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2024 Halftime Report

It is clear that we are feeling the true effects of last year’s strikes.

I supported the strikes, but as a cinephile it came at a cost: This year’s movies would not be strong. As of this writing, I’ve seen just under thirty movies that were released this year (I have yet to see certain titles such as Challengers and Kinds of Kindness), and none of them were five stars (though some were close).

Still, I have hope, as the second half will give us the likes of Deadpool & Wolverine, Twisters, Sing Sing, Longlegs, Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and plenty more (I don’t care what the reactions were at Cannes; I am still stoked for Megalopolis.)

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3 1/2 Stars Movies

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)

Prior to watching Kevin Costner’s first directed film in over two decades, I looked at my Letterboxd account to realize that this film would only be the eleventh western film I have ever seen in the theater.

Granted, this is largely due to my age (which is why my first “western” experience in the theater was sadly 1999’s infamous Wild Wild West), so it is safe to say all the westerns I have seen have been on a smaller screen. It was with this lack of big screen western experience and the fact that Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 has a 40% score on rottentomatoes (it was not screened for many critics, which is rarely a good sign) that I went to see the film,…and was actually surprised at it.

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4 Stars Movies

The Bikeriders (2024)

You know how you can sometimes be oblivious to any form of accent you have when speaking?

As someone who has grown up in the midwest his whole life, I definitely never picked up on having an accent of any kind. Even so, it was impossible for me to not notice the accent work of Jodie Comer is using in The Bikeriders.

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4 Stars

Inside Out 2 (2024)

The best of the Disney/Pixar films have been able to somewhat shape our views of the world, regardless of age.

As a kid, the aftermath of Toy Story had me admittedly silently trying to sneak a look at my toys, to catch them in the act of being alive. It took me a while to stop looking at a fish tank in a doctors office differently thanks to Finding Nemo, or what it would be like talking with my ancestors after Coco. And yes, even after nearly a decade, I still sometimes wonder what the emotions in my head are like after the original Inside Out.

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3 1/2 Stars

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

In the week or so I spent catching up and rewatching the previous Mad Max films, a rather unrelated film scene popped into my head.

In 1941, there was a film released called Hellzapoppin’. While I have not seen the film, I have seen what is arguably the film’s most popular scene when the characters do a dance called “The Lindy Hop”. When you watch it on YouTube, you will most likely have trouble concluding that these talented people are not being sped up on film: they are just that bleepin’ fast.

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3 1/2 Stars Movies

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Sadly, it was only until a few years ago that I finally saw the OG Planet of the Apes from 1968.

My reasoning was mainly due to the fact that I had already had the famous plot twist spoiled for me as a kid (most likely from The Simpsons), and was unfortunately introduced to the idea of talking apes in Tim Burton’s disastrous 2001 film. Thankfully, the 2010s gave us a trilogy (all of which I just recently revisited) that was nothing short of solid entertainment, to the point I was worried this new film would be a de-evolution, as it were.

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3 1/2 Stars Movies

The Fall Guy (2024)

Most recently, I finally got around to seeing 1928’s Steamboat Bill, Jr.

It was this film where Buster Keaton (arguably the most influential leading man who did his own stunts) stood perfectly still as the side of a house fell on him, only unscathed due to an open window (your move, Tom Cruise!). Every since Keaton’s days, the stunt man has been risking all for the purpose of the shot (more than enough have sadly died in the process).

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4 1/2 Stars Movies

Civil War (2024)

Over the last month or so, I found myself watching three films from the 1950s that were definite products of their time (which is not to say they were bad).

The three films (The Incredible Shrinking Man, Them!, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers) most assuredly dealt with fears of the times: radiation, political invasion, and nuclear war. Thankfully, none of that has happened since then (well, maybe the invasion part, but that is not something I want to dive into), but they surely seemed like possible outcomes.

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3 1/2 Stars

Monkey Man (2024)

Going as far back as Kurosawa’s 1961 classic Yojimbo (and probably even before that), the revenge flick always has a unique place in the heart of the audience.

Whether it be a samurai, a war vet (ala Rambo), a 21st century Liam Neeson role, or (most recently) the John Wick films, we all have that inner being that wants to exact revenge. Whether it be a bully, a boss/co-worker, or someone who cut you off in traffic, our (much safer) alternative to vengeance is watching it dished out on screen.

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2 Stars Movies

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

As of now, I have seen only thirteen movies involving Godzilla and/or King Kong (about 19 percent of them all according to Letterboxd).

I mention this at the outset because I now only realize how all the movies have one key challenge to face: balance the monster scenes with the human character scenes. Of course, a vast majority (if not all) of audiences will be going to these films for the CGI monster mashing, making most of the human stories somewhat forgettable (unless you are Godzilla Minus One, the film that finally won Godzilla an Oscar).

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