HOLY PEAK!!! This is an absolute carnage feast for the senses. Unbelievably good and unique fight choreography. Non-stop action. The sound design went hard. Every scene was visually clear and well lit. There was only one rescue scene that dragged on a bit long and felt cumbersome. But everything else was top notch, and the final fight was goddamn insane, a 100/10 for me, never forgetting it and I know I’m gonna be rewatching that scene over and over again in the future. This is definitely the best martial arts film of the 2020s, believe the hype and go check it out in theatres coz it’s super fun to watch it with a crowd.
The Furious
Obsession
Best horror movie I’ve ever seen. It’s completely layered with disturbing commentary while each scene was genuinely unnerving. Brilliant direction with such a minimal budget, and the actors knocked it out of the park. Pacing was solid, not a single scene felt wasted. A lot of horror movies insert unnecessary shock value just to offend the senses but in this movie it felt like everything belonged, both in a horrifying as well as a comedic way. Love the conversations this film is sparking on social media. Obsession is definitely one of those few horror films I’d actually rewatch again.
Obsession
Masters of the Universe
Movie is geared towards kids, but I did appreciate the unique characters and plot beats. It was a somewhat fun watch even though I never grew up with this franchise, but overall I found it to be mediocre and a lot of the silly moments didn’t pack any comedic punches.
Quiet a downgrade from the first movie. While the first one didn’t have a big story, it was filled with a lot of charm, certain themes were relatable to adults too, the humour was fun and the environments were great. This movie however had a pretty boring plot and no significant character beats. It felt way too safe and corporatey. I don’t think I laughed a single time. Environments were forgettable. Fight scenes did go pretty hard but didn’t have any emotional stakes. The animation is awesome as always but wasted on an uninteresting adaptation.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The Invite
Definitely the best movie of the year so far. I’m a big sucker for single location films (check out my list!) and this was an insanely good script. The dialogue was so inventive, a perfect and brilliant concoction of chaos, tension, desire, vindictiveness, playfulness, mystery and absolute fucking hilarity. It definitely set a new highscore of the amount of laughs a movie got out of me. All the four actors were superb but Seth and Olivia are standouts to me because phew, the trainwreck that is their relationship is both sad and entertaining to watch. I also loved how progressive and fun the film was, I think it’s the first time I’ve seen Hollywood mention the word Compersion. In interest of not spoiling the film, I’ll just say that the movie very smartly uses one relationship style to point out deficiencies in the other couple’s relationship, but not in a preachy or holier than thou way. Rather it proves how powerful sexual dynamics and desire can be in healing a relationship or exposing its flaws. Watch this film with a partner because there’s a lot of scenes that you can dissect and spark new conversations about. A movie that’s packed with 100% comedy and 100% psychological and social relationship commentary, while being totally unpredictable and tensely building up to the possibility of sexual excitement and finally reaching a poignant ending, it had me completely transfixed the entire runtime. This is a solid recommendation from me, don’t miss this one!
The Invite
The Drama
The Drama
Backrooms
Backrooms
The Queen of My Dreams
Such a good movie, it was filmy in a very aesthetically and cinematically pleasing way and was filled with a lot of comedy and emotionally impactful moments. A fun and heartfelt watch with a well done subtle ending.
The Queen of My Dreams
Ex Machina
Watching this after 8 years and it’s even better on a rewatch. Every dialogue is so meticulously chosen, providing both serious philosophical reflection as well as punchy humour. The visual and auditory aesthetics of this movie are really well done, it’s sublime. And every actor did an absolutely brilliant job, from Oscar Isaac’s charisma to Domhnall Gleeson‘s unraveling and Alicia Vikander’s robotic display that almost borders human emotions. I think this movie will continue to remain timeless.
It’s a cookie cutter Hollywood biopic that doesn’t delve too deep into the actual history or character, but what can a 2 hour film really cover when it comes to a towering figure like Michael? Going in, I knew I was just here to enjoy his music and performances and that’s exactly what I got. The movie was really fun, I was grooving to the music the entire runtime. And Jaafar Jackson did an insanely good job, absolutely nailed the voice, dance moves, mannerisms, etc. As someone who has performed MJ dances for over a decade, I had a good time with this film and looking forward to the sequel!
Michael
Sentimental Value
When the movie is more than 2 hours long and it’s all hinged upon one thing, a daughter seeking her father’s love and acceptance, the movie did a really good job fleshing out the family history and interactions throughout the runtime. No scene felt wasted. Gustav longs to right the wrong of leaving his daughters but only knows how by pouring everything into a movie script, while Nora also seeks closure by wanting the ability to regularly converse with him and seek his approval of her current life. Neither can stand each other’s profession and attitude, but there’s such a deep longing for connection. A home that housed several generations looms large in all the characters’ lives because the dangerous and beautiful power of nostalgia is inescapable. In reckoning with this location that carried so much history and hurt, the large wounds that festered could only be healed through art and the longstanding supportive love of a sibling relationship. The actors gave such a brilliant performance and although the movie felt slow, I loved all of it since the pacing is really the most key feature of the film that ends in a satisfying payoff.
Best acting of the year hands down. Felt a rollercoaster of emotions watching this phenomenal movie. Yes it does follow some feel good tropes that are typical of true story movies but it by no means feels overbearing, and it’s mostly tacked on towards the latter half. There are so many brilliant, heart-wrenching and even poignant scenes that made me value my own life more. This raises so much awareness about Tourette’s that not many don’t know about, and also fuck anyone who’s throwing vitriol at John Davidson over the BAFTA controversy. Funny how some of these so called “woke” liberals now have zero problems making ableist insults.
I Swear
Three of Us
Ephemeral, simple, mature and impactful. There’s sombre beauty in this film everywhere you look. Lowkey felt like an Indian version of Past Lives.
