This will not be my final review of this film as I'm writing this months after seeing this in theaters, but I'll never forget sobbing for the first hour of this film. My wife thought something was wrong with me. There's something so harrowing about the opener. The music, the aesthetic, Adrien Brody's powerful performance as Laszlo, it was all so moving to me. I love that the focus is post war and not during. The effort to rebuild oneself like a phoenix being reborn is such a moving story - escaping the cruelest part of recent history. As an artist Laszlo's specialty is architecture and my goodness - powerful filmmaking. With a combined effort director Brady Corbet, cinematographer Lol Crawley, and production designer Judy Becker all worked together to deliver a truly unique experience. Shooting without a storyboard they allowed the production design, which was inspired by architectural heritage, to steer the direction. It's beautifully done and brought me to tears all over again. However, this is a very long movie and its not all great. I don't plan to watch this again soon. It's rooted deeply in pain and it's runtime is almost a full day's commitment. We were very lucky to see this at a full service theater that served meals and had free refills, but the comfort of a home theater will definitely be the place to immerse yourself into this experience.

Let me start by saying I was very excited for this film and ultimately let down. I debated a 1 star rating, but defaulted to 2 stars because I think my expectations may have made the experience even worse. I thought I was the target audience of this film as a LoTR junkie and a massive fan of anime. Turns out the target audience was neither of those but instead fans of Disney princesses. Condensing down the grand scale of Tolkien's world into a story about a spoiled brat, who doesn't want to play her role as princess and rather fight with swords. Don't get me wrong - that plot doesn't always result in a bad story. If this was well written it could have been the LoTR version of "Princess Mononoke." Except it's not well written...The characters are all one dimensional. Even a powerhouse like Brian Cox couldn't bring enough life to the story. Even stealing the LoTR soundtrack couldn't save this... Can't believe I hyped this up so much. A re-watch is inevitable, but I'm not looking forward to it.

I want to start by praising this film's visual language. That is 100% where this film succeeds. There are some incredibly confident shots with insane color chemistry and it looks amazing. With that said, this movie is as enjoyable as watching paint dry. It's a very colorful experience in that way... (sarcasm). I could just not get invested in the monotone, one note, plot-lacking pace of this deeply profound nonsense. It's not for me! I get that. However, I am an empathetic person. I can see that this film is made for certain individuals and there was bound to be a divide between those who loved or hated it. I definitely lean towards hate. Especially after the credits rolled. The final scene was infuriating... at first. Then it lingered in my mind just long enough for me to dig into some explanation videos and eventually I gained an appreciation for it. The final moments might even be the best part of the film. I will definitely be keeping an eye on Jane Schoenbrun's future work. While this one may not have been for me, I still respect the level of confident filmmaking displayed.

Two movies this year focus on a depressed Jewish boy names Ben. This is the funnier one. Sorry, Kieran Culkin (you'll still get the oscar). Jason Schwartzman nails it as our kosher cantor Ben,  who's been recently widowed, lives with his moms, and not is looking to mingle. Despite being paid to sing for a living at the Jewish synagogue his mom's are contributors too, he is currently unable to sing. And after failing to perform at service he tries to kill himself by laying in front of an 18-wheeler. The driver stops and proceeds to give him a lift to the local bar instead. Ben downs mudslides, get's punched in the face, and ends up re-kindling a relationship with his grade school music teacher Ms. Carla. Carol Kane's heartwarming and quirky performance as Carla, who was widowed years ago, makes this one of the best movies of the year. There's a comforting authenticity shared between Carla and Ben, which contrasts the manic and often anxious presentation of this film. I have not seen previous Nathan Silver film's so I'm unsure of his style, but the editing here reminded me of ​the Safdie brothers. Quick cuts, lots of overlapping dialogue, foreign sounds - there's been a lot of incredibly anxious family dinner scenes in recent memory. I'm thinking FX's The Bear to be specific. Silver adds another one to that fun list in one of Between the Temples best scenes. This film is witty, charming, surprisingly intense, and even sexy when it wants to be. I'm looking forward to re-watching this already. One of this years best.

Egger's love for mythos is seen through all his films from The Witch to The Northman. Most of his plots are driven by unseen mystical forces. In The Witch it's obviously the fear of witchcraft, The Lighthouse is less obvious but references Greek mythology, and The Northman calls upon Norse mythology. I think Nosferatu is joyfully different in being about an evil force that is very much real. This allows Eggers to have fun finally bringing to life the mystical, evil. sinister force that's pulling the strings. I loved his choice to make Count Dracula a rotting corpse instead of rehashing the 1922 look and I loved that he gave us a lot of screen time with his ugly lump of flesh portrayed insanely well by Bill Skarsgård, who completely tranformed his voice and body for this role. I've heard complaints that Dracula was shown too early. I disagree. This is the  story of Count Orlok (Dracula) and Ellen Hutter. To shy away from one of it's two leads would have been unfair and honestly less entertaining. I'm here for Orlok, baby. His scenes are all the most memorable. Eggers has been developing his visual style and I think Nosferatu is the peak of his current work. This movie is gorgeous. It's tied with Skarsgard as the most impressive thing this movie offers. Unfortunately, this movie is style over substance. However, the style and atmosphere of this movie are so incredibly good that I'm already wanting to dip my toes back into the insanity. I'm very happy that Eggers finally made his Nosferatu. I love that he had this opportunity and I can't wait to see what he does next.

