Two Paragraph Review: The Batman (2022)

 

What a terribly dull movie The Batman turned out to be! On some level, it's practically fascinating how directorial hubris and a total lack of any originality merged together for this huge, but empty and endlessly-lasting film. While initially there was so much focus on Robert Pattinson as Batman, the end result almost has nothing to do with him, neither in a good or a bad way. Instead, he's just there, creeping about, like all other characters in the film apart from one - Selina Kyle (all of the energy in the film goes to Zoë Kravitz playing Selina).

Narratively, the bottom line is that you can't take Se7en and turn it into a movie in the Batman universe by turning the lights off. Furthermore, you can't do it by thinking that the brilliant Se7en is all about a serial killer and dark noir-laced spaces. That is why The Batman takes place throughout the film in very badly lit environments, thinking that it will make it into a dark and brooding, serious movie. But, there's nothing happening in those spaces, apart from time passing (very, very slowly). That is why this approach just made it into a tiresome film that has basically nothing besides Zoë Kravitz.

Two Paragraph Review: The Outfit (2022)

 Like a well-made suit, The Outfit is smooth and looks great the first glance. But, the suit is only as good as the thing that inhabits it below the fabric and all that fine craftsmanship. In the case of this 1950s thriller, that thing inside is without any doubt its main character, Mark Rylance. As a semi-legendary actor even today, Rylance offers a powerful and layered approach in anything he does. This movie is no different.

But, there is a lot more space in that suit. Graham Moore, the movie's director, got his first chance to fill this role and it shows. Too often, the movie is either aimlessly intense or lacking in any meaningful impulse. Also, the incessant need to change gears leads up to a very tiring last third of the film, which even Rylance can't make up for. That is why The Outfit remains a great first attempt, but one that still rings somewhat hollow in the end, remaining more style than substance.

One More Dream - Ambitious and Profound Coming-Of-Age Drama

 

Throughout the numerous phases of the cinematic art, the genre that follows the entrance of children into the world of adults is as fascinating today as it ever was. Known as the coming-of-age genre, it often manages to touch many of us, even if we live very far from the actual location where the film's plot takes place. The same things apply to One More Dream, a touching drama written and directed by Ricky Burchell. It also promises to be a film that captures the highs and the lows of the current generation of young adults in the US.

The film follows Jeremy, who struggles with his own fears and doubts, but is also looking for a way to pursue his dreams. However, an humiliating encounter with a bully sets his life into another rocky and difficult path. On the same journey, however, Jeremy gets a chance to grow and learn, not just from his peers (who are also struggling with their issues - including the same bully) but also other people who are older and who came up in very far-away lands.

All of them are tied by that human desire to love and be loved, as well as to evolve and change. For the current generation, that process is a minefield of negative influences and wayward paths. However, One More Dream shows us that the most important thing is not to give up and let go of people, no matter what.

Ricky Burchell managed to create a dynamic and engaging coming-of-age film. It will reach out not just to those who are young and going through all of this, but those who went through their own similar experiences years ago. In both cases, One More Dream will have a lot to offer to its viewers!

Two Paragraph Review: The Night House (2020)

Most successful modern horror movies that do not follow a super-tight genre guideline come with a special kind of elegant simplicity. Early films from James Wan are bursting with it. Now, David Buckner is showing a similar tendency and The Night House showcases it really well. In a straightforward story of Beth, a woman who loses her husband to suicide only to gradually find out that he might not be completely gone, Buckner elegantly tackles all kinds of fears.

Some of them might point to the unnatural, but others are very much grounded in the real world and its woes. Chief among them is loneliness and the sense of isolation, even when with other people. At the same time, The Night House is also very crafty with its mystery part, which works almost outside of any horror environment. Here as well, Buckner is focused on the tactile nature of things like strange architectural notebooks with potential gateways to some other place. The final excellent element of this great horror film is Rebecca Hall, who does Beth masterfully, yet keeps her very much grounded and believable. The same thing applies to the movie as well.

Two Paragraph Review: Parallel Mothers (2021)

Pedro Almodóvar has this uncanny ability to turn mundane into something extraordinary and also to make it appealing in a very ordinary, straightforward way. Parallel Mothers is another example of that mastery in action, as it brings about a story of two mothers with two babies, having their lives intertwined together after spending time in the delivery ward. At the same time, in the past and the brutal Spanish Civil war, lives cut short by falangist death squads also lie intertwined as well, but as skeletons in mass graves.

Through a tale of the present and the past, Almodóvar makes a very heartfelt movie that is very modest and self-contained in its delivery. But, through the characters, especially the two main female leads, that modest tale becomes very impactful not just when it comes to being a mother, but also when it comes to being a decent human being. We expected nothing short of that from the great and magnificent Almodóvar!

Two Paragraph Review: Red Rocket (2021)

 

It would be easy to label Red Rocket as the spiritual successor of Boogie Nights, but one that takes place in the 2020s. However, this movie is much more than that, as it offers a look into the dark heart of an ordinary guy with some gleaming ambitions and a very empty soul. The story follows the tale of Mikey Saber, a former porn star who comes back to his Texas hometown completely broke and clueless about what to do. There, in the house of his estranged wife and her mom, he is willing to do anything to call himself a success once again.

Sean Baker is a director who is strongly rooted in realism and here as well, he delivers the same, but with such a mesmerizing combination of empathy, comedy, and dark drama that it is hard to look away. The same goes for Simon Rex, who delivers the role of his career so far, blending a goofiness and American street entrepreneurial spirit with a total lack of care for anyone but himself. This combination, along with a super-strong supporting cast of Bree Elrod and Suzanna Son, provides a powerful film that is unimposing and free of judgment. Instead, it is a fantastic testament of a time and a mindset that we will collectively be very much ashamed of in several decades - or at least I hope we will.