Nightcrawler - 4/5

This movie is a tense, slow burn thriller about a sort of decent into madness, though not nearly as precipitously as many of its peers. Its drama is nuanced and visceral, as is its social commentary which avoids sweeping clichés in favor of astute observations about the human condition. But because the story surrounds such an extreme personality the film avoids being preachy or overbearing in its messaging, settling into a niche that’s simultaneously ‘fascination of other’ and ‘familiar relatability’.

Closest comparison: It’s like Network by way of Joker (2019).

Setting: Corporate Drama
Plot: Descent into Madness
Tone: Suspense Thriller

Okja (Netflix) - 1/5

This film is a disgusting propaganda piece with excellent production values. It launches an avalanche of buzzword premises that are arguable at best, and then draws exclusively a priori conclusions. None of the protagonists are particularly likable and the antagonists are over-the-top caricatures of imaginary villains. There’s no substance to this movie beyond its overt political statements and those are thoroughly invalid at every level of analysis. Also the special effects are quite good.

Closest comparison: It’s like Mighty Joe Young by way of Meet Your Meat.

Setting: Jet Set Action
Plot: Rescue Adventure
Tone: Tragedy

Spider-Man: Far from Home - 3/5

Sure, there’s fun action and it’s great to see Mysterio on the big screen. Unfortunately, the editing is so choppy that the scenes feel like they’re jumping around. There’s not really anything new in the plot, but instead it’s just another Spider-Man story. I don’t know how they made such interesting content as boring as they did, but somehow they managed it. It’s not that it’s bad, it’s just not up to the Marvel standard.

Closest comparison: It’s somewhere between Thor (2011) and The Incredible Hulk (2008).

Setting: Road Trip
Plot: Superhero
Tone: Standard Action

Velvet Buzzsaw (Netflix) - 3/5

This movie’s production values are very high, so if you like the subject matter more than I did you’ll probably love the film. It has great acting all around, with a funny script that delivers biting satire of the art industry. That coupled with the supernatural horror elements makes this an absolutely unique experience. Lots of weirdness coupled with intermittent gore and some sex will keep this from rising above cult classic status, like much of the John Carpenter backlog. Still, it’s much better than the majority of its peers and avoids the slowness that plagues many Netflix endeavors.

Closest Comparison: It’s as if David Lynch directed a John Carpenter movie.

Setting: Drama
Plot: Horror
Tone: Drama, then Horror

Life - 3/5

This is a fascinating mix of interesting ideas and problematic elements. It's very well filmed and acted, and it's a great new(ish) concept they explore. All the deaths are very painful-looking and there's lots of suspense (and a surprising amount of blood). So if those elements aren't really your thing, then definitely skip this one. I was expecting it to feel like a cross between Alien and Sunshine, but it just ended up feeling like The Mist.