Let’s get one thing straight – this movie is wild. It’s unhinged, all over the place tonally, and it’s definitely not what you would define as a “crowd pleaser”, as many ratings and reviews suggest. But I had fun with this movie for several reasons, the biggest one being this –Poolman told me more about Chris Pine as a person than any of his roles combined. If this is the kind of story he wanted to capture in his debut, I am intrigued and on board with whatever he does next.

I will not try to convince anybody that there is some deeper message or that this will be considered a masterpiece in 20 years. Although, I will say that the movie deals with much more than some reviews suggest. But, ultimately, no, I won’t try to convince you about anything like that, and instead, I will celebrate the quirkiness and playfulness with which Pine directs this movie. No matter what was happening on the screen, this film has a certain vibe; it doesn’t take itself seriously, and that is what won me over at the end.

On the surface, this is a clear homage to many noir movies and, of course, Chinatown (1974), which I would call a neo-noir. If I focus purely on the technical aspects of this film, it’s beautifully shot and paced well, and the costumes (mainly wardrobe for DeWanda Wise) were also on point. So when all of this adds up, this quirky story was told well on the directorial level, which makes it all the more impressive that this was Pine’s debut behind the camera. If I didn’t know that, I don’t know whether I would be able to tell because no matter what crazy or ludicrous thing was happening on the screen, I had fun, but most importantly, I felt “safe”. For lack of a better word, Pine’s direction seemed on point and given the pacing was right too, so I was never bored, never thought to myself: “I am not sure about this shot or this character.” No, everything felt right.

And again, a big part of “why” it felt right was that you could tell that, for some reason, this is what Chris Pine wanted to say with his directorial debut. This story felt weirdly personal, and despite all the craziness, the sincere moments worked for me. Poolman is one of those films I get why it wouldn’t work for many (as it currently has 4.1/10 on IMDb) because it is an unhinged film that you either vibe with, or not. Those films can also be a hit or miss for me as well, but given the pacing and reasonable runtime, I found myself enjoying this. I also gather that Pine doesn’t take himself too seriously, and he would be a fun chat.

The other big reason I enjoyed this film was the spectacular cast. Everyone from Jennifer Jason Leigh, Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, Ray Wise and John Ortiz was great and fun in their respective roles, and they each had a moment to shine. But if there were one person Pine won the lottery with, it would be already mentioned DeWanda Wise. She portrays the femme fatale, and even though you understand her purpose/endgame (given it’s a nod to noir movies), I was still mesmerised by her. From her piercing eyes to her wardrobe (every wardrobe change was like a new runway moment for her, as she looked amazing in everything) to how she portrayed her character, it was pristine. Also, she shines here much more than in what was supposed to be her breakthrough, Jurassic World: Dominion (2022, my review here), and I will remember her much more from this film than from that catastrophe. What I am trying to say is that she should be a much bigger name, and I hope we get to see her in more mainstream and better movies than Jurassic World.

Despite everything, I don’t know whether I would recommend this film as firstly I need to rewatch it to make sure I am not missing anything. But most importantly, it is “a bit” an all-over-the-place movie, especially with the tonal shifts Poolman goes through; it’s hard to recommend it to the general masses. However, if you are like me and like when directors take big swings and create something that tells you more about how they see the world, and by the end of it, you feel like you understand them more as people, then I would recommend this movie. Just brace yourself for some quirkiness.

Overall, Poolman is the vibe movie I didn’t know I needed. I appreciate Chris Pine as an actor, but now I hope he gets more chances to direct because even if this isn’t a perfect movie, it intrigued me enough and now I want to see more of what Pine will do. Give him some money and let him cook, as the young people say, as this was something that hit me just right. And I will always support original films over any sequel, remake, or universe-building movie. Yes, I enjoy those films too, and they have their place, but nothing beats seeing a new, fresh perspective on stuff, and by the looks of it, Pine has that. I hope to see more.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I will be honest; I lost any interest in this franchise a long time ago. And even when the studio tried to do something new and “fresh” with Spiral (2021), I thought it was okay but nothing to write home about. So, imagine my surprise when Saw X came out in late 2023 and was getting positive reviews, many calling it the best Saw film since Saw II (2005), and some went as far as to say the best since the original Saw (2004)! Needless to say, my expectations were slightly higher, and I knew I wanted to see this, so when it came to streaming, my night was sorted. The result just shows how often less is more.

