I think the common read of the final scene (RNC being bankrupt and Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the UNCF getting record donations) is that Martin’s up to his old tricks, now with an unstoppable super device.

I don’t find that very satisfying.  Martin would be a global power that would almost inevitably result in hit squads if not open war. It’s a huge tonal shift if you think just one step past the credits.

Another read is that Martin destroyed…

Short version: This is a movie about Tilda Swinton telling herself a story in which Idris Elba is a character. There are no actual djinns in it, Tilda processes feelings through stories, and this movie is about her doing some serious introspection about if she's actually content, or if she's been ignoring the true desires of her heart. Failing to accept her desires will force her to drift through life, unseen and unheard.

When I left the theater, I thought…

The action scenes are always going to be the main draw in a martial arts film, but you need to do something with the rest of the movie. An interesting plot, comedic relief, or compelling characterization can elevate the action scenes (or just be entertaining on their own!). But The Way of the Dragon uses those scenes to kill time.

The action scenes are very route-one. A story isn't being told in the fight, and there's not much interesting choreography,…

If Ana de Armas didn't steal the whole show with her 10 minutes in No Time to Die, she at least made a strong case for her star in her own action movie.

Unfortunately, that movie ended up being directed by Len Wiseman. The delightful, charming performance we saw Ana pull off is crushed under the accented, self-serious, emo-kid drivel of Ballerina.

The action is knock-off Borne more than it's Wick. But Ballerina doesn't have Borne's fun spy thriller plot.…

As a movie, the Green Mile is far too long, and extremely basic. Every character is one-dimensional. The dramatic beats of the story are all over the place.

Wild Bill, a character defined by his over the top need to be disruptive, constantly disappears whenever they want to have a quiet, heartfelt scene 10' in front of his cell.

But the biggest issue, by far, is the message of the movie. An innocent black man is falsely convicted for child…

Oppenheimer trades almost exclusively in tone and ginned-up interpersonal moments. Nolan doesn't give the scientific, military, or political context needed to tell any of those stories. He's not interested in engaging with the Manhattan Project even at a pop-sci level, instead various proper nouns are name-checked, but could be erased and replaced without changing the structure of Nolan's script, just like a Mad Lib. Characters are all constructed out of the standard tropes from every fiction/biopic about a troubled genius,…