I am a film-obsessed nerd who has been writing movie reviews since 2005. Check here and my FB and IG pages for the latest film/tv news and my website below!
It is my opinion that posting ones’ beliefs about politics, religion, and aardvarks on social media has never changed anyone’s mind, so you won’t find that from this account. What’s your favorite movie?
In case you need to hear it today, it’s fine to go to the movies alone. Why there’s a weird stigma around it is beyond me, but going to the movies by yourself is in no way strange.
I hope Lily Gladstone wins Best Actress this year. Sometimes the best acting is not who screams the loudest or goes the biggest, but instead communicates a lot in the little details, expressions, and movements.
A small thing I thoroughly appreciated about “Top Gun Maverick” is that someone finally figured out how close to put the camera to texts on a phone so that you could Read The Texts.
I want to see Stephanie Hsu get a lead role in something. I don’t care what it is. With “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “The Fall Guy”, she’s shown plenty of range and a strong screen presence. Here’s hoping she gets that lead role ASAP
I loved “Godzilla Minus One” for making Godzilla a terrifying creature and representation of survivor’s guilt as well as telling an involving human drama. I loved “Godzilla Vs Kong” because it’s fun to see monsters smash each other. Both Godzillas can and should co-exist to me.
Spielberg is one of the greatest film directors out there. Sure he’s had some less-than-stellar work, but when he’s on the top of his game, nobody can do it like him. Spielberg rules.
Kristen Stewart is a good actress. Anybody who says she’s bad in “Twilight” clearly hasn’t read the books. Is Bella Swan a good character? No not really, but Stewart plays her to a tee and has shown range elsewhere.
I feel comfortable saying that Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson is the most well-written love interest in a superhero movie series. She has goals, motivations of her own, and challenges Peter Parker when he undervalues her. Plus she grows as a person throughout the trilogy.
Filmtwitter has exactly 2 reactions to any given movie: “It’s the best thing ever” or “it’s garbage”.
Good criticism is fa more nuanced than that. A film can be flawed and still worth seeing.
Martin Scorsese's contributions to the film landscape far outweigh those made by the MCU. This does not mean the MCU is bad, but when I see fans of it diminishing Scorsese's work implying the MCU films are better than most of his, it's absolutely ridiculous.
“Part of That World” is my favorite Disney “I Want” song. It was almost cut from “The Little Mermaid” out of fear that kids would be bored by a slower sequence, but Howard Ashman fought to keep it in and preserve the story and character motivation for Ariel. Thank god he won.
@RICHARDLNEWBY
“First Class” is my most rewatched X-Men movie. I love pretty much all of it. However, having Darwin make a point of saying he can adapt to anything you throw at him only to kill him 45 seconds later is a huge WTH moment.
Writing a negative review is rarely enjoyable. Trashing the work of hundreds of people who put a film together doesn’t feel good to me, especially when I can see the intentions of the filmmakers are noble.
I think a lot of the online film community legitimately doesn’t know how to react to average or decent movies. It’s either “The Best” or “The Worst” ever. A large majority of movies that come out won’t be amazing or amazingly awful. It makes the great or awful ones special.
I have only seen. “Mission Impossible: Fallout” once, yet vividly remember the bathroom fight, the plane jump, and the mountain-set climax, plus Henry Cavill proving himself as an action star. I can’t say I remember most of the action in modern action movies this well.
Taika Waititi doing “Thor Ragnarok” so he’d have money to support his family is fine. An opportunity arose and he took it. I’m happy he was able to provide for his loved ones.
A film critic retired recently because people online couldn’t bear reading an opinion different from their own and attacked him for it. Media criticism should not now, nor ever be, an echo chamber where any dissenting opinion is diminished.
The sheer negativity on here is too much sometimes. For God’s sake, please drop a movie you Like (not love, not Stan, just Like, for any reason) down below.
“Inglorious Basterds” is my favorite Quentin Tarantino film. All of his strengths (dialogue writing, tonal control, direction of actors) are on full display with very few of his weaknesses. It’s a well-done revenge movie where everything clicks.