The biggest problem with this franchise was that it became a parody of itself to the point many were calling it “torture porn”. Each new movie tried to top the previous one with more gruesome traps that can spill the most blood, and given they killed off their main protagonist, who is also an antagonist, in Saw III (2006), they had to get messy and needlessly convoluted with each new story too, trying desperately hard to tie him with this franchise when he was supposed to be dead. It was just a series of bad decisions pilling on top of each other until that house of cards collapsed, and nobody cared about this franchise. That was until this movie came out and seemingly revived the franchise by positioning itself between Saw and Saw II while giving Tobin Bell the lead role for the first time in this franchise. I am not sure whether I have learned anything new about his character per se; however, we see more of him and his dynamic with Shawnee Smith (Amanda), and I liked that aspect.

I thought the idea to make this more drama rather than “let’s see how we can brutalise the next batch of humans” also worked. At this point, I don’t think there is anything this franchise can do but gross me out, so I liked that there were fewer traps, and we focused on John’s journey and his revenge on people who scammed him. Don’t get me wrong, there are some brutal traps we get to expect and love (?) from this franchise; however, if that is all you look for in your Saw film, you will be disappointed. Besides one dream sequence where John imagines a trap, it takes a while for this movie to do what we signed up for. For the first half of this movie, we focus on John, his battle with cancer, and his latching onto this new hope these scammers give him, only for him to realise he was scammed, and that is when he goes back to being Jigsaw again.

I was enjoying this movie until the last act. I will try to talk about it without spoilers, so I ask for forgiveness if some of what I am about to write is too vague. My first and biggest issue is the “big twist” this franchise became known for. I would still argue we haven’t had a better twist since the original film, and I am talking about all the films, not just horror movies. I tried to think of whether we have had a movie twist so mindblowing and iconic since 2004, and honestly, I came up short. Some movies came close, but I still remember how blown away I was by that ending of the first Saw movie. Back to Saw X, because this franchise taught you well, you can see this twist coming from a mile away. On top of that, if you remember that this movie takes place in the past, you understand neither of our protagonists is in any real danger because they must survive. But even if I tried to move past that, it seemed a bit more convoluted than necessary, with a few things John couldn’t plan for, no matter how smart he was.

My second problem is a tinier one because it is a bit more complex. It is not really a problem, as logically, it fits with Jigsaw’s philosophy. But narratively, it pissed me off. Thinking about it, I can’t talk around it without twisting myself in knots; so I will spoil this part a bit, so…

BEWARE, SPOILERS ARE COMING!!!

This movie has a phenomenal villain in Synnøve Macody Lund. The more this movie progresses, the more you realise how truly evil and despicable she is, and you love to hate her. That is what makes it all the more painful to see her survive. I was looking forward to seeing her die for everything she’s done wrong, only for her to prevail. Part of me hoped that the final trap would be impossible to survive, but when she survived, I realised that it would go against the logic of not just this film but the entire franchise. Well, at least the better sequels. The twisted logic has always been that nobody is beyond redemption, and all traps should be survivable if you sacrifice enough. And she did. So even though I couldn’t fault the movie’s logic for her surviving, part of me was furious that she did, and that is what made her a great villain. This complaint is, admittedly, a lesser one, but I still thought it was worth pointing out.

But other than these two things, I had a good time with Saw X. This movie is (as the title suggests) the tenth movie in this franchise and had no right to be as good as it was. Luckily, the people behind this film decided to take a step back from all the nonsense of “we need to out-torture the previous movie” and grounded this sequel. For the majority of Saw X, we are in one singular location. And when we aren’t there, there is no blood, traps or horror stuff happening, but I was invested in this story because finally, we got to see Tobin Bell take the lead (legend he is), and they gave him an awesome opponent to go up against. I know we are getting Saw XI (2025), and I can only hope the people behind this film will remember what made this one so good and won’t lose themselves (again). However, I don’t know where and whether they can take this further, especially if they want to keep John Kramer around. Let’s hope the history won’t repeat itself and all the lessons have been learned already.

