INDYATMN
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| 72 29% | Interview (2007) - Jan 09, 2020
"It's hard to make a 90 min conversation compelling & eventually this fails. The actors are solid, but the script doesn't sustain plausibility. It starts off great as the characters & What Next? set up intrigue, but there are so many reversals (Leave! Stay!) that always lead to arguments, you wonder why Katya is putting up w/ all this & at 50 mins I grew tired of the repetitive cycle. Plausibility's smashed when Pierre confesses since the 1 thing he knows for sure is she's wildly unpredictable"
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| 85 70% | Solomon Kane (2009) - Jan 05, 2020
"Underrated and underseen, this proves that even genre formulas can be done exceedingly well. Great performances by A-list actors especially Purefoy who makes Kane’s sense of remorse palpably real. What’s most impressive is how much director Brennant pulls off on a budget of 40mil: he repeatedly delivers beautifully composed shots, stunning landscapes & vivid production design. The sword fights also always have at least 1 moment of brutality for maximum impact. Better than the Conan films"
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| 66 20% | Little Women (2019) - Jan 01, 2020
"It’s easy to see why this doesn’t have the same status as Jane Eyre or Austen: very little ever feels at stake. They tell us they’re poor but they seem fine & unlike the parents in Austen’s works, the ones here have no qualms telling their girls to marry for love. Jo’s a little girl’s/feminist’s fantasy- an established writer from the start w/ no fears of growing old alone until the last 20 mins. So’s Laurie - a rich guy who prefers tomboys & loves hanging out with the girls. "
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| 100 99% | Bombshell (2019) - Dec 30, 2019
"Kelly got fired for asking a perfectly reasonable question & everyone in the media pretended that only a bigot would say that darkening ur face to be someone you liked was acceptable in her lifetime. Cue a slew of photos proving she was right. So good for her here. This film is a true rarity as it presents conservatives as complicated human beings capable of heroism. The zealots (& enablers) on both sides who attempt to demonize & purge those who disagree w/ them will have trouble with this. "
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| 85 70% | I Married a Witch (1942) - Dec 28, 2019
"A great surprise. Comedy often doesn't age well & although I never laughed out loud, the screwball elements - a couple of which have an unexpectedly dark tinge for the period - kept me smiling throughout. The best part however has to be the story itself which is entertainingly unpredictable. You can guess the ending but not how they get there. "
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| 69 23% | Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) - Dec 27, 2019
"Great cinematography & prod design, but anyone waiting for the kind of monster thrills a title like this triggers will be extremely disappointed. Although Siodmak comes up w/ a relatively plausible motivation for Talbot seeking out the mad doctor (& offers a compelling death wish), there's not much story here & it shows. To his credit, there are some interesting supporting characters - esp Vazec who's mob-riling is actually justified - but it's not the monster extravaganza it promises."
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| 82 59% | Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) - Dec 26, 2019
"Young horror buffs should love this film. I know I would have. The stories within a story is extremely well done - one long narrative as opposed to an anthology. There are also a couple of great gross-out (as opposed to gory) scares & the teen characters are very relatable. 2 of Del Toro’s creature designs are also some of his most creepy. Unfortunately the last quarter becomes predictable and anti-climatic (a ghost that behaves after a stern talking to is different, but a bad idea.)"
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| 65 19% | The Curse of the Cat People (1944) - Dec 22, 2019
"Each film should be graded on its own merits but sequels come w/ 1 expectation: that at least it’s in the same genre ballpark. Having been understandably praised for delivering an unconventional horror film w/ a monster we never actually see, Lewton apparently got it into his head that he would pull a bait & switch: use the “same” characters (although the protagonist/“monster” is now a fairy godmother) & bookend this heartwarming(??) tale of an imaginary friend w/ implied menace. "
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| 84 66% | Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - Dec 20, 2019
"Thankfully Johnson’s “Who cares?” approach to the Force is gone. Abrams brings the saga to a satisfying if not often thrilling/surprising conclusion. The problems, as in the prior 2 films, are when the tired parts of the formula’s followed too closely (the contrived bickering, making Poe even more of a Solo clone, the umpteenth shields/planet destroyer battle), but no pointless side story for Finn; Rey’s less of a Mary Sue; Kylo surprises; Leia’s handled well; & a much better villain"
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| 90 85% | Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown (2008) - Dec 18, 2019
"Having spent several years coincidentally seeing, reading & enjoying films, tv series & comic books that have been either subtly or overtly influenced by Lovecraft, this kind of documentary was perfectly suited to someone like me: superficially familiar with a lot of the work, but unfamiliar w/ the specifics & the details of the life of the man behind them. Some of his writing still seems overrated to me, but given the strangeness of his life & A-list creators he influenced, I'll seek out more"
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