FilmFincher

Same here, thankfully where I'm working today and tomorrow has AC. But yeah Nope screening tomorrow and my one on Sat aren't looking too hot. Felt like they should have pushed the IMAX side of it more, especially because it's the real deal and not one of these IMAX Digital, IMAX Certified, Formatted for IMAX, Framed for IMAX things.

JULY Movies Current Releases Elvis - 8/10 - Delightfully Baz, Butler was top notch, Hanks was swinging big. Loved the soundtrack, the musical numbers. A little paint by numbers narratively. Thor: Love and Thunder - 7/10 - Pretty standard MCU fare. Production was average, Bale was fantastic. Lacking some meat on the bones; akin to a Saturday morning cartoon. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 6/10 - The writers seem to exist in 2010 with out of date references galore. 30 mins too long. Super Sayian Sonic was pretty cool. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - 5/10 - Yates needs to go, everything is so unimaginative and drained of life. Morbius - 4/10 - I almost wanted this to be worse, in the end it’s just super generic. Matt Smith looked like he was having fun. The Gray Man - 3/10 - Disappointing effort from the Russo’s, zero sense of rhythm and instinct when it came to the editing and narrative. Can’t believe this cost $200M. Older Releases Singin’ in the Rain - 10/10 - The sheer amount of talent and effort on the screen is jaw dropping. The way everyone moves is magical. Dead Poets Society - 10/10 - Inspiring, incredible, a wonderful coming of age story. It makes you want to get out there and live life to the fullest. Pride & Prejudice (2005) - 9/10 - I’m a sucker for repressed love stories full of misunderstandings. Damn you Jane Austen! Also is that hand touch one of the hottest moments put to film? Wheels On Meals - 9/10 - Complete mastery of both comedy and action. The sheer simplicity of the narrative is something more films should take note of. Cop Land - 9/10 - Achieves a surprising amount of depth for a short runtime. Fantastic ensemble cast, centred by a very tender, quiet performance from Stallone. Brazil - 8/10 Eraserhead - 8/10 - Deeply uncomfortable, nightmarish take on unexpected fatherhood and repressed desires. The Gift (2000) - 8/10 - Small town whodunit with an intimate, soft performance from Blanchett. Keanu gives one of the most genuine acting efforts I’ve seen from him. Bridget Jones Diary - 8/10 - If this was the first thing i saw Zellweger in I would 100% believe she was British. The fight between Grant and Firth might be the hardest I’ve laughed in years. Rushmore - 8/10 The Firm - 8/10 - I long for the days of 90’s conspiracy thrillers like this. Doom (2005) - 7/10 - Schlocky B-movie hyper masculine fun in all the right ways. It ends with a super-powered kung fu and wrestling battle. What more could you want! The Muppets Take Manhattan - 7/10 Prince of Darkness - 7/10 The Craft - 7/10 - Nostalgically 90’s, great soundtrack, CGI hasn’t aged well. Muppets From Space - 6/10 - Too Gonzo focused, needed more of the whole gang. The Chronicles of Riddick - 3/10 Spiral: From the Book of Saw - 2/10 - Chris Rock is god awful in this. Feels cheaply made. Kills are still pretty gnarly. TV The Sopranos S1|2|3 - 10/10 - Has completely lived up to it’s reputation. Top tier TV. Westworld S4 - 9/10 - The show is 100% back on form, it’s rediscovered that balance between clarity and clever narrative conceits that S1 had. I went pretty soft on S3 but this has made me realise what Westworld was and always should have been while still moving forwards. Stranger Things S4 - 9/10 The Boys S3 - 8/10 Ms. Marvel - 7/10 - This was definitely the most heartfelt and relatable of the Marvel shows. Exploring India’s history with British control and partition was handled very well. The usual caveats keep it from truly excelling but the show had a very strong sense of what it was that prevented it from tripping up.

January Scream Parallel Mothers Nightmare Alley Belfast Licorice Pizza February Jackass Forever Death on the Nile Uncharted Belle Dog March The Godfather - 50th Anniversary The Batman - IMAX The Batman - IMAX X Ambulance The Lost City April The Worst Person in the World The Northman The Northman The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent May Everything Everywhere All At Once - IMAX Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - IMAX Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Top Gun: Maverick - IMAX June Men Happening Top Gun: Maverick - IMAX Jurassic World: Dominion The Black Phone Top Gun: Maverick - IMAX July Elvis Thor: Love and Thunder Top Gun: Maverick - 4DX Total: 33

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/paramount-settles-suit-against-mission-impossible-insurer-over-covid-19-production-delays-1235188838/ Maybe something to keep in mind when people get into budget vs gross discussions down the line. I'm sure the specific amount paid out will come out at some point.

@The Dark Alfred @CaptNathanBrittles @Xavier https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mission-impossible-7-budget-tom-cruise-1235173816/ This article goes into pretty good detail on the inflated budget (I'm pretty sure they're the initial source for the reported one). There's a bunch of problems COVID caused such as multiple shutdowns and entire location changes while keeping everyone on the payroll.

I think I could do about 8 of them off the top of my head and some hard thinking. I'm gonna have to do some re-watching and catching up on some of the ones I haven't seen to get the others.

