avis de cliftonofun

Yorgos really does have a twisted imagination. I mean...a Jennifer Aniston mask?

Seriously, though: this one pulled me in and along in a way other Lanthimos films haven't. Just as bonkers and quirkily insightful as usual, but also more propulsive. The performances and the score definitely help on both fronts.

The only thing more unrelenting than the plot of this film is the main character.

Safdie steps on the gas in the first scene and never lets up. I was never sure what would happen next or whether to cheer for Marty, but I was invested the whole damn time. And that last shot and needle drop? That takes guts.

While this is not the original Spinal Tap, it did feel like a little more than just another long-delayed reunion special (except for the MANY cameos).

Maybe it was Reiner's recent passing or maybe our family was just really ready to laugh, but we thoroughly enjoyed dialing the amp up to 11 one more time.

Very early on in this movie Jeffrey Wright says, "Deacon Clark is famously a dick." If I hadn't already been all the way in based on this being a Rian Johnson Knives Out movie, that would have done it.

Watching these movies with my fam on Christmas day makes me so happy. Every time. This one brings the added bonus of not only being a hilarious and well-cast murder mystery, but also a great look at what faith could/should look like in a messy world.

Berg aimed more for biography than music documentary...or maybe she aimed for a portal back in time.

Regardless, the result is anything but ordinary. Her access to everything from Buckley's poems to his family members' voicemails offers an eerie and intimate portrait of an artist that was taken far too soon.

Clooney and Lopez were hardly movie stars when Soderbergh cast them for this one, but I remember walking out of the theater knowing they both would be soon. There are zero weak links in this movie - the story, the script, the direction, the cast, the soundtrack. It is hilarious, sexy, and fun. Pair it with Jackie Brown and you've got yourself a great night.

Today, on the day before my birthday, Netflix presented me a category called "Mid-Life-Crisis Dramedies." This one wasn't listed...but it could have been.

And those small moments of crisis ("What have I done with my life? Did I make the right choices? Who will be there when the lights come up?") work. Magically. The other subplots and flashbacks? Less magical. But I went along for the ride anyway. With Baumbach and Clooney leading the way, it is hard to resist.

Nothing like getting ready for Thanksgiving with a film about the blurred lines between families, performance, and manipulation. Stellan, could you share that booze, actually?

The house at the center of this film probably should have crumbled beneath all its trauma and metaphors, but it manages to be as resilient as the family and the film. The themes are common; the execution is anything but. If you can manage to watch without getting emotional, kudos.

This movie is what happens if Chekhov's gun goes off in the first act instead and then everybody spends the rest of the play saying, "Remember when that gun went off?"

Seriously, though, those first 40 minutes? Remember when that gun went off?

I really wish things wouldn't have gone off the rails when we zoomed in on the Oval Office, but I suppose that isn't all that surprising these days.

Watching this film reminded me of watching Peter Jackson's King Kong: A filmmaker climbs to the absolute pinnacle of their craft, and then decides the time has finally arrived to adapt the story that inspired them in the first place. And in both cases I walked away going, "I'm happy for you?" Neither is bad, but neither feels all that necessary either. Del Toro invests so many gorgeous scenes and shots (along with some bad CGI) in service of dialogue that feels familiar at best and stale at worst. Still, I couldn't look away. With the masters (and GDT absolutely qualifies), you rarely can.

Clearly, Trachtenberg took us literally when we said, "More Prey, please." But instead of choosing another era the Predator could visit (and/or terrorize) next, he opted to cram three of them into one gorgeously animated anthology film. It is over the top in every way, from the gore to the score...and it is pretty fun too.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a romcom, but it has more relationship insights and laugh out loud moments than most other movies in the genre. My wife and I went looking for a Saturday night comedy and found a really good movie. (Also, I would have watched two straight hours of that fight scene.)

Now I'm gonna go listen to The Fray.

I made a classic mistake with this film by heaping expectations upon it for months on end. With each trailer it went from movie of the year to movie of the decade to movie of the century. By the time I walked in on opening night, there was no way it could possibly live up to the hype.

And then it did.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. When a generational writer/director teams up with a generational star to make an comedic thriller with something to say about everything from fatherhood to revolution, that is a potent mix. But there were still plenty of ways this could go wrong. I'm so thankful it didn't.

For the most part this movie felt like a retread, an unfortunate byproduct of 20 years of the MCU formula and gradually diminishing returns. But whenever the plot felt predictable or the action felt stale, Florence Pugh and David Harbour came to the rescue. They are funny and watchable and human enough to salvage what would have felt like a pretty empty exercise otherwise. This isn't top tier Marvel story or top tier anything else really, but it winds up being solid enough thanks to their performances. It is also a reminder that stars matter, regardless of what superheroes may or may not be involved.

Well, that was the most fun I've had watching a Superman movie since I was a kid and Richard Donner was involved. James Gunn clearly understood the assignment and the comic books better than most. And so did the casting director, who just plain nailed it: this cast brought us truly great versions of Clark/Superman, Lois, and Lex. So we got the right vibe and the right cast, which goes a long way. But there were still some tradeoffs. When you lean this hard into the comics and building a "universe," there will be moments where the story feels too packed, too complicated, and (in Superman's case) too earnest. And boy did it. I mean, the whole reason I looked forward to seeing this one was not having to watch 5 shows or previous movies to jump into the story...but Gunn still couldn't resist cramming this one movie with too much of just about everything (including sappy speeches). But I showed up for a Superman story, and I got one. Even if it was a little too much at times, even if it got distracted, even if the central plot was a bit too cliche/predictable. After the last few attempts fell as flat as they did, it's hard to complain about this one.

