Thoughts on 5 Films

1. The Book of Clarence - While I liked this, for the most part, it's definitely disappointing. I was expecting it to be my favorite movie of the year (which I just realized it's not even considered a 2024 release anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter), but it's mostly mediocre. Jeymes Samuel's The Harder They Fall was my favorite film of 2021 for several reasons, but the main reason is because it felt bold and fresh, and had style. I also think it's important to tell historical black stories from non-white perspectives, in spaces other than slavery and prisons. I knew that the whole religious aspect of this was not going to be my favorite (I'm not religious, nor do I like watching religious stories, for the most part), but I was so down for this cast - LaKeith, RJ Cyler (I don't understand how RJ and Kelvin Harrison Jr. aren't at the top of everyone's list for next generation talent), plus OMAR SY, and the love of my life - James McAvoy. I mean, I would watch the four of them recite the bible, to be honest. I think my disappointment lies in the fact that it's a little slow-moving, and becomes a little repetitive so I found myself bored for a lot of it. And McAvoy doesn't show up for quite a while, so I was automatically annoyed. I almost feel like they shouldn't have advertised his role at all - a 'la Benedict Cumberbatch - I didn't even know it was him in that role until towards the end. But there are some great moments & scenes that really standout and have me convinced that Samuel is a director to watch, for sure. The dance interlude is probably my favorite scene - super cool, unexpected, and fun. There's some really funny dialogue if you pay attention - it's extremely well-written, filled with a lot of sarcasm and wit. McAvoy's dry delivery of "once you die from drowning, you'll be free to go. Proceed." had me dying. And I like the way that Samuel uses music - some of it is super obvious ("I Believe in Miracles", etc.), but it works for me in this context (he has a background in music - under the pseudonym The Bullitts, more well-known in the UK than here, I think). Some parts of the movie did irk me though - like the way LaKeith's eyeliner changes from scene to scene (where was the Script Supervisor???) and his hair and beard look so fake when he plays the twin - it's almost comical. Perhaps it's done on purpose, but it felt like high school drama club hair & makeup. 

2. The First Omen - Okay, I read a lot of good things about this, but I hardly believed the praise. However, it's very good. And SHOCKINGLY, it is currently one of my favorite films of the year! Isn't that crazy?! I have not seen many good films this year though (still hopeful that Love Lies Bleeding, The Fall Guy, and Civil War are all great!). I just recently rewatched the original The Omen, and I enjoyed it, but I think I liked this one just as much, which is pretty rare. Some of the shots are GORGEOUS - it completely pulls me in with the scene at the club and then she wakes up with her hair all spidered out on her pillow. I literally was like "oh okay, you have my attention" and I sat up straight and glued my eyes to that television. And it just continued to impress. As I said above, I couldn't care less about the religious part of the film, so stories like these are never going to connect with me, but a well-made movie like this will always capture me. Nell Tiger Free gives a terrific performance - never too showy, but still dramatic. She kind of reminds me of Alexandria Daddario (which is a very good thing for me). There's some very traumatic birthing scenes that will stay with me for a while. And there is a really strong lead-up to the end that is kind of surprising, but also I kind of figured (always assume they will set these types of movies up for sequels - obvi we already have the sequel to this, but her story would be a spin-off of that and I would very much look forward to seeing more). This is also a very nice reminder that some prequels, reboots, etc., can be very successful and even enrichen the original material if done well and with care. 

