Related Notes:
Here Before, Stacey Gregg-- Pretty interesting slow burn psychological thriller, some great shots and great soundtrack choices.
Crimes of the Future, David Cronenberg-- A masterpiece from one of my absolute favorite filmmakers. Saw this for my birthday and couldn't have asked for a better gift.
Disappearance at Clifton Hill, Albert Shin-- I expected this to be a cheap run of the mill thriller but it was actually a surprisingly loving and well crafted tribute to classic noir, with a bonus appearance by David Cronenberg.
Moonfall, Roland Emmerich-- The absolute best kind of stupid.
Dune, Denis Villeneuve-- Surprisingly faithful adaptation, great casting, great costumes, impressive visuals. A little slow for me at times but so was the 800-page book.
Knocking, Frida Kempff-- Kind of weak as a suspense film but fascinating and distinctive as a portrait of a woman's nervous breakdown, really well done.
Gwledd, Lee Haven Jones-- Some missteps but still a lot more originality and style than other horror filmmakers are going for. The Welsh was so lovely.
The Blazing World, Carlson Young-- What a mess. But a very colorful one.
Encanto, Jared Bush & Byron Howard-- Cute. Disney. Music wasn't bad.
Nightmare Alley, Guillermo del Toro-- An absolute love letter to classic noir. Deserves every single one of its nominations.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Andy Serkis-- Andy Serkis and Tom Hardy really listened to the fans and went 500x more tentacle gay romcom. Good for them. Perfect Cletus Kasady, too.
The King's Man, Matthew Vaughn-- Definitely the messiest and worst of the three. But still a Kingsman so I still loved it. Props for speedrunning the entire history of WWI.
Last Night in Soho, Edgar Wright-- Not quite what I expected, darker and heavier but not bad. Great retro costumes and music.
Malignant, James Wan-- So stupid and so fun. Love letter to 90s noir/horror in so many ways.
Candyman- Nia DaCosta-- A very smart and stylish update, not much similarity to my beloved childhood Candyman but that's okay. It's not for me.
Annette, Leos Carax-- Well that. Certainly was a movie.
The Night House, David Bruckner-- More of a grief drama than the outright horror film I expected, but very very good.
Censor, Prano Bailey-Bond-- Great aesthetic, flawed storytelling, not bad for a debut and exciting to see where this filmmaker goes from here.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Darren Lynn Bousman-- The parts that are a gory Saw horror movie with an ACAB message are great. The parts that are a tired cliche cop movie, not so much. Unfortunately there's a lot of the latter.
Synchronic, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead-- Some great visuals in the beginning, not a fan of where it ended up. Great performances. Wish it had stayed weirder.
Things Heard And Seen, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini-- D u l l. But the bizarre choice of Swedenborgian lore made my ex-New-Church gf flail and yell the entire time, so that at least was entertaining.
Greener Grass, Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe-- Brilliant, colorful satire right up until a shockingly offensive ending. Super bummed.
Song of the Sea, Tomm Moore-- Innovative, beautiful animation drawing on rich folklore. Great St. Patrick's Day watch.
Monos, Alejandro Landes-- Gorgeous and dreamlike and jarring, a love letter to Bunuel and Claire Denis. Loved it.
The Block Island Sound, Matthew & Kevin McManus-- Super creepy slow burn with great cinematography and sound work, wish it had trusted its audience a little more at the end.
Supernova, Harry Macqueen-- Really looked forward to this one but kind of underwhelmed. I wish it had been like 45 min longer to develop more fully. But Colin Firth gave Soft Gay Sweater Dad nonstop so eleven stars regardless.
Saint Maud, Rose Glass-- Gorgeous shots and sets, slowly ratcheting dread, great film.
