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worth it i kept waiting to feel the fuller weight of ryland s mission and to understand what it is he s trying to figure out not step by step like i m five and need to be explained like a child but more like going back to the beginning everything is figureoutable for that to feel more real in a sense it s not that everything is figureoutable simply because it eventually gets solved but with the whys and hows too no matter how gorgeous adventurous and heartfelt the showing is sometimes a little more telling goes a long way sometimes a movie comes along that re awakens us about what we re yearning for at the height of the covid pandemic where we were losing our minds and collective souls in lockdown chloe zhao s oscar winning nomadland reset our nervous system with its atmospheric natural setting reminded us of the singular isolation we burdened ourselves with and collective connection to our environment and each other we were sorely missing the cinematography and production design and the ability to produce an imax sci fi film to this scale with 99 practical effects will have all of us scratching our heads for years to come and probably every re watch just as much as our hearts will swell watching ryland and rocky s friendship but at the same time directors phil lord and christopher miller s pacing to be equally parts going through the motions story wise and visually immersive as ryan gosling has said during the promo tour it is more of hollywood s responsibility to deliver films that helps audiences go to the theaters alas this crew is providing a great escape and giving a much needed sign of hope that things are not too far gone both in movies and life at large that in itself is amaze amaze amaze rating 1 2 at april 12 2026 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels film friday october 31 2025 blue moon 2025 set several months before songwriter lorenz hart ethan hawke passes away of complications of pneumonia brought on by alcoholism he spends a night out at the iconic restaurant sardi s as his old songwriting partner richard rodgers andrew scott celebrates the premiere of oklahoma and goes on to have a legendary creative partnership with oscar hammerstein ii director richard linklater essentially composes a play to film centering on a one set location and tiny ensemble to steer robert kaplow s wondrous script as a dialogue driven drama there s a his girl friday pace to the tone of what is said think about anything else than what is being heard on screen and you might miss the string of fast paced one quips hawke hits out of the park or the painful ruminations as hart misunderstands his essential part in theatre and fame s grand scheme simultaneously revered and forgotten by his contemporaries the old world of hart s success and congeniality slips away as he slides further into another round and another shot talking profusely to anyone really within earshot the evening heavily relies on others in sardi s to entertain his passionate observations and bruised ego author e b white patrick kennedy a bartender bobby carnavale lobby pianist jonah lees among others most if not all of the movie revolves around the tempo and majesty of ethan hawke commanding the written word delivering wide eyed yet cynical monologues about life love art beauty storytelling theatre and music conveyed by artists and writers hart thinks are greater than he all the while ignoring his own spectacular expression for universal truth through words sung spoken and written no matter how much the introspection fuels hawke s dazzling performance it also at times struggles to support hart s all consuming fixation towards his muse elizabeth played by qualley though their part of the story is inspired by the real letters the hart and elizabeth shared there isn t a lot conveyed about the latter except how the men around her contend if she s actually beautiful or fuckable and even her core motivation to even be in hart s presence is that he pull through on his promise to introduce her to rodgers most the running time is dedicated to building up elizabeth who is awkwardly blocked in and out of the physical space and mythologized by dated ideas and limited intentions we are eventually meant to see her as hart does but qualley is unfortunately left to deliver an ill paced monologue that doesn t match the singularity of hawke on his own or the verbal woes he shares with the respectful and frustrated rodgers who struggles to move on from his mentor even though hart and elizabeth s reciprocity of unrequited love means to draw a deeper connection than what meets the eye there isn t enough chemistry to make them come to life with more nuance if this were a bigger movie i would squabble that the trailer gives the impression of a wry quirky love triangle the break up of a songwriter and composer duet by a stunning socialite caught in the middle in a lot of ways this is that movie but the film s temperature is harder to gauge and manages to be unexpectedly emotional much of the charismatic ease of blue moon is turned on its head it s less like a party and more like a wake where a vibrant group of established and aspiring artists are moving head and heart first where art is leading them all the while walking on eggshells around a beloved phantom who swears he has more life in him and yearns for more credit than what he s respectfully given almost as much as hawke s all encompassing monologues there are as many quiet moments where an aggrieved expression of self deprecation or far off stance outside of the reception doubles down to feeling left out and forgotten impeded by his own expectations the mechanics of what transpires on screen was inspiring but its core left me wilted and devastated the shorthand trust between linklater and hawke is evident from the opening scene after all they ve spent twenty years collaborating together on a variety of projects ten of which were intermittently spent revisiting kaplow s mammoth script their collective care and magic makes this quite the miracle in our algorithm driven age where the warm haze of sardi s welcomes you like hart to stay for a while soak it in think dream a little laugh cry listen to a story or two wear your heart on your sleeve there might be something to learn and even a time gone by to wistfully mourn for rating at october 31 2025 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels drama film sunday june 29 2025 the jurassic games extinction 2025 review from the belko experiment and gamer to the cultural phenomenon of the hunger games and squid games criminals tributes and down on their luck strangers have entered arenas in a fight to the death and earn a victory garnering freedom wealth a second chance at life the types of arenas violence and contestants have changed over time but the spectacle of survival moral compromises and engineered chaos reimagines the same question what would some do to be the last one standing just when one might think the underlying genre had tackled the concept in every imaginable way director and writer ryan bellgardt entered the domain in 2018 with the jurassic games a sci fi flick where ten death row inmates were thrown into a virtual reality gauntlet against prehistoric beasts in exchange for freedom now he returns with a sequel and like all sequels do rewriting essential elements of the original film with the jurassic games extinction where