Micro Review – Suicide Squad

This move is a piece of shit, about pieces of shit. It’s manufactured by hopeful movie studio decision-makers for a certain type of person with certain sensibilities. Only problem is, I don’t think this movie’s target audience actually exists. It’s what they think people will like. But everything about it is pandering. And ridiculous. But hey, Margot Robbie is in it, and Will S...
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Micro Review – Hostiles

Hostiles is a stunningly gorgeous film with fantastic performances from the entire cast - particularly Christian Bale, who really carries the film in a way only a star like Bale can. I wanted to like this a lot more. But with such a bleak storyline, it was hard to really enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I don't have anything against bleak films, but for some reason this just di...
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Micro Review – Hacksaw Ridge

There's no doubt that this is an incredible story. But I found the execution lacking for much of the film. Hacksaw successfully tugs at the heartstrings, and plays to our sense of bravery, honor, and personal conviction. But it seems a bit manipulative at times, like it's specifically trying to play with our emotions and make us cry. And what is the deal with Vince Vaughn's rol...
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Micro Review – The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

I can't help but think this is Noah Baumbach's version of Royal Tenenbaums. He's got a connection to Wes Anderson, and sometimes that connection manifests itself in the form of stylistic and thematic similarity. Potential copycatting aside, I liked this movie. I found myself slightly annoyed by the characters at the beginning. But they endeared themselves throughout the film (D...
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Micro Review (Re-watch) – The Master

I read that The Master is a combination of a few different things that Paul Thomas Anderson molded together (aside from being inspired by L Ron Hubbard and Scientology, it also has parts from an early draft of There Will Be Blood, old navy war stories from Jason Robards, and elements of John Steinbeck's life). And that's not surprising. The film feels like a bunch of different ...
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Micro Review (Re-watch) – Phantom Thread

I've watched this a few times now. I think I keep watching it because I expect to find its flaws. I expect to not like it as much as I think I do. But while I am watching it, I'm just so into it. It's a perfectly made movie. By that, I mean that I believe Paul Thomas Anderson achieved exactly what he wanted to. This is the exact movie that he wished to make. That's an almost im...
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Micro Review – Miss Sloane

I happened to watch this right after Molly's Game. This is the movie I was hoping Molly's Game would be. Miss Sloane is fast-paced while still maintaining patience with the plot and character development. It has a razor sharp script, which can be hard to follow at times, yes, but is ultimately very satisfying when everything pays off. And above everything else, Jessica Chastain...
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