Oh dear. Warner Brothers just announced a deal to make a number of movies set in the Tolkien universe.
Watched Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions with my sons last night. They saw the original movie for the first time a few weeks ago, and we decided to plow through the next two in one sitting because I’d forgotten how Reloaded just leaves you hanging at the end. I’m sure I was extremely pissed about this in ‘03.
That experience was … interesting. I enjoyed the movies more than most the first time around, but they didn’t hold up well for me on the second viewing. A lot of parts dragged on interminably, and Hugo Weaving is so over the top it’s annoying every time he’s on screen. I think the boys enjoyed the movies, at least.
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I highly recommend that you take the blue pill and believe that the story ends after 3 installments.
It would have been best to stop at one, but you’re already past that point.
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We watched the original Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick this weekend, and the original is worse than I remembered and the new one is just as bad.
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Or just stop after the first one and watch the fun fighty-fight bits from the sequels on YouTube. Win!
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At least the first one has nostalgia going for it, but agreed on the second one.
I still do not understand how the sequel got made. Decades after the fact. A movie that no one took seriously to begin with and had not aged well. I assume Cruise just wanted to do it, and that’s all it takes.
Like the long after the fact Indiana Jones sequels, I can understand at least a little bit, as the originals are genuine classics, and Jones is a sort of legendary character at this point. Top Gun, not so much.
I still don’t understand why another Indiana Jones sequel is coming out this year and why it isn’t named something like “Indiana Jones and the Hip Replacements.”
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I would not go watch that. But probably a lot of people would!
According to a recent interview, Harrison Ford likes acting and wants to keep doing it, but he doesn’t want to play old people. Tom Cruise obviously is in this camp as well, though he’s a fair bit younger than the 80 year-old Mr. Ford. Neither of them appear to want to become Liam Neeson either, so that starts reducing the amount of roles Indy will take. Add to that Indy’s rather limited range, and I guess that’s how we get the Dial of Destiny. (Which is a boring name, IMO)
Yeah, when I see that name, all I can think of is:
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Emily the Criminal is probably the best film I’ve seen this year. It’s lean, it’s relentless, it doesn’t outstay its welcome, Aubrey Plaza is excellent and outshines everyone, and rightly so. She never gets sidelined or shoved aside for other characters, and watching her struggle with debt and work was intensely relatable. There’s no soft edges anywhere, every scene is pacy, the film is fuck-ing thrill-ing.
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Oo that was on my list but just moved up
eta: agreed, great movie. Ending was chef’s kiss
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I hated Back Bear and hold unreasonable resentment towards the Plaza for it.
But, speaking of her, this looks better than it has any right to:
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Black Bear was worthless, but it was an outlier as far as “the Plaza” is concerned. She was also excellent in the second season of The White Lotus.
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Everything Everywhere All At Once (purchased on iTunes, $20)
Had never crossed my radar until it became the Academy Awards darling / record breaker / greatest thing.
Had me at the trailer, ngl. Sci-fi? Multiverses? Combat scenes? Not your typical Oscar fare.
I really enjoyed the movie; it reminded me a lot of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World while still paying homage to The Matrix, Goonies, 2001, and a ton of other hidden easter eggs that sci-fi and movie geeks will enjoy. The overarching moral of the story was great as well and it did a good job of sending its message and theme.
Definitely recommended.
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“But how did you know she was a Nazi?” Child Me asked the adults, totally oblivious. Last Crusade is still great, there is the odd ropy effect, but the direction, music, comedy, action, dialogue and Nazi-killing remain top notch. Cast is literally perfect.
Operation Fortune. Some lovely poise from Elwes, off-the-wall beats from Plaza, and Jason Statham is definitely Jason Statham. Hugh Grant does a good job of being maliciously charming. Bugzy Malone’s role is so unremarkable there’s nothing much to say about it, although he’s a perfect deadpan presence. Josh Hartnett is fine as the blackmailed film star. The film has a decent mix of comedy and action, some location-hopping across Europe, unlikely subterfuge, and so on. What differentiates it are the slightly unusual characters, allowing for better dialogue than average, and putting a new skew on scenes you’ve seen, in more straightforward forms, dozens of times before. It’s not as good as Shane Black’s efforts, but you can see it has some of that same spirit. For Guy Ritchie, this is some very restrained directing.
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