move over sinners — one battle after another just ate your lunch.

as of the time of this review, it’s leo’s, PTA’s, sean penn’s, and benicio del toro’s top rated movie on flick which is not at all surprising — I had a BLAST watching this and discussing it afterwards

plus: this movie does something I haven’t seen any other movie do, and even if the rest of it sucked I’d adore it for that one aspect alone: it depicts a leftist struggle against a modern enemy in a realistic yet hopeful way. for a movie about such grim subject matter, we fully acknowledge the strength of the oppressive forces at play, and yet celebrate the impact of organizing, community activism, and loving thy neighbor. where most movies choose superhero fairytales or ultra-grim reality, one battle after another actually makes you want to get involved :)

therefore:

best messaging of the year? definitely
funniest of the year? yeah, actually
best action of the year? nah, but it’s up there (warfare exists)
best acting of the year? 100%

best pacing of the year? uhhh, best pacing of the decade, maybe? this thing is 2 hrs 42 mins and doesn’t drag for a single minute, never overstaying it’s welcome in any scene, holding tension for just long enough before breaking it with action or genuinely laugh out loud comedy

I knew nothing about this movie save for the poster, and boy did I think I was in for a western. although now that I think about it, it 100% is a modern western lmao. <— leaving that real-time revelation in there

if you know nothing about this movie, keep it that way. you’ll love it unless you’re, uhhh, ummm, yanno... unenlightened

sean penn? crushes — he’s so perfectly twisted and nails every aspect of his character: from his vocal delivery of his opening lines to his trademark saunter and facial twitches to his teary eyed corner office. I can’t picture this movie with anyone else playing his role — this isn’t out of some deeply held respect for sean penn, he just does so well I can’t imagine another person having played steven j lockjaw (great name). plus he’s vascular as fuck at age 65??? bro chill with the forearms my gf is watching

benicio? take a bow my sensei. imagine bullet train brad pitt but praxis coded. plus bro always has a beer for leo. ocean waves, yall!

and leo??? the funniest he’s ever been, homie! his paranoid hermit drug addict character was written so well, and he nails the delivery and mannerisms. when he asks the two mexican dudes where the “malo white guy” went, the whole “what time is it?” whackaround, when willa’s friends pick her up for prom — all genuinely laugh out loud moments

huge bonus points for no spanish to english subtitles. it’s time to learn a basic level of spanish kids, it’s required for the revolution and this movie is the bar

more bonus points for the christmas adventurers club not being too realistic. it’s the kind of thing that you believe exists, but I appreciated that they kept the levity and vagueness when depicting it. lmfao now i just remembered that first scene in their bunker with all the corpo-speak LOL what a movie please watch it viva la revolucion

move over sinners — one battle after another just ate your lunch.

as of the time of this review, it’s leo’s, PTA’s, sean penn’s, and benicio del toro’s top rated movie on flick which is not at all surprising — I had a BLAST watching this and discussing it afterwards

plus: this movie does something I haven’t seen any other movie do, and even if the rest of it sucked I’d adore it for that one aspect alone: it depicts a leftist struggle against a modern enemy in a realistic yet hopeful way. for a movie about such grim subject matter, we fully acknowledge the strength of the oppressive forces at play, and yet celebrate the impact of organizing, community activism, and loving thy neighbor. where most movies choose superhero fairytales or ultra-grim reality, one battle after another actually makes you want to get involved :)

therefore:

best messaging of the year? definitely
funniest of the year? yeah, actually
best action of the year? nah, but it’s up there (warfare exists)
best acting of the year? 100%

best pacing of the year? uhhh, best pacing of the decade, maybe? this thing is 2 hrs 42 mins and doesn’t drag for a single minute, never overstaying it’s welcome in any scene, holding tension for just long enough before breaking it with action or genuinely laugh out loud comedy

I knew nothing about this movie save for the poster, and boy did I think I was in for a western. although now that I think about it, it 100% is a modern western lmao. <— leaving that real-time revelation in there

if you know nothing about this movie, keep it that way. you’ll love it unless you’re, uhhh, ummm, yanno... unenlightened

sean penn? crushes — he’s so perfectly twisted and nails every aspect of his character: from his vocal delivery of his opening lines to his trademark saunter and facial twitches to his teary eyed corner office. I can’t picture this movie with anyone else playing his role — this isn’t out of some deeply held respect for sean penn, he just does so well I can’t imagine another person having played steven j lockjaw (great name). plus he’s vascular as fuck at age 65??? bro chill with the forearms my gf is watching

benicio? take a bow my sensei. imagine bullet train brad pitt but praxis coded. plus bro always has a beer for leo. ocean waves, yall!

and leo??? the funniest he’s ever been, homie! his paranoid hermit drug addict character was written so well, and he nails the delivery and mannerisms. when he asks the two mexican dudes where the “malo white guy” went, the whole “what time is it?” whackaround, when willa’s friends pick her up for prom — all genuinely laugh out loud moments

huge bonus points for no spanish to english subtitles. it’s time to learn a basic level of spanish kids, it’s required for the revolution and this movie is the bar

more bonus points for the christmas adventurers club not being too realistic. it’s the kind of thing that you believe exists, but I appreciated that they kept the levity and vagueness when depicting it. lmfao now i just remembered that first scene in their bunker with all the corpo-speak LOL what a movie please watch it viva la revolucion

tour de force. holds up completely on rewatch — the characters are just deep enough to pilot the ship through a banger

inspiring. i cried. i love art

tour de force. holds up completely on rewatch — the characters are just deep enough to pilot the ship through a banger

inspiring. i cried. i love art

Can’t believe people walked out before the post credits scene, where PTA kindly shows us the next battle after this one.

