I must admit that my expectations for this one were somewhat tempered. Millennium Actress is the red-headed stepchild of the Satoshi Kon films; it's not as renowned as Perfect Blue, as beloved as Tokyo Godfathers, or as notorious as Paprika. Fittingly, the story at its core is more simple than any of Kon's other three films as well. The audience will find no psychological twists and turns, no city-wide odyssey, no surreal dream world. Millennium Actress is about a woman,…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Incredible to think that as recently as fifty-one years ago, the US invading the Middle East to steal oil was thought of as a scandal so enormous that it could take down the entire government if the plan was exposed. What the hell would this movie even be about if it were made today? Regardless, this is an incredibly strong espionage thriller that keeps you on the hook all the way until the credits roll. Tight editing and VERY convincing performances. That scene in the apartment with Sam's wife is just fucking heartbreaking.
Solid early biopic, though the fact that they made and released this thing so quickly after Lou Gehrig died is pretty weird. Gary Cooper is a powerhouse in this thing. Also impressive is the cinematography by Rudolph Maté (who was already a legend at this point), those last shots of Gehrig walking off the field are guaranteed to hit you where it hurts. Some of it feels a little obvious, though, like it's falling into the same pitfalls that a…
"AT LEAST IT CAN'T GET WORSE THAN MASTER OF DISGUISE," I SAID, STUPIDLY, WITH NO IDEA THAT THIS FILM'S SPECTER WAS HOVERING OVER ME LIKE A RAINCLOUD. THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A WIDE THEATRICAL RELEASE FOR BUCKY LARSON: BORN TO BE A STAR IS A BIGGER INSULT TO CINEMA THAN ANY MARVEL MOVIE COULD EVER BE. WHOSE FUCKING IDEA WAS IT TO GIVE NICK SWARDSON HIS OWN MOVIE? AND THEY DO THE FUCKING MIDWESTERN ACCENTS THE WHOLE FUCKING MOVIE!…
I have been saying for a long time that James Gunn's Superman, the start of a new attempt at a shared DC cinematic universe, needed to be the best of its kind, better than anything that Marvel Studios has ever produced, certainly better than anything in the previous attempt at making a shared universe with these characters, and I am delighted to inform you that it is better than I possibly could have hoped. Gunn's sincere efforts to emulate the…
