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The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later.  What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a
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A man called Otto

What I liked: I liked the book and this adaptation did a good job of highlighting the book's humor. I like that Otto really enjoyed his neighbor's cooking. I especially liked the frozen cat scene and the answering the door in the middle of the night scene, and playing the radio for the cat. I also liked the clown scene and that developing the backstory for the quarter helped rationalize the whole thing a bit. Product placements in movies are frequently a bit odd, I thought they did a good job with the cars and was entertained by the truck. The youtuber was also put to good use. I liked that they included a Swedish cafe and am curious about  the semla. It was interesting that both this movie and A Man Called Ove were very faithful to the book but both managed to be quite different especially in tone. I guess it is my American showing through, I preferred this one because I laughed more. Otto was so grudgingly helpful but you could see the whole time that he did have a big heart

Annihilation

  What I liked: I liked the crystal trees and the creepy people plants. The multi colored lichen and flowers were cool too. I liked how disorienting the loss of time and flashbacks were, they did a good job of maintaining the disquiet and suspense. I liked that they remembered that mutation and evolution has no goal, it's just a thing that happens with all kinds of side effects. I liked their little boat trip in giant crocodile infested swamp. I'm not sure if I loved the silver skin suit but I can't deny that it was interesting.  What I didn't: The heroes are all scientists who go on a mission to find out what is going on inside the "shimmer". For being all scientists they don't draw very well on their test one variable at a time training. If nothing has ever come out of the shimmer, try sticking a stick in and see if you can pull it out. Step inside with a harness on so if you don't come back they can try and pull you back. Walk in a little ways and t

See how the run

What I liked: I liked how very enthusiastic the sergeant was. And I appreciated that, remarkably, both the senior detective and the assistant were competent. It seems like usually this is a one or the other kind of pairing so I lament the partnership that inevitably formed somewhere else in the department of two incompetent officers. The story boarding was very fun and it was very clear that the director in the film had never seen nor heard anything about The Mousetrap. I liked the recurring snow shovel. For the second time in as many months the detectives were using the means, motive, opportunity chart for the suspects. Still no sign of a murderer using one though.   What I didn't: Why after you take a tumble through a cake and a pile of shellfish would you go find a replacement outfit in the costume department of the theater instead of just going back to your house? I mean I might enjoy that, you could come back to the party dressed as Henry VIII, or a demigorgon, or a tree. But

Mrs Harris goes to Paris

What I liked: This is a happy movie. I liked the dresses and especially how very happy seeing all of the dresses made Mrs Harris. I liked how her enthusiasm wins over the tailor and almost everyone else. Mrs Harris was so delighted with Paris and the people she met that she motivated them to live just a little more enthusiastically and optimistically. From the philosophical model, to the intellectual accountant, to the withdrawn Marquis and the cold director the characters were all imaginatively Parisian (assuming your an American author in the 1950s). I liked that they drove a vespa. I was glad that while Mrs Harris got a fresh view of the world and had a wonderful time in Paris, they steered clear of the potential cliche plot pot holes they could have fallen in. I especially liked her friends who helped her live her dream of going to Paris to buy a dress while really not understanding it at all.  What I didn't: Mrs Harris did such a great job agitating in Paris she really could h

Glass Onion

What I liked: The three things you need for any murder is the means, motive, and opportunity. I was delighted that they pointed that out and even made a little chart to narrow down the suspects. If only there had also been a scene of the murderer using it as a checklist to see if they could commit the murder, then I would have be superbly happy. The mom. The mom is definitely the best character. Followed closely by the friend who is just visiting. I think we all need to acknowledge how wonderful Blanc's swim suit is. The movie set itself very firmly in 2020 for the first 20 minutes. I liked seeing all the different characters' approaches to their masks and watching them play among us. It was both a bit of a time warp and a very fast way to learn a lot about these people. I liked the caricatures of influential people and cheered for Andi's approach to opening the box. Unlike the last one, that had creepy little skulls hidden everywhere, this one had glass sculptures hidden e

Avatar 2: The way of water

What I liked: Like the first one, the graphics in this movie are incredible. As one would expect from a movie called the Way of Water, there is a lot of water. The splashes, ripples, and movement in the water are all faultless. When you stop to remember that all of it is CG it's pretty staggering. I also liked that most of the 3D added depth to the film rather than sending 3D effects flying at your face. Our favorite blue family relocates to an island village so we get to meet sea creatures and the island clans. I liked that the sea people had rudder tails and broad hands. And I liked their springy walkways between their houses. Also like the first one, the animals were cool. I liked the plesiosaurs, the shark thing, and the tiny glowy jellyfish things. I really liked the underwater fairie wings. In addition to cool creatures we get cool robots. I  liked the crab robots but am unclear on why they were crabs other than that crabs make cool robots. The plot was better than the first