The Breadwinner Movie Review

Simply put, The Breadwinner is a must-see hauntingly beautiful movie, both in story and experience.

An adaptation of the acclaimed 2000 novel, the movie depicts Parvana's story so honestly, that every character feels as human and real as if I'm watching a documentary. Director Nora Twomey masterfully weaves together this earnest tale of a young girl, her love for her father, their family, their struggles under the Taliban-run Afghanistan, female empowerment, the horrors of war, the importance of peace, the importance of stories and the stories of all the other characters who share in Parvana's journey.

But it is a hard story, and yet I can't say the last time I felt so moved by a movie. Let alone an animated one. Let alone a kids movie!

And I love it.

It's everything animation can be - gorgeous visuals combined with fantastic audio design. The beautiful score by Jeff Danna and Mychael Danna perfectly accentuates the movie, transporting me to all the locations and emotions they want me to experience. Even the lack of music is perfectly executed.

I'm so glad that animation has had a great run of more "indie" productions (not Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks, etc.), with movies like this, The Little Prince, My Life as a Zucchini and the Laika productions, among others).

CONCLUSION: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - To me, this is absolutely a must-see movie, but it's one that covers harsh topics. However, stories like this are important to experience, because these are exactly the kinds of stories that help build empathy, and hopefully with more empathy we can come together faster. So, my sincerest "thank you" to everyone who worked on The Breadwinner, and author Deborah Ellis, for crafting this. This has displaced Get Out as my top movie of 2017. Go watch this ASAP.

Barry Season 1 Review

HBO's Barry thoughts... (no real SPOILERS, but some comments on the season)

After getting past the pilot (which I didn't entirely care for, and glad they didn't entirely go down the path I didn't want)...

There's a very poignant show about a military vet-turned-hitman striving to reclaim his humanity and emotions via acting. It's a wonderful bridge of left and right ideologies, with plenty of commentary on both sides (e.g. how Hollywood can be trapped in a bubble away from the horrors of the world, how blindly following orders isn't the best thing to do / that it's good to question things, how vets are/can be abandoned by the system that uses them).

It also has a relatively unique tone, that darkly blends action, comedy and realism, with some generally great direction (Hiro Murai, director of "This is America" directed an episode, along with Hader). Episode 4, directed by Maggie Carey, is the one that really sold me with some great goofiness and play, mixed in with serious.

No character is particularly good, but there are ways to empathize with each.

Scratch that, Paula Newsome's Det. Janice Moss is probably perfect, though TBD on how realistic (but a fun character, regardless).

Similarly, there's such fantastic acting. Bill Hader really shines as Barry, rediscovering... life (and happiness) in this current season's journey. Sarah Goldberg is great as the passionate-but-flawed Sally, who lives in an unfair world but also doesn't see her own issues. Henry Winkler is great as the acting coach Gene Cousineau. Stephen Groot is his wonderful self as Barry's "coworker" Fuches. And both Glenn Fleshler and Anthony Carrigan are just a treat.

SUMMARY: Barry is a great showcase of acting talent (and acting direction), as well as how acting helps people get in touch with their humanity, regardless of the background. Emotions are a journey for everyone.

CONCLUSION: RECOMMENDED - It reminds me of a reimagined remix of Dexter, with more comedic talent. Particularly the early, better seasons.

2017 Movies TV Recap Thoughts

Just like with 2016's entry, here are my quick thoughts / rankings of what I saw in 2017. Overall, despite lots of talent, diversity and variety, I didn't think 2017 was nearly as interesting as 2016, due to a mix of writing and execution. That said, let's get things started with...

