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Legendary

Barbie (2023) - 4/5 Barbies

A truly fantastic movie. An amazing commentary on society from top to bottom, delving into what it is to be human.

Kalki 2898 AD looks awesome as hell!

This is being hailed as the most expensive movie ever to come out of Bollywood. And from this trailer, it looks awesome and I am definitely going to try and see it.

Fast X (2023) - 2 out of 5 car explosions

The movie is a montage of cameos, nonsensical plots and over the top stunts all in the name of family. As a die hard fan of the franchise, I loved it. As a moviegoer - wow it was thin.

Movie idea

Remake Nine to Five but do it for the dictator of a small country.

Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - 4/5 red jackets

Tonight we watched this classic for the first time. The story is a bit hard to follow and reading more about it reveals how much subtext there was which we missed, but it was still an excellent movie and makes me so sad that we didn't get to see more of James Dean.

The Booksellers (2019) - 2.5/5 Rare Books

Watched from LA to Seattle today. I came across it on Amazon Prime and downloaded to my plane for the flight.

Overall it was interesting, but there was no central tentpole aside from looking at rare book buyers, etc. It starts to suggest books are dying, then it points out they aren't. It says the book buyers are the final generation, and then has some who are optimistic.

It was an interesting insight into these people, but yeah - it meandered and left me at the end wondering what I could have watched instead.

The Lost Leonardo (2021) - 4/5 Mona Lisas

I ended up watching this documentary on the way down from Seattle to LA and found it quite interesting and entertaining. It's an interesting story with a lot of twists and turns along the way.

It follows a story about a possibly discovered lost painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, the "Salvator Mundi" aka "The Savior of the World" which depicts Jesus Christ. I was recounting the documentary to friends last night and it is a wild story. It also puts, front and center, the very real truth that high end collector art is used for washing funds (central to this story is a Russian oligarch) and also for general tax evasion, etc.

It also definitely reminded me how much I enjoy documentaries. Need to watch more.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) - 3.5/5 high heels

What a delightful film from a bygone era.

"I don't think of you as a man. And I don't think of you as a woman. I think of you as an angel."

Babylon (2022) - 2 out of 5

Continuing our Brad Pitt theme today, Katie and I found ourselves watching Babylon this evening. And, I think the two featured quoted on Rotten Tomatoes really nail it.

Babylon's overwhelming muchness is exhausting, but much like the industry it honors, its well-acted, well-crafted glitz and glamour can often be an effective distraction.

Babylon has some entertaining moments and its ambition is impressive, but the movie's chaotic and disjointed execution makes it difficult to really enjoy.

I found it slow and uninteresting once it left the frenetic initial pace of early film making. And ultimately I asked myself why I cared about this movie and I struggled to find an answer.

Bullet Train 2 in the works

I just watched this with Katie, having watched it myself a few months ago. It's like a cross of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie good time. And I'm glad to hear they're working on a sequel.

Heat (1995) - 4 out of 5 Guns

Finally watched this movie with Katie tonight. Neither of us had seen it before. The cast in the movie is incredible.

I remain thrilled at Jack Black as Bowser and dubious of the rest.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) - 3 out of 5

Definitely overdue in watching this, but I just couldn't make it to the theaters and haven't had a major drive to dive into the movies again (still haven't seen the new Ant Man either.)

We put it on tonight and overall I enjoyed it. I loved the silent opening montage to honor Chadwick Boseman, and overall I liked the story. I enjoyed the Mayan origin they gave Namor and think it's an interesting way to manage the dynamic of the character.

It's also interesting to know more characters after having played Marvel Snap. I didn't know who Ironheart was, for example, and now I do.

Sharper (2023) - 2 of 5

I mentioned in passing yesterday that Katie and I watched this on AppleTV+ yesterday. The cast looked solid and is what pulled me in.

Sadly, this movie was very lackluster. The plot was formulaic and predictable at almost every step of the way. Additionally, one of the cast members was just a glorified cameo. I won't say who, but they were one of the main reasons I was interested in watching and were only in a fraction of the film.

Bullet Train (2022) - Four Lady Bugs Out of Five

What a crazy and over the top movie. A neon lit, Tarantino-ver-the-top, and with an incredible soundtrack. A good way to spend my already altered mental state of sickness this morning, cuddling with dogs, and watching it on Netflix.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania trailer

Jonathan Majors remains the actor who I am most excited to watch in any role.

"Glass Onion's Start Tells You The End"

Spoilers abound in this post. Skip now if you don't want anything spoiled.

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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Movie - 5 out of 5 mysteries

Just watched the movie on Netflix and greatly enjoyed it. I caught part of it, but definitely didn't completely figure it out. Looking forward to watching it again with complete knowledge and spotting things along the way.

My Christmas Movie Scale

Every year we see the debates regarding whether a movie is or isn't a Christmas movie. Usually done with humorous intent, but sometimes it comes from someone's earnest belief. In the case of the latter, then all that matters is that you believe it, and you can proselytize it to others and try to bring them around to your side.

For me, I think it is more beneficial (and with just as much opportunity for comedy) to move from the binary of "Is" and "Isn't" to a scale. I propose 1-7 for ease while also allowing plenty of granularity.

Below are my example rankings, I welcome feedback!

1

Nothing relating to Christmas at all.

• Waterworld
• Rosemary's Baby
• Everything Everywhere, All at Once

2

A very meager suggested connection, but overall the movie avoids anything relating to the holiday season.

• Batman Begins
• The Sound of Music

3

Christmas occurs somewhere inside this movie as a background event.

• Gremlins
• You've Got Mail
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

4

Christmas plays a role, but the movie largely lives outside of the holiday

• Die Hard
• Trading Places
• Iron Man 3

5

Christmas is in the movie and holiday themes are part of it, but it is not the tentpole of the movie

• LA Confidential
• Mean Girls
• Catch Me If You can

6

The movie is about Christmas, but not entirely

• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Just Friends
• Home Alone

7

Fully about and within Christmas

• Miracle on 34th Street
• White Christmas
• A Christmas Story

Jim Henson's A Muppet Family Christmas

A great crossover of Henson creations: Sesame Street, Muppets, Fraggle Rock, et al.

Seeker of Power, a Rene Belloq story

I decided to put Raiders of the Lost Ark on this morning while doing some other things. One of my go-to movies that I can watch an infinite amount of times. This morning I was struck by how much I wish they would reboot this franchise in a new way rather than what looks to be Indiana Jones 5 coming our way.

Here's my idea:

Titled: "Seeker of Power"

• Movie opens with the finale of Belloq's life, a screaming soul racing at his face, and then goes black. Transition screen (X years before...)
• We see young Rene Emile Belloq growing up on his family vineyard, finding an old Etruscan artifact and igniting his fascination with historical relics. Something his family does not approve of, his father expects him to take over their vineyards. And thus he is driven by a constant striving for his father's approval.
• Next is him going to college at Sorbonne, where we meet young Indiana Jones as they become friends, bonding over their family backgrounds, before ultimately Belloq betrays Indy to snatch the Archaelogical Society Prize.
• We see the schism and the betrayal; Belloq tries to make his own way and leaving Indy behind him, and yet by nature of their careers they keep intersecting. Their stories repeatedly interweaving as they chase the same treasures. Imagine the map with flight paths overlapping or racing, etc.
• Then enters the Nazi intrigue as Belloq finds a growing source of money for treasures to be Hitler. And the growing discomfort with the Nazis as a benefactor, but as we've seen - he'll do anything to win. So he does more and more jobs until it leads to the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark.