When comes to Batman, Killing Joke, Frank Miller's Year One and TDKR, and The Long Halloween are your modern classic. Hush and Death in the Family came close to be in the most important Batman story ever told but alas it's not. Nolan's Dark Knight borrow heavily from here and the new Pattinson's Batman cited The Long Halloween is the main inspiration. So does the DCAU did right by making an animated feature out of it? The short answer is yes and the new art style elevate this from just your standard cartoon. Also the storytelling mimics a more mature film language as if you are watching a well made crime thriller. A very good adaptation and if you have the patience to wait until next month, watch this with Part 2 so you don't get bummed out by the part 1 cliffhanger. The mystery of the killer is very well crafted.

Don't be misled by the trailer, this is not that crazy ass Nicholas Cage ripping off John Wick. You don't get to watch crazy acting that much but it's his "Oscar" caliber performance and the gut wrenching ending that the movie slowly building up to. This film is more alike "You were never really here" than any of Hollywood mainstream "revenge" offerings. This is by far the best movie I've watched this year.

This post has been edited by 6so: Jul 18 2021, 11:01 AM

Like Beowulf, this is based on a medieval poem. It's not exactly one to one interpretation as they changed the ending a little. This is not your standard hack and slash movie but a very well made Oscar bait kind of movies. Stunning visual with amazing casting. Dev Patel puts out an Oscar worthy performance with very strong supporting cast of Alicia Vikander, Barry Keoghan, the all commanding voice of Ralph Ineson and of course Sean Harris as King Arthur. Like the structure of a poem, the narrative very floaty and abstract. Very Terry Gilliam.

A movie directorial debut of Lisa Joy, she's the writing partner and wife of Jonathan Nolan. She's responsible for the single best episode of Westworld. Sadly this is an unremarkable film that fails to be of any relevance. The cast, production value and filmmaking aspect are top notch, just that the script very uninspiring and sorta a pale imitation of Inception. It has too much baggage of disappointing aspect of Westworld. Complex mystery that didn't pay off very well.

The follow-up of Julia DuCournau who directed the excellent Raw few years back. I believe this one is this year's most WTF film. At first I thought this is Cronenberg-esque Crash of some sexual fetishes with cars. Yeah you get to see the actress effing a muscle car, making out with a lesbian and some serial killing here or there. Then it shift tones to a human connection storyline with a father that climax in a child birth. To be honest my brain got fried by what I'm watching and yet very intrigued with where things are going. File this under those weird ass art film by Nicolas Winding Refn or Lars Von Trier. I like it somehow but not as crazy loving it as with Raw. This year's Palme D'or winner and the second female director to do so.

It's safe to say Edgar Wright has joined Ridley Scott club. Capable auteur who regularly puts out interesting movies that fall short. In my eyes, the last good movie he puts out was Scott Pilgrim. A fan of his unique signature but he really don't close his movies well ever since The World's End. Last Night in Soho has a strong 1st act with very imaginative cinematography. The problem lies in blending multiple genre plotlines that really don't gel together. So many conflicting themes within one movie, supernatural, psychological, #metoo, horror, etc... I got a sense he is aiming for Bong Joon Ho style of filmmaking. Sadly this not it. As usual awesome soundtracks with strong casting. Fans of Anya Taylor Joy will be disappointed as she is more of a supporting role while Thomasin MacKenzie carries the movie. Strictly for Edgar Wright fans.

The new king of horror is Mike Flanagan. It seems anything he touches became critically praised. I was very impressed with Midnight Mass and Doctor Sleep also pretty good. Even Stephen King endorsed him. The James Wan era has ended.

The Last Duel - Medievel MeToo. Again my expectations was low going in simply because it's directed by Ridley Scott. Not sure if the Rashomon narrative is well played here. Ultimately it doesn't do justice to the messaging. I get it, terrible male chauvinism existed since the dawn of time and society was governed by these assholes. Just that the final duel doesn't elevate the conversation. Maybe this story appeal more to US political climate with leader of the free world still passing legislation to ban abortion in Texas. Guess humanity didn't change one bit since the ancient society. The only one tiny redeeming aspect of the movie is Jodie Comer. She carries the movie but unfortunatel it doesn't come together as a competent movie. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as the official screenwriter just all over hype nonsense.

There are recognizable people behind this movie. GDT executive producing with Scott Cooper directing. Due to pandemic delay, the theme of the movie a little behind time. It took place in a small town where miners resort to making drugs in the face of economic hardship. Basically a reflection to oxycontin crisis in US. Being a Scott Cooper film, the monster element is not just straight up your typical horror movie. It's a metaphor to what's happening in society. Then you have Keri Russell and Jessie Plemons headlining the movie. They got tangled with the sympathetic boy actor. Bullied by students, anti-social behaviour and signs of child abuse. Keri Russell sees herself in the boy and discovers the boy had something sinister in the home. Straight up, strong cast with believable performances, the creature effect also gory and scary. It's OK but not outstanding. It's straight up 70% drama with 30% horror in it.

The trailer may indicate this is spiritual successor to Summer Wars. Actually it's more than that. Belle is in reference to Suzu which means bell in Japanese. The name of the heroine, it also in reference to Belle as in Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Like The Boy and The Beast, Moby Dick being used as subtext for the movie. This time around, Hosada crafted a rather optimistic take of "internet" with Beauty and the Beast motifs. You can easily Black Mirror this movie, the uplifting tone is refreshing and you keep smiling at the funnier moments sprinkled throughout the film. There's a very powerful scene where Belle reveal herself to the world. Yeah it's preachy in the core messaging but the rest of the stuffs keep drawing you in. If Arcane didn't come out this year, this has to be the best animated feature I've seen this year. Very high chance this will get another nomination for Mamoru Hosada at Oscars.

