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jbush_luke
Reviews
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Don't Overthink It
There are a lot of people here that completely missed the point of the film, and that's ok, it's not for everyone. But to see some reviews here saying it downplays the horrors of Auschwitz or that it only does so "once in a while" either went to another film entirely, or just weren't paying attention. Glazer depicts the horror of the Holocaust in a completely different way, but in a way that is completely nauseating and unsettling in its own right. Listen carefully anytime the characters are outside and you will notice that quickly. There is an entire sequence towards the end of the film that also proves those earlier criticisms are hollow and vacuous at best. Is it slow? Yes. But it's meant to move slowly and show the juxtaposition of a mundane normal life right on the other side of a wall from one of the single most horrifying acts in human history. I think some people just want to seem smarter and choose to be the contrarian on purpose.
Oppenheimer (2023)
A sobering, but wonderful film
Nolan's greatest weakness as a filmmaker has always been found in the convoluted stories he tells. When he gets lost in parts of it to a level that the story itself gets lost as well (see: Tenet). By the nature of this story, he was already protected from that. With that safety net in place, he soared to wonderful heights. This may well be the best cast he has ever assembled for a film, and they carry it beautifully. It is a deeply troubling film that causes us to look ourselves in the mirror. Is the prize worth the price? This will undoubtedly, and deservedly, garner several Oscar nominations, as it should. This very well could go down as Nolan's greatest film. A wonderful achievement given his catalogue.
What Happened to Monday (2017)
Great premise that out-twists itself
What a great premise. Dystopian stories about limits on children had been done plenty of times, but this was a new approach. Really made for a great story and Noomi tackles the challenge of playing seven different characters and personalities really well. The only issue is that as it nears the end, really the final third of the film, it just begins to try and throw one twist after another at you. To the point that they begin to lose their punch. I think if they'd dialed it back a bit it could've been an 8 or 9 * movie. Some neat visuals, and great action sequences, they just got a little too wild towards the end.
Big Gold Brick (2022)
No. Just no.
This is, hands down, the worst movie I have ever seen. The acting is terrible, the story makes next to no sense. It's just awful from beginning to end. I have never seen a movie before that I struggled to finish, even if I didn't care for it, but this one was it. Just awful.