3. Godzilla Minus One - *spoilers ahead* This is also as good as everyone says. Actually, maybe that's not true - I saw a ton of 5 star reviews, and I definitely wouldn't go that far. But it's certainly a 4 star film and it's just shy of making my Top 10 of 2023. I think it's success is largely the human story of a kamikaze pilot returning to his life after the war - the treatment of him as a failure and as a symbol of Japan's failure is certainly fascinating. I could have watched that story without a monster attacking the city and still would have probably loved it. I also think that the design of Godzilla is incredible and a genuinely terrifying monster compared to previous designs. BUT, I do think it's weird that people consistently used this movie to cite how it's possible to make a low budget action movie look this good completely ignoring the fact that it's made in Japan - where this movie is considered to be an extremely high budget film and also they don't pay people as well. It's just not a realistic comparison to a typical Hollywood blockbuster. I also think it's INSANE that people cried at this ending??? Did you not expect it? It's quite clear that he's going to survive when the other guy reminds him to "remember this right before" and points to a lever in the aircraft. It's also not exactly an original idea (it's quite literally the same solution as Independence Day and I'm sure many others that I can't think of right now). AND it's also obvious that the woman isn't dead either because WE DON'T SEE HER DIE. I feel like some people have never watched a movie before. There are very clear plot devices that this movie follows to pull at your heartstrings - and films that are so obvious about it just don't pull at my emotions enough to make me cry (unless it's like a dog dying or something - I will always cry at that no matter the setup). But, it's extremely well made and has a great human drama behind it. It definitely feels more "real" too compared to the more recent Hollywood versions of Godzilla. I do like the apple+ series though, because, again, they give us humans to care about. 

4. Hit Man - UMMMMM what the fuck - this movie fucking sucks. I felt like I was being punk'd while watching it. Like, this can't actually be the movie that critics have been talking about for the last 9 months - raving about, listing it in Oscar snubs, demanding a theater release, etc.???? It's so fucking boring that I actually had to turn it off an hour in because I couldn't bear it anymore (not even because I was tired - I was wide awake! But this was putting me to sleep!). I watched the rest, begrudgingly, a few days later. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, because you know what I also hated?? Boyhood. That's right. Fucking awful. There's a giant rant about why I hated it so much somewhere on this blog, but I also thought it was fucking boring. I do like Richard Linklater, though, and he's made some of my favorite movies (the Before trilogy, A Scanner Darkly), but there are some seriously questionable films in his filmography that make me scratch my head as to why people rave about them. I think the biggest issue I have with this is that it's listed as a "comedy" and it's not funny. Like, not even in a "dark comedy" kind of way. I like Glen Powell a lot - and I've been singing his praises since Scream Queens, but now he's become a bit overpraised. He's charming and has screen presence, but he's not the talent that some are claiming. And this is definitely proof. Those different personas he does while pretending to be a hit man are...rough. It's not realistic in any way - there is just no way that someone wouldn't clearly see that this man is pretending to be these weird characters; they would instantly know it's a setup. It's so dumb and, quite simply, bad acting. But I think people get swept up in the "charming" aspect and confuse that with "good acting" (they do the same with Tom Cruise. That man has ONE good acting performance on his resume. But he's charming, so he must be a good actor. He's also a sociopath cultist, but, again, he's charming, so all is forgiven). I think Powell is set to have a great career, and I'm not mad at it, but I hope he realizes his strengths (rom-coms, silly coming of age stories, etc), and sticks to those. The highlight of the movie is Adria Arjona - I hope the hype for this movie launches her into superstardom. She's insanely hot, and this movie takes full advantage of that. And I do see a bit of natural chemistry between them (waaay more than he had with the more hyped Sydney Sweeney), but I also don't root for this relationship at all right from the beginning. She's an abuse victim suffering from PTSD and other emotional issues - clearly at the tipping point of being a straight up psychopath, and he's fully aware of this and decides to date her anyway disguised as someone else. It's not romantic or sweet or whatever, it's taking advantage of someone at their lowest moment. I just fully hated the whole thing. There is ONE good scene (you'll know it exactly when you see it), but that doesn't make a good movie, guys. 

