Revisiting Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Continuing with my Star Wars rewatch, and I will just say that I did like this one better than Attack of the Clones.  Hot take, I know. Highlights: This movie looks gorgeous.  The canvases of Hoth, Dagobah, the Asteroid field, etc.  all weaves into this incredible looking fabric of film. This is Yoda at his […]

The Rise of Skywalker

“I can feel the conflict in you.” Yes you can, Luke, yes you can.  Because there are a lot of battling thoughts in my head after seeing Rise of Skywalker.  Ultimately, did I like it? I mean, yes.  Its still Star Wars after all, and I really like these characters; particularly Rey, Finn and Kylo […]

Alita: Battle Angel

Let me get this out of the way: this movie is visually stunning. So much so that I thought it was going to win me over, despite its flaws. Alas, it was not enough to overcome all of the problems I had with Alita. The other day I was watching The Expanse and pontificating on […]

Tolkien

Tolkien is pretty standard biopic fare, however, as a Tolkien fan I probably managed to get more out of it than most would. The film is at its best when it is touching upon inspirations for his later works. And even here, this only really works when the film is being subtle about it, less […]

It: Chapter 2

Okay, so let me work this out. First, maybe things are inherently less scary because its adults now, not kids? Also, what was with them not being able to remember even living in the town until they’re together again? (except for Stanley apparently). That was kinda pointless, and pretty tough to buy. The scare scenes […]

Toy Story 4

In the second movie this year to involve Jordan Peele and a lost child at a carnival, the very existence of a fourth Toy Story seemed to baffle many moviegoers, as the third film seemed to wrap up the series so well. As far as a conclusion to the series goes, Toy Story 4 does […]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Watching what is probably Tarantino’s most straightforward of his ten films, I do wonder how much knowing its a Tarantino film affects my viewing of it. And if that’s okay. Because if I was expecting a lot of the Tarantino flare, this movie would be underwhelming. There are also certain ticks he has which can […]

Avengers: Endgame

Yikes, that was crazy. They really brought in all of the previous movies, didn’t they? I went into Endgame avoiding pretty much everything about it, apart from the first trailer. So the whole basic plot was unknown to me, and I quite enjoyed where they took it. It provided for some great look backs and […]

Aquaman

So, that was interesting. They really decided to go all out with DC’s lamest superhero, didn’t they? It was visually arresting in moments, like the introduction of Atlantis and going into the trench, and did have its moments of fun. But it was also a wet mess. First lets get the dialogue out of the […]

Captain Marvel

The thing with Marvel movies at this point is that they’ve got it down to the point where they aren’t going to make a bad film. Now, you can rant and rave about “formula” and how much you don’t like it, but the movies are enjoyable. However, the flip side of that is that this […]

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

I was really disappointed watching the first act of the Lego Movie sequel. It suffered heavily from sequelitis and didn’t seem to have a whole lot going on. The visuals were still fun, the characters were still there, and yes there was some good humour. But everything was just passable. I didn’t really expect something different. […]

A Star is Born

If this was the 90s, A Star is Born would be winning the Oscar on Sunday. It is both very popular among the masses and dedicated moviegoers alike, and is highly respected critically. It is very well-made and has a lot of emotional weight to it. A couple of decades ago, this would be a […]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

This seems like an odd choice as a theatrical release at this time. Live action Marvel superhero films are more popular than ever, while DC dominates the at-home animated superhero market, but all of the sudden we get a full studio theatrical release of Spider-man. I And not only that, but one which includes multiple […]

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

I have wondered what Harry Potter movies must be like for those who are uninitiated into the world, either through the previous films or through the books. After seeing this film, I now think I have some idea. Yes, I saw the first Fantastic Beasts film, but it didn’t exactly draw my attention or encourage […]

First Man

Almost great. Pretty close. There is some really great stuff in First Man. First off, there are the flight scenes, which really aim to put you in the driver’s seat, so to speak. Chazelle does this by lots of first person views and pulling the camera in tight. it really gives you a sense of […]