Tag: Rated R

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3 Stars Movies

Napoleon (2023)

Try as I might, my prior knowledge of Napoleon Bonaparte heading into the latest movie based on him is considerably less than normal (I was going to make a height joke here, but couldn’t think of one).

Aside from knowing him as one of the greatest generals in history, being considered short, and having a complex named after him, I knew nothing more (unless you count him being a fan of water slides thanks to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). Even still, it seems to make sense that director Ridley Scott, equally as fearless as Bonaparte (and in his mid 80s, no less) would make a film about the historical figure, which results in the film Napoleon.

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4 1/2 Stars Movies

The Holdovers (2023)

There is a strong argument that can be made that we have been undervaluing Paul Giamatti. 

My earliest recollection of him must have been his small parts in 1998’s Dr. Dolittle with Eddie Murphy and the war classic Saving Private Ryan (the same year). It was then in 2003 he got deserved claim in American Splendor and then his big break a year later in Sideways (two movies I have needed to revisit for some time now).

For some baffling reason, the only Oscar nomination of his career came in 2005 with Cinderella Man. Of course, he has been in his bad share of movies, but (at least from the ones I have seen) has yet to give a bad performance. 

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5 Stars Movies

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

It should be obvious, but it is nigh impossible to call oneself a cinephile and dislike the films of Martin Scorsese (or at least not appreciate them).

His name is on par with directing giants of the past: Hitchcock, Ford, Ozu, Welles, Kurosawa, Kubrick, Fellini. He has been in the twilight of his career for a little over a decade now, but has never lost his unique cinematic eye. For those like him working into his 80s (it should be noted before this film, I saw two trailers for up coming films from two octogenarian filmmakers: Michael Mann and Ridley Scott), it is not easy to bring about something fresh as well as ones old tricks. 

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1 1/2 Stars Movies

The Exorcist: Believer (2023)

I was allowed to see most R rated movies growing up in my pre-teen/teen years, with the sole exception of 1973’s The Exorcist. My mom was so convinced she could be possessed that she was against me seeing it until she would be able to watch it with me, and pause before every scary part. 

Even after a half century of sequels and (truly) countless rip offs, The Exorcist has still retained it’s immortality on the Mt. Rushmore of horror films. It is hard to argue its impact. From that view point, it is easy to see why director David Gordon Green, who just finished a trilogy of Halloween sequels (which I have yet to see), would want to use the same approach and make a direct sequel to the late great William Friedkin directed masterpiece. The result, The Exorcist: Believer, is a true let down.

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4 1/2 Stars Movies

Oppenheimer (2023)

With the possible exception of Tom Cruise, no entity in Hollywood today cares more about the theatrical experience more than Christopher Nolan.

His name is the first to come to mind when thinking of directors of his generation, and few have been as successful. His is one of the very few names in Hollywood that can draw an audience just by his name alone. He is one who goes big with every ingredient that makes a movie, letting everyone from the actors to the replacement sound guy to shine. In Oppenheimer, he has gotten the closest he has gotten to outdoing himself in some time, as it is easily the best he has done in years.

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4 1/2 Stars

Blackberry (2023)

It seemed I was always behind when it came to cellphones.

It wasn’t until the spring of my senior year of high school when my parents finally relented and got me one (after they realized I had to borrow my friends’ to call for a ride), albeit a hand me down.

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4 1/2 Stars Movies

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)

“If the American Empire is calling us terrorists then we are doing something right.”

This quote from Michael (Forrest Goodluck) is one of the hidden elements of How to Blow a Pipeline that make it more than just a hard core conservative’s nightmare of a film (the title alone would make one queasy). 

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1 1/2 Stars Movies

Nefarious (2023)

(This review is a love letter to The 5th Dimension and their take on a great song from the musical “Hair”)

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4 1/2 Stars

Air (2023)

From the ages of 9-13, my closet was flooded with shoes. 

I can’t recall why I had so many shoes as a kid (being a small kid mean having a small shoe size, so I assume they were cheap), but I am sure I had some form of Air Jordans (most likely a hand me down): I do distinctly remember the dunking MJ silhouette. Did I think they would make me a better basketball player? Perhaps (I was never good at the sport), but there was no denying the fact that it would increase my cool factor in the class room (especially since I grew up in the Chicago suburbs.)

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3 Stars

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

It was only a month or two ago that I finally forced myself into watching the John Wick films. A little late to the party, I know, but such is life.

In that time, I was glad to see what a lot of people were (re)discovering: that Keanu Reeves is one of the down right coolest dudes to grace cinema in many a decade. The first flick took it’s rather simple premise (retired hitman goes on rampage after losing the one thing that was left of a normal life, his dog) and elevated it in the second film, which I feel is the strongest of the four. The third one, though filled with interesting set pieces and action (including Casablanca of all places), started to dive a little too much into the ridiculous by the end. I know it is a movie, but when someone is shot twice off of a building and survives…well, now it is getting a little too silly.

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