A.J. Allsopp
@a11sopp.bsky.social
Writer, film nerd, YGO and occasional MTG player.
#20: Mickey 17: (7/3) Robert Pattinson is doing all timer freaky little guy performance. Bong Joon-Ho is doing Bong Joon-Ho things, but the film is a little awkwardly paced in a way that kind of limits its impact. Still a decent time overall though.
March 8, 2025 at 9:51 AM
#20: Mickey 17: (7/3) Robert Pattinson is doing all timer freaky little guy performance. Bong Joon-Ho is doing Bong Joon-Ho things, but the film is a little awkwardly paced in a way that kind of limits its impact. Still a decent time overall though.
#19: Heart Eyes: I'm quite torn between kind of liking this and kind of finding it unbearable. Hey screenwriter, did you think nobody would notice you lifting that Hot Fuzz joke?
February 25, 2025 at 10:16 PM
#19: Heart Eyes: I'm quite torn between kind of liking this and kind of finding it unbearable. Hey screenwriter, did you think nobody would notice you lifting that Hot Fuzz joke?
#18: September 5 (20/2): Well acted and manages to maintain tension despite being a movie about a bunch of guys that are largely adjacent to a much more substantial drama, though pulls a lot of drama from the ways that covering and documenting current events can affect them 1/2
February 21, 2025 at 1:16 AM
#18: September 5 (20/2): Well acted and manages to maintain tension despite being a movie about a bunch of guys that are largely adjacent to a much more substantial drama, though pulls a lot of drama from the ways that covering and documenting current events can affect them 1/2
#17: The Monkey: A great sense of humour & comedic timing allows this to succeed for me where a good number of similarly pitched films have faltered. Not super heady stuff, but it has a good mix of influences and some genuinely entertaining gorey sequences. A fun time.
February 17, 2025 at 10:59 PM
#17: The Monkey: A great sense of humour & comedic timing allows this to succeed for me where a good number of similarly pitched films have faltered. Not super heady stuff, but it has a good mix of influences and some genuinely entertaining gorey sequences. A fun time.
#16: Captain America: Brave New World: Kevin Feige made a Sony Marvel movie: Ugly; weird dark lighting; little understanding of what an audience wants from it; and horrible editing, torn between stitching together an awkward script and a mandate to get the film under 2 hours.
February 14, 2025 at 11:39 PM
#16: Captain America: Brave New World: Kevin Feige made a Sony Marvel movie: Ugly; weird dark lighting; little understanding of what an audience wants from it; and horrible editing, torn between stitching together an awkward script and a mandate to get the film under 2 hours.
#15: The Brutalist (13/2): There's so much going on here that couldn't be condensed into a tweet but in summary this is awesome in the broad strokes, even if there's a fair bit I dislike/disagree with thematically in the details. Guy Pierce is a stand out. Pacing is fantastic.
February 14, 2025 at 1:24 AM
#15: The Brutalist (13/2): There's so much going on here that couldn't be condensed into a tweet but in summary this is awesome in the broad strokes, even if there's a fair bit I dislike/disagree with thematically in the details. Guy Pierce is a stand out. Pacing is fantastic.
#14: Love Hurts: Baffling how almost none of this works. Feels almost like someone took a hacksaw to a 2-2.5 hour film and this is what we ended up with. Disappointing.
February 12, 2025 at 10:03 PM
#14: Love Hurts: Baffling how almost none of this works. Feels almost like someone took a hacksaw to a 2-2.5 hour film and this is what we ended up with. Disappointing.
#13: Flight Risk (10/2): The type of film that'd have probably been a lot better if it was made in like 1996. Feels kinda low energy and effort. Weird to think this is from the director of Hacksaw Ridge, Apocalypto, Passion Of Christ etc.
February 11, 2025 at 10:10 AM
#13: Flight Risk (10/2): The type of film that'd have probably been a lot better if it was made in like 1996. Feels kinda low energy and effort. Weird to think this is from the director of Hacksaw Ridge, Apocalypto, Passion Of Christ etc.
#12: Companion: Similar to last year's Abigail in that it suffers from being impossible to market - the twist is the hook - so the promotional material just gave the twist up. It's fine. I appreciate that it keeps upping the ante. Would have also been a good plane movie.
February 6, 2025 at 10:39 PM
#12: Companion: Similar to last year's Abigail in that it suffers from being impossible to market - the twist is the hook - so the promotional material just gave the twist up. It's fine. I appreciate that it keeps upping the ante. Would have also been a good plane movie.
#11: Saturday Night (4/2/25): Watched this on the plane back from Orlando. Was alright, pretty funny at times but felt like it was reaching for a little more than it achieved and definitely had too much reverence for the show in a way that was obstructive. Over-hated on filmtwt.