Enough moments that disengaged you from a movie. What’s one good performance in a movie you otherwise aren’t a fan of? I’ll start: Uma Thurman: “Batman & Robin”
I’ve always enjoyed “Starship Troopers”. The first time I saw it, I enjoyed the cheese and bloody action that only a madman like Paul Verhoeven can put onscreen. It still works as that, but I also love it as a satire of the hyper-pro-military attitude and utopian society.
Batman doesn’t need an R-rating to be good. If you’re worried about the PG-13 hampering Matt Reeves’ ability to tell a dark and complex story, I invite you to watch his “Planet Of The Apes” films, which are brutally violent yet always story and theme-focused, as well as PG-13.
@qhantomthread
I liked “Shape of Water”, and regardless of the film’s content, I feel “Joker” deserves Oscar consideration for the cinematography and score.
I love how Doctor Strange’s costume looks onscreen. The colors pop, it looks unashamedly like something straight out of a comic book, and Benedict Cumberbatch looks fully at ease wearing it.
@DWLundberg
I watched the making-of documentary on it last night on YouTube. For a movie that’s so maligned, it was eye-opening to see and hear about all of the passion that went into every aspect of it. Actors, costume designers, Schumacher himself, they all souls like they had a blast
“Malignant” is a Wan-derfully weird and knowingly ridiculous horror with an all out Annabelle Wallis performance and a fantastically gonzo finale that makes it worth the price of admission alone. This is B-level stuff at its greatest and I love it. 5/5. See this film ASAP
@DWLundberg
Rewatching it tonight, I think it commits the exact same sins as every other movie that does this (purely for fan service), but at least the moments are over fast and the end of the sequence establishes the relationship between Indy and his dad, plus the snake bit is hilarious.
A film's length is not what matters, but its pacing. A well-paced 3-hour film can go buy in a flash, but a poorly-paced 90-minute one can feel like an eternity.
I miss James Horner man. The guy could do epic, soaring scores, smaller emotional pieces, and more that transported you into to film’s world for a couple of hours. He ruled.
One of my favorite moments in “Mitchells Vs The Machines” is when they reveal Katie has a girlfriend and it’s just played off as a normal thing. More of that please.
“Moonfall” is easily the biggest, dumbest film of the year and Roland Emmerich’s career, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a goofy smile across my face the entire time. It’s a melting pot of every sci-fi film from the last decade and revels in its stupidity. See it!
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” is bizarrely hilarious, life-affirmimg, and one of the most emotionally resonant films of the year. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan give the best performances of their careers and the finale will leave you in happy tears. 5/5. See it!
My ranking of the Daniel Craig 007 title sequences, favorite to least favorite:
1: “Skyfall”
2: “Casino Royale”
3: “No Time to Die”
4: “Quantum of Solace”
5: “Spectre”
What’s yours?
Advice I’d give to film people out there is not to put down others who haven’t seen as many movies as you. They haven’t seen “Citizen Kane”, “Encanto” or “You’ve Got Mail” yet? Encourage them. Let them discover how varied film is on their own terms.
Kevinthecritic’s Top 10 Best Films of 2021!:
1 : “King Richard”
2: “Tick Tick Boom”
3: “Mitchell’s Vs Machines”
4: “Malignant”
5: “Encanto”
6: The Night House”-
7: “In The Heights”
8: “Last Night In Soho”
9: “Pieces of A Woman”
10: “Cruella”
Something I’ve learned in my years as a critic is almost every movie appeals to Someone. Even if you think x movie is the worst, most flaming heap of garbage you wish you could wash out of your eyes, Someone out there likes it.
I get why Sydney Sweeney is popular now. She has a unique look (especially her eyes) and good comic timing. She also produced “Anyone But You” (her new star vehicle), so it looks like she’s riding fast. I look forward to seeing where she goes from here.
@kelleent
I took a production assistant class a few years ago. One of the things they told us was that it was literally someone’s job to transport talent places. How such an oversight occurred here is baffling. The talent will be drained after their workday. Rides should’ve been given.
No animation studio will ever have a perfect track record. The standard I’ve seen Pixar held to recently is absurd. Do I like some Pixar films more than others? Absolutely, but in their 20+ years of output, there are only 2 films I would call misfires. That’s impressive.
