Eddington

I really enjoyed this movie. It's also the first one I've gone to the theater to see in a while. I stopped going to see things at the theater because everything is a remake or a 20 year late sequel and I'm sick of it!

This was so interesting and i was entertained the whole time. That acting is great, the writing and storyline intriguing. You can tell the director ACTUALLY CARED about the end result and was in it to make a good movie and not just a paycheck. A little on the nose at times but thats what its all about. Go see this if you are also disenchanted with what comes out of Hollywood lately, it's a huge sigh of relief while also holding your breath for the entire film.

It's a meticulously crafted powder keg, and Aster lights the fuse with the precision of someone who knows exactly how long the fuse burns. The man doesn't make movies-he engineers experiences. This one? A contemporary western that hums with unease, like a desert wind carrying whispers of something off.

Aster's got a reputation for unsettling audiences, but here he trades pagan rituals and family trauma for the sun-bleached nihilism of New Mexico. The tension isn't in the jump scares-it's in the silence between glances, the way a sheriff's badge catches the light just a little too sharply. His camera lingers like a vulture circling, and the editing? Tight. No wasted movement. You'll feel every minute of its 148 runtime, but not because it drags. Because it grinds.

Joaquin Phoenix as the sheriff? He's all coiled ambition and swallowed rage, a man who's mastered the art of smiling without it touching his eyes. Emma Stone? She's in her element here, shifting from warmth to withering skepticism like a switchblade flicking open. And Pedro Pascal-quiet, calculating, a performance that says more in a raised eyebrow than most do in monologues.

If you're expecting another Midsommar, adjust your sights. This is a different breed-a dark comedy dressed in cowboy boots, where the jokes land like gut punches. The humor's bone-dry, the violence matter-of-fact, and the existential dread? Oh, it's there. Lurking in the background like a bad habit you can't quit.

Is it perfect? No. The third act's ambition occasionally outpaces its grip, and not every metaphor sticks the landing. But perfection's overrated. Eddington's a ride-a nasty, hypnotic, memorable ride. Aster's not asking you to like it. He's daring you to look away.

My advice? Don't.

Eddington feels like being locked in a room with your own thoughts...while those thoughts are armed and slightly unhinged. The pacing is tight, the plot twists keep you leaning forward, and just when your anxiety peaks, it throws in a gut-punch of humor that somehow makes it all feel human again.

It's a rare film that can make you laugh and feel like you need to sit quietly in a dark room afterward just to process what you watched. This is that film. Smart, offbeat, unsettling, and genuinely entertaining. Eddington doesn't just keep you intrigued, it lingers long after the credits roll.

This movie reminds me of a real story of self awareness in light of the worlds ills. In the early 1900s, a newspaper reportedly asked a group of notable writers and thinkers to respond to the question, "What is wrong with the world today?" To which the famous theologian and thinker G. K. Chesterton is said to have replied with a characteristically witty and humble response "Dear Sirs, I am. Yours sincerely, G. K. Chesterton."

Ari Aster has made another horror film. This one is disguised as a modern day Western, Dark Comedy, but this is deep diving stuff that inserts us into a small New Mexico town in 2020 that is at the beginning stages of the COVID pandemic. Joaquin Phoenix is the tour guide - and the ride - who shows us something of what is wrong with the world.

Eddington took me back to feelings of despair that play on in our world. This is a most excellent tragic tale and definitely not a comedy, although the audience will probably laugh in the discomfort of seeing the true reflection of ourselves somewhere in this mirror of blame, conspiracy, narcissism, and social rage.

Somehow Aster keeps this from being preachy while giving us a scare at our own reflections. What wrong with Eddington? It's us.

Joaquin Phoenix is really one of our best actors. I am a fan of his work from films like "Inherent Vice", "Two Lovers", "Buffalo Soldiers", "Her", "Napoleon", "Irrational Man", "Gladiator", "Walk the Line", and "The Master". And of course he won the Oscar for best actor for "Joker".

Now he stars in a new movie called "Eddington" directed by Ari Aster. I know that Ari Aster previously directed the films "Hereditary", "Midsommer", and "Beau is Afraid". But I have not seen any of those.

The story takes place in the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico during May of 2020, the time of the coronavirus pandemic. It starts with people arguing about whether or not they should have to wear face masks to protect them from the virus.

Joaquin plays the local sheriff who clashes with the mayor, played by Pedro Pascal in a supporting role. Then Joaquin's character decides to run for mayor himself.

The story escalates into some violence but is never less than compelling and entertaining. This is one of the better movies I have seen this year. Also with an excellent supporting cast including Emma Stone and Austin Butler.

Also with good cinematography from Darius Khondji, who was nominated for "Bardo false chronicle of a handful of truths" and "Evita".

This film is very much worth seeing in a movie theater. A very good movie.