5. Origin - This could have been a documentary *said in the same frustrating tone as "this could have been an email"*! I like what DuVernay is trying to do, and I always appreciate art being used to initiate difficult conversations, but there a few big reasons why this is a big miss for me. First of all, this whole concept being "taught to the audience" in 2023 is WILD. I felt like the film has this very condescending tone that's teaching us something we don't know. But....but....we learn about caste in 8th grade in America. She literally says something like "I bet you guys don't know about the Dalits" (the "untouchables") in India and everyone in the movie (actual adults) are, like, SHOCKED. The movie clearly serves as advertisement for this book ("Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson), but it fails to convince me that I'll learn something. It's basically telling me that if we all just paid attention in middle school then maybe racism wouldn't exist? And I just don't believe that. We already know why racism exists. Second, the "past" scenes feel very History Channel reenactments and disrupt the flow of the movie. And third, watching someone do research is not very interesting. I get the idea is more about this woman trying to overcome her personal tragedies to work through her theories and write this book, that is about a very difficult subject, but it's just not enough to watch for over 2 hours. It's extremely boring. There are some things that I do like about it - showing her relationship with her husband (who is white) is an important aspect to her life (although the scene when they meet is so cringe - it's a "white savior" moment that made my eyes roll so hard into the back of my head). The beginning scene that portrays Trayvon Martin's death is very strong, and the ending scene with the black boy in the pool is incredibly powerful. I thing telling this boy's story from a white perspective is also interesting because it's important to keep white people in the conversation of racism - people are not born racist it is taught to us and watching these moments as children effects everyone. I think a lot of white people can point out a specific moment in their childhood when they witnessed racism, and they had to choose, in that moment, whether what they were witnessing was right or wrong (and we are also taught that adults are "right", so I don't blame children who grow up racist, but I do blame adults who don't challenge their own ideas and aim to be better). I'm kind of on a tangent, which I do think is a good thing - this movie definitely got me thinking, but it just didn't tell me anything new. I feel like maybe we need to stop focusing on the "why" and "how" and start focusing on "what's next". History is obviously important, and there has been a very apparent attempt at erasing a lot of this history, but I just wish the film felt more challenging instead of like an 8th grade History lesson. 

Movie Marathon: Batman*

1. Batman (1989) - First of all, why did I think Michael Keaton was in 3 Batman movies??? I think my brain erased the Val Kilmer phase and I just thought Keaton had 3, Clooney had 1, and then Bale had 3. Anyway...I loved the Keaton phase as a kid, but I haven't watched them in DECADES (yes, I'm that old). I'm genuinely surprised at how well made this movie is - the shadowy noir vibe is on point, and it's a solid thriller! I just had so much fun with this rewatch - the practical effects, the cast (Kim Basinger, Jack Nicholson - they just revel in these roles), the color schemes (especially Joker - it's vibrant, but still feels serious and dangerous). It's an excellent rewatch - even better than I was expecting. 

2. Batman Returns - I think this is my second favorite Batman movie out of all of them (Batman Begins is my fave). I LOVED this as a kid, and I'm happy to say that it's still incredible. Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman is one of my favorite castings of all-time. It's weird that we criticize good actors for joining comic book movies, but this has been happening for YEARS and it used to be a good thing. I mean, I think Catwoman, in general is going to sway me to love this movie more because I'm a self-identified "cat lady". But, I do think Pfeiffer is genuinely good in this, and definitely steals the whole damn movie. I love her little sashay, then "meow", and then a building explodes. It's just so iconic. And she has the best dialogue ("life's a bitch, now so am I"). AND she even has the best costume because it actually looks handmade - like she, herself, stitched some latex together (and it's so sexy, obvi). As for the Batman part, it all feels a little inconsequential compared to the Catwoman stuff, but I do love when Batman uses his Batwings - even more so than the Batmobile (it seems so much more convenient too!). 