Movies

Favorites
Get Out - Tight script, fantastic direction for Jordan Peele who brilliantly walked the line between horror and comedy, great social commentary re: racism, solid acting, atmospheric music and tension. Would be very happy if this won Best Pic

Kong: Skull Island - Total B-movie that was lots of fun. Went in with little expectations and came out very pleasantly surprised. Sam Jackson once again proving to be an excellent character actor, with John C Reilly being his goofy "self" right behind him.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - It's more of the same from the first, taking some interesting leaps in creative choices while holding back on others; particularly with how it riffs on James Bond. Definitely flawed with a number of missed opportunities, but lots of fantastic action sequences and a number of fun jokes and callbacks. I had a blast.

Colossal - What a bold and interesting movie! No one's really likable, though Anne Hathaway manages to make her character endearing/tolerable, but the way it handles toxic masculinity amidst Rampage-like giant monsters is utterly unique, which earns it major bonus points.

The Big Sick - There's so much to love with this very personal and based-on-true-events story from Kumail Nanjiani. Is it surprisingly a little formulaic for a reality-based rom-com? Sure, but that doesn't take away from how charming it is. Ray Romano was a surprising delight, along with Kumail's family.


Very Fun
Happy Death Day - It doesn't quite achieve the highs of either Groundhog Day or Scream, but damn if it isn't a fun time and seemingly achieves everything it set out to do. It left me wanting more in a good way.

Thor: Ragnarok - Taika Waititi's direction is basically the biggest selling point for me. Watching him just "play" with all his characters and settings is a treat, even if the stakes and tension are a little on the flat side; Cate Blanchett is a delicious villain, even if under-utilized / under-developed. Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum and Waititi as the CG rock monster Korg steal the show.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - Pleasant surprise is maybe the best way to describe this film. It was a treat to just watch the riffs on both the original, video games, and most of the actors playing characters playing other characters - Jack Black absolutely steals the movie, with The Rock and Karen Gillan not far behind him, whereas Kevin Hart for better or worse is largely playing himself. Some really nice life lessons in the film, if a bit direct / on-the-nose.

Fun, But Room for Improvement
The LEGO Batman Movie - High energy and fun, touching on the essence of Batman and filled with interesting explorations of his various relationships. I would have liked a little more breathing room or something, but still good / very good.

Spider-man: Homecoming - Tom Holland quickly asserts himself as THE Spider-man. While fun to see a John Hughes-esque Spider-man movie, the films tones are uneven (fun comedy vs dark action), with the drama CONSTANTLY undercut but humor. Glad to see Michael Keaton as villain the Vulture, but felt a bit out of place / underutilized.

Split - M. Night Shyamalan returns to some familiar areas here. Sure, it can be faulted for using some outdated tropes and psychology info, along with once again having someone with a mental disorder as a villain, and there are a number of poorly written character, but DAMN if that ending isn't fantastic, not to mention the general high-level concept of the film tied to the ending makes for such interesting execution.

The Girl With All the Gifts - Good acting from Sennia Nanua and others. It's a nice story that's a little too video game-esque at times, but entertaining.

Life - This is both a not good and not bad movie, that doesn't really have any characters and is just the slow victory of the alien entity, with an ending that tries to pull something off but really didn't work. More fun to think of it as a backdoor pilot for a Venom movie.

Wonder Woman - Great to finally see DC's third biggest character on the big screen, but multiple weak villains and at least one weak act, plus a number of questionable choices ("hi" relationship to Steve Trevor) hold the movie back. Happy to see it get such success, here's hoping the sequel has more women writing the film with more insight from director Patty Jenkins.

Ghost in the Shell - It does a number of things wrong, like butchering the story, being convoluted, and the controversial casting, but it's also relatively entertaining. The Major deserves better and Paramount butchered this one.

Stephen King's IT - Entertaining, but over-reliance on CG and repetitive plotting hurt. It's almost as long as the original mini-series, but doesn't cover nearly as much ground, though smart to divide the story into two parts focusing on the past and present. The 80s kids group direction was interesting, but didn't fully work for me.

Logan - Sure, I guess? The first half is better, but really, really weak villains, a weak second half and an awful decision to not include Sabretooth to round out the themes of family hurt the film.