Overall, Saw X is probably the most unique Saw sequel we have gotten up until now. It scaled everything back without seeming cheap, built the world with characters we recognised in a timeline that made sense and gave us a group of (mostly) unlikeable people, so when they would eventually lose the game, we wouldn’t be too sad about that. On top of that, we’ve gotten probably the strongest villain ever. I will agree with the majority here and say this is the best Saw film since Saw II. If you are like me and haven’t enjoyed any of these movies in a while, give this one a chance.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I think the biggest enemy of Joy Ride was the trailers that were trying so hard to sell this movie as “What if Road Trip but with Asians”. Is Joy Ride that? Sure, but there is so much more to it, and the trailers never showed that side. On one side, I respect it because at least there was some surprise left for me to experience, but on the other hand, it made this movie seem quite generic. Although it couldn’t escape from some generic twists and turns, I liked it much more than I thought I would.

When this movie started, I was getting ready to see yet another comedy, where the jokes are either “WE ARE SHOUTING THE PUNCHLINE, YOU BETTER LAUGH!” or “Look, women/black people/Asian people/<insert your underrepresented group here> can be nasty and risqué too!” Lately, when people mention comedy, these are the movies we seem to be getting, and I am not saying there aren’t some that have been good, but some variety would be nice. By variety, I mean it would be cool to get more stories and make them comedies rather than go with the generic road trip formula mixed in with shouting. For some of it, this movie is that, but it’s much easier to tolerate it due to its cast.

This is where I must shout out all four protagonists. Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu have all been great. They all had their moment to shine, complemented each other well, and their overall chemistry felt real. They didn’t click straight away because they weren’t supposed to be friends instantly, but, in the end, you could see them becoming friends. Also, Joy Ride is a perfect example of an ensemble movie. I usually highlight one actor or actress that stood out; however, I can’t choose just one character in this movie. They all contributed to my enjoyment of this film, and more importantly, they understood their assignment. Their characters never felt too samey. That is one of the biggest issues I have had with modern comedies lately – when everyone wants to have all the jokes, making all characters feel identical. This movie avoids it well by giving us four unique people who play to their strengths throughout it.

When this movie grabbed my attention was in the second half. Because the first half is fine, and I chuckled a few times, but again, there were many “Hey, I have seen this scene before!” generic situations, as with most comedies. However, the second half surprised me because their being “stranded” in China was never a big deal, the way the trailers seemed to imply. Every time something happened to them, the movie resolved it a few minutes later, so this was my first surprise, given I expected a comedy about four almost friends being stuck in China.

The real turn came with Audrey’s character searching for her mum and how that storyline went. Again, we have seen that main payoff before, but some things before that surprised me. The scene where her search culminates is done very well without giving anything away. I was also surprised how the movie suddenly became a bit more original, for example, Audrey’s job and Kat’s (Stephanie Hsu) career… Now, I am not saying this movie strays away completely, and you will be shocked with the ending, no. It’s a comedy, after all, so of course there is a happy ending. What I am trying to say is that the path towards it is thorny, and the movie decided to accept the consequences and deal with them rather than the “the hero makes a moving speech and saves her job/project/family” scene we have come to expect from modern comedies.

The identity plotline added the much-needed gravitas to this otherwise unhinged film, and the best part was it never felt wrong or forced. Whether it was about Audrey looking for her mum and then having to accept that she knew much less than she thought or the movie’s view of how it is growing up in the USA and being different, those were the layers I appreciated and enjoyed the most. For her feature debut, Adele Lim (the director and co-writer of the film) did a great job bringing everything and everyone together. I hope she gets another shot at directing, given this movie absolutely bombed in the theatres. I would blame that on the marketing and mainly the people/company behind those generic trailers that failed to communicate what made this movie unique rather than any performers or the people behind the camera.

