The Goods: Film Reviews
I’ve always had a hard time figuring out just where to place WALL·E in the Pixar pantheon for a couple reasons, the biggest of which is that WALL·E is a rare masterpiece that gets steadily worse across its runtime. The more the movie focuses on the fat humans and environmentalism parable, the more it feels like a run-of-the-mill good movie; and the less it feels like a generationally profound piece of cinema.
The first hour of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is one of the most entertaining blockbusters of 2000s. Gore Verbinski captures all of his budget on screen, with huge swashbuckling set pieces and chases and outstanding period production values. The action comes at a furious clip. You can almost taste the popcorn as you watch.
Rarely has a numeric rating felt so insufficient in capturing the totality of my opinion towards a film than what you see below.
I’m fairly tolerant of the Chris Columbus outings, but watching Prisoner of Azkaban right on the tails of the first two films is like wandering the desert and then having a big glass of water.
Hercules has a bit of a reputation as a minor Disney Renaissance work, mostly because it has a light comic tone while still adhering to a fairy tale-esque hero’s journey story arc, perhaps lending it an air of excessive breeziness where dramatic punch is expected.
I’m not quite sure this movie realizes that it’s a neo-noir.
I fear that I will never again be able to watch The Godfather with fresh eyes or a sense of wonder.
The Departed is simultaneously ridiculous and exciting — a potent combination for a watchable movie, but not necessarily a great one.
Scene 1: Three scoundrels wait at a train station at the end of the world.
When I watch The Goofy Movie, I become Anton Ego from Ratatouille after he takes that first bite — a crotchety old man brought back to his childhood with some “peasant food.”