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IR Film Review: GODZILLA X KONG - THE NEW EMPIRE [Legendary/Warner Bros]
The trajectory of a film franchise like Kong depends on the angle needed and what it is trying to accomplish. With its latest entry: "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" all sense of scale and reality seemingly go out the window but the film and its tone lean into it. This is not dark and brooding and yet there is plenty of destruction.
IR Film Review: GHOSTBUSTERS - FROZEN EMPIRE [Sony]
The essence of the "Ghostbusters" is about blending horror and comedy. In many ways, "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" does this better than any film since the first one back in 1984. This might be aided by the return of many of the original cast but also the difference in tone a director like Gil Kenan brings versus Jason Reitman.
IR Film Review: DAMSEL [Netflix]
The essence of a fantasy and, by expansion, a damsel is an interesting concept of lore in today's society. The crux of "Damsel" from Netflix is wanting the romance but understanding the individuality needed. Millie Bobbie Brown, as a character, persona and performer, is bringing an interesting balance to the table in being able to bridge girlishness but with a sense of power without losing femininity as a matter of course. "Damsel" knows this inherently.
IR Film Review: DUNE - PART II [Warner Bros]
The progression of a story depends on knowing where it is going in an overall sense. With "Dune - Part II", director Denis Villenueve understands and motivates on the context of what Part I promised. He delivers but there are different cracks and jumps that inherently lift but also restrict the film in certain ways.
IR Film Review: STOPMOTION [IFC Films/Shudder]
"Stopmotion" wants to exist in Lynchian world where all paths lead to either realization of ruin. The context of the journey follows a young woman who seems to searchng for something but comes to conflict with something she can't control. The beginning is wrapped in an idea of an overbearing mother who seems to exert a sense of intent with her daughter to make a animated stopmotion film which seems to fuel her psychosis.
IR Film Review: MADAME WEB [Sony]
The motivation of "Madame Web" has a good idea behind it but ultimately the delivery fails in many ways to achieve the aspect at all of its potential. Most of this has to do with the lack of consequence and a large amount of plot holes that plague the movie.
IR Film Review: ARGYLLE [Apple Original Films/Universal]
The aspect of the spy genre and what it means in reflection about the people who enjoy them is at the center of the whirlwind which is "Argylle", a new comedy/action film from Matthew Vaughn. Vaughn has always found interest in the quirky but then melding it with high concept action. His films are not straightforward and yet do speak to originality while also being derivative of everything before it.
IR Film Review: AMERICAN STAR [IFC Films]
The concept of an assassin film as metaphorical existentialism is not new but the idea of concept is in the eye of the beholder. With "American Star", Spanish director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego places Ian McShane as an aging assassin on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands. The setting is masterful especially since it takes the audience a bit to figure out where it actually as McShane's hitman settles into his target.
IR Film Review: SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING [Oscilloscope]
The essence of a internal movie with a protagonist like Fran in the movie: "Sometimes I Think About Dying" is creating a character piece that simply shows a slice of life, however quiet it might be. Daisy Ridley plays Fran with a vulnerable fragility, somewhere between a manic depressive and a creative person exploring her own world inside herself.