I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a 2020 film directed and written by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Jessie Plemons and Jessie Buckley. It follows a girl as she accompanied her boyfriend to his parents house, over time however, it’s revealed that there’s more than meets the eye with their entire trip. I feel very conflicted about this movie. On one hand, it’s got some unique ideas, and some pretty good dialogue, but on the other hand, it’s poorly paced, and although the dialogue is good, it’s also incessant and goes on far too long.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things follows Lucy and Jake, a newly formed couple that decides to take a trip and visit Jake’s parents in their rural home. All the while however Lucy wishes to break up with Jake. Over time however, some supernatural occurrences begin happening, as Jake’s parents rapidly age, and Lucy seems familiar with various people she meets. It has a twist ending that, although foreshadowed at, is very unclear and unsatisfying.

For starters, I actually liked the dialogue in this movie. I was worried it was going to be amateurish due to the reviews, it thankfully isn’t. It feels very realistic, and very relatable. Characters talk about existentialism and growing older, as well as societal norms and how humanity would rather suck up our problems rather than address them directly. There’s also some cool scenes where Kaufman utilizes Jake’s parents aging at rapidly different rates. Such as Jake’s dad being a senile old man in one scene, and a young handy father in the next.

However, this film is really terribly paced. There’s an entire half an hour at the start of the film where Jake and Lucy are literally just taking in the car. Although the dialogue is pretty good, it can’t hold this entire film up, and it feels very different than some of Kaufman’s other films, which just feel more refined and professional.

Overall, I’m Thinking of Ending Things doesn’t feel like any of Charlie Kaufman’s other films, and it’s really a disappointment for me. I can’t recommend it and it’s not that good.

The Devil all the Time is a 2020 movie directed by Antonio Campos starring Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson. It follows a southern man as he goes on the run from killing a corrupt preacher. This movie is ok. It has a relatable and likable lead protagonist, as well as some interesting villains, however the action is fairly terrible and the whole movie feels like a poor imitation of a Coen brothers film.

The Devil all the Time follows a couple of different stories in Ohio and West Virginia right after World War 2 and right before Vietnam. First, there’s Willard Russels story. He returns from World War 2, gets married, and has a child named Arvin. However, after he and his wife die, Arvin becomes the main character of the story. There’s also a corrupt sheriff named Lee, who has a sister that kidnaps hitchhikers with her husband and murders them. After Arvin murders a corrupt preacher who sexually assaulted and led to the suicide of his sister, he is forced to go on the run, and ends up interacting with all the other characters and their stories.

I really liked how we learned about each of the characters before they interacted with each other. It makes the scenes more than just a chance encounter when we know who each character is. Additionally, the contrast between Arvin being a good man just trying to do the right thing, and every other person in the story trying to bring him down and corrupt him was interesting, and it made me like the character of Arvin. I felt like I knew him, and his actions throughout the film felt very realistic given that I knew his past and upbringing. Also, I loved Robert Pattinson in this movie. He plays a creepy preacher who causes Arvin’s sister to commit suicide. My eyes were glued to him whenever he was on screen, and I felt they killed him off a little too soon.

Speaking of killing, the action in this movie, for the most part, is pretty terrible. Although the scene where Arvin beats up the bullies is actually pretty good, the other action scenes are pretty awful. This movie is clearly taking inspiration from a film like No Country for Old Men. However, in that film, the directors stretch out the tension as much as they possibly can before releasing it when character finally start shooting at each other. The Devil all the Time missed that memo. Characters shoot at each other with little to no buildup. There’s no tension, very little shock factor, and frankly, the shootouts are boring in this movie. With perhaps the exception of the final shootout between Lee and Arvin, as in that scene they actually do build up tension somewhat.

Overall, this film feels like No Country for Old Men lite. However, it’s simply not as good. It’s got good villains but not anyone that rivals Anton Chigurh, and the protagonist, although good, can’t hold up this whole movie. It’s painfully average, and there are much better movies worth watching.

The End of Evangelion is a 1997 movie following the events of the show Neon Genesis Evangelion, which I reviewed yesterday. This movie is incredibly weird and surreal, and although it fleshes out the universe of the Evangelions a lot more than the show, it has a very confusing ending, and it seemingly disregards the ending of the show.