OK
Alien: Covenant - It's a more even version of Prometheus, that doesn't hit either the highs or the lows, and the mad scientist angle with David is somewhat interesting, but it's not really a great "Alien" movie and hard to really care about anyone or anything going on - lots of characters still making stupid choices. Ridley Scott needs to get away from this franchise, though I'm mildly curious about him completing his trilogy.

Blame! - There are a number of interesting elements and parts to like, but the setup is missing along with compelling characters.

The Void - The ending is when things get good, but before then is less compelling characters, writing and plot. A nice homage to John Carpenter at the end may be worth the watch.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 - Really ham-fisted dialogue + meandering plot + underwhelming soundtrack + Mantis issues + too many flat jokes = Guardians 2. Kurt Russell is entertaining, but also poorly utilized. There is a moment with Drax and Mantis sitting and talking that's really sweet, but isn't enough to save the film.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword - There may be a really good movie hiding in here somewhere, with a pretty interesting ending, but the intro and rest of the movie are awkward, flat and uninteresting, with some shoddy editing. The brawler aspect of Arthur is interesting.

John Wick: Chapter 2 - Not as good or interesting as the first, but also just didn't quite work for me. I can technically respect the action sequences and practicality, but it's like watching someone play a video game on easy mode.

Tokyo Ghoul - Shrug. Some interesting parts, but falls into the same boat as other mediocre live action anime/manga adaptations. The score by Don Davis (The Matrix) wasn't enough to save the film.

Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You - Some interesting and well-animated parts, but also fairly uneven and the ending is rather questionable - there are some fun videos on Youtube of people's reactions that almost make this worth it.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - Low expectations helped make this more "enjoyable." It's completely serviceable and by this point you should know what to expect from the series.

Didn't Care For
Coco - This may be a good or fine movie, but I'll admit I struggled to connect to it, as I can't stand families that aren't supportive, even if there's relative justification for why they are the way they are. To me, too many characters were assholes (who made bad choices). Visually, it's absolutely gorgeous, though, but that wasn't enough to save a fairly by-the-numbers plot. Pixar is feeling tired and could use fresh blood. Great to see Mexican culture on screen, though! Particularly when it connected with so many people.

Baby Driver - I greatly respect and admire director Edgar Wright, and technically this is a fantastic film, but the music selection didn't appeal to me, along with the uneven tones and characters. I'm fully convinced there's an amazing 45-minute cut that better follows the journeys of Baby and Jon Hamm's characters.

Blade Runner 2049 - 2049 offered me nothing of interest - the music, visuals, characters and general story just didn't work for me. With such great talent behind the film, perhaps my expectations were too high.

Justice League - Underwhelming. This was DC's big debut of the team and that was it? Generic villain and plot? Over-reliance on CG? Inconsistent character direction from previous films? Looking at you - Batman (comedic) and Wonder Woman (not as compelling as Jenkins' direction). Time for a reset.

Really Didn't Care For

Bright - Interesting concept, but just bad execution thanks to director David Ayersand writer Max Landis. Underwhelming visuals and direction made the world feel really small. Joel Edgerton is the best part of the film, but can't save it. I'm confused where the supposed $90-million budget went.

XX - Perhaps my expectations were too high, as I really wanted to like this horror anthology by women, but it just fell flat almost every time. Some interesting parts, but outweighed by the not interesting.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - It's not the worst movie I've seen in theaters (Man of Steel), but I was face-palming frequently at the creative choices, execution and twisted/bad characterizations. Writer-Director Rian Johnson tried so hard to be clever with this one, which really, really didn't work for me. He did a disservice to the history of both the original trilogy and the setups from The Force Awakens (I'm OK with ignoring the prequel trilogy).

Didn't see, but want to:
Your Name
Dunkirk
The Disaster Artist
Logan Lucky
Girls Trip
Call Me By Your Name
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Lady Bird
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
I, Tonya
Mudbound
The Florida Project
Mother!
Okja
It Comes at Night
Phantom Thread?
The Post?