Saying this as a dude: Women do not exist in movies to give you physical pleasure. If one of your criticisms of a movie is “the men/women aren’t sexy enough” and you actually think that’s a good piece of critique, you’re in the wrong profession entirely.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw provided excellent cinematography on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”. Whether the scene required thrilling comic book action, a grand sense of wonder, or searing emotional intensity between characters, she nailed it throughout. Kudos to her.
@FuriousNoah_
Barbie’s arc of self-actualization doesn’t get as much development as it should and the mother-daughter relationship change feels rushed.
I keep seeing people say “The Dark Knight” movies make Batman out as a guy who doesn’t make jokes and I have to disagree. He’s no Tony Stark, but all 3 films have moments of comedy in Bruce Wayne’s public persona. Plus, he and Alfred have a humorous back-and-forth.
I'm going to keep saying this: Harassing critics for not sharing the same film opinion as you does nothing good. If you can't handle somebody disliking a movie you do or liking a film you don't, then something beyond the movie is going on.
“Malignant” is on HBOMax in the US. It was one of the best horror films of the last year that not enough people saw. Also go watch “Brand New Cherry Flavor” on Netflix if you have a strong stomach.
Seeing the garbage
@RICHARDLNEWBY
has had thrown at him this week over his excellent “Rings of Power” article saddens me. He’s one of the more kind and nuanced people in the online film space and seeing the trolls attack him sucks. Give him a follow if you aren’t already.
Films that connect with me emotionally:
“The Iron Giant”
“Edward Scissorhands”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”
“Peter Pan” (2003)
“Good Will Hunting”
“Titanic”
“Field of Dreams”
“How to Train Your Dragon”
What are some of yours?
@kathia_woods
@Rendy_Jones
She Is bratty, Buuuuuuut she’s also a 6-year-old grieving over the loss of her parents and whose sister (despite her best efforts) vents her frustrations about her newfound responsibility onto Lilo. So yeah, Liko has a right to not be a happy camper at that point in life.
I would love it if Rachel McAdams got awards recognition for “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret”, but even if she doesn’t, the performance will still be as warm, relatable, and down-to-earth as it was when I first saw it.
“Eternals” gets off to a rocky start, but becomes one of Marvel’s biggest, weirdest, and most refreshingly distinctive outings. In focusing more on character than action, these heroes are some of the most human feeling in the entire MCU. 3.5/5. See it!
Today I’d like to highlight screenwriter Christina Hodson, who wrote “Birds of Prey” and “Bumblebee”. Both films are action-packed while also ensuring we warm up to their characters by giving them relatable problems and desires in the outlandish worlds they inhabit. Writers rule
I love “Shrek 2” and “Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” for advancing their characters and franchises in unexpected ways. Both are excellent movies to me. However, I realized that “Puss” has one thing over “Shrek”: It doesn’t use pop culture references as jokes and will age better.
Cord Jefferson is absolutely right in saying studios should bring back $10 million-$20 million genre movies. Comedies, dramas, romances, and more would provide variety to entice more audiences to show up. Good word-of-mouth plus a manageable budget could spell big wins for all.
So we're mad at Emily Blunt for.... Not wanting to do superhero movies. Of all the reasons i've seen people get onto celebrities this week about stuff, that has to be the dumbest one.
The scene in Robert Zemeckis’ “Pinocchio” where Gepetto’s clocks are all recognizable Disney properties is the single most soulless moment I experienced in a film this year.
I cannot state enough how happy it made me that “Dungeons & Dragons” cast two extremely sexy people in the leads and the writers said “Let’s have them be close platonic friends”.
Nia DaCosta directed "Candyman". Jordan Peele produced and co-wrote it. Stop calling it Jordan Peele's "Candyman" and give the director the credit they deserve.
To me, “Bumblebee” remains the best Transformers movie. It makes sense on its own, tells a self-contained story, and balances heart with character and action well. Plus Hailee Steinfeld rocks in the lead.
If you go out to the theater to support movies, thank you. If you wait until it’s at home for convenience or better pricing, thank you. Thank you for supporting the movies however you can.