The End of Evangelion takes place immediately after the show, and it follows Shinji and his fellow pilots being attacked by an organization called SEELE, which is essentially the Illuminati. Their goal is to unite all of humanity into one soul, thus fixing all the problems of our world, at the cost of losing corporeal form and individuality. Shinji is the key to this, and at one point he does unite all of humanity, but later reverts the decision, and returns humanity to their bodies. It’s a very biblical plot, and the second half of the movie feels like the ending of 2001 with dialogue.

This movie is fairly epic. It incorporates biblical allusions with allegories of depression, and pairs them with some excellent animation and stunning visuals. It truly feels like a revelation when humanity is united as one body and soul at the end of the film, and thankfully, the movie does a better job of explaining just what the heck is happening in the world of Evangelion. It also portrays Shinji as a very different character, a darker, more weak willed character who is later redeemed at the end of the story.

End of Evangelion has an incredibly strange ending. The human race unites and becomes one, only to be split apart again due to the actions of Shinji. Apparently, the show’s ending and the movie’s ending are supposed to be different timelines, with the movie’s having a much darker timeline. The movie ruins Shinji’s character arc from the show, and seems to have almost completely different characters in the way some of them behave. It’s a little jarring and it almost feels like they aren’t the same people.

Overall, I liked how the End Of Evangelion cleared up quite a bit of the universe of the show, however it does kind of ruin the show’s ending a bit, and it’s overall a very surreal film. That being said, if you’re a fan of the show this movie is worth watching.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a 1995 anime, that is commonly regarded as the first anime that is also art. It follows the typical giant robots v. monsters trope that you see in a lot of other similar shows, however the show also functions as an allegory for depression and mental health. Overall, the battles and character design of this show is excellent, and the story epic as well, however, it’s communicated very poorly to the audience.

Neon Genesis Evangelion follows Shinji Ikari, a wimpy high school student who’s selected to pilot an Evangelion, or a robot designed to defend earth from creatures called “Angels.” Over time however, it’s revealed that there are many secrets and connections between both the angels and Evangelions, as well as the angels and humanity itself.

First off, the battles in this show are pretty fantastic. It does a great job of putting into the claustrophobic perspective of being within an Evangelion. The design of the robots and the machinery themselves is delved into throughout the show, and it’s incredibly satisfying to watch. Additionally, some of the angel designs are fascinating, with some being mysterious, while others are terrifying. Neon Genesis Evangelion also has a host of biblical allusions. This is because within the universe takes place in, humanity is not the rightful successor to earth, rather the angels are. Angels are from a creature called Adam, whole humanity, and in turn Evangelions are from a creature called Eve. Having a biblical aspect to this show makes it unique, and elevated it beyond the typical Robots v. Monsters genre that it falls in.

Additionally, the show accurately portrays depression and psychological trauma throughout many of its battles. For example, in the fight against my favorite angel from the series, Arael, one of the pilots of the Evangelions is subjected to this attack that brings up intense childhood trauma and psychological pain. In fact, the show follows the arc of the creator’s own depression, and it makes the show feel very human because of it.

The ending of the show however, is very surreal. After defeating the final angel, who was disguised as a human pilot, Shinji and his friends are interrogated by the government. They’re asked questions such as, “why do you pilot an Eva?” The responses are actually quite heartbreaking as each child is psychoanalyzed and has their faults and weaknesses brought up. Shinji pilots the Eva simply to get people to like him, and the show ends with him essentially gaining self-respect and realizing he has worth as human being besides an Eva pilot. It’s a very, very, strange ending, and it leaves a lot of questions, which are apparently answered in the movie, “the End of Evangelion.” In fact, I am planning to watch that tonight. However, although Neon Genesis has a very intricate and multi-layered story, it does a terrible job conveying it to the audience. More than once I had to scour the wiki in order to find answers. If you’re simply looking for a dumb fun show to binge, this is not it. This is a brutal, depressing, complicated show that feels like Mulholland drive with giant robots. You really have to pay attention when watching this show, and frankly it can feel a little annoying with how unclear it is sometimes.

Overall, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a very good show. I loved the design, battles, biblical allusions, and depression allegories featured throughout the show. I just wish it could’ve given the audience a straighter plot.