TV:

Favorites
Legion s1 - Such wonderful writing and execution. Highly creative, and a great depiction of both the character and X-Men universe. Phenomenal acting by Dan Stevens, and the rest of the cast is fun, particularly Aubrey Plaza

Master of None s2 - What a gorgeous and delicious season, with poignant writing and beautiful cinematography that's a touching homage to Italian cinema. The unfortunate scandal surrounding Aziz does hurt things a bit.

GLOW s1 - So much fun! Excellent soundtrack, filled with fun characters and clear respect for pro wrestling, the season starts good and just gets better and better.

The Good Place s2 - I may be cheating by including this, but that's the fault of broadcast TV. Season 2 has each episode upping the game, exploring new topics and constantly moving things forward. The season particularly stood out as a brilliant romance that explores philosophy in an almost child-like, storybook way.


Fun
Bojack Horseman s4 - Still entertaining, but not as good as past seasons, being uneven and less cohesive. Favorite episode was the 11th one, Time's Arrow, which is my preferred version of Coco.

Rick and Morty s3 - Still entertaining, but not as good as past seasons. Pickle Rick was my favorite episode, starting kinda meh, but quickly getting better and better, ending with a phenomenal monologue that fully analyzes and takes down Rick.

Doctor Who s10 - Easily my favorite season of Peter Capaldi's, which finally had the writing and plot gel. Pearl Mackie was so refreshing as new companion Bill. It's a shame we won't really get more of either.

Channel Zero: No End House - I like the tone of this show. This season has an interesting premise, that's maybe not as interesting as the first season, but it's a just to watch things unfold.


Good parts, but room for improvement
South Park s20 - Not as cohesive as past seasons, but almost always interesting.

Game of Thrones s7 - With one season left after this, we're in full swing towards the end game, which unfortunately means rushing through time at the expense of all the beautiful pacing of the first four seasons. Now that we're supposedly past the books' content, we're falling into disappointing fantasy and TV tropes. Showrunners Benioff and Weiss will really be proving themselves with the final 8th season.

Castlevania s1 - Only four episodes, with the first being an interesting and humanizing exploration of Dracula, and the fourth featuring some excellent (!) action, but the middle two episodes leave more to be desired.

Stranger Things s2 - Didn't seem nearly as cohesive as the first season. Perhaps changing the show to more of an anthology would be better?

Black Mirror s4 - Hang the DJ was a pleasant treat, but the rest just... left much to be desired, with a number of episodes exploring the same topic - digital consciousness and the exploration of its humanity. 


Didn't finish
Twin Peaks: The Revival - Got 5 episodes in before stopping

Star Trek Discovery - Watched the 2-part pilot when it came out, which left a lot to be desired, will aim to catch the rest once the season's done

Nerve Movie Review

Nerve is the 80s throwback dark romance fairy tale (meta) comedy I never knew I wanted... But absolutely needed.

I loved this movie!

I was intrigued by the posters, premise and possibly the initial trailer, but never really bothered to check it out. Not exactly sure what it was, but Nerve finally called to me recently (after scrolling screw my most of my Netflix queue then going through Amazon Prime's) and it was indeed the perfect time for it.

Set-up as a dystopian youth-friendly challenge-rising story with social commentary, Nerve unexpectedly proved to be incredibly smartly written and directed, with perfect casting for the roles, and an impeccable degree of capturing the voice of modern "teen" cinema while also skewering it (and the culture)(or at least an interpretation/impersonation of it).

And (partial comedy tone SPOILER), just as you think the film is heading towards tone def territory - the film already knows it.

That's the whole point.

The film already knows what your expectations are, and puts enough little twists and spins to make it an incredibly fun and engaging time that's well worth checking out. Even the soundtrack, while occasionally odd/off (or just not my style), really works for the film.