Overall, Joy Ride was a fun ride indeed. Although the movie couldn’t avoid some generic pitfalls, it eventually managed to make its mark and landed the finale. I think it will be a great movie to rewatch because of the four main protagonists and their chemistry. Also, more movies should have a five minute scene featuring Daniel Dae Kim; I wish he would be in more movies. The moment he showed up, I knew he would deliver, and he did and then disappeared. If you are looking for a raunchy fun with some genuine heart, Joy Ride may be for you.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

To write: “I loved this movie” would be an understatement. Unlike many, I haven’t seen the (often criticised) trailers that “sold” some people a different movie. I have heard some things about it and then watched Cord Jefferson winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, but unfortunately, I didn’t catch it until a few weeks after that. When I sat down to finally watch it, I had some expectations (due to the Oscar win), and honestly, they were not only met, they were exceeded. American Fiction is a layered and smart film that isn’t afraid to show you and not spell everything out for you.

This movie tackles one of the biggest “hot topics” people talk about nowadays – representation, especially “black stories”. But it goes about it differently than you might expect, and that’s something I adored. American Fiction is self-aware but never strays from what it wants to say. The movie’s message (at least how I understood it) is that there are no “black stories” but rather stories with black people from all different creeds and backgrounds. Therefore, it is wrong and ignorant to try and lump them together based on the skin colour of the author. The perfect example is the bookshop scene, where Jeffrey Wright finds his book in the section “African-American Studies” and he says to the assistant: “The blackest thing about this book is the ink.” But since he is a professor, writer and Black person, his book goes under that section, no questions asked.

The main thing about American Fiction is the sentiment this film brilliantly displays, how in America, the general society has been so integrated that these stereotypes (although some might come from good places) are and can be hurtful. Are there still racial issues in America, or the world, for that matter? Yes, you bet, neither I nor this film says: “We’ve done it, everybody! Racism has been solved!” But the more nuanced point this movie makes is how when you focus on race a bit too much, more often than not, you let some other biases associated with that race step in and then make (many times questionable) decisions based on those. As a white man, I never understood when people spoke about “black stories”. Again, what might have started from a good place quickly turned into trying to simplify and lump ALL black people into one group. And no group is a monolith.

That is why I loved how this movie didn’t get caught in this trap and was split between our protagonist writing his “masterpiece” whilst pretending to be this “street criminal”, but the more we spend on him, his family and the complex relationship he had with everyone. That is when the brilliance of this movie is on display as we get the truly complex story of one family that kinda (?) gets along, but there are many issues. It would be so easy to stick with the book part of this movie and make fun of how white people just want to be absolved rather than appreciate art made by black people, and there are scenes of that nature. However, the movie understands that this could quickly become a bit self-indulgent; therefore, we spend more time exploring this generational trauma and real characters within this family unit. Not one person is good or bad; they are just people.

I have already mentioned Jeffrey Wright, and I couldn’t be happier when he got his first Oscar nomination for this movie. Ever since I saw him on Boardwalk Empire (2010 – 2014), I have been a big fan, and I always knew the day would come when he would get noticed by the Academy. I hope it won’t stay with just this one time. He has been a remarkable actor, and every time I see his name attached to a movie, I know he will deliver. Sterling K. Brown portrays his brother, who has some issues, and Sterling is another one of those actors who seems to be having a moment where he seems to be everywhere. I also couldn’t be happier because, just like Jeffrey, he always brings a level of quality to any movie. I want to give a special shout-out to Erika Alexander, who portrays the love interest, but she is so much more because the movie/script allows her to be much more. I also loved how this movie dealt with their relationship. Without getting into spoilers, I thought everything about it felt realistic and correct.

Where the movie got me was the plotline with Issa Rae and her book “We’s Lives in Da Ghetto”. In another clever twist, you never know where Issa’s character stands; all you can see is Thelonious’ hate for that book. As he learns more about Issa’s character Sintara, he starts questioning himself, leading to a confrontation between these two authors. That scene was brilliant and underlined how nuanced this movie is and how we all, Black people included, have our biases towards others. But it’s only when you speak to other people and get their point of view that you realise that there are only a few things that are “black or white”. Many things, issues, and people, whether white, black or purple, are different shades of grey, and, most importantly, come from various backgrounds, live diverse lives and therefore have different experiences. And just because you have not had that experience, it doesn’t make them any less valid.

