The acting, characters, soundtrack and cinematography are all special and wonderful in this very different, intense character drama - but it does feel a little long by the time the end rolls around.
One Sentence Media Reviews
The acting, characters, soundtrack and cinematography are all special and wonderful in this very different, intense character drama - but it does feel a little long by the time the end rolls around.
This vaguely sci-fi/horror mystery book is very special in that it doesn’t lead with the sci-fi stuff, you just follow along and sort of get it as you go - if you like Kazuo Ishiguro, you’ll like this a lot.
perfectly fun and innocuous little indie romcom, marked by good acting + delivery (kat denning’s voice especially) and funny characters, slightly marred by a sort of sloppily shot ending but I guess for what it’s worth who cares.
A classic whodunnit recast in a sci-fi cloning and brain upload kind of world, a deeply enjoyable and easy read if a tad predictable.
I for one think that 80s star trek fits perfectly into my whole theory that we should be watching more decades-old media (rather than contemporary) for our mental health, and in general it’s an interestingly philosophical and entertaining romp.
I think if you like hard boiled police procedural thrillers full of white dudes you’ll like this one, but it falls short of greatness due to its inconsistent, meandering pace.
This slightly sci-fi novel of interleaving stories is entirely too melodramatic, maudlin and death obsessed, because it doesn’t earn any of it - the characters are all shallow copies of each other with very little depth or voice.
It’s as if each marvel movie is created by a movie studio actually existing in the cinematic universe of the previous marvel movie, leading to an exponential increase in overall marvel-ness with each subsequent movie.
seems like a really cool special movie; tried twice but so far can’t get through it.
This short and unique book is a fiercely contemporary prose poem sent to us from soulful depths, and the only other thing i’ll add is that the whimsical lightness of the first half makes a perfect counterpoint to part two.
This fast-paced sports / crime / gambling tale is based on a true story and balances a lot of themes at once: strong women, personal integrity, daddy issues - it’s quite a lot to fit into one movie and it does it well.
This was a unique hybrid book, part romantic memoir and part oil rig worker documentary, and altho the writing is sometimes a little clumsy, the two parts don’t always cohere fully, and the romantic parts are fairly sentimental and maudlin - despite all that - I still found it a fun quick and interesting read, and I applaud the effort.
Incredibly effective supernatural thriller manages it all with superb acting, dialogue, writing and directing, and essentially no special effects at all.
The kids are super cute as they walk about their lil 3 year old errands but it was impossible for me to forget that there are multiple cameramen following them close behind, everywhere they go - rendering the entire concept of little kids running their first errands on their own utterly meaningless.
If you’re looking for a fun easy sci-fi action romp then this will fit the bill splendidly - it’s also screaming “movie adaptation” the whole way through.
This mostly stupid and completely cookie-cutter revenge fantasy is elevated by Bob Odenkirk (of breaking bad/better call saul fame) and some decent dialog.
There’s a careful balance between dystopian despair for our advertising-obsessed society (a hobbyhorse of Saunders’ to be sure) and cautious moments of unexpected triumph, or if not triumph, at least partial redemption, that creates a lovely tapestry of sad but fulfilling stories concerning real, and real weird, characters in this compilation of short stories.
Saunders’ third book of short stories is a little gross, very weird, sometimes sci-fi, sometimes dystopian near future, and almost always poignant, challenging, and special.
fun to see brendan fraser in a role that lets him act a bunch, but other than that this ole romcom is entirely too cheesy and dumb.
The interesting use of A/V tech and techniques is a cool gimmick in this early eighties thriller, and the story is interesting, but the pacing is uneven and the characters are far too earnest (especially travolta).
This classic hero’s journey fantasy delight is a perfect anti-narnia - difficult, complex, full of conflicted characters and deep investigations into morality and consciousness.
This is a very stylish strong female lead spy thriller with excellent music, cinematography, fight scenes, vibe, that unfortunately manages to be too confusing to really follow even on multiple viewings - but if you watch it with pure “vibes” in mind it’s really good.