One sec I’m practicing my Sean Penn walk.

Can’t believe people walked out before the post credits scene, where PTA kindly shows us the next battle after this one.

One sec I’m practicing my Sean Penn walk.

There’s so much about this that just absolutely fucking rocked. Let’s run through a few together!

1. The Soundtrack
I like to think that I know ball when it comes to music. Clearly I fucking don’t because I did not know who Jonny Greenwood was until I listened to the soundtrack again on the Flatbush Ave bound 2 train on the ride back to Brooklyn. Holy hell does this dude know how to make music. Piano scores where chaos is the key focus have a special place in my heart and he hit the nail on the head with this one.

My dad and I always talk about and listen to Gershwin, and my dad will tell me how his brain was basically just exploding with notes to be played on the piano. If you know his music it reflect well to that sentiment. All the scenes with accompanying piano in the movie have the same beautiful anxiety filled theme.

2. The Performances
Folks who should we start with? It’s hard to say who kicked more ass between Leo and Sean Penn.

Leo you expect to be great. He’s a household name, the premier actor of his generation, and probably my favorite actor of all time. You expect him to carry this movie to glory.

Well the movie could do it all on its own but Leo fucking kills it. He’s a geeked out, paranoia filled, lunatic who just wants what’s best for his little girl. Honestly he’s just every dad in America. He’s got crazy dad lore that he never tells his kids.

Let’s move on to who I think has the best performance: Sean motherfucking Penn. A few thoughts, (1) wow did they pump him full of TRT, (2) he’s a lunatic, (3) autism is a superpower, (4) I don’t think there could be a better casting. Sean Penn is just amazing in this, whether it’s his herky jerky walk, his delusions of grandeur, or his ability to crank up the outbursts, he did not miss. I will be on the Oscar hype train for him without a doubt.

3. IMAX 70MM and 1.43:1
I have said it before, and I will continue to say it, there is nothing better than being seated in Auditorium 13 at AMC Lincoln Square knowing you get to be as immersed as humanly possible in a movie for 2-3 hours.

There’s a few scenes here that are just movie magic. Anytime I get the chance to be at a showing in this format, I will be seated. Every time I am seated, I am blown away.

Going full aspect ratio for almost three hours was a new level of immersion that’ll be hard to top. I’m sure it will though (I’m talking to you Christopher Nolan… The Odyssey better not miss).

4. The Commentary
A right of passage as we age is a growing interest and understanding of the importance of politics. Growing up I avoided it like the plague, but over the years I have taken more and more of an interest in knowing what’s going on and understanding the implications of the decisions that are made.

With that, I am loving movies that dive into these topics. Eddington earlier this year was a masterpiece in this area. One Battle After Another hits on so many of the same fronts but adds such an exciting element of action and comedy. I am going to struggle deciding which I liked more.


If you made it to the end of this, I love you!

There’s so much about this that just absolutely fucking rocked. Let’s run through a few together!

1. The Soundtrack
I like to think that I know ball when it comes to music. Clearly I fucking don’t because I did not know who Jonny Greenwood was until I listened to the soundtrack again on the Flatbush Ave bound 2 train on the ride back to Brooklyn. Holy hell does this dude know how to make music. Piano scores where chaos is the key focus have a special place in my heart and he hit the nail on the head with this one.

My dad and I always talk about and listen to Gershwin, and my dad will tell me how his brain was basically just exploding with notes to be played on the piano. If you know his music it reflect well to that sentiment. All the scenes with accompanying piano in the movie have the same beautiful anxiety filled theme.

2. The Performances
Folks who should we start with? It’s hard to say who kicked more ass between Leo and Sean Penn.

Leo you expect to be great. He’s a household name, the premier actor of his generation, and probably my favorite actor of all time. You expect him to carry this movie to glory.

Well the movie could do it all on its own but Leo fucking kills it. He’s a geeked out, paranoia filled, lunatic who just wants what’s best for his little girl. Honestly he’s just every dad in America. He’s got crazy dad lore that he never tells his kids.

Let’s move on to who I think has the best performance: Sean motherfucking Penn. A few thoughts, (1) wow did they pump him full of TRT, (2) he’s a lunatic, (3) autism is a superpower, (4) I don’t think there could be a better casting. Sean Penn is just amazing in this, whether it’s his herky jerky walk, his delusions of grandeur, or his ability to crank up the outbursts, he did not miss. I will be on the Oscar hype train for him without a doubt.

3. IMAX 70MM and 1.43:1
I have said it before, and I will continue to say it, there is nothing better than being seated in Auditorium 13 at AMC Lincoln Square knowing you get to be as immersed as humanly possible in a movie for 2-3 hours.

There’s a few scenes here that are just movie magic. Anytime I get the chance to be at a showing in this format, I will be seated. Every time I am seated, I am blown away.

Going full aspect ratio for almost three hours was a new level of immersion that’ll be hard to top. I’m sure it will though (I’m talking to you Christopher Nolan… The Odyssey better not miss).

4. The Commentary
A right of passage as we age is a growing interest and understanding of the importance of politics. Growing up I avoided it like the plague, but over the years I have taken more and more of an interest in knowing what’s going on and understanding the implications of the decisions that are made.

With that, I am loving movies that dive into these topics. Eddington earlier this year was a masterpiece in this area. One Battle After Another hits on so many of the same fronts but adds such an exciting element of action and comedy. I am going to struggle deciding which I liked more.


If you made it to the end of this, I love you!

Being racist and a cuck, so you get dommed by a woman and then you want to kill your child to get in your racist little club is an insane villain arc

Being racist and a cuck, so you get dommed by a woman and then you want to kill your child to get in your racist little club is an insane villain arc