Hell, the cinematography in the film is enough to salivate over. It's gorgeously shot, with an intelligence to the movements the managed to even enhance the humor of the scenes. Just some excellent storytelling.

Also, don't let the trailers fool you (although I don't really remember them and not sure if I watched them, so...), as the film is still very much character and relationship-driven, as much as it is plot and escalation.

I regret it taking me so long to finally watch, but perhaps it was worth the wait.

Takeaway: Top-notch scores from me: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Though, as always, your mileage may vary, as I could see the humor and tone of the film not working for everyone, but I had an absolute blast while watching.

And, honestly, I'd go so far as to say it's a cultural milestone and a piece of cinema I hope is studied for years to come, thanks to its many great layers, particularly in our current nostalgia era of filmmaking.

The Conjuring 2 Movie Review

The Conjuring 2 is a fantastic blend of an inventive theme park ride mixed with a multi-genre horror movie. In other words - it's a ton of fun!

The film starts with some great tension right in the opening scene and doesn't let up for a good chunk of the movie (maybe an hour? I lost track of time). The quality does dip a bit once the first supporting monster shows up and again with some other ridiculous / overly sentimental scenes that detract from the horror and tension, but damn, what a ride; my theory is if they had cut the score during the sentimental scenes, it would have improved things. It can also be argued that those more sentimental, "relaxed" scenes are their for pacing purposes and to help the scares be stronger later, but not sure that's either necessary or true.

Regardless of any dips in quality, there's a lot to love in The Conjuring 2, not the least of which were the decent number of scenes that were either one-take or faux one-take scenes and a fantastic main villain that had a great design and thematic resonance for the lead characters. Regarding the one-takes, there was a sequence towards the end featuring one of the supporting monsters that's just bad-ass.

The story was simultaneously simple and excellent. The film starts with a tease of the Amityville Horror that presents a throughline for the rest of the film, which was carried beautifully by Vera Farmiga. Speaking of which, the rapport and chemistry between Farmiga and Patrick Wilson was a joy to watch - they're a couple I'd happily see in a series of these movies. Beyond the throughline was a fairly standard possession story, but beautifully directed by James Wan, and well performed by the kids (those previously mentioned sequences go a long way).

All in all, it's a solid film that's pulpy, as well as both modern and a throwback. I absolutely enjoyed it more than the first movie and may now be my favorite horror movie of 2016, easily besting The Witch (though that had arguably better acting), and probably edging out both Green Room and Don't Breathe (which probably had better tension).

Takeaway: Highly Recommended

Batman Forever Movie Rewatch Review

Yes, Batman Forever is still dumb, nonsensical, ostentatious, and a bit boring at times, but...

Hot damn! The movie is a visual treat in both cinematography (particularly the movements of the actors within frames) and production design. The music by Elliot Goldenthal, while nowhere near as good as Danny Elfman's scores, is enjoyable in its cartoony throwback styles, as well.

Plus - there's some really smart writing and bits (such as exploring Batman's psychology), inbetween all the various homages to 60s Batman and general weak points of the movie.

Not to mention the performances! Sure, Val Kilmer's a weak Bruce Wayne (his take is a rather flat traumatized one), but a pretty good Batman. The supporting cast is, for better or worse, 1- or 2-dimensional, and though both villains channel the Joker (via Robin Williams?), they're a pleasure to watch (I really love Tommy Lee Jones in this, even if its a flawed characterization). Also, hot damn! Dr. Chase Meridian.

And I'll say this - while fairly clearly teased, it's arguably a missed opportunity to explore Nigma's obsessive homoerotic tendencies towards Batman. They probably handled things as well as they could for 1995, but Forever presents some interesting themes and ideas that are only lightly touched upon. At the very least, it made for some great bits having Nigma chase Bruce (Nigma's party is a great example of this).

