"The stew that emerges feels like a sports movie version of Uncut Gems, but if Howard Ratner was actually good at what he did." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/marty-suprem... #movies #MovieReview

"Much of the first chunk (an hour, in this case) driven by reminding you what happened last time. Many scenes and sequences feeling incredibly drawn out. And the narrative feels limited by the rules of the prior films." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/avatar-fire-... #movies #MovieReview

"The problem is that while it thinks it's Gone Girl, The Housemaid has far more in common with the worst direct-to-Netflix fare or a late-career James L. Brooks movie." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-housemai... #movies #MovieReview

"[Broadcast News] is the key to his biggest failures, as he's repeatedly attempted to recapture its core idea of "reveal the inner workings of ____ while focusing on the lives (and romances) of its leads"." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/ella-mccay/?... #movies #MovieReview

"The air of unearned self-seriousness in the middle of a fantastical world even undermines the beauty of 'For Good', although the quality of its writing ensures it at least conveys its message successfully." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/wicked-for-g... #movies #MovieReview

"After Jackman's disappointing debut Bonus Track, a queer coming of age mumblecore throwback, such a stylized story was an unexpected delight." popculturemaniacs.com/100-nights-o... #movies #MovieReview

"Because sitting alongside the tired, trite dialog you've heard a million times before, are quick, snappy, sarcastic retorts that feel more becoming of a Marvel movie than an adult drama about the rot in men's souls." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/nuremberg/?r... #movies #MovieReview

"There will always be a place in my heart for stylized, grimy, insane action flicks (see Jimmy and Stiggs). But it's hard to get past how the best parts of this entry are a retread of the first film, and inferior executions of it at that" popculturemaniacs.com/sisu-road-to... #movies #MovieReview

"[Director Chloe] Zhao has brought together a staggering work of immense beauty, easily amongst the best of the year, and showing that her time in the System has sapped exactly none of her creative power." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/hamnet/?ref=... #movies #MovieReview

"...the vision of Minka is accompanied by a smaller, disproportionate duplicate that seems to shrink as the scene progresses, an image that neither you nor Liz may understand, but will be hard to stop thinking about regardless." popculturemaniacs.com/keeper-review/ #movies #MovieReview

"While the set pieces throughout are fun and creative, the ending feels like an afterthought, a 'yada yada' to achieve Wright's desired conclusion without doing the work to make it a natural evolution. " takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-running-... #movies #MovieReview

"Ramsay's adaptation of Ariana Harwicz's novel feels like a rebuttal to the deluge of recent movies and TV and books and podcasts and TED talks that assume every parent at least sometime secretly regrets having kids." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/die-my-love?... #movies #MovieReview

My wrap-up of the 2025 IFFBoston Fall Focus Festival, where I saw fourteen films over two non-consecutive weeks, comprised of the buzzy titles from other festivals over the year. takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/iffboston-fa... #movies

"The filmmaking team has an excellent sense of how to fray your nerves, but is far less adept at turning that into anything narratively or thematically satisfying." popculturemaniacs.com/dream-eater-... #movies #MovieReview

"No one is better than director Yorgos Lanthimos at melding dark foreboding with absurdist humor and creative visuals. Bugonia is uncomfortably hilarious from start to finish..." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/bugonia/?ref... #movies #MovieReview

takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/new-hampshir... #movies #NHFF

"In a year more focused on weaving complex tales of the horror of humanity, Black Phone 2 solidifies the series' villain as a monster fit for your nightmares for years to come." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/black-phone-... #movies #MovieReview

"Given the popularity of the horror genre and humanity's love of dogs, it was only a matter of time before some enterprising young filmmaker attempted to combine them." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/good-boy/?re... #movies #MovieReview

"Instead of being asked to root for an artist whose creation was stolen, or a nepo baby whose privilege allows him to spit in the face of the system...we're given an altruistic, female Sam Altman." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/tron-ares/?r... #movies #MovieReview

"There's one scene at the end that shows the aftermath, but even that is played for warmth and amusement, to send us out into the world feeling good about what transpired, despite the credits quickly complicating it." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/roofman/?ref... #movies #MovieReview

"...the dialog often resorts to blunt revelation to move the plot forward and give insight into the character. Most character details initially left for the audience to infer are later spelled out explicitly, lessening their power. " popculturemaniacs.com/anemone-review #movies #MovieReview

"Any doubts of Johnson's acting abilities should be put to bed by his turn as Mark Kerr. If only the rest of the movie was on his level." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-smashing... #movies #MovieReview

"PTA is not at all interested in how the politics...map onto the modern left-right divide, preferring to highlight the terrifying way power is wielded by people in a position of authority who have a grudge and an excuse." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/one-battle-a... #movies #MovieReview

"The story gives them both an opportunity to reckon with these fundamental experiences, elevating their emotional journey from trite to thoughtful. If only those took up more of the runtime." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/a-big-bold-b... #movies #MovieReview

"[W]e're left with a misshapen Christmas classic, a heartwarming comedy that stumbles in its attempts to outrun its cliches, and a warm hug of a film that carries a whiff of personal resentment." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-baltimor... #movies #MovieReview

