Reviews

General: The Empty Man leaves a huge impression, its focus on mystery and character grounds the otherwise otherworldly plot. Also, HUGE props to the practical effects on a specific part of a cave.

Direction: This movie is very well shot, and contains one of the best transitions I've ever scene. However, the horror beats that could be considered traditional were a bit choppy and messy with the editing. I felt like some of them were thrown in to keep the popcorn munchers happy.

Tone: The tone of the movie is very dark, with tasteful comedic beats to lighten the mood (one laugh out loud moment had a winning combination of tension and comedic timing).

Acting: Acting was very good, and I believed all of the characters. However, the actress that played Amanda seemed to be amplifying her major character trait the entire movie, which sometimes took me out of the story.

Pacing: For the odd tonal shifts, story beats, and storyboarding, this movie flew by. The plot developments and twists were spaced out so I never felt like the movie wasn't realistic, but I wasn't bored by any one Act of the movie.

Chocked to the brim with great ideas, The Batman sees the caped crusader return as a homicide detective digging into the corruption of Gotham. The sense of atmosphere mixed with an even tone and spectacular set design result in an entirely immersive experience. The action set pieces are well put together and the choreography and sound design had me on the edge if my seat.

However, the pacing of the nearly 3 hour runtime is inconsistent which pulled me out of the movie. The script was messy at times, and as the mysteries unraveled the movie's sense of purpose did as well. By the end the story beats were just happening, with little to no impact on character arcs or relevant themes. It felt like the writers didn't know how to end the movie.

Pixar's Turning Red features stunning animation, and includes some innovative camerawork and cool ideas for displaying teenage emotion visually. However, from the start, there is a lack of finesse, whether it be the integration of the core themes (puberty, over-controlling parents), or the dialogue.

1. My bad script alarms went off during the first lines of the movie, which is a mini narration by the main character, describing the entire theme of the movie like a topic sentence of a middle school essay.

2. Pixar took a lot of the comedic stylings and animation quirks of a Phil Lord and Christopher Miller film, and integrated only the annoying parts.

3. Climax of the movie was predictable after watching the first ten minutes.

4. I have a feeling people will use the themes of puberty and emotion to justify the lack of a cohesive tone, and this makes me angry.

5. There is nothing wrong with the themes themselves, but I expect a better script from Pixar.

Score was moody but bland. Sad horror score piano littered about. Last third fell into standard monster movie tropes. Characterization was hit or miss, mostly due to the script, because the performances were great. Great creature effects. Some scenes were held up by editing, cinematography, and acting.

Aims to tackle the rot of some small towns in America (i.e Devil All the Time), but never follows through to resolve any of its themes due to the less than adequate third act. However, the first two thirds kept me interested, and the movie has an evocative sense of place. I really felt like I was experiencing a real town.

One of the most intense movies. Takes the "unstoppable force immovable object" scenario and places is in a college music program. By the end of the movie I want to start it over again.

I didn't like this Lifetime movie as much as some others I have seen, but this is the first one I saw in a theater. Nothing happened, and there was no tension. I went to the bathroom and took my time because it was more interesting, and I am one of those people to sprint when I have to leave the theater.

I really wish it moved a little faster. I can only take so much of watching Ryan Gosling slowly walk around beautifully shot environments. I respect the ambition. The set design and special effects are awe inspiring.

Perfectly shot. Great story. Some folks are saying that the opening scene doesn't integrate well into the rest of the movie. I think it completely justifies the decisions made by the protagonist. The acting is excellent, and makes me root for some of the characters that may have otherwise been flat. Only criticism is that the story is very predictable and familiar. I stress that it is rarely told this well.

Movie about cars going really fast, but every shot looks like great concept art, and the characters all have great development. Most of the CGI is great, but some is shoddy. I don't really care because it works with the cartoony fun of the action. Don't listen to the soundtrack while driving.

Manages to be one of the best western movies, putting a fresh spin on classic movies like Chinatown, but surprisingly works in surreal elements. The ending completes arcs for multiple heroes and villains, in a way that perfectly captures the spirit of a western.

I had fun while watching this. Afterward I liked it. I'm never going to watch this again. The script is weak. Especially the late second and third acts.

First and third acts were funny. Middle was boring. Predicted the plot at the end of the first act.

Very funny, and has intriguing social commentary. Not afraid to delve into schlock. Crowd pleasing.

Mixed bag. Loved the noir short, last short, and first two shorts. Some felt unnecessary, or the animation just didn't land for me. However, it's easy to tell a ton of creativity and effort went into these animations. It's amazing that the filmmakers were given this much freedom, and quite frankly amazing this movie was made at all.

Surprisingly unpretentious, and very meticulous. I could recall many individual shots after just one watch. Feels like a movie David Lynch would make if he was hyper focused on delivering an entertaining and cohesive story. The story can be enjoyed on many different levels.

This should have been a short film or an hour long TV special. Excellent concept, and dispenses little enough information to keep me thinking about the movie. Patrick Wilson is hamming it up, and makes the film very entertaining in parts. There are still very repetitive stretches of the first and second acts. Some hypnotic shots of tall grass also stuck with me.

Intriguing story elements and concepts, great practical action, good score, but I had little to no clue what the character motivations were on initial watch. Rewatched with a notebook and a pause button, and subtitles.

Every scene builds up to a release, which are often perfectly edited visual gags, or well executed story elements. A complete and unique experience. Tone feels a little like Twin Peaks.

Opening is excellent. First act is overlong, and my attention wandered at points. Enjoyed the second and third acts a lot more. However the first half sets up the second and third well, so I wouldn't call it completely unnecessary.