you watch this, check out the people clapping at the zoo in the end. Their hands don’t touch. Once you see it you can never unsee it.
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The Day of the Jackal
Takes awhile to get cooking and even then doesn’t much more exciting. Some great scenic locations. Not a bad movie but just entirely too long.
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Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
My kids (7 and 4) wanted to see this and then 2/3 in they asked if we could leave. I’ll have more to say if I ever get to finish it, but for now logging this as evidence of the time my kids made me pay close to $100 to see 2/3 of a mediocre Star Wars movie.
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The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
Incredibly timely doc about AI anxiety told through the lens of an expectant father. Is now a good time to have a kid? The film sets up AI as an existential threat, and while it tries to balance that out with some optimism, it’s telling that the most optimistic people are tech CEOs who have a lot to gain if and when AI becomes ubiquitous. But even the three CEOs of American AI companies they interviewed didn’t do much to reassure me that collectively we’ll do the right thing where AI is concerned. Especially considering the absolute shit show that is our government.
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Josh Johnson: Symphony
Love Josh Johnson and, while I enjoyed this set, it felt like a departure from his usual topical humor. The material here is purposely timeless. Still, he’s a great talent and I can’t wait to see what he does next.