Impossible for me not to compare this to The Wages of Fear. Both are great. I think Wages does a better job with the initial set-up, establishing the characters, the dynamics of the town and the details of the mission. Friedkin seems less interested in the anti-capitalism messaging, instead focusing more on the desperation of these characters. It's like a descent into hell (almost like Apocalypse Now) and a punishment for their sins. The ending becoming more of a hallucinatory…

At times it may start to veer too much into exploitative "poverty porn" territory, but that misgiving aside, this was pretty wonderful. The mix between the tough times and small moments of joy, the great understated Defoe performance, to the way young Moonee's behavior mirrors her mother in that gut wrenching ending.

Also loved the little bit of magical realism at the end. Haven't been to Disney since before covid, but prices were astronomical at that point, and from what…

Just home from the theater, so consider this a rambling immediate reaction.

So I really enjoyed it. I also don't think it's flawless. Giving it 4 stars based mostly on spectacle alone. Seeing this on a big screen with a great sound system was a delight and it made me hate COVID even more for making me watch part 1 at home. Great theater movie.

For the most part, it has a lot of the same positives and negatives as…

It took a couple weeks but I was finally able to complete the back half of the Barbenheimer.

Wish I had a hot take or some strong opinions here, but honestly, 3 days out and I'm still processing and sorting out my feelings. The question for me isn't whether or not Oppenheimer is good (it's good), the question is how good. I think it will take a rewatch at some point to really sort that question out.

Most of my…