Manhattan (1979)
A gorgeously shot, romanticized, monochromatic love letter to its namesake. It captures not only iconic scenic landmarks of the city, but relational complexities of love through its earnest writing, dissecting the messiness of human connection filled with hidden insecurities with wit and honesty. This is surprisingly my first Woody Allen film but assuredly not my last.
"You don't know what love means. I don't know what it means. Nobody out there knows what the hell's going on."

Demolition (2016)
Davis suffers from emotional vacancy following his wife's death and attempts to feel something, manifests in nihilistic dismantling of life’s structures through antipathic antics, even when context arrives late he's long been anesthetized by numbness. The anodyne sweetness of the rushed third act fails to buttress lost goodwill. I applaud the tricky cinematic concept but Gyllenhaal's solidity can't fully salvage narrative demolition.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Visually sumptuous cinematography and CGI can't elevate this from Beneath its predecessors. It Rises only shortly past Dawn as a middling entry, regurgitating woefully familiar narrative themes while the aptly named Proximus Caesar bastardizes and wages War against the original's legacy. Its runtime fails to Escape lulls and drags towards a cheap cliffhanger. Not a reinvigorating Conquest for the franchise, but not a completely lost Battle.

The Rezort (2015)
Jurassic Park if stripped of thematic awe and dinosaurs are swapped for zombies. Once you overlook its flawed premise and facile social commentary, it shuffles into surprisingly competent, undemanding genre fare. Never transcending its derivative roots, but delivers a prosaic and crunchy diversion for the undead-starved.

Assassination Nation (2018)
Blatant derivative of The Purge meets formulaic parody of digital-age outrage but lacks the original's visceral punch. Chekhov's gun misfires repeatedly as plot points fizzle in the proverbial rain, nearly making its plot holes redundant. Only the well-shot kinetic home invasion sequence provides an isolated spark. Spiritless vim; ultimately as hollow as its characters' rage.

I had a killer week at the movies:

Ballerina 5/5: I wasn't sure about a John Wick spin-off but man this was creative and different. I like ADA as a lead and the creative kills really sell this. We weren't asking for it but it does justify its existence. No spoilers but a specific grenade kill was up there for the coolest kill I've seen in any movie.

Bring Her Back 3.5/5: There's some genuinely gross and impactful moments in this. It's not my favorite horror movie but it does a good job

Pedator: Killer of Killers 5/5: this movie FUCKING RIPS. I love triptychs, and these stories rock, this is everything I want from Predator and more

The Phoenician Scheme 4/5: it's hardly the best Wes Anderson movie but it's still very funny, very unique, and very worth seeing

Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye 4/5: Dan Da Dan rocks and I like the start of this season. The cliffhanger is a bit much but makes sense because this is just 3 TV episodes duct taped together

How to Train Your Dragon (2025) 3/5: I don't have the nostalgia for this series but I did appreciate that it's basically the same movie as the original. I know people think this is peak children's media but I think it's just slightly above average

The Life of Chuck 5/5: I know absolutely everyone hates it when people say "don't look up anything, go in blind to this movie" but that's what I did and this movie is incredible. Honestly Tom Hiddleston is good but hardly steals the show

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4/5: I loved seeing this in theaters. It's a classic for a reason, it's just a little of its time

The Transporter 2/5: I'm fine with crime movies but I have a hard time taking the protagonist seriously because he seems to be upset that he's doing a crime as a career criminal. I don't think his morality makes sense and I can't reconcile it with the rest of the movie

Just been to see the How to Train Your Dragon movie. The other half really wanted to see it, but I didn't want to see a story I enjoyed getting ruined by a pointless live-action remake...

How wrong I was, I thoroughly enjoyed it! They really kept true to the original story, and all the actors did a great job. Was the film necessary? Of course not. But I would happily watch it again.

Tampopo

Old Japanese classic "ramen western"

If anyone hasn't seen it, please make sure your belly is full before watching this movie. 🤓

I’ve been rewatching the Predator movies after watching the new animated one last week, which was pretty good.