We live in an era of fast food movies being pumped out by big streaming services that come and go without ever being in any discussions. There's an audience for mediocrity assuming it targets your tastes. I'm not mad at that. What I do get frustrated with however, is director and writer M. Night Shyamalan. A filmmaker who pumps out Netflix original quality movies that for some reason still get talked about. Are their still people who believe he's got another Sixth Sense in him? I don't think so. The dialogue in Shyamalan's movies has become so weird. It's so awkward, clunky, and here Josh Hartnett tries his best but ultimately this movie falls flat halfway through. I let go and tried to enjoy the nonsensical plot as much as I could. If this is your thing I'm happy for you. It's not for me.

A sequel to ​Ridley Scott's beloved 2000's Best Picture winner Gladiator wasn't on my bucket list. In fact, I wasn't a huge fan of the original when I recently watched it. The 2000's shaky cam fad was in full force and the action scenes are a pain to get through. Thankfully, this update on Scott's story features incredible action cinematography. No shaky cam. Better CGI animals. Sharks. You didn't expect sharks? Me neither. There are some fun surprises here including Denzel's great performance. Despite seeming unnecessary, it does a decent job of wrapping up loose ends from the first movie. However, it doesn't quite hit emotionally on the same level as the original. It's missing something, most likely Russell Crowe, or maybe I'm just playing hard to get. Amidst a year of releases ranging from amazing to terrible, I think Gladiator II is worth the time investment for some healthy fun, but it didn't stick with me after walking out the theater doors.

I'll never forget going to see Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in theaters with my siblings. The magic I experienced that day has stuck with me for my lifetime. Since then there's only been a handful of movies that have impacted my life the same way. Dune Part II is one of those movies. I saw it in theaters three time and just recently rewatched it at home once again. As Owen Wilson would say, "wow." This movie is magical. We open with Princess Irulan writing about and digesting the brutal destruction of House Atreides. She invites us to consider the weight of her father's silence and bring us closer to understanding the boiling rage in Paul's heart, whom picks up where the Princess leaves off. Villeneuve immediately delivers a heart pounding action sequence that delivers. As if to say, THANK YOU for believing in this project. It was worth the wait. The first hour of the film is one great scene after another. Jessica becoming the reverend mother, the harvester attack, Paul becoming fedaykin, and the worm ride... one of the best made scenes in a long, long time. We then take a dark turn into the Harkonnen world and meet Feyd Rautha (Butler). We get Léa Seydoux's sultry performance as Lady Margot. If I were to say anything negative about this film it is that after this point, the film takes a break from being awesome. We'd reached such a high point in the film in just sixty minutes - it's natural, but noticeable. Perhaps if the film was given a longer runtime they could have converted the middle 40 minutes from just plot progression to real meaty substance. Alas, this is a production of monstrous size and a considerably weird IP for Hollywood to bank on. It is understandable that they wanted to keep the runtime less than three hours. I have so much to say but let me try and keep this short. Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem give two of my favorite performances of the year. The soundtrack for this film is on fire and elevates every scene and gives me goosebumps. I love it dearly and will continue to rewatch this as much as I rewatch Lord of the Rings. 

​

​Don't call her Anora! She goes by Ani and she found herself a rich boy.  He might be on the spectrum, but he's got a nice smile and lots of cash. They get married in Las Vegas the way young and free souls do. They spend evenings in his mansion smoking weed, playing PlayStation, having sex. Director Sean Baker (Florida Project) always captures moments so relatable you can place yourself in the scene. He presents the world as it is and therefore this wonderful but shallow reality comes crashing down as expected. Baker crafts one of the best scenes of the year with the help of the incredibly talented cast led by Mikey Madison (Ani) diverting the story into a gut wrenchingly funny yet shockingly raw struggle between Ani and the suspicious associates of Ivan's parents. While the 1st half of the film is a fun and sexy Cinderella story, the 2nd half becomes a hilarious dark comedy with big laughs as Garnick, Igor, and Ani get drug around searching for Ivan. Garnicks pain and Igor's awkwardness service as extended jokes while Ani fights tooth and nail to keep her Cinderella lifestyle in grasp. Her bravery and passion through this hopeless and potentially dangerous adventure make Ani hard not to love. By the end, you'll just want to give her a big hug and a shoulder to cry on. This reminded me very much of 2019's dizzying Uncut Gems, which I also loved, except Anora has much more charm than Howard. However, both will keep you in your seat long after the credits with your jaw dropped.

Legendary filmmaker Robert Zemeckis has now made the biggest budget Hallmark movie ever. Unfairly pulling at our heart strings by once again teaming up with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Except this movies ambition is literally thinking inside the box - of a home - to tell a story as broadly undefined as the progression of time, life, and people? I think both Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Zemeckis are getting a little old to be crafting big budget projects, without anyone asking them if it's worth it. This is no doubt one of the years most boring movies. Offering it's audience arguably less to enjoy than The Crow Remake from earlier this year.