Hustle (2022) - Movie Review

Over the lifespan of this blog, what began as me going after Happy Madison films for the sake of cheap shots has gradually resulted in me reconnecting with how much Adam Sandler basically ruled my world as a kid. There’s just something about his socially-awkward, hair-trigger, good-natured schtick that still finds ways to warm my neurodivergent heart. Not that that really applies here, though, as this film has Sandler in one of his more dramatic roles, and as the last few years have shown, he’s as much in his element here as he is with his more memetic deliveries and one-liners.

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) - Movie Review

Back when I looked at the latest Tom & Jerry movie, I made an aside saying that I was looking forward to this feature. Well, after a good few months of reflection, and actually sitting down to rewatch the original for the first time in years, I want to wholeheartedly retract that statement. The original Space Jam is a film that didn’t need to exist in the first place, essentially serving as a feature-length adaptation of a commercial that is itself a highly commercialised product. There is not a single good idea to be found in it as a piece of art, but the reason why it remains watchable to this day is that everyone attached to it is having fun despite what they’ve been brought together to create. That, and the soundtrack is still fire after all these years.

High Flying Bird (2019) - Movie Review

One of the things I really appreciate the medium of cinema for is being able to take subjects and ideas that I probably wouldn’t have thought twice about on this side of the screen, and turn it into something worth being invested in. Subjects like professional sports, about as far from my hobbyist purview as a tea leaf is to the larger workings of the East India Trading Company, and something I’ve looked at in past reviews like Concussion. Not something I take much interest in personally, but with the right filmmaker, I’m willing to give it a second glance. Steven Soderbergh has managed to do just that.