3. Batman Forever - Yeah, my brain is definitely playing tricks on me, because I also don't remember Chris O'Donnell being in multiple Batman movies either (I only remember him in the Clooney one). But O'Donnell, as Robin, was very personal to me as a teen because I LOVED him. He had such a good run of films in the 90s (Scent of a Woman, Mad Love, Circle of Friends, Fried Green Tomatoes, and, the one I re-watched the most, In Love and War - I was also a Sandy B super-fan). I still love him but, unfortunately, I don't watch those CBS shows that he's done for the last 15 years (I also feel like it's relevant to point out that he's been married to the same woman since 1997, which is super-duper rare for celebrities. He's a good egg). I think the biggest issue with this one is that there are too many characters - it doesn't feel balanced and loses focus. I also just don't think Val Kilmer was a strong Batman, and definitely a bit of a letdown from Keaton's performance. Tommy Lee Jones is trying to have fun with this, but it also just doesn't work for me. He's so naturally stoic and dry, so his over-animated Two-Face feels out of place for him. BUT, Jim Carrey as The Riddler is also an iconic casting moment. I would have LOVED a Batman movie with Keaton, O'Donnell, Carrey, Pfeiffer, and Nicholson. Also, I can NOT get over the drawn on eyebrows on Drew Barrymore's face (almost as bad as Rachel Weisz's eyebrows in The Mummy!). 

4. Batman & Robin - I fully admit that this is, by far, the worst of the Batman movies. And YET, it's the one I've seen the most. I was 16 when it was released, loving Chris O'Donnell, and my BFF at the time was obsessed with George Clooney, so we literally would watch this movie at least once a week. I probably could have recited the whole thing back then. It was far more common back then to rewatch things over and over again because we didn't have the access to array of entertainment that we have now. We would record a movie off the television premier and then watch that one movie on repeat for days on end. I definitely had the most fun with this Batman entry, but objectively, it is terrible. Clooney is so stiff and emotionless, it's almost jarring. And Alicia Silverstone??? Wow. What a miscast. I think the highlight is Uma Thurman (and her space buns! It begs the question - who did it first: Thurman as Poison Ivy or Scary Spice?? I totally used to do the space buns, too. Even did mini ones for my prom in 1999). But you know what's weird? As many times as I've seen this, I didn't connect that one of the villains is Bane - the same Bane that Hardy does, but is entirely different!! It's actually weird to see Hardy's version so close after watching this one. I don't have much to say about this one - it's feels too glossy, less gritty than its predecessors. And it's no longer fun. 

5. Batman Begins - I know most cite The Dark Knight as the best of the Nolan trilogy, but I've always been team Batman Begins. TDK is great, but it's also very bloated. While I think Begins is just a stronger story that is told in a more concise way. It's also the introduction of Christian Bale as Batman, and he knocks it out of the park. It's obviously a more serious, darker tone, but I think Bale does an incredible job at still keeping the comic book feel of the character. It dives deep into the psychology of Batman, which becomes a major theme of the rest of the trilogy. Also, I think this set the path for Nolan as a big blockbuster filmmaker. I remember watching this in a theater, and thinking it was just brilliant. It felt cinematic, bold, with a fully-realized universe that revitalized this franchise. There are very few movies that I can specifically recall watching in a theater, but I remember being stunned by this. Plus Cillian Murphy is EXCELLENT in this, and often a forgotten villain especially over all the actors who play Joker. But, I found his Scarecrow to be genuinely terrifying. And he terrified me even more that year with Red Eye that same year! I'm glad that Nolan kept casting him in future projects - he deserved that Oscar for Oppenheimer, but he also deserved the recognition for a lot of things he's been ignored for instead. The movie has very few flaws, but casting Katie Holmes is probably the most egregious one (and fixed in future films). I was a huge Dawson's Creek fan, but Holmes has never been a great actress (I still love her though!). Also, I never noticed that the worst character of all-time, Joffrey from Game of Thrones, is in this for a quick second (that kid will always be Joffrey. And I will always hate him). 