Being John Malkovich is a 1999 film directed by Spike Jonze, and written by Charlie Kaufman. It stars John Cusack and Catherine Keener. This is a very strange film people who discover a portal into famous actor John Malkovich’s mind. This is one of Charlie Kaufman’s best films, and I really liked it.

Being John Malkovich follows Craig Schwartz, a complete loser in life with a passion for being a puppeteer, who lives with his girlfriend who’s a veterinarian. After taking a strange job on floor 7 1/2 of an office building, he meets his femme fatale coworker Maxine. Soon after, he finds a door in the building that lets anyone experience the life of John Malkovich in real time. Craig and Maxine then go on to found a business letting people experience being John Malkovich. Things get complicated however, when both Craig’s wife, John Malkovich itself, and a cult of people who inhabit other bodies all get involved.

Being John Malkovich is excellent. It’s hilarious, it’s thoughtful, and it touches on some unique themes, that are similarly touched on in other Charlie Kaufman films. The dynamic and clear power difference between Maxine and Craig is quite funny at times, with Maxine clearly manipulating Craig while he’s simply infatuated with her. Additionally, this movie ponders what it is that keeps us from our dreams, and how we tend to only love one aspect of a person, instead of loving them as a whole. Craig is an excellent puppeteer, however his skill is only recognized when he’s inhabiting Malkovich. Similarly, Maxine falls in love with John Malkovich, but only if Craig’s wife is inhabiting him at the moment. There’s a lot to analyze in this film and I found it really interesting to try and decipher some of the themes and messages found within.

One thing that felt rather needless to me was the introduction of the “mind transporting cult” that ends up living in Malkovich at the end of the film. They really don’t seem to serve a purpose, and although funny at times, made the movie a lot more confusing, at least to me.

Overall, Being John Malkovich is a weird film that deserves your attention. Charlie Kaufman should be more famous, and this movie is undoubtedly one of his best.

Spectre is a 2015 film directed by Sam Mendes, and starring Daniel Craig with Léa Seydoux. It follows James Bond as he takes down a secret organization that has up until now, been the architect of all Bond’s troubles. Sadly, this Bond film doesn’t live up to the previous one, and it’s a notable downgrade from Skyfall.

Specter follows James Bond soon after the events of Skyfall. He soon discovers a shadowy organization called Spectre, that’s been behind all the previous movie’s problems. He later discovers that the person behind Spectre is none other than his half brother Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Together with his old enemy’s daughter Madeleine, he takes down Spectre.

First off, this Bond film has great action, and easily some of the best action scenes in the whole series. There are a lot of memorable scenes such as the opening one shot take during the day of the dead in Mexico, or the scene where Bond chases a car with a plane in the Austrian alps. Additionally, the organization of Spectre itself is really interesting. At one point Bond infiltrates a secret meeting in Rome, and spies on their shadowy dealings. The general air of mystery about Spectre was fascinating to me, and seeing how vast the organization was made them feel like a formidable adversary.

However, Spectre also has a lot of flaws. For starters, it has a really forgettable and silly villain, as well as an annoying Bond girl. I love Christoph Waltz, and I was very excited to hear that he was in this film. However, he’s underused severely, and frankly he just isn’t that scary. Christoph Waltz is an amazing actor, but he really wasn’t given the time or writing to really make a good character. Also, the Bond girl here, Madeleine Swann, is really annoying, and seems like she’s in a bad mood all the time. Also, this movie doesn’t seem as unique as sky fall, in that it kinda feels like they just tried to fulfill a checklist of everything a Bond film needs. It sometimes feels like it lacks soul.

Overall, Spectre is a pretty big disappointment. They had a lot of opportunities to do make a great movie, and they failed on most of them. It’s worth watching, but it’s definitely not as good as Skyfall.

Britannia Season 1 came out in 2018, and it stars Kelly Reilly and Eleanor Worthinton Cox. It follows the Celtic tribes as they deal with the second Roman invasion of Britain. Overall, Britannia has a lot of potential. It’s got a great setting, some interesting spiritual elements, and an excellent villain. However, it is held back at times by a bit of an identity crisis, and some very hit or miss characters.

Britannia follows Cait, a Celtic peasant forced on the run after The Romans slaughter her family. Along the way she has encounters with various druids and tribal queens, and eventually finds out she is the child of a prophecy concerning the arrival of the Romans.

