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Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
The script and story are flimsy in comparison to the visuals, which are rousing. Epic action sequences and world-building, with some apocalyptic moments. Heavy Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes. Enjoyed but wanted more.
A bizarre documentary about pet cemeteries that manages to be both hilarious and perhaps the most probing look at the human condition that I’ve ever seen.
The animation is astoundingly beautiful, the story epic and Shakespearean, the Zimmer score aggressive but stirring. The politics are wonky and the protagonist uninspiring, but the overall product is still mesmerizing. Near-masterpiece.
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2009 Top 100 Rewatch
During the summer of 2009, when I was about to start my senior year of college, I made a list of my top 100 favorite films.
Noisy, dumb, and bloated — but phenomenal spectacle. The broad characters work just well enough, and the effects that matter (the exploding buildings) are real good.
The problem with choosing “intolerance” as a theme for your time-sprawling opus is that it is so shapeless and blunt as to lose all meaning.
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The Vampires (1915)
The film serial was an early cinema format that is, honestly, more familiar today than ever, though through a different mechanism:
This Australian coming-of-age flick is far too quirky and disjointed, proud of its satire and flipping of tropes, but certainly unique and powerful in moments. Leads are quite good and non-generic
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The Last Day of Summer (2007)
I declare that “Jansen” shall be my measurement unit for annoying child actors. Jansen Panettiere comes in at 1.0 Jansens in this film, the yardstick of shittiness.