The arc of XXX to this from low budget and no big names (Kid Cudi aside) is WILD. So many stars, so much budget, an actual ad budget... It kind of tracks the ascendence of A24 itself. And it’s not a formula, as far as I can tell, just based around a consistent commitment to quality. 

I mean, that’s a totally legit question, but also, if everyone’s working out in the middle of the desert, even the folks who aren’t Mad Maxing on camera are a little bit, like everyone has bandanas around their neck to block out grit, everyone’s got glasses or whatever, everyone’s dirty and kind of gross from working…

God, that’s amazing. 

I deeply appreciate the attention and care paid to Albini in this obit. He was an asshole, but absolutely embodied the values and work ethic and drive to listen to yourself instead of the bullshit pushed on you by society that made a lot of music really powerful. I’d already loved a lot of his output, but the…

FWIW, I saw this and it’s fantastic. The story is basic, but the implementation is great. You really find yourself bought into the main character’s journey from nothing to absolute badass, and in part it’s because so much of the movie is about his repression in service of his goal. When he finally lets loose, it’s…

Disagree on no-one needing to see Portman, but only because the Mighty Thor in the comics (i.e. the character she was notionally playing) was absolutely fucking awesome. She was a great POV character with the power of Thor, it was a really cool story for Thor (called the Odinson) to figure out why he was no longer…

His next sentence is about how he sold out about as hard as he could, so I think it’s pretty tongue in cheek :). Him knowing nothing about the character and not being that interested in the comics does track with Love & Thunder tho. It kind of took the best elements of two whole arcs of comics and just splashed them…

Damn, that’s pretty solid makeup....

Respect to Pie ‘oh’ Pah, first character to make me wonder a bit about my sexuality ;). 

Joel Kinnaman is...bland. He’s an action star but I really don’t understand why he’s not way more b-list than the projects he leads. He has no discernible sense of humor and very little charisma. He’s like a new Dolph Lundgren. 

This is just writing the opposite side of the constant critic complaint about MCU movies and shows that “everything always has to be connected all the time, too much homework, no room for stand alone stories”, and I think it’s just wrong on the face of it. There’s room for stand alone stories that don’t dramatically…

When this was actually happening, I remember a very strong sense of anti-1% joie de vivre attached to watching it play out in real time; the trailer at least seems to hold on to that. Will definitely watch this. 

I would like to see a movie in which the type A main character’s intense preparation is rewarded with things going appropriately, and the things going off the rails are internal only. Like the person intruding on the very precise nature of the thing, and the killer having to deal with their feelings rather than a…

I think Inception was a high water mark for Nolan’s writing, though I have yet to see Oppenheimer. A recursive plot structure that rewards multiple viewings and multiple interpretations, that actually has something to say about what matters to us and how much of what is real is subjective. At some point, the desire to…

The new Guy Ritchie movie, Operation Fortune, in which he’s the main character, is absolutely great. Aubry Plaza steals the show, as does Hugh Grant, and it’s clear that he’s just cool letting them be great. Even though it has what is absolutely the WORST finishing move* in what is otherwise a pretty decent movie for…

The nerds of the ‘80's salute you. Tho’ Ilyana is totally bad-ass these days, she will always belong to the ‘Inferno’ era New Mutants. 

As the dude with the six yr old who fucking LOVES Natasha, that moment rankled in the movie (the death didn’t feel right to me) and I don’t want her to ever have to watch it. Natasha was the 2nd in command after Cap for years, and then ran the Avengers when Cap had the sads. Like, she’s the one who always, ALWAYS…

For me, the first literal edge of my seat moment I’ve ever had was the pencil trick. It was such a clear signal that this wasn’t a kids movie, in any way. I mean, the “Heat” style bank robbery did that, too, but this was a Joker, I’d always wanted. An actual full on terrorist who killed indiscriminately for the…