February 6, 2025 at 10:38 PM
#11: Saturday Night (4/2/25): Watched this on the plane back from Orlando. Was alright, pretty funny at times but felt like it was reaching for a little more than it achieved and definitely had too much reverence for the show in a way that was obstructive. Over-hated on filmtwt.
#10: Presence: (1/20/25): Very cool premise, reminiscent of last year's In A Violent Nature, but while that film was plodding (pun intended) the focus on family drama actually makes it work here An iffy ending holds it back a bit though. Not really a horror film, very mismarketed.
January 25, 2025 at 5:20 PM
#10: Presence: (1/20/25): Very cool premise, reminiscent of last year's In A Violent Nature, but while that film was plodding (pun intended) the focus on family drama actually makes it work here An iffy ending holds it back a bit though. Not really a horror film, very mismarketed.
#9: A Complete Unknown: Okay. Timothee Chalamet is right in his wheelhouse here (playing a guy who's kind of a prick). The film is fairly flat and spare, but zips along well enough.
Had some fun imagining the Johnny Cash scenes leading to some Mangold Folk-rock cinematic universe.
Had some fun imagining the Johnny Cash scenes leading to some Mangold Folk-rock cinematic universe.
January 19, 2025 at 10:52 PM
#9: A Complete Unknown: Okay. Timothee Chalamet is right in his wheelhouse here (playing a guy who's kind of a prick). The film is fairly flat and spare, but zips along well enough.
Had some fun imagining the Johnny Cash scenes leading to some Mangold Folk-rock cinematic universe.
Had some fun imagining the Johnny Cash scenes leading to some Mangold Folk-rock cinematic universe.
#8: Wolf Man: Very disappointing, especially compared to the Invisible Man film from a few years ago. The hackneyed and overdone approach to theme means that after the first few scenes, the rest of the film is predictable and obvious in the worst way possible. An absolute snoozefest.
January 19, 2025 at 1:53 AM
#8: Wolf Man: Very disappointing, especially compared to the Invisible Man film from a few years ago. The hackneyed and overdone approach to theme means that after the first few scenes, the rest of the film is predictable and obvious in the worst way possible. An absolute snoozefest.
#7 Maria: Well shot, very pretty, but felt somewhat insubstantial, particularly in comparison to Spencer from last year, which is by far the better film. Enjoyed seeing Pierfrancesco Favino and his performance though.
January 17, 2025 at 12:08 AM
#7 Maria: Well shot, very pretty, but felt somewhat insubstantial, particularly in comparison to Spencer from last year, which is by far the better film. Enjoyed seeing Pierfrancesco Favino and his performance though.
#6: A Real Pain: Kieran Culkin good. Not much more to say.
January 9, 2025 at 7:37 PM
#6: A Real Pain: Kieran Culkin good. Not much more to say.
#5: Here: It has problems, don't get me wrong, but I can't help feel like the critics have been a tad harsh on this. As hokey and overly stagey as it feels at times, some of the big emotional beats do land. Not great, but not an absolute disaster either.
January 9, 2025 at 1:16 AM
#5: Here: It has problems, don't get me wrong, but I can't help feel like the critics have been a tad harsh on this. As hokey and overly stagey as it feels at times, some of the big emotional beats do land. Not great, but not an absolute disaster either.
#4: Babygirl: Well made, but surprisingly a bit dull. Didn't feel this one.
January 6, 2025 at 11:03 PM
#4: Babygirl: Well made, but surprisingly a bit dull. Didn't feel this one.
#3 Better Man: It rocks that they made a film with the same shape as a typical rock biopic while treating its subject as a vacuous, narcissistic loser with no depth, that isn't particularly talented and is constantly at war with himself for being self aware about it.
January 3, 2025 at 10:30 PM
#3 Better Man: It rocks that they made a film with the same shape as a typical rock biopic while treating its subject as a vacuous, narcissistic loser with no depth, that isn't particularly talented and is constantly at war with himself for being self aware about it.
#2: Now Seated For:
January 2, 2025 at 8:50 PM
#2: Now Seated For:
2025 films: Starting the year off strong, I hope.
January 1, 2025 at 8:50 PM
2025 films: Starting the year off strong, I hope.
Got 6th place at the world famous Glasgow Regional this weekend with this super original build of Sky Strikers. Went 5-1-1 and had a great time, every game felt like it was in my hands and both my loss and draw were winnable and completely my own fault.
December 2, 2024 at 3:04 AM
Got 6th place at the world famous Glasgow Regional this weekend with this super original build of Sky Strikers. Went 5-1-1 and had a great time, every game felt like it was in my hands and both my loss and draw were winnable and completely my own fault.
'Destroy All Humans They Can't Be Regenerated' is so cute and well done; I'd love to see an attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh manga like this.
November 22, 2024 at 6:46 PM
'Destroy All Humans They Can't Be Regenerated' is so cute and well done; I'd love to see an attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh manga like this.