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Reviews
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
A magnificent film project with excellent performances but...
This was such a beautiful movie, clearly made by someone who loves his craft. This movie brings all of Hollywood's heavy hitters - De Nino, Scorsese, DiCaprio - together to tell a haunting story that will linger with you long after the credits roll. Yet, one cannot feel that this is not quite the magnum opus for the trio that it might have been.
The movie's most glaring weekness is that the twist, or hook, is no great mystery. Anyone familiar with the genre or American history could have devised the treachery afoot from the first or second scene between misters DiCaprio and De Niro. After that the first act drrrraaaaaggggsss along until you've lost interest in the story by the time the FBI shows up.
All in all I did love this film because it is the type of big budget movie you so rarely see from Hollywood anymore and because the cast and direction is incredible. However, it's too long, and I don't know that I would ever watch it again. It doesn't reach the entertainment brilliance of Goodfellas or Casino or The Departed. But it is worth the one watch for its truly haunting story and its sheer uniqueness amidst a sea of soulless popcorn flicks.
The Lesson (2023)
Written by a writer who loves writing but isn't good at it.
If TS Elliot was right when he said "good writers borrow, great writers steal" then the author of this movie is can comfortably be called an original. This movie stinks. Nothing even remotely interesting or dramatic happens as you meet the characters in part 1. In part 2 you basically figure out the whole "plot" and where the tension will be in about 15 seconds. There is a moment where the movie says, "eh parts 1&2 are a different feel completely to part 3." So I'm thinking, ok maybe the movie is referencing itself and the closer will make up for the boringness of the first hour. But then Part 3 comes along and it's just as boring and predictable, no actions have consequences at all, all these people seem to not be living in the same plane of existence as each other, as they never reference the other person having done something. The ending makes zero sense. The whole thing makes zero sense. The only saving grace is that the lead actor is working very hard to try and make this into something and the scenery is beautiful.
The Hunt (2020)
Doesn't know what movie it wants to be
There is a great idea and a good story at work in this movie. The problem is that is never decides if it wants to be a snarky satire or an action thriller. Betty Gilpin's "strong woman" performance is suitably strong, but Emma Roberts is bland and unsatisfying as the inexplicably hidden for a long time supervillian. The political commentary is so scattershot that it's hard to tell if it's deliberately transparent and cringy or not. An enjoyable movie if you are expecting nothing. Not worth the hype in either direction and an idea not fully developed. 5 Stars.
Rear Window (1954)
For Real?!?!
Alfred Hitchcock is the master of suspense? This is his best movie? I get that this movie is from the 1950s but surely they were aware of the existence of twist endings. If any movie needed a twist ending it was this one. The whole movie Jimmy Stewart is framing Torwald as a killer, and turns out he is. That is not suspenseful. He zeros in on spying on Torwald and convincing Grace Kelly to commit multiple felonies as she breaks into the killers apartment to get proof of something while Stewart fights off the killer with the POWER OF THE CAMERA OH YEAH! And everything turns out fine. Jimmy was right all along.... Pretty disappointing.
No Sudden Move (2021)
I thought it was better than it was
The whole time I was watching this movie I kept expecting it to get better. The pieces were there, but by the midpoint the plot is too convoluted and I've lost my motivation to care about any of the characters.
I was very interested at the beginning and the tension is great right up until everything hits the fan in the kitchen scene but then the movie just goes off the rails trying to swerve the viewer over and over again but never doing it in an interesting way. Brendan Frasier looks like he ate Kevin James.
3 stars - great rising action, good acting work (except for Matt Damon)