I just want to say I love these, keep up the great work!

Looks fantastic. Leagues ahead of it's fantasy show peers.

I thought US was great, the craftsmanship on display is top notch + Lupita's stellar double performance. That fight set to an orchestral 'Got 5 On It' intercut with the ballet is just killer. I think your milage depends how much you get hung up on the world building aspects.

Btw for anyone who dropped off, Westworld is back to being great! I couldn't be happier. Season 3 is looking a strange misstep now. They've struck that balance between clarity in storytelling and clever narrative conceits that made Season 1 work so well. It's good to have it back on form.

YES! This makes me so happy. Samara Weaving gave an absolutely star is born performance in Ready or Not. She just pops off the screen, love they brought her back. Hopefully Hollywood doesn't waste her going forward.

Westworld is completely back on form btw for those peeking in. It's basically delivering on what everyone wanted season 3 to be.

I'm tempted to still go because we basically have nothing else until Bullet Train in August

I found it stronger than 2. Maybe it's because of Supernatural but I thought Jensen Ackles was a great addition this season that raised it up. Things felt like they were progressing nicely until the finale which largely puts us back to square one except for a few wrinkles. That was frustrating.

I guess passable or average would be a better word. I agree that it hasn't sunk as low as the average Netflix flick which is probably more deserving of the word lackluster. Though I find something so uninspired about their coverage in action especially. Waititi's style works great for his smaller films and the comedy moments in this but anytime Thor tries to be a blockbuster it really falls flat. Though I will say Bale creeping in the shadows stood out as stronger than the rest of the film. It's annoying because I do think people like Gunn and the Russo's show you can do this stuff up to a better standard under the Marvel machine. I think the acceptance of it comes from the fact Marvel usually nail telling a basic story, with likeable characters and some laughs along the way which is generally the more important thing. There's a lot films out there with fantastic production but can't achieve the basics of storytelling. With Marvel the stamp of approval is generally a guaranteed good time but often not an exceptional one (though a few definitely stand out) because of the way they produce their films. Honestly even just one more scene of Bale on his own would have been enough to give him some time to shine, especially to really flesh out his goal in the latter half of the movie.

i'm holding off my rewatch for the IMAX rerelease.

I went to a prime time evening show for Thor at my local tonight. Was maybe less than half full which quite shocked me. I think the weather might have kept people away.

Thor was perfectly fine. It was basically 'Marvel Lite' where a little less effort was put forth on all fronts. There's an airiness about it, edging closer to a Saturday morning cartoon. The usual caveats of lacklustre production, CGI, score, sound mix, cinematography and action sequences apply. Waititi's comedy works for me and helps the film stand out amongst it's MCU brethren. Goats are GOAT. Bale seemed like he was having a hell of a time, one of the better MCU villains. Attempts at emotional heft are struck by that Marvel Lite thing. They garner a mild reaction. It's an irreverent Thor adventure with characters you like having fun interactions but with even 10 more minutes it could have been so much more.

I had fun, there was nothing about it that screamed drastically worse or better than your standard Marvel film. It's a 'Marvel Lite' where a little less effort was put forth on all fronts. There's an airiness about it, edging closer to a Saturday morning cartoon. It comes with the usual caveats of lacklustre production, CGI, score, sound mix, cinematography and action sequences (though those were some of the worst yet). I thought it was consistently hilarious, some delightful gags. Waititi's comedy works for me and helps the film stand out amongst it's MCU brethren. Goats are GOAT. I didn't find any tonal issues like others. Bale seemed like he was having a hell of a time and his introduction was fantastic. One of the better MCU villains but would have liked more time with him. Attempts at emotional heft are struck but that Marvel Lite thing, it just hasn't dedicated the proper time to garner anything more than a mild reaction. It's an irreverent Thor adventure with characters you like having fun interactions but with even 10 more minutes it could have been so much more.

If it's any consolation, it's only my 3rd least favourite film this year

Nope is the only proper IMAX film this year so I can see them putting an exclusive teaser in front of it.

I assume it's a 'conflicted about where he belongs' storyline, Jakes a stern Dad which pushes him away, the RDA pretend to be accepting and do some fun stuff with him to use him etc.. I hope it's handled well, that stuff from teenagers can come of a little CW.

This looks badass, very excited for this now.

I cried this episode.

Since we're halfway through the year, figured I'd share what my list is looking like at the moment. It's a UK list so some may be from last year for US folks. A+ Nightmare Alley Top Gun: Maverick A The Northman Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess The Batman Everything Everywhere All at Once The Worst Person in the World A- Licorice Pizza Jackass Forever Parallel Mothers X The Black Phone Happening RRR B+ Elvis The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Men Belfast Turning Red Boiling Point B Scream Dog Hustle Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness B- Kimi Fresh Ambulance The Lost City Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers C+ Apollo 10 1/2 The Adam Project C Uncharted Sonic the Hedgehog 2 C- Jurassic World Dominion No Exit Moonfall Spiderhead Death On the Nile D+ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Morbius D The 355 D- Deep Water Interceptor F- Fistful of Vengeance