As a kid, I loved the film, so there's a good nostalgia factor for reciting the lines and enjoying the various scenes; and while as an adult I'm not as entertained, I can definitely appreciate a number of the strengths it has going for it.

Takeaway: Dumb but fun, and very enjoyable in some parts while more trashy in others.

Bright Movie Review

Bright is a great example of a film with an interesting world (magic in the modern day, prophecies), but the execution left much to be desired.

For my two cents, the film needed less David Ayer and Max Landis and more... quality. Flat direction and questionable writing (Landis was not a good choice for an LA-based cop drama about racism) made for an underwhelming experience. A number of scenes were trying to heighten the drama, but just fell completely flat due to bad direction (and cinematography) by Ayer. Had this been Ghostbusters' great blend of horror and comedy meets John Carpenter's auteur style meets fantasy, I'd have been all over it.

Acting was OK, with Joel Edgerton being the highlight, but the rest of the cast was racial stereotypes to an awkward degree. Noomi Rapace was wasted. It'd also be great to know WHY Edgerton's character wanted to be a cop, rather than wanting to be a cop since a kid.

This movie had a budget of $90 million - where did it go? The movie's look alternated between good fantasy (20%), shakey-cam street cop drama (15%) and a TV show (65%). There were some cool shots, but they also looked low-budget, to an extent.

I was hoping it'd be run-of-the-mill with some interesting elements, and it was, but it was also largely a waste of time.

Takeaway: Didn't care for it, but, as always, your mileage may vary.

Meddling Kids Book Review

Had Stranger Things been an anthology, this would have been an excellent second season.

Meddling Kids, by author Edgar Cantero, is a very fun homage to Scooby Doo and HP Lovecraft, clearly having a great time playing with some of the tropes from each source. Combine that with a decent amount of nostalgia, hefty dose of metaphors, plus the occasional meta, and Meddling Kids makes for an engaging pulp read.

I did have a hurdle in the first portion, getting familiar with the style (there were lots of references and the word choices felt like someone was having too much fun with the thesaurus), but once the story started going, it fell into a groove that didn't let up until the very end. That said, some action towards the end muddled things a bit, but the great characters and writing were enough to overcome any minor disruptions.

For a healthy mix of horror and comedy, Meddling Kids gets a solid RECOMMENDED.

I do mean it when I say I'd love to see this as either a movie or TV series, though 6-episode TV series would be ideal.

Justice League Movie Review

*MILD SPOILERS*

The first thing to acknowledge about Justice League is maybe the easiest thing to say about it:

It's a mess.

But what does that mean exactly? Well, your mileage may vary with both how much you enjoy the movie and how good you think it is.

As for me, I certainly didn't hate the movie as much as Man of Steel (which I consider to be the worst movie I've seen in theaters in the past decade, if not ever), nor was I as bored as I was during Suicide Squad, but it didn't have nearly enough of the good will of Wonder Woman or surprisingly entertaining tonal consistency of Batman vs Superman's extended edition (despite disagreements with the overall creative direction; I'm not bothering with the theatrical version).

My main gripes with the movie are:

• I stopped caring - Shortly into the movie, I realized I didn't care about anyone or anything that was on screen. Neither the plots nor performances were particularly exciting. Ben Affleck's Batman alternated between disaffected and disinterested, with a good chunk of dry smarm and wit to feign engagement. Cyborg's exaggerated movements were also awkward. 
• The film really needed breathing room - The editing, pacing and timing were rushed in a way that gave the movie a really awkward tone. Part of this may have been due to the split-directing duties between Zach Snyder and Joss Whedon, but there's a good chance the movie was a mess during the script. Speaking of which...
• The script - Clunky dialogue, cheesy lines, random (retroactive) introductions of plots/character motivations via dialogue, lack of subtlety - the film needed another pass on both the dialogue and the script.
• The music - Why did Danny Elfman replace Junkie XL? Despite my general dislike of both Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman, the music for both was of high quality. The lack of Superman's theme and other recent themes really hurt Justice League. Not to mention the very random inclusion of the Burton Batman theme detracted from the experience. Very, very disappointing. 
• The CG - This was really, really not good. From the blandness of Steppenwolf's face to the blandness of the terraforming. Sure, it led to some pretty flowers, but everything looked like visual crap, despite the big budget...