Now I'm a fan of Isabelle Fuhrman, she's the adopted daughter in cult favourite 2009 Orphan. She's all grown up with really tremendous acting chop. This is not your usual sports movie of athlete overcoming hardship to be the best. It's the obsessive determination to be the best. Isabelle Fuhrman plays Alex a very strange girl who sets unrealistic goal on herself. She's not athletic at all and knows nothing about competitive rowing. Yet she signs up so she wants to challenge herself. Then you realized she's addicted to be the best at all cost. We are talking mental torture porn and unrelenting determination to reach the top of the rowing team. The stress and anguish she puts herself in is like watching an addict always chasing for the next high. The ending may looks anticlimactic but actually is what her character is all about. She's major in Physics not because she's good at it but it's the challenge she will overcome. The film is dark and intense like Whiplash. I am not surprised if they nominate Isabelle Fuhrman for an Oscar. The sound design in the movie is freaking awesome.

This is your essential 90s action movie. The premise is rehashing Assault on Precint 13 formula. What you don't expect is great film directing and interesting character to watch. So Frank Grillo purposely got himself into jail, two assassins went after him. Then you have a likeable rookie cop caught in the havoc of stopping the assault. Good back and forth banter between all the characters. Very fun and satisfying to watch. Don't count Joe Carnahan out yet, he still can put out good movie.

NSFW-ish

Pleasure - As a person with curiosity to expand my "knowledge", I watched this!!! Lol....Jokes aside, this is an indie that puts you on the front row seat of a pornstar. This has the best honest behind the scene on making it in the porn industry. It's stuffs you read on esteemed "educational" articles being put on a film and doesn't comes off like a cheap documentary. It's raw and even informative to certain extent.

Limbo - Borderline torture porn.
This is the 2nd HK movie I watched in a very long time. I stop watching Raging Fire after 5 minutes especially with what's happening in HK at the moment. It's hard to watch a goody two shoes HK cop movie, when you experienced Gestapo behaviour of them in reality. Surprised to see Soi Cheang returning to his roots. A super violent Category-3 flick. The title Limbo is in reference to the unending sufferings of the two leads in the movie. Gordon Lam plays a cop who allows his rage to take over his life. He violently abuse the female protagonist outside of his police jurisdiction. She did something very wrong to Gordon Lam in the past. Knowing her guilt, he exploits her to be a reluctant informer to track down a serial killer. Uncomfortable torture porn scenes keep popping up. Beside some plot conveniences, the cinematography and acting is impressive, especially the lead actress gave a very good performance. Not for the faint hearted.

Hand Rolled Cigarette - Watchable gangster indie. Two lost souls able to connect with each other in the under belly of HK street. Gordon Lam plays a down on his luck middle age man scraping by dealing with the triads. A Bangladeshi drug dealer hides in his house from triad pursuers. From there the unlikely pair formed a friendship until the triad caught up to them where they need to find solution to the sticky situation they are in. There's a pretty impressive one shot in the end where everything comes into boiling point. Again some nitpicking plot conveniences otherwise a pretty solid effort. A more modest budgeted crime drama that Johnny To used to make in the heyday of HK cinema. Guess HK now will reduced to making modest local indie films while mainlander collab films will be strictly propaganda shitshow.

This is my least favourite Wes Anderson movie. It's more of an anthology rather than one cohesive narrative. Four random quirky tales that goes nowhere. Lea Seydoux fanboys will be very happy as you get to see her glorious birthday suit more than one occasion. Her segment with Benicio Del Toro is the better told storyline amongst all.

This post has been edited by 6so: Jan 25 2022, 10:18 PM

Uncharted is a soul less movie. None of it did right to the much beloved video game counterpart. Tom Holland forgot he is not in a Spider-man movie. Sully not supposed to be a beef cake like Mark Wahlberg. Just approprating the MCU BS here instead of riffing what Naughty Dog did to the game. A very forgettable watch with terrible casting.

Nightmare Alley - it's beautifully put together and a forgotten genre just like Crimson Peak. Don't think this will capture the crowd's attention as the storyline is something already played out over and over in other films. Performance of the cast is above average but ultimately not enough to make this a standout. The core message is when you start to believe in lies you tell, there's a price to pay. It's from him picking a mentalist skill where he con his way up to high society. His hubris and greed just got him deeper into spinning bigger lies until unmitigated tragedy came looking. He lost everything and became the one thing that he despised.

Don't think he will get anything. The hype is on Jane Campion's Power of Dog and snobbish critics are head over heels on Drive My Car. Branagh's Belfast could be the white knight. Worst case is Paul Thomas Anderson who is the next white whale that haven't won an Oscar for best director. A sympathy win.

Saw this on my wife's china streaming box, thought you have seen it all and it's time to move on from this bullshit. Guess I'm not prepared to admit how much I enjoyed this low hanging fruit of comedy. Can't stop laughing and marveling at these middle aged idiots still going strong with their shenanigans. Just a little warning, it has more full frontal and gross out pranks. Not for the easily offended. The new generation of jackass equally watchable but the OG gang gets the most laugh out of you. The sizzle reel at end credit not to be missed. Shut off your brain and just have a good laugh out time.