Oppenheimer (2023)

The most overrated movie of 2023. I love Christopher Nolan as much as the next film nerd, but he excels at making epic, original sci-fi films. I'm not quite as thrilled with his heady, awards-baiting historical dramas. This is essentially a 3-hour "talkie" picture about the Manhattan Project, and its literal fallout and legal ramifications. Does it really need to be that long to tell this story? Feels like a lot of pretentious showboating to me. The performances are all great and worthy of the acclaim they received, it's just that the whole thing feels a lot more self-important than it actually is. It does a fine job at telling its story, but isn't half as memorable or noteworthy as everyone else pretends it to be.

Won the "Best Picture" Oscar for 2023, but if the Academy had any balls, it would have gone to Poor Things.

3 Destroyer of Worlds out of 5

Slingshot (2024)

Sci-fi thriller involving a crew traveling to Titan to harvest natural resources. The "slingshot" of the title refers to the gravitational maneuver which will launch them towards their target. As this journey spans many years, they are placed into a drug-induced sleep, re-awakening every 90 days in order to perform maintenance and make sure they're still headed on course.

I had an odd experience watching this movie, because I kept going in and out of consciousness, similar to the characters. Anyway, I made a prediction from the very opening montage that this story may have taken a page from The Twilight Zone. While I will neither confirm nor deny, I will say its plot does feel overly familiar to similar sources.

I was ready to write this off as a POS until the ending, which I found audacious in its execution. It doesn't manage to save the movie, but almost redeems it for me. That final shot will stay with me for awhile.

2 hibernation cycles out of 5

The Instigators (2024)

A crime caper involving a half-baked scheme and a couple of dopes who are ill-equipped to deal with it. It's enjoyable in all of its incompetence and is capably carried on the shoulders of its charismatic leads. With an all-star supporting cast, it's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes, but it's the type of disposable entertainment you won't remember a day or two later.

2½ therapist hostages out of 5

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA [2016]

If there was an award for dreariest film of the year, then writer/director Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea would be the front-runner for such an accolade.
After his brother dies, a troubled man is forced to return to his hometown to take care of his mourning nephew, where his tragic past creeps up with no remorse.
The film's biggest strengths are it's acting talent, with Casey Affleck & Lucas Hedges taking center stage with what I feel is the best onscreen chemistry of 2016.  The actors are only as good as their material and there's plenty of mesmerizing scenes and dialogue to keep the audience captivated.  It is a bit slow in moments but no matter what you can't help but keep drawn into the films devastation.

4 bar fights out of 5

TRIPLE 9 [2016]

Director John Hillcoat gathers together a pretty stellar cast for his violent heist thriller Triple 9.
The Atlanta Russian mob hires a group of dirty cops to pull off a near impossible job and then hatches a ploy to trick them into killing each other to avoid any loose ends.
Hillcoat's obsession with struggling to find order amidst a world of violence is at it's most apparent here with it's intricate plot that's filled with multiple twists 'n turns.  However, it's missing it's beating heart and the lack of character development is where it hurts the film most.  Thanks to it's clever plotting, powerful cast and intense action sequences Triple 9 is pretty god-damned entertaining but one can't help but feel there's a heavily extended director's cut that could easily fix it's glaring flaws.

3 nines out of 5

GOOD WILL HUNTING [1997]

Director Gus Van Sant puts aside his usual artistic quirkiness and lets then unknown actors Ben Affleck & Matt Damon's script shine in the broad-minded character piece, Good Will Hunting.
A troubled janitor turns out to be a mathematical genius, who'd rather drink & fight and has a smart-ass answer to everything but the purpose of his own life.  Here he meets a mild-mannered yet eccentric community college psychologist that seems to be the only person that truly understands him.  The film is about experience being more than knowledge, insecurities, finding one-self growing-up, class differences and just about everything else Van Sant poetically explored in My Own Private Idaho and Drugstore Cowboy.  There's some beautifully crafted character moments between Damon & Robin Williams which will enthrall by the performances alone.
A wonderfully crafted film that tugs at the heart-strings in all the right places that'll make you think about the choices you've made.

4 apples out of 5

INTERSTELLAR [2014]

Christopher Nolan's latest fanboy's wetdream comes in the form of the colossally sized, yet thoughtful, sci-fi drama Interstellar.
It follows the of a team of inevitably doomed explorers who travel through a wormhole in search of a planet that can be support life to allow the human race to continue to exist.  The frighteningly beautiful photography is both lonely and busy as it dizzies the viewer with an overly complex plotline that overpowers the heart of the story.  Nolan has high ambitions but he bites off just a bit more than he can actually chew.  Although he states that the sound effects and music purposely drown out a lot of the clumsy dialogue it comes off as nothing more than frustratingly distracting.
In the end, it's a spectacular visual feast with a wonderful cast that never ceases to entertain and that's where it's at it's most powerful.

