Diary
April 2026
Project Hail Mary
so good. emotional scenes carried their emotional weight even in a quick rewatch. score is wonderful. whimsy, joy when fitting, and intense , dramatic when called for. i love rocky
Michael
mj i think what greatly hurts reception here is that nothing was gonna do michael jackson justice. he’s too iconic. anything besides michael himself and a 10 hour movie was gonna be an issue. it’s like trying to make a movie about jesus christ in the bible. i tend to discredit sequels and franchise for the reason that a lot of what makes them good is the aura, the legend, that kamala quote about everything existing in the context about what has come before. oscar watch tho, slight chance jaafar slides into last spot for actor. very very slight. and a costume and editing nomination. maybe vfx. maybe prod design, sound thriller scene great. motown 25 scene great. love how they were shot just like the originals. inclusion of the “god will give my ideas to prince” was great. MAD THEY CUT THE WIZ!! i was smiling and tapping my feet and bouncing my head to the beat for almost the entire movie. but i will not act like the magic of michael jackson himself is not what carried this experience. this was not bad, dont get me wrong. but heavy michael assist from the grave. colman domingo and nia long introduced my screening. nice
Oppenheimer
phenomenal. one of best works of this decade, with one of the best performances / portrayals that ive seen. murphy completely embodies oppenheimer, especially as he ages. i watched this again after finishing the book. this movie / screenplay is a ridiculously impressive adaptation of that biography. crazy to see how the words came to life, and what nolan chose to dive into. a few huge scenes are a couple lines of the book. book focused consistently on how captivating oppenheimer was (as a lecturer and just in converation) basically describing him as borderline hynoptic, it is what nearly everyone who interacted with him would say, and that comes through here but not as strongly as written. would have been cool to see more of that trait shown. i think what the movie did better was highlight the parrallels between the "downfall" of strauss and oppenheimer, with regards to their non-trial trials. the same thing oppenheimers lawyers complained about in the kangaroo court strauss assembled, we see strauss bring up in his confirmation hearing, getting the same responses back. the hypocrisy of strauss is much clearer this way.
Locks
humble beginnings. i was slightly hating and sorta confused, until the last 15 seconds. then i was 🥹. damn. go head coogler! kinda crazy to find someone to shave their locs off for a student film. props tho. and go head ludwig!
High School Musical 2
forgot all the bangers from hsm are in this movie. acting is bad and the plot was low stakes but + stars for the songs.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
i thought i had watched this previously, but i must have not finished it. funny, cute, does what it is supposed to. i like the concept of the dueling challenges. unstoppable force v. immovable object. i just think however that once they both found out what was up at the party, they should have had more grace for each other - they were both doing basically the same thing lol. the scene with his family was cute. good writing. made me conclude that they should be together.
The Drama
"can we start over" a story of second chances, or lack thereof. weaponized morality, benefit of the doubt, grace and hypocrisy. i enjoyed this. didnt quite take the route i expected, but ill admit i did regrettably see a semi-spoiler that theorized emma was a school shooter. i am "glad" that she did not actually do this, but instead the secret bad action was that she considered and eventually decided not to. makes things more interesting. robpat was great. zendaya was alright. might enjoy more on another watch. i dont think i like alana haim in anything and i am not certain why. this time she was an unlikeable character, which was easy for me to subscribe to. honestly, and call me a mad man, but her character had the worst "worst thing ever". she damn near coulda killed the kid. and she ACTUALLY did something. emma did not. and yet she spent the whole movie judging and attacking emma like she held the moral high ground. specific, but i am curious as to the relevance of the druggie DJ, and emma's dismissal of her. it seems throughout like she is someone who pushes for and appreciates second chances, giving to charlie at least twice. seems out of character for her to freak out on the dj for the heroin. question to consider. good ride. many funny moments, especially the scene about "shooting" the family 📸. medium oscar watch , original screenplay
March 2026
Project Hail Mary
i wondered if i could stay awake for a sunday night 1045pm showing. this made it easy! epic movie. visually stunning. i went in with high expectations that i wish i did not have because i try my best to avoid such a thing, but this lived up to them! fun, funny, beautiful, all around solid. i will say that the main thing preventing a 5 star here, is that things kinda felt a little too perfect for everyone (i get it yes sometimes this is ok, whatever im not really complaining) and also this felt too much like the martian (i get it yes the same author and similar concept, whatever im not really complaining) rocky was so fun, statement. though this character type is as old as time (the inanimate object / animal that can communicate in semi-broken english to the main character and is smart in ways that we are not) it hits almost every time. the fishing scene was tense and captivating like the docking scene in interstellar. glad i saw it in all its beauty. i likely will be coming back again as this gets rereleased. i like the choir sounding score. it did not try too hard, but it fit enough with the obvious religious allegories here. made it all feel appropriately epic. dare i say first best picture nominee of 2026 👀 amaze! amaze! amaze! high oscar watch in general score def, best picture (bubble), vfx, cinematography
In the Heights
love this movie. finally put prince on, as he is in nyc
Heat
i wasnt particularly moved. this felt a bit too slow / long. good bits tho clearly. how in the world did they film the big action scene in dtla. crazy. wanted to like this more than i did
Retirement Plan
very cute. this really felt like a companion to a very good poem, that is what carried the weight of the quality here. funny in the best ways, and held a good message.
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
the characters were kinda scary looking. but story was solid here- greed bad. i think this woulda been higher for me if not for the last line of the short lmao.
Forevergreen
this got me. from “act 2” on - when the bear ventured out - i was back and forth between 🥺 and 🥹. very cute. effective story telling in short form.
The Three Sisters
this was alright. animation style kinda cool at points.
Éiru
this was whatever. like i actually have no thoughts. it wasn’t bad per say, but it felt like nothing. perhaps my mind was numb after 5 straight other shorts, but i don’t think so, cuz i loved the one right before it. this just did nothing for me.
Butterfly
HOW IN THE WORLD, DID THEY PAINT ALL OF THESE FRAMES?? it can’t possibly be real hand painted. if it is? holy cow, impressive. if it is not? holy cow, cuz it sure does look like it. touching story, and visualized beautifully. the medium really enabled towards the storytelling here.
Hoppers
very good! pixar movies are so efficiently and intelligently written. i am probably noticing this more because i am an adult but its actually incredibly cool how the movies they make are so enjoyable for all ages, consistently. good humor. the unexpected squish had my jaw dropped for 30 seconds. w/ will rahma clo
Avengers: Age of Ultron
this movie is underrated!!! timely rewatch with AI and all that doing its thing
Two People Exchanging Saliva
i dont really get this for real for real, but i know it was good. creative concept that they really stuck to. felt black mirrory but thats not really a fair thing to say because i think it was just dystopianish and there is much more dystopia than just black mirror. anyways. im sure this means something much deeper than the level i understood it at. but even without getting the grand allegory or such, much enjoyed.
Jane Austen's Period Drama
by far the funniest of the 2026 nominated shorts. i love the direction this went. it picked a lane and it went for it. did exactly what it was supposed to do. parodied the period drama without being corny, and was effectively funny without being silly or exaggerated. enjoyed! short and sweet. def felt like an extended snl sketch, and i am not mad at that.
