INDYATMN
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| 96 95% | Toy Story 4 (2019) - Jun 23, 2019
"Initially the jokes aren’t as funny as 1 might expect & for a moment it seems like Pixar’s doing the “woke” thing & we’re going to get another franchise about the problems of letting even well-intentioned males lead but the themes are thankfully not one-sided arguments, but bigger & relatable to everyone. So we get another tightly scripted, perfectly executed, & profoundly moving tale about the bitter sweet changes that come with growing up that’ll mean more to adults than their kids"
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| 72 29% | Hulk (2003) - Jun 22, 2019
"When Hulk starts leaping & fighting the army it's beautiful to look at but there's no suspense bc there are no civilian lives at stake & no doubt Hulk will smash tanks. Worse, there's no great love for him to return to since Betty broke up w/ him. So we're left w/ a Freudian drama about a passive protagonist's childhood trauma & the dangers of repression which equals a lot of unengaging metaphors. There are also times Lee gets too cartoony. Talbot's villainy is over the top & a Hulk poodle? WTF?"
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| 80 54% | The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) - Jun 21, 2019
"A pleasant surprise after watching the downbeat & sluggish TV movies that preceded it. Making Thor Don Blake's genie as opposed to his alter ego may rankle some fans, but it provides a welcome jolt of nerd-jock buddy comedy fun to this usually morose series. The budget, efx & Napier's awful Cajun accent are still clearly 80's tv-movie, but it's far more entertaining than what's come before w/ much quicker pacing & more fights. Even its fish-out-of-water comedy made me LOL at one point."
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| 68 22% | The Incredible Hulk: Death in the Family (1977) - Jun 18, 2019
"Maybe it's b/c we see Banner sacrificing any potential stability he might have in order to protect 2 people who accept him as a monster or the fact that older fans know his attempt to cure himself hasn't worked, but the ending to this 2 hour tv movie is surprisingly moving. The rest of this does not hold up well at all, esp the pacing. The bad guys' plot is easily figured out before it's revealed, & actress Prange has to play an annoyingly whiny adult woman who often talks like she's delayed. "
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| 60 12% | Brenda Starr (1989) - Jun 16, 2019
"The first 20 minutes have some funny moments of deliberate camp & there are a couple of good stunts later in the film but instead of continuing to have campy fun with the conventions of old comic strips, it commits to trying to get laughs by recreating 2 very old comedy styles - slapstick & screwball - & badly at that. It’s painful to watch. The idea of having reality collide with the comic is “meta” & interesting but nothing funny comes of it, & so it just makes the film seem messy too."
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| 75 39% | Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994) - Jun 12, 2019
"For a 4th Death Wish sequel this isn't bad at all. Of course, it's insanely predictable, but script-wise it's structurally far more solid than one would expect. It smartly foregoes the usual scenes of Kersey developing a relationship & starts him off w/ a makeshift family, so when the inevitable tragedy occurs he's got reason for vengeance. This film also, far & away, has the best villains - a disguise freak & a wisecracking but sociopathic mob boss who's so evil even his daughter runs from him"
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| 75 39% | Dark Phoenix (2019) - Jun 10, 2019
"Having loved every single X-Men film before this, it's quite a come down to see something that's watchable, but rarely compelling or surprising. It's revealing that there is an event that should come as a genuine shock, but never lands that way. It also doesn't help that the villains are uninspired & we never really got to connect to Jean before the transformation. Still, the film finally gets an emotional charge when Charles confronts Jean & ends on a high note with an exciting train battle. "
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| 95 94% | Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) - Jun 09, 2019
"Highly underrated. It's easy to imagine some people being put off by how long the filmmaker lets some scenes run, especially some of Erivo singing, but her performance, like the film, is so compelling I was mostly riveted throughout. Every actor is perfect (although Hemsworth's public persona is so fun-loving it's tough to buy him as evil), & the film is masterful at creating characters & situations you want to know more about & delivering unpredictable answers that live up to expectations. "
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| 55 8% | AVP: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem (2007) - Jun 08, 2019
"The first 3rd is ok w/ some humans who are far more interesting than the ones in the last film since the writer smartly makes sure to give at least the brothers their own sets of problems & goals. The younger brother's crush could be the seed for a John Hughes film, unfortunately the film deteriorates FAST, w/ the town inexplicably & abruptly falling under military jurisdiction. The fights are also often hard to see & the filmmakers think we care about certain characters dying, but we don't. "
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| 66 20% | Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) - Jun 07, 2019
"Unlike it’s awful predecessor, this understands what people go to a Godzilla movie for (to see Godzilla & watch monsters fight) & since it delivers on both counts, it feels wrong to give this such a low grade. Still, despite some new battle variations (Rodan’s midair spins & Ghidorah dropping Godzilla from a great height) it’s still mostly just a lot of grappling & pushing. The big problem though is the humans whose beliefs & actions are constantly based on ludicrous assumptions. "
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