6. The Dark Knight - As I said, this film just feels so bloated. It all goes downhill once Two-Face appears. I like Aaron Eckhart and I think he does a good job with the role (and the makeup is excellent!), but the movie just starts to drag by that point. But, Heath Ledger gives a performance of a lifetime, there's no denying that. It's still so sad that this really launched his career into superstardom (he was obviously very famous - with Brokeback and 10 Things I Hate About You, plus my husband just recently informed me that A Knight's Tale is in his top 10 favorite movies of all time. WHAT? A Knight's Tale??? I'm baffled.). But this was a huge milestone. He devours this role - in his mannerisms, voice, body language, plus he is one of the few actors who was able to utilize the makeup on his face to his advantage instead of letting it detract from the performance. It somehow feels chaotic and messy, while also feeling perfectly detailed. But the rest of the film is just messy. Some scenes feel like they were chopped too short, and the placement of scenes do not flow together, while other scenes drag on forever. The flow just doesn't work. And there are some very famous scenes that are laugh-out-loud funny that I don't think were originally supposed to be funny (like how Two-Face doesn't instantly recognize Joker when he's dressed as a nurse). I thought with this rewatch, I might feel differently, but I still think I'm right. 

7. The Dark Knight Rises - I think it's weird how hard people/critics were on this entry into the trilogy when it's pretty much equal in quality to TDK and has a lot of the same issues (bloated storyline & pacing issues). Tom Hardy, as Bane, gives an equally terrifying performance as Ledger did (although I think Joker is just a showier role). And the rest of the cast is incredible (better than the first two!) - Anne Hathaway is a great Catwoman (would have loved a spin-off), and I REALLY, REALLY wish they continued JGL's role as Robin (or Nightwing or whatever he was supposed to be). And I think this is when everyone fell in love with Marion Cotillard - although I think it takes waaaay too long to get to the twist of her character. I like that this feels like a true trilogy, too. It connects itself to the first one, continues the story, but gives it a satisfying end, too. Honestly, I probably enjoyed watching this more than TDK, and I think if it weren't for Ledger's performance others would agree with me! Ledger's performance does give TDK the edge though. 

My Ranking (yes, I decided I'll start ranking my marathon posts): 

Batman Begins

Batman Returns

Batman ('89)

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight Rises

Batman Forever

Batman & Robin

*Obviously there are a lot more Batman movies out there, but I limited this to start at Keaton's Batman and end at Nolan's trilogy. 

Thoughts on 5 Films

1. Migration - This is a very forgettable animated movie, but it's also kind of cute. Fairly harmless entertainment that I think small kids will enjoy. But, also, if I watched this as a kid, I would never eat poultry again. It was pretty hard getting me to eat any meat as a kid anyway, but chicken was always a "maybe" if I was in the mood for it. But there's a whole subplot about a chef who is trying to kill them and COOK them, and I would have been horrified. I'm also still baffled at the casting of Awkwafina for VOICE ROLES?? What the fuck? WHY? She has the worst voice in the world - it's like nails on a chalkboard. Like, just because she has a distinct voice, doesn't mean she has a good voice. I seriously just don't understand the thought process. The animation is good (Illumination animation doesn't bother me as much as Pixar, for the most part), and the rest of the voice cast do a great job (Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Danny DeVito, etc.). I laughed in a few spots, too - like when the child duck is too shy to poop while in the sky. I like that the story is a family adventure, too, which is sort of rare for animated movies - I feel like too often, the kids have overbearing parents, so they go out on their own adventure and get into trouble, but this is a cute story about family bonding and experiencing the world together. I would love to see that become a trend for kids movies. 

