Jon

Security Engineer, Amateur Triathlete, Aspiring Rancher, Big Pizza Guy

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Babylon - Damien Chazelle

Ok I'm a huge fan of Damien Chazelle. Loved Whiplash and La La Land. First Man was pretty cool as well. This one was really really not for me. Felt a lot like he turned the art and hollywood focus up way past my viewing altitude. There were a number of really cool scenes and sequences, and I really wanted to like it at times, but when the credits rolled I really was just unsure why I hadn't turned it off earlier.

I'm hoping his next movie departs strongly from the theater kids basking in the glow of their own cleverness and self awareness energy that now all three of his writer/director movies have reveled in. It was a common criticism, if I remember correctly, of La La Land that I didn't quite agree with. Babylon is on a whole other level, and that level sucks.

Lightning Round

  • La La Land ⭐ - Love thoughtful endings, love the colors, love the music.
  • Whiplash ⭐ - Same director, even better. Perfect ending.
  • Sicario - Imperfect, but some really intense 10/10 scenes. Ending not as good
  • Spotlight - Long slow burn, but all star cast does a ton of work
  • The Lobster - I don't love everything this guy does, but what a funky weird time
  • No Country For Old Men ⭐ - Been a while, but this was one of my all time favorites.
  • Nightcrawler - Messed up in all the right ways. Good rewatch once in a while.
  • District 9 - Would've expected this to inspire a bunch of copycats. Extremely unique.
  • American Beauty - Honestly forget this one entirely. Need to rewatch
  • Prisoners - Slower burn, but worth the payoff. I guess I like Jake in anything...
  • The LEGO Movie - A great time start to finish.
  • Hell or High Water ⭐ - If you've got a brother you should watch this. Big favorite.
  • Get Out - Don't usually like horror but this deserved all the praise.
  • Baby Driver - Flubbed the ending but otherwise awesome.
  • The Nice Guys ⭐ - Shocked this didn't do better. Near perfect buddy cop.
  • Logan - Standout superhero movie. The best one and it's not close.
  • The Place Beyond the Pines - Maybe controversial inclusion. Interesting and awkward
  • The Big Short - A classic. Like slightly less on rewatch but tons of great moments.
  • Sing Street - Fun time, music stuck in my head for a while.
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri ⭐ - An actual perfect movie
  • Annihilation - Some problems, but a really interesting way to tell a story. Don't read the books.
  • Wind River - Really tense, quite uncomfortable
  • Dunkirk - I loved this and so did everyone but honestly a bit forgettable?
  • Chef ⭐ - Wholseome happy awesome
  • Joker - Like Logan, love the character focused standalones (pretending Joker 2 doesn't exist)
  • Top Gun: Maverick ⭐ - Couldn't get through the original. Almost joined the military.