3½ bookshelves out of 5

GERRY [2002]

Director Gus Van Sant creates a haunting experience with the indie-minimalist drama, Gerry.  The first part of his so-called Death trilogy, a series of films inspired by real life events depicting youth & death, Gerry tells the story to two close friends who lose their way in the desert, loosely based on an incident in New Mexico.
Van Sant makes great use of this trademark extended tracking shots and wide frame landscapes that seem so vast compared to the tiny dots that are Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.  As the story progresses the dialogue, sound effects and musical score become more sparse which effectively adds to the dread, panic and hopelessness of the dire circumstances.  It's not a film I particularly enjoyed but definitely one I quite admired for it's brilliant style and technique.

3½ mirages out of 5

OUT OF THE FURNACE [2013]

Writer/director Scott Cooper's follows up the acclaimed Crazy Heart with another tale about troubled Americana, the moody drama Out Of The Furnace.
Like a Bruce Springsteen song, the film is filled with poverty, hopelessness, violence, love in the darkest of places and folks who are destined to forever live in their own personal prisons no matter what choices they make.   The story speaks of emotional punches and it makes it halfway there due to the astonishingly fantastic cast but loses half of it's impact due to a weak script.  It's well worth a look at for the beautiful photography, haunting music and great acting but leaves much to be desired when all the names attached seem to promise something so much more.

3 Midnight Meat Trains out of 5

AIN'T THEM BODIES SAINTS [2013]

Writer/director David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints is a beautifully shot crime-drama love story that you just know is going to end in heartbreak no matter what the outcome.
Like a feast of visual poetry, the film is shot like an early Terrence Malick film, where all events only seem to take place at the break of dusk or dawn, with harsh shades of black and dark oranges & browns.  It travels at a very slow pace but rewards with thoughtful camerawork and voice-overs that give the feel of a haunted daydream.  There's not a whole lot of originality within the plot but it's the trio of actor's strong performance and broken lonely hearted atmosphere that gives the film its greatest strengths.

4 gift horses out of 5

PARANORMAN [2012]

From Chris Butler & Sam Fell (some of the guys who worked on Coraline & Corpse Bride) comes ParaNorman another beautiful looking stop motion animated film made to appeal to little monster in all of us.

With a sick, yet safe, sense of humour, killer dialogue, entertaining voice-work, zany music and extravagantly designed sets, ParaNorman is must-see for the big screen.  It intelligently goes against what we expect from such a film and is surprisingly touching.

Its' been awhile since death has been this much fun.

4 bathroom ghosts out of 5

I'M STILL HERE [2010]

I'm Still Here documents the elaborate joke creepy actor Joaquin Phoenix executed to expose the entertainment industry, the hang-around leeches & the press as nothing more than backstabbing cunts. Filmed by fellow creepy actor Casey Affleck, the film starts out viciously funny as Phoenix announces his retirement from acting to pursue a hip-hop career but as it progresses it becomes quite clear the actor involved himself into the role so much that the joke ultimately backfires on him.    

Whether or not he'll ever recover from this huge career choice misfire has yet to be seen.  

3 literal shits in the face out of 5

THE KILLER INSIDE ME [2010]

Based off the classic crime novel by Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me is a disturbing and haunting noir that's a challenging watch due to some of it's brutally graphic violence against women.

Texas in the 1950's makes for a fascinating backdrop for this host of icky characters, with Casey Affleck's sociopath being the center of it all.  Affleck's skin-crawling performance is so damned creepy and played down I'd recommend the film based on that alone.  It's beautifully shot with a style I can't quite pinpoint, however it's the distance of each character that makes it difficult to get emotionally attached to.  

3½ Goldberg Variations out of 5

GONE BABY GONE [2007]

After the success of Good Will Hunting, Ben Affleck made a name for himself for making really shitty movies. Thankfully, Shutter Island novelist Dennis Lehane's Gone Baby Gone came along and inspired Affleck to direct the film for the big screen.
This neo-noir Boston crime drama is a compelling, sad and disturbing story about moral stature and where your heart truly feels is home. Casey Affleck is once again amazing in his performance, as is Ed Harris and Michelle Monaghan. Both Affleck brothers bring a certain type of authenticity and emotional impact to film that you know they're making it straight from their hearts.

4 "Mirabelle"'s out of 5

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD [2007]

Director Andrew Dominik continues his fascination with criminals in the historical drama The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
A slowly paced cinematic experience that's focuses more on the psyche of the troubled characters rather than dissolving into a shoot 'em up western. Brad Pitt is great as Jesse James but it's Casey Affleck who is absolutely wonderful in his haunting portrayal as James' killer, Robert Ford. They're joined by an impressive supporting cast including Sam Rockwell and Jeremy Renner. It's beautifully shot, using some really interesting camera & lighting techniques to enhance the dramatic time period. It's a gloomy, stark character study and closer look at celebrity obsession that still speaks powerful words over the generations.

5 Caves in a bar out of 5