2. Ferrari - *spoilers if you don't already know the true story* I mean, I can't even begin to talk about this movie without bringing up THE scene first. THE SCENE. One of the most harrowing, gruesome scenes I've ever seen on film, and I was not expecting it. I'm completely unfamiliar with the story, so I went into this fairly blind. I do remember the viral q&a that circulated in which an interviewer/audience member told Adam Driver that he thought the crash scenes were "cheesy" (and Driver responded "fuck you, I don't know" LOL. ICONIC). The story definitely eludes to tragedy - and it's quite obvious that things weren't going to work out for the one driver that they focused on the most. I assumed that he crashed. And maybe died. BUT, his tire blowing out and then the car driving through a crowd filled with small children was horrifying. They literally show body parts being thrown in the air and decapitated bodies. I gasped and my hand instinctually covered my mouth in shock. And I sat like that, with my hand over my mouth, in shock, for like 5 minutes before I started manically googling everything about the actual crash - and to my utter devastation, it's all true. Nine people were killed, five of which were children. And I have no idea how someone can describe that scene as "cheesy" - it's not cheesy at all. It felt very realistic and jarring. As for the rest of the film, it's...okay. There's a lot of things that were criticized that I actually don't agree with - like Driver's performance/accent. It's definitely weird that Driver is in another famous Italian role right after the Gucci movie (is he even a little bit Italian? I know he's American, but does he have Italian lineage? I would guess English/Scottish/Nordic, but he doesn't seem Italian at all), but I don't think the accent is as bad as I had read. I've definitely heard worse. He sort of does this mumbly, gravely Italian accent and it works with the character, I think. I'm not even an Adam Driver fan, but I think this is one of his better performances. I'm not really a Michael Mann fan either, but he certainly has a few bangers (although nothing since Heat), and I appreciate that he has a certain film aesthetic that is very distinguished. Penelope Cruz is definitely the highlight - as many critics have pointed out. If this were a stronger film, she surely would have had more awards attention (and she is very believable as this fiery Italian woman). I think the problem is that it's not really about anything. The film starts in what feels like the middle of the story, and the audience is expected to just *know* who all of these people are and their relationship to each other. And then it doesn't really go anywhere. We learn that Ferrari's son died, we learn that he's having an affair that produced another son, and we learn that he's a very competitive man. But it's all sort of background noise without any real point. I also can't really tell where the film stands on Ferrari's responsibility for the crash? He was cleared of manslaughter charges, and the film clearly shows the tire blowing out as if it hits something (as opposed to a faulty tire), but they also show Ferrari pushing his team to be the best. He must feel guilt? Or anger? Or...something? It's just odd to show all this tragedy, but not how it effected him at all. Shailene Woodley is horribly miscast and Jack O'Connell is in WAY too small of a role for this point in his career. And Patrick Dempsey with that hair?? How can I take that seriously? But the scenes between Driver and Cruz are electric, and the scene when his mom tells her "he's entitled to an heir" is heartbreaking - what a horrible thing to say to a grieving mother. 

3. Madame Web - I would love to tell you all that reviews were too harsh, and that this has some redeeming qualities, but unfortunately I can't. And yet it's not the worst movie I've seen this year (I don't know what that says about me, though! Haha!). I do think that Dakota Johnson is INNOCENT. This is not her fault at all. I think she put her trust into the filmmakers and assumed they knew what they were doing. I hated her in the 50 Shades movies, but I have found her really adorable and charming in every other project. And, surprisingly, I really like her in this role - her line delivery is so fucking funny in some parts and I think audiences were too focused on the awfulness surrounding her to get what she was trying to do. So I guess that is one redeeming quality. But the rest of it is all bad. As much as I like Sydney Sweeney, I think this is a big miscast. She's done too many adult roles now to pass as a teenager (and I think this is one of the reasons that Euphoria has been put on hold - they have to fast-forward the timeline. Those kids are all old now!). Plus, the wig is SO BAD, it was hard to look at her. And to my (and I'm sure everyone's) disappointment, they only put her in the Spider-Woman costume (is that who she's supposed to become? Sorry, I don't know the history or future of these characters) for like .5 seconds and it's shown in the trailer. The dialogue is definitely the worst part of the film - as mercilessly made fun of from the trailer. There's this banter between the three young girls that is really painful - it has no energy, rhythm, or authenticity, they literally just spew lines at each other. The famous "he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders just before she died" isn't even in the movie, which somehow makes it even funnier. But it's also funny that her mom who was researching spiders in the Amazon has the last name WEBB??? There's also the line "when you take on great power, responsibility will come" LOL (is he Yoda??). The timeline is also completely fucked. I know that it was reported on that they were trying to connect it to Hollands Spider-Man, but they messed up while filming it and couldn't change it, but does it even make sense that Adam Scott is the Uncle Ben??? Like, how on Earth did they think they were going to be able to make that work? I didn't even realize the timeline until they had "Toxic" come on the radio as a newly released song. That places it at 20 years ago - for some reason? Which means her mom was researching spiders in the early 70s? I would have never guessed that. And the villain is stupid - he's trying to kill 3 teenage girls because they might kill him years later? That's the whole premise of the movie? FOR REAL??? 

