At Eternity’s Gate frustratingly squanders a committed performance by Willem Dafoe underneath an unbearably unfocused and ambling narrative and nauseating direction. 

The film hops around from moment to moment with little sense of cohesion or urgency (sometimes quite literally with a plethora of elongated sequences featuring Van Gogh prancing through fields). When Dafoe’s Van Gogh is allowed to profess his internal monologues about his seemingly “higher” purpose in art and his mental anguish, the film soars, and we see glimpses…

Certainly more of an “experience” than a movie, but a damn fun one in its own right. The “Part 1” complaints are valid, but it’s hard to be too bothered by those critiques when a film is this emotional and exciting.

Noticed the pacing moreso than ever on this rewatch. Avengers: Infinity War doesn’t feel 2 1/2 hours long in any respect. All the comparisons to a “theme park ride” are right on target - the film may lack considerable…

Yeah, this behemoth of a film definitely has flaws, but I’ll be DAMNED if that ending isn’t one of the ballsiest conclusions to any blockbuster ever put on screen.

Even despite our knowledge of the “dusted” heroes’ returns, that finale still gives me chills (particularly Tom Holland’s brutal farewell) and I’m absolutely ecstatic to see how they wrap this whole arc up in Avengers: Endgame.

They certainly have an uphill battle with the insane groundwork they’ve laid for themselves, but…

Bad Times At The El Royale is certainly overlong, and it doesn’t fully deliver on the set-up of its fantastic concept, but it features enough powerful performances and pulpy twists and turns to keep you engaged throughout.

I am a huge fan of Drew Goddard’s previous film, The Cabin in the Woods, so I was naturally extremely excited for his sophomore effort. However, while that film featured a tight, finely tuned screenplay, Bad Times At The El Royale can feel…

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs goes to great lengths to transport viewers into the authentic atmosphere of the American Wild West, and although the narratives of a few of these tales can be slight or underwhelming at times, the tone and voice of the Coen Brothers continues to shine through.

On technical merits alone, this film deserves considerable acclaim. Bruno Delbonnel’s astounding cinematography beautifully captures the rough terrain and open skies of the West. Carter Burwell’s melodic, folksy score adds…

Despite a few lackluster technical filmmaking choices that hold the film back from being quite as powerful as it possibly could’ve been, Beautiful Boy is ultimately a success thanks to the showstopping efforts of Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet.

Beautiful Boy feels like a film of simpler time, where a director didn’t feel the need to add garish style and unique flourishes to his feature to make an impact - they would simply place a camera in a scene and…

Ben Is Back is an absolutely emotionally entrancing and ionately well written parable centered around the complexities of one mother and son relationship that is tested beyond belief over the course of one night, brought to life with insanely dedicated performances by Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges.

I’ve always been a fan of both Roberts and Hedges, but I kid you not when I say that I believe they put in some career best work here. Not only are they…

BlacKkKlansman is a riotous, unsettling, and somehow continually hilarious look at the history of racism and bigotry in America, all through the story of one larger than life sting operation.

Spike Lee is never the most subtle filmmaker, but this is by far his strongest and most coherent work in years. Although the movie does fumble a few tonal shifts and could afford to lose a few scenes, for the most part, Lee keeps audiences engaged as the tense narrative…

Bohemian Rhapsody certainly won’t win any points for originality, and it may not delve as deep as some wish, but the film greatly succeeds overall thanks to an abundance of kinetic energy, strong emotional beats, and Rami Malek’s dynamite lead performance.

The interactions between the of Queen are fantastic. Although Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, and Joseph Mazzello aren’t given quite as much to do (as Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon respectively) compared to Malek, they all make…