INDYATMN
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| 79 52% | Hellboy (2019) - Aug 20, 2019
"Except for 1 surprise, the 1st hour - w/ its 1-note hero, blah jokes, complete lack of stakes & decision to use "badass" rock music as a score is as uninteresting as action movies come. But just when you're about to fall asleep, Hellboy, being a monster himself, begins to question whether it might not be a better strategy to not go around killing them all. It also features creatures worthy of Del Toro production design (esp Baba Yaga) & finally gives us a reason to care about what Hellboy does."
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| 83 62% | Non-Stop (2014) - Aug 18, 2019
"The answer to who’s behind the evil plot is neither satisfying nor plausible but everything before that (which is most of the movie) is very suspenseful with the director constantly shifting our suspicions as to who could be behind it. Neeson’s riveting as usual, making us believe his action hero’s got a lot going on internally as he works his way towards a barely coherent (?) explanation. The climax also delivers a thrilling & distinctive kill shot under weightless conditions. "
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| 62 15% | Greta (2018) - Aug 18, 2019
"The last 30 mins delivers some suspense as opportunities for escape are shut down (mostly bc the protagonist becomes 1 of those eye-rollingly dopey & ineffectual females in slasher films) & there’s even a clever rescue but it all comes far too late. Everything before that is a dull & dumb slog with the score working overtime to try & convince us to be scared of the fragile-looking Huppert & Moretz preposterously re-engaging with her & failing to fight back against the much smaller woman. "
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| 69 23% | Good Boys (2019) - Aug 16, 2019
"It's hard to grade this since I was in a theater filled with groups of its likely target audience - males in their late teens who think it's hysterical to yell things. Still the fact is that I almost never laughed and that's very bad for a comedy. This is shock comedy of the kind Rogen & his buddies have done way better before & maybe it's bc the child acting isn't always solid or b/c nothing that happens feel organic, but all the sex toy jokes seems more like MTV music awards than Superbad."
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| 69 23% | From Russia with Love (1963) - Aug 14, 2019
"Why is this considered so good by critics? Presumably the lack of gadgetry & absence of byzantine plotting required to get Bond from country to country in the films that followed makes this feel gritty & more realistic. But except for 1 charged train fight, it also feels slow, dull & contrived (why doesn't Klebb shoot him??) & it's easy to think that all the titillation on display in the 1st hour - which must've been close to porn in 1963 - helped sear this into the young minds of critics-to-be"
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| 87 75% | The Farewell (2019) - Aug 14, 2019
"A very well made & compelling indie of the kind that was common in the 90's. Wang's got a subtle touch - notice how it's left unclear if the grandmother's sister's story about not needing help is true. Yes it's overpraised since it's about another culture, but at least it's not the usual clichés about how Americans need to be less obsessed with money, more "authentic" & kinder towards strangers. It's refreshing to see a culture that so highly prioritizes the needs of family over the individual"
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| 80 54% | Mortal Engines (2018) - Aug 13, 2019
"The worldbuilding, prod design & efx are spectacular & once you begin to understand what's going on, it tosses in an odd but touching tale of a profoundly lonely cyborg who can only be stopped by his humanity. It's fantastic stuff for 1/2 the film & then you start noticing how derivative it all is. It also becomes tiresomely "woke". Dystopias attacking Western values are unavoidable but aren't they supposed to be timely? A colonialism metaphor when the news is about refugees trying to get in? "
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| 73 32% | Café Society (2016) - Aug 13, 2019
"While the usual Allen-isms are in place (he continues to instruct his leading men to act like him; ethical questions are considered & everyone cheats), it's unclear what he's going for here. While it's interesting to see a world where Jews are viewed differently the presence of a mob boss suggests he's trying for Crimes & Misdemeanors 2 but there's no philosopher to tie the disparate stories together. & the lovers longing for one another feels false: in Allen's world the grass is always greener."
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| 81 57% | Shazam! (2019) - Aug 11, 2019
"Shazam & esp Sivana bear little resemblance to their comic roots which is no doubt, a smart move. Fully playing up the idea that the hero is an adolescent in a man’s body distinguishes him from other heroes, makes for comedy, & enhances children’s identification with him, but the kid appeal also kills a lot of the suspense in the 1st hour as anyone old enough to drink waits for the inevitable “chosen one” moment. Still the power efx are great, the training is fun & Levi’s fantastic"
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| 82 59% | Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods (2010) - Aug 10, 2019
"Much is said about how Morrison cultivated an image but it seems like a lot of that is simply the result of dressing like a mod dandy as opposed to going for the bum-inspired appearance preferred by most writers. He does also tend to repeatedly frame coincidence as magic happening in real life, but at the same time you get the impression he might believe this nonsense. Either way, however one feels about him or his work, his adult life choices are genuinely compelling & inspiring"
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