4. Eileen - This is a rough one to get through. I didn't see many people talk about it so I didn't expect it to be great or anything, but I certainly didn't expect it to be this bad. Everyone is miscast (Shea Whigham excluded because he's good in everything. And *fun fact* he went to my college!). I'm already in the minority in not liking Thomasin McKenzie as an actress. But the thing is, she's young and has a lot of potential, so I'm not completely biased against her - but I do think that she's absolutely miscast here and most things she's been in have been beyond her capabilities. Apparently she watched a whole lot of Marky Mark movies to get into this character and Boston accent. I'm not actually joking, she freely admits that she did this for the role. It is beyond a bad Boston accent, it's practically unwatchable. Then Anne Hathaway comes strolling in with a "mixed" accent - I get the intent because this woman is all show and very performative, so a "fake" accent goes with the character, but it almost sounds like she's not even American. Like, everyone in the movie should be questioning why she's walking around with a fake accent. Every once in a while, at my work, I run into these really rich bored white women who decide they want to do an accent for the day, and I honestly find it to be SO FUCKING WEIRD. I'll start helping them and hear them try an Irish accent or something and I have to walk away and have someone else help them. Anyway, Anne just overdoes everything so having her as this woman who also overdoes everything just feels so inauthentic - it's like cartoonish. And speaking of overdoing things - this fucking actor keeps showing up in everything I watch and I HATE HIM. I finally looked up his name and it's Owen Teague. He's awful in everything I've seen him in and he over-acts. Apparently, he's also in the new Planet of the Apes movie (I only know this because of that viral interview that went around with the dumb tiktok person, and film journalists complaining about them being invited for red carpet interviews). I really need him to go away, though. He's not really in this enough to have any effect on the actual movie, but I was annoyed by the sight of him. The other problem with this movie is that it is boring as fuck! It's described as a "thriller", but not one thrilling thing happens for the entire runtime. I thought it was going to have like a Persona or Single White Female sort of vibe, but it just goes NOWHERE. 

5. Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre - I've been really struggling with Guy Ritchie lately (except for The Gentleman tv series! I absolutely loved it! I can't wait for more. And there BETTER be more!). This isn't terrible, but it should have been a lot better. I think it feels more like a parody of a Guy Ritchie movie than an actual Guy Ritchie movie, though. There are some really weird, unnecessary shots that hurt my brain. The plot is a little over-cooked. Most of the dialogue falls flat. Plus, I watched this a little over 2 weeks ago and I'm struggling to remember what the actual ending was. I do think that Aubrey Plaza was a big part of the problem - aside from the lacking chemistry with the others, her line delivery is so weird that it's kind of funny, but I don't think it's supposed to be intentionally funny? And the parts that are supposed to be funny fall flat because she's just so awkward. I've never really liked her in any project outside of Parks & Rec, even though I love her. It's just hard to tell what is bad acting and what is intentional dry humor. And it doesn't work here at all. Even though I appreciate that Ritchie is trying to relaunch Josh Hartnett's career (he was also in Wrath of Man), he's bad here (also, another *fun fact* he also went to my college). The saving grace is Jason Statham, as per. He just does these roles so well, and I think he's able to work around the bad acting surrounding him by just being his awesome self. I also love Hugh Grant's shift to these super eccentric roles - he's become more of a character actor in his later career and I am HERE FOR IT. I also really like the other guy in the group - he plays of off The Stath very well, so I just looked up his name and it's....wait for it....BUGZY MALONE. What a fucking stage name LOL. I can't. He's a musician/actor from the UK, but I'm telling you right now, he will not be taken seriously in American with that name (I'm joking obvi, we have famous people named Ice Spice and Doja Cat). There are a few scenes that they do really well together, and I would definitely watch a spin-off of them or a sequel with them, but only them.