I hope American Fiction becomes a classic because we can always use a clever, subversive movie about a complex subject. Cord Jefferson wrote and directed this movie, and I know this will be hard for him to top, but I can’t wait to see what he does next. I hope his Oscar win will help me secure future funding for whatever he wants to do; I will be there. His Oscar speech, by the way, about giving young and new people a chance and making movies for less money, should be carved in stone.

Overall, American Fiction is an excellent movie that surprised me in every aspect. I didn’t even know what I expected, but I got much more than I could ever ask for. This movie highlighted important things, some actors that were long overdue for exposure, and it will, hopefully, be remembered for years to come. On top of all that, this movie is genuinely hilarious, and that is one of the many reasons it never felt preachy, and the almost two-hour runtime just flew by. American Fiction is one of the best movies of 2023 by far.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I thought it looked great, mainly due to the “Spider-Versication” of it all. Just like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023, my review here), this movie looks unique; the animation isn’t “flawless”, but that is what makes it stand out, and I am happy that studios started to take chances and some animated movies look differently than what we’ve been used to for a while now. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fun time with our beloved teenage turtles who just happen to be ninjas too, and I thought the movie did many things right.

The main thing is the voice casting and how all the main guys voicing the turtles recorded their lines in a group at the same time, which is something that’s not common at all in this industry because you can’t manipulate/edit the audio as well when you have other people in the room. But that risky choice paid off and created this feeling that our heroes have chemistry. They often talk over each other, just like teenagers; they talk about new stuff relevant to this generation… This might be the first feature film with turtles set in the current time, with all the smartphones, apps, lingo, and it feels different from any other TMNT movie I have seen. Combine that with that unique animation style, and those two facts make two big plusses in my book.

What I also liked was the main crux of the story and how these teenagers are forced to make a tough moral choice that feels contradictory to their experience. From the start of the movie, we can see our heroes hiding in the shadows because they were taught to be afraid of humans, so when other mutants show up and plan to make all the animals into mutants, they would become the dominant species, and that would result in no more hiding… I will tell you, I would be tempted by that offer, just as our heroes are. So, despite them acting and talking like teenagers, the movie has our heroes dealing with tough decisions and making them learn lessons along the way, without feeling forced or out of place.

The only thing that stopped me from being immersed fully in this film was that nothing surprises you. Yes, I was surprised by the main story and the themes a bit, but then everything goes precisely as you would expect, which is fair; it’s a “kids’ movie”. But then, we take a look at the action sequences, and although the animation style was unique, I didn’t think the action scenes were all that entertaining. That will be the main issue for many animated movies following the success of Spider-Verse movies; no matter where you stand on those, the action is immaculate, and the blend of different animation styles looks effortless. Here, the action was messy at times, and some scenes were a bit darker than I would have liked, making it harder to see what was happening.

But, I would like to say that I have enjoyed my time, and I would love to get a sequel. I liked everything else about this movie, and I think as far as world-building is concerned, the movie set up most, if not all, characters well where I can imagine the sequel being even better than the original since now we are over the introduction part and we could get “wild”. We could jump into the next adventure with a few more characters (no spoilers) that intrigued me, and I can see this becoming a trilogy even as long as all the creative people are back; I would have no issues with that.

Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a fun time with the characters you might know, but updated for the modern-day audience of teenagers today. The animation style is quirky, the story is surprisingly rich, and I had fun with it despite it not presenting anything new and some action not being up to par. Nevertheless, I would still recommend this movie, and I hope a sequel or two is coming our way because I can easily imagine more good stuff coming out of this world.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

If there’s anything better than a court drama, it’s a unique court drama we don’t get that often. Most court dramas are great, but more often than not, they aren’t as unique because most of the time, the lines are clearly drawn between the heroes and villains. And that’s where Anatomy of a Fall comes in. It dares to ask the burning question: “What if nothing is as black or white?” It grips you for almost two and a half hours and won’t let you go.