My absolute favorite aspect of Britannia is it’s villain, Aulus Plautius, or the Roman general who led the second invasion or Britannia. David Morrissey is an incredibly underrated actor, and he’s amazing in this. He’s incredibly charismatic, yet also unpredictable and even scary at times. He also clearly inspires morale in his men throughout the show, and seems like an incredibly formidable threat. Beyond Aulus, there are a handful of other memorable characters. There’s Divis, an insane outcast Druid who has the niche ability to hypnotize people using pebbles, and Kerra, the defiant newly elected queen of the Cantii tribe, and Veran, the ancient lead Druid. Speaking of Druids, a really cool aspect about this show is how it integrates the Celtic religion into the plot (albeit not terribly realistically but still.) some characters can also use magic, and it makes for some hilarious moments.

Britannia is not without it’s flaws however. A big problem with this film is that it seems to have a sort of identity crisis. It can’t make up it’s mind wether it’s trying to be a zany historical drama or a brutally serious one. It’s a bit jarring at times and it makes this show feel a little weird. Thankfully however, the trailers for the second season seem to be hinting at more humor in the second season. Additionally, a lot of the characters in Britannia are poorly written. They’re boring and I didn’t even know the names of some of the characters until the last episode. Also, why is the Roman armor leather!? Lorica Segmentata armor was very cheap to make, and it makes no sense to have it made out of leather.

Overall, Britannia displays a lot of potential, and I’m excited for season 2 this October, however, season 1, at least in my opinion, doesn’t live up to other similar shows’ first seasons like Vikings or The Last Kingdom.

Skyfall is a 2012 film directed by Sam Mendes and starring Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, and Javier Bardem. It follows James Bond as he takes on a dangerous rogue agent from MI6’s past, as well as demons from his own past. This is regarded as one of the greatest Bond ever, as it featured great action, one of the best villains of the series, and a pretty epic main theme by Adele.

Skyfall follows a damaged and grizzled James Bond, a far cry from the slick and confident one audiences met in Casino Royale. After being wounded in action by a fellow agent, Bond falls into alcoholism and leaves MI6, with them all believing him to be dead. However, he is forced to come back when Silva, a rogue MI6 agent comes back and seeks revenge. Bond must then confront Silva, as well as his own personal demons at his ancestral family home, Skyfall.

This is the best of the Daniel Craig Bond films. Up until Skyfall, Bond’s humanity has really never been explored. This film makes Bond seem more like an actual damaged human being, instead of a slick womanizing super-spy. Additionally, Skyfall has one of the absolute best Bond villains ever with Raoul Silva. Javier Bardem plays an ex MI6 agent who went rogue after his superior, M, possibly gave him up to be captured and tortured. He’s unique and unpredictable. One moment he’ll pull out his prosthetic jaw to reveal cyanide burns, while in the next he may try and turn Bond gay. He’s interestingly written and very well acted. There’s also a cool contrast between old and new in this movie. Bond is referred to as being off his game due to leaving MI6 temporarily, which contrasts nicely with his new quartermaster, a very young inventor. Additionally, the end of the movie takes place at Bond’s ancient ancestral family home in Scotland, Skyfall. It’s a cool underlying theme, and it makes the movie feel very smart compared to some of the dumber James Bond movies such as moonraker.

The one thing I wish they did with this movie is better explain Bond’s past. It seems like he’s going to have to confront his personal demons from his parent’s death but nothing ever comes of it. They’re even building up to it, by having him freeze when he hears the word “Skyfall” during a therapy analysis session. In fact, the audience doesn’t know or find out what trauma happened in Bond’s past. Characters make allusions to it, saying “how old were you when it happened?” Or “He hid here for two days when they died.” But it feels pointless and a bit disappointing that the audience never finds out what happened to Bond, and that he never has to confront his demons.

Skyfall is a great film, and it is much better than it’s predecessor Quantum of Solace. Although it’s not the absolute best Bond film of all time, it probably falls into the top 5, and deserves to be seen.

Looper is a 2012 film directed by Rian Johnson, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. It follows a hitman from the past who is hired to kill criminals from the future. This movie is really underrated, and it uses it’s time travel scenario to the fullest extent with some unique ideas.

