Writer. Library person. First in the world to platinum Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two on PS3.
“Do you want to continue?”
A fitting ending to a series of consistent comedy returns that finally nails the tonal dance routine they’ve been doing since The Trip.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “My partner says our relationship is exactly like Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s in these movies, but I say that’s absurd. We don’t have nearly the amount of sexual chemistry that they do.”
“The bottom line is, we’re all prisoners of the universe.”
An endearing, gorgeous, at times hilarious and weird epic that’s as concerned with the journeys of its central characters as it is with the hyper development and modernization of a country.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Being a low-tier member in a group of gangsters seems pretty chill, for the most part, and it may lead to a cinematic journey of soul searching for me and my destined counterpart so I fully support it as a career path.”
“How do we know when it’s finished? | At one point, we stop.”
A romance at once somber, dreamlike, and mythic that uses the social restrictions of the period to tell a beautiful (if bittersweet) forward-thinking story. Yeah, my fave of the year so far.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “I’m just going to talk about the sound and use of music now. Prominent sound and, especially, music (all non-diegetic) only features in a few curated moments. Otherwise, we only hear the loud cracks of a fireplace or waves under the cliffs to illustrate one character’s separation from community and intimacy. When we hear music, we savor it like she does and look forward to our next opportunity to hear it. This is a mere sampling of the sensory experience Celine Sciamma and company create with this piece. Dope!”
“And that is why you should never partake in paying federal income taxes.”
An anarchic, fringe, Gotham Grungy team-up feature that has some of the finest practical (and practical-looking) fight choreography I’ve seen since whatever John Wick we’re on now and can just have fun and say “fuck” whenever it wants.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “I just wanted more of absolutely everything—especially the teaming up. Everyone is a kick-ass, leg breaking delight with great chemistry. I also want an egg sandwich.”
“Terrible job, sir!”
The Star Wars movies have almost always been wildly and lovingly inconsistent, so let’s all just chillaxamundo and enjoy this fairly satisfying Star War spectacular that gives us some of the best C-3PO sass lines of this or any generation.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Not as good as anything any of us watched when we were children filled with hope and optimism.”
“Did anyone promise you would live forever?”
An excellent dark fantasy that stands on the shoulders of a horror masterpiece, reveling in its legacy and aesthetic while still creating something new, if not masterful.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Spoilers, but Jacob Tremblay shows up and is almost immediately ritually murdered by being carved open and its one of the most effective ritual child murders I’ve seen because he is good at acting and really sells that he’s being ritually murdered.”
“I fibbed a little about not killing you.”
A dark, punk comedy where each character is just so damn likable that you don’t mind any of the cracked and heinous shit they’re doing.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “I wouldn’t mind being murdered so much if the killers were polite and filled with folksy wisdom about relationships.”
“How am I alive?”
An epilogue I didn’t know I needed that rounds out this long journey of toy sentience in all kinds of emotionally and existentially satisfying ways.
My VHS cover pull-quote: “Woody watches the hands of his most recent god literally craft life from nothing and it nearly swallows his fragile sanity.”
“Be seeing you.”
Another impressive video game gauntlet that continuously asks the age-old question of how can John Wick get out of this one? in inventive, bloody ways. Now with battle dogs!
My VHS cover pull-quote: “The greatest bits in the first John Wick were the nods to a greater mythology and world of assassins behind a simple revenge plot. Now we are steeped in that grand mythos, which — while interesting — sometimes threatens to impede the kinetic pacing of these things. Either way, I’ll still watch JW Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…”
“On your left.”
A slight step down creatively from Infinity War but still absolutely everything it needed to be to get people cheering, blubbering, arguing, screaming, losing their minds, abandoning all hope, and shivering with fear unsure of what comes next in their lives in their theater seats.
My VHS Cover Pull-Quote: “Wanda Maximoff could have done this all on her own.”
Nick Perilli