I hate to be all contrarían, but this movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at...and also a little lacking when it comes to compelling characters/conflicts. You would think a movie about another planet colliding with ours as a dysfunctional family struggles to find its footing would have plenty of plot to work with, but I will mostly remember the slow motion sequences set to loud orchestral movements in the first 5 minutes. Pretty? Yes. Compelling? Not really. Sometimes a movie is just a bit less than the sum of its parts. The performances were great and the cinematography was wonderful and, and, and...I just wanted to spend the last couple days of our planet's existence with more interesting people.

The part about the earth being evil, though? Resonates.

Jesse Armstrong has a gift, and thankfully he's chosen to share it with all of us. This four character one act play should not work as a film. Four guys standing around talking? And they just move around the house? Yup. That's it. And yet as the dialogue descends into madness, absurdity, and satire, I gleefully went along for the ride. Every scene seemed to be a perfect collection of competing motivations and hilarious jargon. As the stakes escalate, Carell and the cast make the smart/dumb dialogue sing. They may be caricatures of the super rich, but they are OUR caricatures. I couldn't resist seeing what they would do next.

I knew that this movie couldn't be the "rom com love triangle" it was marketed to be with Celine Song at the helm...but it still managed to subvert my expectations. This was way more Rom Dram than Rom Com - interested in serious questions about the expectations we saddle ourselves with, the bargains we make in exchange for love, and - well - materialism. It's a well made film with real ideas...but some elements just never worked for me. The biggest missing piece? I never fully bought the main characters or their relationships. And that's kind of a big deal. It probably didn't help that the protagonist's obsession with money kept the plot churning and me at a distance all at once. I love that Song wants to make real movies about real people. These people just didn't compel me as much as I wanted.

While this movie absolutely shares a good bit of DNA with "I Think You Should Leave" (not just the stars, but the style), it also takes itself a good bit more seriously. DeYoung doesnt just want to make your cringe or laugh or do both simultaneously; he also wants to make you reflect on the nature of male friendship and isolation in modern society. I really appreciated watching a comedic story with some actual thoughtfulness behind it...but I also found myself wanting to just laugh a little more. After all, Robinson's skits don't usually have to deal with the consequences of his unhinged rants, and that can be a bit of a downer. Once you introduce realism (even a shred of it) it's a little tougher to giggle. I still did. I just wish I could have done it a little more.

I will fully admit that: (1) I will watch/enjoy anything Wes Anderson makes.

(2) I will afterwards struggle to remember how I've rated/reviewed/ranked his catalog ("Wait...did I like that more or less than Asteroid City?")

So where does this one fall? No idea, honestly. But I can tell you I started snickering 30 seconds in and didn't stop until the credits rolled. Same for the rest of the theater. This movie cracked me up, and I thorough enjoyed myself. And yes: the shots were as densely packed and perfectly arranged as I've come to expect...but the film also surprised me at points. Del Toro brought a gravitas to the central role that felt different, and the reflections on theology and morality mixed well with Wes's traditional focus on family. Also, I'd sign up for Michael Cera doing every Wes Anderson movie from here on. So I can't explain the plot or tell you where it ranks, but I sure had a great time.

I knew the runtime heading into this one...and even so I was unprepared for just how long (and overwrought) this final reckoning would feel. Having rewatched the previous movie the day before to get ready, I was kinda hoping we could skip past the repeated speeches about the dangers of our AI overlords and extended plot recaps. Just show me to the fights, chases, and stunts, please. Well, no such luck. But once Ethan got into action and on to an aircraft carrier (which did take over an hour, unfortunately), things got fun again. Ridiculous? Of course. But I can live with ridiculous. Every MI movie is ridiculous! I just want as much of the runtime to be giant action sequences as possible: more action, less talking. This did still feel like a fitting closure to this saga (if it is), and the action was fun...it was just a little less fun than it had been for the last several MI films. So I'm glad I saw it on a giant screen and with a big crowd that could laugh along with me at the silliness and enjoy the ride, but it was probably my least favorite since MI:3. On to Tom Cruise's next messianic action adventure. I just hope that action gets started faster next time.

It's not easy to be both original and cliche, but this movie dares to try. Zemeckis goes for it. The actors go for it. They pack centuries and lifetimes into a single fixed frame, which is equal measures novel and forced. There are some touching moments, but finding them takes real work. You have to look past the ridiculous prehistoric elements and the distracting anti-aging technology and the constant gazing to the horizon while remarking on the passage of time. And I just couldn't ever manage to do that. I love Zemeckis' best movies...this isn't one of them, but he is still taking big swings. Wish it would have been a hit for me.

I'm not really a vampire movie person, but I'm 100% a Ryan Coogler movie person. And everyone was right about this one: it is worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. I expected it to be beautifully shot and powerfully performed and wildly entertaining...I didn't expect it to involve so much singing or have quite so much to say. About what is sacred, about the tradeoffs of power, about what real freedom is and requires of us. Still, this film never felt too heavy or didactic. More than anything, you're along for the ride at the Smokestack brothers' juke joint in the Delta - listening to the Blues, cheering for the heroes, and feeling the same kind of transcendant joy and overwhelming fear that they do. The whole thing works at so many levels and in so many ways. I'd have to watch it multiple times to get all the things Coogler has to say. And I just might.

If this film doesn't make you laugh, cry, and hope, well...bad news: you may be dead. From the moment the curtain rose, Coleman Domingo had me in the absolute palm of his hand, and he held me there for nearly 2 hours. Watching these men find themselves in the stories they were telling and become human again together can only be described as magical. Every scene seemed to overwhelm me with emotions. Sometimes it was beauty. Sometimes it was heartbreak. Sometimes it was joy. Regardless, I never stopped being fully in it with these characters. Even when the credits rolled, I couldn't tear myself away.