Looper takes place in 2044. In this dystopian version of America, hit men called loopers are tasked with killing people sent back in time 30 years from the future, as it’s very hard to get away with murder in the future. However, every once in a while, the people from the future will send back an ex-looper to be killed by themselves from the past. This is known as “closing your loop,”and it essentially means a looper only has 30 years to live. A ruthless crime boss from the future, known only as the Rainmaker, is killing off loopers by sending them back in time. He does this to a looper named Joe, however, the future version of Joe escapes before he can be shot by his past self. The future version then goes on to try and hunt down the rainmaker when he is still a child. This leads to a conflict between both the past and future versions of Joe opposing each other.

The movie has a really interesting premise, and it makes the most of it. There is an absolutely horrifying scene where a future looper is being killed off piece by piece in order to lure him into a trap. Another unique scene granted by this premise is how the audience sees a young Joe (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt,) age into an older Joe, (played by Bruce Willis) over the course of a 30 year montage. Additionally, the acting in this movie, from both versions of Joe, is fantastic. They seem like the same character, and the makeup on Joseph Gordon-Levitt is incredible. Bruce Willis even apparently said in an interview that he noticed Joseph Gordon-Levitt doing tiny behavior quirks that he does with his language. Overall, this movie is very smartly written, and very well acted.

The one thing I really didn’t like about Looper was the antagonist. I’m not talking about the older version of Joe, I mean the true antagonist, the Rainmaker. First off, I was a little disappointed that we as an audience never get to see the older version of the Rainmaker. He’s hyped up as being this brutally effective and mysterious boss, but he’s never shown, at least not as an adult. He is, however, shown as a kid, and he’s really annoying. He’s smart, but kind of rude to everyone, and it doesn’t make any sense that younger Joe suddenly starts caring for this kid after a single interaction involving him passing a screwdriver, and then Joe sleeping with his mom once. The kid is really unlikable, and I found myself wanting older Joe to shoot him in some scenes.

That being said, Looper is a very smart and interesting movie. It’s got a unique premise, some great acting, and some excellent scenes. It never fails to amaze me how Rian Johnson makes movies like this and Knives Out one year, but then an abysmal train wreck called the Last Jedi another year.

Casino Royale is a 2006 movie directed by Martin Campbell. It is the first of the Daniel Craig Bond films, and it follows James Bond as he must infiltrate a high stakes poker game in order to apprehend a banker for terrorist organizations. This movie is very good, and although it doesn’t feel like the classic Bond films, it thankfully brought the character into the modern era, and revitalized the series.

Casino Royale follows James Bond, this time portrayed by Daniel Craig, as he acquires his license to kill, and is sent to take on Le Chiffre, a sort of banker for terrorist organizations. When Le Chiffre loses the money given to him by the terror organizations, he attempts to win it back by staging a high stakes poker game. Bond must then infiltrate and win the poker game in order to foil Le Chiffre’s plans.

This is an excellent bond film. It has a charming and charismatic 007, a mysterious Bond-girl, and fairly terrifying villain portrayed by the incredible Mads Mikkelsen. Prior to this movie, the only movie that made poker seem this cool was the Sting. The scenes where Bond is playing against Le Chiffre are surprisingly intense, and very well directed. What’s also nice about this movie, is that even if you don’t understand how to play poker, characters such as Vesper talk about it in such a way that the audience can understand what’s going on. It’s also nice that unlike the previous Pierce Brosnan Bond films, which were at time way too silly and campy, this film takes itself very seriously. There are no scenes of Bond surfing on a piece of airplane in this movie. This film feels very realistic, and it’s a nice change of pace. Granted, that also means that at times it doesn’t even feel like a true Bond film, because it does lack some of the funnier aspects the Sean Connery ones had while also remaining serious.

Another aspect I noticed about this film is the glaring plot flaw. Although I don’t usually select these to discuss in movies, this one is so obvious it’s really hard to ignore. There’s no purpose to Bond going to the Casino to win against La Chiffre because there’s literally nothing stopping Bond from bringing him in then and there. La Chiffre has no protection, he’s desperate, and he’s completely exposed out of hiding. This plot flaw really undermines the film, and it stands out in what is otherwise a pretty perfect film.

Overall, despite it’s different, more serious tone compared to other Bond films, it nonetheless is a stellar spy movie, and one that absolutely deserves fans attention.