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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones Movies

Number 6…

In High School, my english class always seemed to be one of the first of the day, and that was no exception back in my sophomore year.

Yet one day in January of 2004, I can safely say I don’t at all remember what we were supposed to be doing, because I was not paying any attention. We were in one of the computer labs (do those even exist anymore? I don’t know), working on research of some kind, but my mind was elsewhere: the Oscar nominations.

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 7…

The following review is based on actual events.

Only the names, places, and events have been changed.

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3 1/2 Stars 3 Stars Movies

Silk/The Girl in the Street (2025)

Perhaps I am late to this realization, but with short films, it is much easier to find out the intent of the filmmaker(s) since there is not too much to worry about plot wise.

Such was the case with two new short films I saw by Chris Paicely and Miles August (“Chris and Miles”): Silk (directed by August) and The Girl in the Street (directed by Paicely), both of which each of them wrote. 

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Mark's 21st Century Movie Milestones

Number 8…

“You know what freedom is Bob? No fear. Like Tom ****ing Cruise!”

When this is said by the character Sergio (Benecio Del Toro) in the recent One Battle After Another, you get a sense of content agreement. Growing up, I always saw Cruise as the guy who was able to sleep with the girl in some way shape or form, whether he was risking his life or not. That was not the case when I saw him in Minority Report.

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3 1/2 Stars

The Smashing Machine (2025)

Recently, there was news that a company named Particle6 had created the world’s first AI actress, and that certain agencies were looking into hiring her.

The idea of this actress (named Tilly Norwood) has understandably upset most of Hollywood. I read one actress said one of the main reasons this won’’t work is because Tilly lacks one of the most crucial tools an actor needs: past experiences to draw from. This is one of the main ingredients that makes Dwayne Johnson’s performance in The Smashing Machine so remarkable.