Obdurate
Bio: I have a twitter: https://twitter.com/flickmetictyler
I even occasionally tweet.
Here's a big long empty space to symbolize the void in my soul.
Anything 51 and up is a recommendation, meaning you aren't wasting your time seeing it. Anything between 51-79 ranges from mediocre to very good. Anything 80+ is what I call a "Great Movie" and it's a must-see and is awesome to various degrees. Anything that's a 50 is something that I'm a fence sitter on (meaning I'm too useless to actually be able to make up my god damn mind) so it could go either way. 49 and under means you should avoid. Under 10 means I was probably raped by the movie or, at the very least, fondled. Despite the effort I've put into explaining my rating system, numbers are fairly often chosen at random (well, maybe my gut feeling) so I might actually like a movie I rated 75 more than an 85, I just really can't be bothered to go back and constantly re-do my ratings.
I even occasionally tweet.
Here's a big long empty space to symbolize the void in my soul.
Anything 51 and up is a recommendation, meaning you aren't wasting your time seeing it. Anything between 51-79 ranges from mediocre to very good. Anything 80+ is what I call a "Great Movie" and it's a must-see and is awesome to various degrees. Anything that's a 50 is something that I'm a fence sitter on (meaning I'm too useless to actually be able to make up my god damn mind) so it could go either way. 49 and under means you should avoid. Under 10 means I was probably raped by the movie or, at the very least, fondled. Despite the effort I've put into explaining my rating system, numbers are fairly often chosen at random (well, maybe my gut feeling) so I might actually like a movie I rated 75 more than an 85, I just really can't be bothered to go back and constantly re-do my ratings.
Recent Ratings
Check out Obdurate's...
| 80 67% | Anora (2024) - Rated 17 Dec 2024
"It flirts more with the genres it's labeled as rather than fully embracing them. While the events themselves are crazy, Baker occasionally allows TOO much time, taking some of the sting out of what's happening. Some editing down wouldn't have hurt the characterization/plot. But Mikey Madison was wonderful here. Its ridiculousness is still really entertaining. It just won't stick with me like it will others."
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| 70 41% | The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024) - Rated 17 Dec 2024
"While the animation is rightly criticized for being choppy sometimes, there's still beauty in how the world and the battle is framed. Héra being the bride at the end was a nice visual spectacle. Action's okay. I know the story isn't much but I liked it. Characters were written well enough to care."
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| 80 67% | Small Things Like These (2024) - Rated 16 Dec 2024
"What I appreciate most about this is how it could have been filled with bombastic outbursts, and yet it chose a different route. We watch Murphy's Bill struggle quietly with a difficult decision for an entire movie. This hyper specific approach is somber and meaningful, even for someone unfamiliar with the source material. It does a good enough job showing us how menacing the situation was, without spelling it all out every second. Great ending. Great performance from Murphy."
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| 65 30% | Red One (2024) - Rated 12 Dec 2024
"With the cast and budget it should have been more than it was, but it's entertaining. Some of the CGI is just straight up ugly, and I don't usually comment on that. But I dig the premise and the way it plays around with the Santa mythology. I wish Krampas didn't get beat up so easily at the end, and the action was a little hokey at times. But it was relatively funny and heartfelt. Not an original message, but one that's nice to hear."
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| 90 91% | Look Back (2024) - Rated 11 Dec 2024
"With its short runtime, it respects the viewer's time, using every single second to further a tight narrative that explores heavy themes like friendship, grief and art. Simplistic story but profound, relatable. Beautiful animation. Wonderful script. Potent music usage. The twist about halfway through shook me to my core like it did Fujino. I don't know that drawing has ever been so compelling in a movie before. At least not recently. Heartfelt, powerful stuff."
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| 75 54% | Here (2024) - Rated 04 Dec 2024
"Might be getting old and sentimental. Sure, it's messy. The boxes on screen sometimes make awkward transitions, some of the dialogue is hokey and it's a bit contrived having everything take place in one room. The ending is a little too sappy. And yet, seeing families live in a single space, through time, seeing how one piece of land/house can be so impactful with the history created in there, that spoke to me. And few movies this year succeed so hard in making an object the central character."
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| 45 12% | Frankie Freako (2024) - Rated 03 Dec 2024
"Really disappointed by this. Psycho Goreman was clever and hilarious even though the action sequences were bland. This has bland action sequences but lacks the wittiness in the script to make up for all of that. I may have chuckled once and there's a moment or two where I could see the PG cleverness, but it was extremely rare. This is so inconsequential and it upsets me."
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| 75 54% | Mononoke Movie: Paper Umbrella (2024) - Rated 29 Nov 2024
"Benefits greatly from its animation: the 2D Japanese painting mixed with 3D models is just astounding to look at and gives this an otherworldly and ancient feeling. Underneath the visuals is a solid mystery, dealing with philosophy and mythology. I'm not really familiar with a bunch of it but it's interesting all the same. The Medicine Seller is just a cool character in general. It doesn't catch me on an emotional level but it's thoroughly entertaining."
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| 85 81% | Conclave (2024) - Rated 28 Nov 2024
"Berger's direction is wonderful. Great usage of colour and inspired framing make this a beautiful film to look at. But then you also have Fiennes doing stellar work, with a solid backing cast. Mostly well written script though sometimes the pace faulters and the central mystery isn't as compelling as one might assume. But this film is heavy as it deals with politics and faith/doubt. I cringed a bit at the twist, but then as it got unpacked, it made a lot of sense. It was potent, even."
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| 95 97% | Watchmen: Chapter 2 (2024) - Rated 28 Nov 2024
"Like Part One, this is a wonderful adaptation of the source material. Everything that was true in One is true in Two, only this benefits from having that classic "I did it 35 minutes ago" bit and just an absolute banger of a final act in general. Everything across the board is great. The mystery and conclusion is still satisfying after all these years. Solid writing brings these characters to life and adds a lot of emotional heft to it."
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