domestic terrorists branded as the cavemen face off against each other with only one evading a lethal injection if they survive additionally a lone survivor from the original tucker adam hampton re enters to dismantle it from the inside against his foe jo lafort katie burgess who has seemingly taken control of the games it s hard not to see the fun in bellgardt s ideas criminals facing off against each other as and against dinosaurs in a virtual reality game as murdertainment for the masses as well as absurd but when it comes to both the jurassic and human elements of the film they are impressively realized given the production scale characters donning iron man esque helmets the animorphs and a wide variety of virtual reality landscapes including volcanoes and a capture the flag maze filled with raptors offer a familiar feel to carefully orchestrated digital landscapes such as tron or prisoners on a murder spree such as the condemned with his extensive background in special effects as well as a solid cast that commits to the bit without hesitation there is plenty here to keep the film as grounded and visually pleasing as possible however as bombastic as the ideas are here there are simply too many operatives vying for control on screen entering an arena against and turning into dinosaur animorphs screams unpredictability and chaos and yet the script is following the rules the genre has been defined by whether the players strategize or play it safe to survive the game s operating system and there are several iterations throughout is mostly concerned with maintaining the public s approval this should essentially push more violence to do whatever it takes to meet audiences fascination but whichever choices the characters makes the coding merely adjusts to what will garner the highest rating or social trends outside of few brief shots of viewers cheering or highlights of scenes turning out high and even higher ratings there s not much at stake as far as the world building goes bellgardt s script the god the game s operating device the ai systems evolving to take over or the human tech crews feels stuck in limbo making victory feel more like a stalemate than a pressurized power keg ultimately brawls to the death between gladiators or criminals will always have an enduring appeal and the jurassic games extinction and its predecessor is a fun ride with plenty of creative flourishes one that can lead to a fun late night double feature for an independent film the production value here is worth appreciating especially as film veers further and further away from b movie blockbusters despite its out of the box concept even the execution of criminal punishment battling virtual dinosaurs can be pretty predictable rating the jurassic games extinction is available on digital and on demand and will be available on blu ray and dvd on july 22 at june 29 2025 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest labels film sci fi friday march 28 2025 meet cute in manhattan 2025 while the city never sleeps it dreams of meet cutes and chance encounters where coffee spills aren t accidents but the universe playing matchmaker in meet cute in manhattan actor jason terence chen finds himself in the middle of his own meet cute when a run in with an aspiring architect nora kendall leary affords an opportunity to audition as a couple in love for a dating app commercial as the whirlwind of their on screen chemistry goes viral they are unexpectedly swept into forming a deeper connection and maybe a happily ever after just like the one they are pretending to share fate and the idea of it is very much at the heart of their first encounter what is coincidental what is destiny what is making imagination or one s biggest dreams come true their meet cute seems purely coincidental but brings a unique magic that changes everything where they have to decide what they truly want in life their inexplicable run in leads jason and nora to pursue what they want in their romantic relationships but also their careers and lifestyles it s very clear from the direction by karen morey and co written between morey and chen they deeply respect this ever burgeoning and underrated genre and want to play clear homage to it the script and production pays diligent attention to the recipe that makes a heartwarming rom com charming leads with strong chemistry beautiful cinematography new york city as its iconic backdrop but the film never looses sight of the carefree joy that great romantic flicks share as every ad and off screen moment brings the couple closer together their relationship plays out lovingly both on the screen for social media and on the screen for audiences watching the movie there s no denying that jason and nora share great on screen chemistry as their various ads grow in popularity and that s what gives them the edge to reenact iconic scenes allowing easter eggs galore that immerses you into what you love about the genre what does offset the momentum of jason and nora s love story however is the major subplot where their relationship from meet cute to happily ever after is also part of a movie pitch one jason is sharing with executive studio producers the film shifts back and forth between their timeline throughout the boardroom pitch to comment on the character development and genre formula each pitch serves as way for the potential movie about their meet cute to play out between a personalized account of it and reality unfortunately having both sides of the relationship leaves some scenes disjointed if the script didn t have enough conflict to plum through such as jason trying to break out of commercial acting and the breakdown with his social media influencer girlfriend amanda shi or if nora questioning her corporate lifestyle alongside her boyfriend martin k lewis the movie within a movie subplot would suffice even though the movie pitch acts as a necessary critique of a lack of diversity represented on screen its themes and messages could come across much stronger without the extra layer of self awareness despite the plot biting off a little more than it can chew meet cute in manhattan is an admirable and enjoyable watch offering plenty of heartfelt moments to make it worthwhile morey s film is a steady and sweet directorial debut and homage that serves as a wonderful reminder of why we keep coming back to the beloved genre rating 1 2 note i was provided with a screener to provide this review all opinions are my own at march 28 2025 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday february 26 2025 my dead friend zoe 2025 cinema often explores a veteran s life in hindsight from detailed accounts of wars that have been won they supply much needed perspective as historical events capture the public s interest but more often than not they also dive deep into the bloodthirsty brutality of combat portraying soldiers in extremes as braggadocio heroes or ranting fiends while films about the hardships of war are necessary to understanding the world at large soldiers trauma tells a commonly forgotten story in his feature film debut veteran and director kyle hausmann stokes brings his experiences to the screen focusing on the ignored middle of what happens when a soldier comes home with my dead friend zoe veteran of the war in afghanistan merit sonequa martin green struggles to pick up the pieces of her life tasked with attending va 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