KingKongKyle

The Accountant 2 doubles down on the action and humor over the first film. It does however try to juggle too many subplots that are poorly connected, leading to a less coherent film and a lack of a singular, hateable villain.

On the plus side, making Jon Bernthal a co-lead this time was incredibly smart. He and Affleck have great chemistry and Bernthal's Braxton is both a lethal threat and downright hilarious. This is easily his best role since The Punisher.

Like the first film, action isn't the primary focus, with a lot of time spent on enjoyable character moments. But when the action does arrive, it really delivers. Depending on what the new Mission: Impossible has in store for us, the Juarez shootout in this film may go down as the best action sequence of the year.

Again, I wish more of the character development had been focused on the villains, so we'd have a central antagonist who seems like a real threat. Instead we get several boring micro-villains.

I also wish the writing and editing were working in better harmony to bring us a more coherent story.

But all that said, Affleck and Bernthal have charm to spare, the final act is awesome, and this is a decent follow up to the admittedly better first film. 7/10.

What can I say about The Brutalist that hasn't been said? Probably nothing. You'll hear critics call it a "masterpiece" and a "modern classic". But those terms get tossed around a lot and are really a matter of personal opinion. As for me, I agree. I do believe this is a masterpiece and it will be considered a classic decades from now.

It's old-fashioned in the best ways possible. It really feels like something Coppola, or one of his European contemporaries, would have made in the late 70s to early 80s. It was shot with VistaVision and released to theaters as 70mm film prints. It's over 3.5 hours long and includes a short overture, a fifteen-minute intermission and an epilogue. And somehow, this epic film that spans decades and takes place on multiple continents was shot in just 34 days on a reported budget of ten million dollars. I mean really, that this film even exists in the modern filmmaking landscape is amazing.

Adrien Brody stands a strong chance of winning his second Oscar, as this is his best performance since The Pianist, and the best performance of the year for me. The rest of the cast is also excellent, including Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Isaach De Bankole, Alessandro Nivola and Joe Alwyn.

The Brutalist follows an accomplished architect who flees post-war Europe only to find life in America to be quite brutal. After giving up on his architectural dreams, an encounter with a wealthy benefactor helps him to realize and accomplish the brilliant designs in his head - but this relationship may not be as friendly or peaceful as it seems at first.

I drove an hour and a half one-way to see this film in IMAX (along with two other awards-buzzy films that weren't playing locally). I will say if it is possible to see it in IMAX, or at least a large premium screen, spring for it. But as the story is quite intimate in nature, it should play well on a standard screen too, even if it won't look quite as breathtaking.

The Brutalist is 3.5 hours of pure cinema bliss. It would be a perfect 10 for me, but there's a couple scenes I wish they had left out, and I wasn't in love with the ending. So, it's getting a 9 and may well be pulling some major upsets on my year-end list. This is the first 2024 film I've seen that may well top Dune 2 for me. (Though the films are so massively different that comparing them seems like a disservice to both.) Whatever format you go for, go see The Brutalist in theaters. It deserves the attention, and you'll be rewarded with a unique film experience. 9/10.

This was a truly beautiful adaptation. Turning this dark and often depressing story into a musical gives the material the ability to be empowering and uplifting.

The whole cast is amazing, and this may well be Oppenheimer's toughest competition for the ensemble award at this year's SAG awards (though Killers of the Flower Moon wouldn't be a surprise either).

Somehow this production seems both staged and cinematic, thanks in part to seamlessly moving between interior moving sets and gorgeous exterior landscapes. None of the songs seem to pop up out of nowhere, but rather seem perfectly placed to complement the drama and propel the story forward.

The audience I was with clapped both when Celie finally stood up for herself and later when the credits rolled. It doesn't happen often at the cinema anymore, for an audience to feel in tune with each other and the characters on screen; the feeling that we are all sharing an important experience.

The production spares no expense with beautiful production design, vibrant costumes and hair/make-up, and creative cinematography that captures it all perfectly. This will definitely be a must own 4K release when the time comes.