"Chainey's debut feature successfully gives us what we wanted, but fails to mean it." popculturemaniacs.com/rabbit-trap-... #movies #MovieReview

"Such a turn is pulled off with aplomb by the combination of stellar, confident camerawork from cinematographer Patrick Scola and [Théodore] Pellerin's spellbinding performance." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/lurker/?ref=... #movies #MovieReview

"It continues the trend of this year's top horror films being as emotional as they are scary, striking fear deep into your soul after softening it up by provoking your empathy." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-long-walk/?ref=bsky #movies #MovieReview

"It demonstrates that Lily James is more than a love interest, proves that Sam Worthington can be a truly scary heavy, and reaffirms that Ahmed is deserving of so much more recognition than he's received." popculturemaniacs.com/relay-review/ #movies #MovieReview

"While Coen and Cooke capably ape the genre, they can't get out of their own way when it comes to the plot, reducing the proceedings to a muddled mess." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/honey-dont/?... #movies #MovieReview

"How did they bring Toxie into the modern era? Simple: they jettisoned most of what made the original so distinct." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-toxic-av... #movies #MovieReview

"Accompanied by a propulsive, crunchy, bass heavy score from Idles, once the action starts, the only chances you have to breathe are imbued with an inescapable weight." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/caught-steal... #movies #MovieReview

"So The Roses coming at the end of the summer is a perfect mirror image; while also an anti-romcom of sorts, leaning hard into its darkly comedic premise, it’s perfectly comfortable with what it is." popculturemaniacs.com/the-roses-re... #movies #MovieReview

"Intentionally or not, for a filmmaker who's been working for forty years, this story cannot help but speak to his own view of his legacy, and the direction he hopes to take it." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/highest-2-lo... #movies #MovieReview

"This is a midnight movie to its core, a sci-fi splatter-fest drenched in enough neon paint and goo to empty a warehouse (or at least a small hardware store)." popculturemaniacs.com/jimmy-and-st... #movies #MovieReview

"I'm sympathetic to the challenges inherent in low-budget filmmaking, but the best examples do a wonderful job hiding that reality, or at least distracting you from it. Strange Harvest does neither." popculturemaniacs.com/strange-harv... #movies #MovieReview

"Each [thread] dovetails quite nicely with the broader theme of generational vandalism, of how the older generations fail the younger at the best of times, but more often very literally steal their future for short-term power." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/weapons/?ref... #movies #MovieReview

"The force drawing them together results in unique opportunities for disturbing and disgusting imagery, making manifest the damage inflicted by focusing on your partner to the exclusion of every other part of your life." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/together/?re... #movies #MovieReview

"it focuses on the performance we all accept as inherent in dating. Neither of them are comfortable putting their true selves or desires forward. Of course, that (self-)deception...ensures the conflict cannot possibly come to an easy end." popculturemaniacs.com/oh-hi-review/ #movies #MovieReview

"[Director Eva] Victor is most interested in the aftermath, about the way no one knows how to deal with anyone's trauma (including their own)...and the ways that "progress" is rarely a clean and expected process." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/sorry-baby/?... #movies #MovieReview

"But even then, no one is really able to plan for what transpires. They're reduced to reaction and opportunism, both which bolster the former point about the impact of experiencing the world exclusively through the internet." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/eddington?re... #movies #MovieReview

"Its title hints at what makes 40 Acres surprising - its rote but capable wielding of genre hides a more well-considered script." popculturemaniacs.com/40-acres-rev... #movies #MovieReview

A tier of movies which is pretty damn good, not exceptional but notable anyways. And which I haven't reviewed previously. takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/tidbits-2025... #movies

My mid-year check-in post! takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/usaw-2025/ #movies

"There's nothing wrong with copying killer shots...to be clear. But a summer blockbuster being sold as this big and bold should have some tricks up its sleeve to break out during the finale if it wishes to really wow us." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/f1/?ref=bsky #movies #MovieReview

"But it's how the Infected and Kelson are deployed that is truly memorable, both of which complicate our feelings on what had become accepted knowledge, and bind us all together more tightly than before." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/28-years-lat... #movies #MovieReview

"This little five minute scene is so simple, so small, and yet immediately seeds Lucy's worldview, while Song also shows us we were wrong to ever doubt her." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/materialists/ #movies #MovieReview

"That such an enjoyable film is surpassed by so many of his other movies speaks to why he's one of my favorite directors; even his "lesser" works are the envy of other filmmakers." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/the-phoenici... #movies #MovieReview

"...most viewers probably guessed the ultimate finale before the movie began, so the action needs to keep our attention while leading us there. Repetition is not the way to do it." popculturemaniacs.com/dangerous-an... #movies #MovieReview

"Whereas the first John Wick convinced us Keanu was a bad ass by showing him being a bad ass, Ballerina is concerned about our willingness to buy Ana de Armas as an action star." takeemtothemoviesaustin.reviews/ballerina/?r... #movies #MovieReview