Poker Face (2022) - Movie Review

I picked this film purely for nostalgic reasons, and I don’t mean that in a fond way. Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, The Water Diviner, was one of the first movies I ever reviewed on here way back in December of 2014. That was back when I was still heavily in the phase of obsessing over people who talked about movies, as opposed to obsessing over the movies themselves, and I still had a lot of growing up to do as a writer and just as a person in general. Chances are there are quite a few films from back then that I’d likely have a different take on if I were to write about them today (hell, that has definitely been the case for a few of them, like The Babadook), but Crowe’s first attempt as a director has never struck me as one of those potential examples. So, let’s see how he goes at his second attempt in the chair, and him now writing the script as well.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) - Movie Review

I still don’t think Green Book was that bad.

Admittedly, I haven’t seen it since I reviewed it for FilmInk, and I definitely agree that it did not deserve Best Picture at the Oscars (even with how little I care for the ceremonies, that decision still managed to annoy me)… but I dunno, I didn’t mind the film itself. I have respect for the way the Farrelly brothers deal with disability and societal attitudes towards the ‘stupid’ and ‘crazy’, and I think Peter managed to effectively translate that empathy towards the effects of racism in that film. I mean, I recognise that it’s part of a less-than-ideal tradition in Hollywood concerning such stories, but for what it is, I think it got a worse rap than it ultimately deserved. Only time will tell if his latest will suffer the same fate, but once again, I find myself on the favourable side with his work.

Thor: Love And Thunder (2022) - Movie Review

After languishing as the dark horse of the main four Avengers of the MCU, Thor seems to have found a firm footing and identity thanks to director Taika Waititi. Namely, that he is the comic relief of the team. This has admittedly been a thing with him since the Kenneth Branagh film, but with Taika’s unique brand of social cringe, it effectively smoothed itself out and made for a high point of the already-impressive Phase Three with Thor: Ragnarok. Naturally, much like Christopher McQuarrie sticking around for the more recent Mission: Impossible films, bringing him back for another trip with the space Viking is a good move. And sure enough, it’s most certainly a Taika Waititi film… although I wouldn’t particularly blame certain audiences for wishing it was more than that.