The best compliment I can give to this movie is this. Imagine you watch this film with two other people. When the movie ends, all three of you can have different ideas of what happened, and you can discuss why you think your theory is better than the other two. There is a fine line between leaving the audience to have their interpretations and just leaving them hanging because we didn’t finish the ending. But this movie is cold, calculating and precise in the best way.

Without giving too much away, this movie is about a family living in the middle of nowhere. The husband falls and dies, and we spend the entire film going through everything, from a great recreation scene to many excellent courtroom scenes to the ending that just underlines everything well. But the main point is how we can quickly jump to a conclusion based on one fight we heard from a day before, how everything goes from there, where every decision is being re-examined through the lens of them being at their worst. This is where Anatomy of a Fall shines; it makes you think about how often we think we know things (for example, about celebrities) based on tiny slivers of their online presence, and based on our perception, we then look to confirm our preconceived bias towards that celebrity (if we like her, we love everything, if we don’t, everything that celebrity does is “the worst” by default), not realising that we don’t know them and what they are dealing with.

What a year 2023 was for Sandra Hüller. As if being nominated for the best leading actress wasn’t enough, she appears in another Oscar-winning movie from 2023, The Zone of Interest, which I can’t wait to watch. What she does in this movie is brilliant because it almost feels like she isn’t acting. Her character feels so real I felt, at times, as if I watched a documentary rather than a narrative movie. She knows how to make those little moments sing; her speech about how she loved her husband and would never kill him was pure perfection. I really hope she will get some brilliant scripts offered because I can see that we have not seen her “peak”, and I can’t wait to witness it because I adored her in this movie.

Who I don’t think is getting as much praise as he should have had is Milo Machado-Graner. He portrays Sandra’s son and the unfortunate key witness, although not really. Do you feel bad for kids of divorce and how ugly it can get for them when “mommy and daddy fight”? Well, imagine if mommy is on trial, being the only suspect of killing daddy, and now, he gets to hear all the dirty, nasty stuff they said to each other. His performance was so pure in the first half and almost adult-like towards the end. Some point to those scenes saying he felt like the classic example of a kid actor being written by adults, but I don’t think that’s fair. We can see that it’s been over a year since this accident, and the trial, I believe, takes a few weeks. I thought he was just forced to grow up much faster than other kids, just as it happens with some kids of divorce when you have to put your childhood aside because you recognise you are needed. Is it fair? No. Is it necessary? Unfortunately. His final court appearance and speech were perfect. I won’t say what happens, but you aren’t sure about anything after that, beginning with whether he is being truthful or not.

And that was the brilliance of this movie. Anatomy of a Fall is, on the surface, a courtroom drama, whodunit, if you will. But in reality, the movie almost doesn’t give a fuck about that, and it’s much more focused on different themes. Like all the men witnesses present a strong case against Sandra’s character, but all the women’s witnesses present a strong case for her. This movie explores the themes of guilt by proxy (as her lawyer says: “That’s not the point, you are his wife, so you are the suspect.“) and, most importantly, how the verdict doesn’t change much. This movie shows us openly that no matter what happens, for some, you will always be guilty or not guilty without spelling it out for you.

Everything about Anatomy of a Fall feels just right. It’s not a short movie by any means, but I can’t imagine a scene not being there because everything compliments each other. There is little to no score because it is in the silence where this movie shouts the most. There is also a great dog performance that can’t be understated, and his key scene was brilliant. I was so happy to see Messi (that’s the dog’s name) at the 2024 Oscars (link here). My point is I don’t have anything negative to say. This movie left me thinking about everything I just saw, and throughout it, I thought I knew for certain what actually happened. The truth is, I don’t know. Nobody does besides Sandra, and whether her character is guilty or not, she will have to live with this for the rest of her life.

Overall, Anatomy of a Fall is a brilliant film. It doesn’t spoon-feed you anything; it relies on you navigating these grey areas, where nobody in this movie is a good person or a “hero” in the old-fashioned way. This movie showcases flawed individuals and one of those just so happens to be on trial for that. As I mentioned in the beginning, there are three different theories you can come up with about what happened, each as probable as the next one, and it’s only up to you where you land. I landed in “I love this movie.”

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke