Glass Onion (2022) - 1/5

This movie is starts off fairly strong, but finishes abysmally. The cinematography, costume design, sets, acting, etc. are all top notch but their impact all hinges on the solution to the murder mystery, and the solution here is simultaneously stupid, ignorant, and insulting. The film is also continually horny, and seems to exemplify the thing it’s mocking which is never a good sign. There’s an overt political subtext that overtakes the narrative at a certain point, and in the end many of the carefully laid clues don’t make sense.

Closest comparison: It’s like an attempt at a mystery like Knives Out, as clumsily executed as The King’s Man, with a veneer of Fool’s Gold.

Setting: Mystery
Plot: Mystery
Tone: Mystery

Dune: Part One (2021) - 5/5

This movie is a paragon of adaptation, sticking incredibly closely to the source material and making only the changes necessary to deliver the same emotional beats on the big screen. It is the masterpiece Denis Villeneuve was born to film, making his previous work look like practice by comparison. The few parts I didn’t like or made me uncomfortable were taken directly from the book, which made me feel the same way reading them and instead of being drawbacks only serve to make the film a better adaptation. And it manages to convey convoluted political intrigue with ease, due in no small part to the outstanding acting, which is second only perhaps to the cinematography.

Closest comparison: It’s like Blade Runner by way of Ad Astra.

Setting: Sci-Fi
Plot: Political Intrigue
Tone: Arthouse Drama

Stuber - 4/5

This movie is a delightful version of exactly what it wants to be. It’s funny, of course, but also manages to be better than average across the board. The cinematography is exceptional, at least in a few places, and even though the plot is exactly what we’ve come to expect from a basic action flick, the characters keep the audience invested. Honestly, it’s basically just Dave Bautista and Kumail Nanjiani doing exactly what’s expected from the trailer, and it’s a ton of fun.

Content warning: brief male nudity

Closest comparison: It’s Die Hard by way of Superbad.

Setting: Action
Plot: Buddy cop
Tone: Action Comedy

Hotel Artemis - 3/5

The look and feel of this movie are fantasic. It's a master class in old meets new with a realistic, grungy world that has high-tech elements woven seamlessly into it. The acting is also great and the actors all did some of their better work. The whole thing just needed to be 20 minutes longer. Most of the story lines don't get adequately resovled, and the audience has to infer the fate of several characters. I would really like to give this one a 4/5, and if they release an extended director's cut on DVD it may get there. But as it is, the last half is disappointingly short for all the cool things they set up and didn't pay off.

Blade Runner 2049 - 2/5

It has great cinematography, but way too much nudity. There's a lot of grit, but with no payoff. You know there's a problem with a movie when you can completely remove the main antagonist without changing the plot. There are several plot points brought up that made me ask, "This is interesting. How is this going to resolve?" The answer was invariably, "It won't".

Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 - 3/5

First off, the good: lots of beautiful visuals and some great character moments with tertiary characters. The opening sequence is fantastic, and if the whole movie was like that it might have been a 5. Unfortunately, most of the humor in the film is mean-spirited, which for me is intolerable. And for a movie that is relying largely on the humor it's just painful.