The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
It has zero depth, zero emotions, the fight scenes were poorly done, we don't care for any of the cast. Vilain sucked, the scene with the merovingian was cringeworthy.
1/10
Agreed. Watched that with my mom on Christmas 2021, at a time when we weren't really ever spending time together anymore, and was physically angry that I wasted a rare movie with her on it.
Gladiator 2 - Aside from having fuckin' Pedro Pascal in it, this was pretty decent. The main issue it has is that it isn't a standalone movie, and it lives very much in the shadow of the first Gladiator. The main character (Maximus' son) has nowhere near the gravitas and charisma that Maximus had. Pascal's semi-villain had some potential, but he got overshadowed by the other three villains. Oh yeah, too many villains. Denzel's character was good as the "adult in the room" who manipulates and usurps, while the bloodthirsty twin Emperors were charismatic dicks. Props to the movie for not making them in-your-face Trump allegories and turning off viewers. They were more like a couple of Joffreys. Would have been alright in a vacuum, as it was just made me want to watch the original instead. Also, good luck trying to make any sense out of the Roman Emperor continuity as it's portrayed in these two movies, since the guy who is Emperor at the end of this was actually Emperor before Commodus was, and one of the twin Emperors (who, spoiler alert, both get got) was supposed to outlive the other by like 20 years... 6/10.
It Ends With Us - Surprisingly good movie about domestic violence and shitty parents. Blake Lively is insanely hot in this, as is whoever that was who played her younger self. I expected very little out of this, and it's very much a movie intended for the "New Yorker" crowd (everyone is inexplicably well-off and live in towers, and have brunches and shit). But goddamn if it didn't end up being a really powerful movie. Would have liked if the "old love interest that ends up being the right choice" had actually been a waiter, as the movie kind of leads you to think at first, instead of turning out to be the guy that owns the restaurant. Not every goddamn character needs to be uber-successful, and her getting together with the guy with the down-to-earth job would have been cool. Small nitpick though. 8/10.
Skinamarink - Hated this. What even is this? It was a bunch of footage of an empty house, with creepy voices. I think something happened eventually but I was barely staying awake. 1/10.
Challengers - The first time I've ever seen Zendaya be hot, this is another movie I expected nothing from that ended up being damn good. Anybody who has ever done competitive sports (or hardcore physical sport) and been injured out of it will probably understand this movie on a pretty deep level. Full of nuances and callbacks and things that you recognize on a repeat viewing and go "whoa, that's clever, didn't catch that the first time". The final battle/match is a masterclass in non-verbal storytelling. 9/10.
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