I could list more, but I'll try to summarize: the film was a very mediocre and underwhelming debut for DC's first-class team. I can't say that I was disappointed, because that meant I would have expected better from the current DC Extended Universe, although in seeing the movie that meant I unfortunately financially supported it. 

Had this been an entry in the DC Animated Movie universe, I'd have been perfectly contented. Hell, if all the rest of the Snyder-verse DC movies could be relegated to much cheaper DCAM versions, that may be the best win-win scenario - give people these stories with these characters and not continue with the exorbitant costs and missed live-action opportunities. 

That said, the film did do a few things well:

• Superman - Other than a debatable return, once Superman remembered who he was, we're finally able to see the "beacon of hope" Superman as played by Henry Cavill. Had this been the Superman from the get go, perhaps the DCEU course would be in a more positive direction. Note, though, that this movie is a giant refresh for Superman, with previous ones almost taking place in parallel dimensions, considering how different this Superman is.
• The Flash and Cyborg's banter - Other than one or two cringe-worthy jokes, they had a nice rapport.
• The overall team dynamic - Excusing script and performance issues, the team actually seemed motivated to work together to get the job done. They recognized each others strengths and tried to encourage each other to be the best versions of themselves. 

When it's all said and done, I would suggest either waiting to see the movie on cable, where commercial breaks may help disrupt the flow of the movie in a good way, or an extended edition of the film is released which hopefully reinserts some much-needed breathing room. Until then, Justice League is NOT RECOMMENDED. If you want some great Justice League content, watch the complete run of Justice League Unlimited. 

Dark City Director's Cut Review

I recently rewatched the Director's Cut of Dark City and hot damn is it a good, fun movie. I love the art direction, production design (seriously, the visuals are so cool) and especially the music by Trevor Jones. The general noir style is pretty great, though some of the trappings (misogyny) leave much to be desired (women aren't given great material, nor non-white characters).

This is the kind of movie I would love to make, as I think Dark City does a couple really cool things rather well:

1) Editing and pacing (and script) - The film only shows you enough, typically via quick glimpses, and yet its very effective at conveying the message, story and mood. Similarly...
2) Dialogue - Characters are able to say so much by saying so little. I particularly love a few of the dialogue choices with the main character, John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), in that he knows something another character doesn't and either asks them a question or phrases his sentence in a specific way to not reveal anything; nicely done. It helps that the film is beautifully crafted, with a wonderful villainous turn by Richard O'Brien as Mr. Hand.

Not to mention, how many movies end with a really, really kick-ass telekinesis fight? Dark City features easily one of the best "psychic" fights ever filmed. Plus, the themes and ideas regarding memory and how that determines who we are? Very cool.

It's unfortunate that Dark City has become somewhat "lost in time." Had The Matrix not come out the following year (1999), I wonder if Dark City would have been more influential. Granted, something like The Matrix would have surpassed it at some point, because there's a bit more commentary and depth with The Matrix (more to the world and story that's relatable), but it could have been nice for Dark City to have had more of an impact.

To reiterate on one of the early points, it's a damn shame Trevor Jones isn't a more famous composer. His score for the film is perfectly atmospheric, suspenseful, exciting and action-packed - there are some great themes I just want to wrap myself in as if they were a blanket. I'd argue he's created at least three top-tier scores:

Dark Crystal
Dark City
Merlin

Excalibur may also be included, among others (Labyrinth).

While the Director's Cut is arguably the superior version to the theatrical, Dark City is easily HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Hopefully it's legacy will only grow with time. It's such a beautifully 90s movie that must be scene at least once.