having seen jordan peele's three movies at this point im pretty sure the way on-screen gore and violence is used pretty sparingly is part of his style. and i like his style a lot, but the way so much of the gore is kept off-screen works SO well in Nope (2022) specifically

like for one thihg, having some of the most gruesome/terrifying parts of the movie happen just outside of the camera or blocked by something in the shot definitely elevates the horror. gordy attacking jupe's co-stars is all blocked by the set, we only see the shadows of everyone getting sucked into jean jacket, and even tho we see them inside jean jacket a little bit, it's more to show us how they were being kept alive. we don't actually see them die/get digested. and because none of these things happen on-screen, our brains connect the dots and come up with the most horrifying shit we can imagine

but even outside of just how Not Seeing The Scary Thing Makes The Scary Thing Scarier, it fits fucking thematically with the whole movie. we don't need to see the gory gruesome details of someone's death to know what happened to these characters, showing these things on-screen wouldn't add to our understanding of the plot. it would just be a spectacle of gore and pain and the whole point of Nope is condemning the act of pointing the camera at suffering to exploit people's pain

the flash is getting so boring and repetitive

i know that up until this episode its supposed to be part of season 6 but it doesnt make it any better why its so boring and dull. the writing feels so rushed and clustered, it feels like theres no room to absorb anything bc its going by so quickly.

the writing has gotten really horrible in terms of storyline for other characters too. like the only ones who seem to have a strong consistant storyline the entire season were barry and iris and personally think its bc of the barrell of characters that arent being utilised but brought in for the team aesthetic.

like i would like to know why the fuck they keep bringing back vibe when he took away his powers for a reason, and why not use allerga and her powers on the field instead of him? when and how the fuck did cait get control of her powers when shes been struggling the entire season?? we couldve gotten scenes of her and her mother working together but instead they brought her back to be the big guns even tho she was out in two minutes.

joe and cecile are literally so fucking boring!! their scenes add NOTHING to the show anymore, they couldve had a moment where joe fights mirror!cecile but it was just a pointless scene. AND WHY THE FUCK IS JOE NOT EVEN WORRIED ABOUT HIS DAUGHTER BEING IN A COMA???? WHY IS HE NOT SHOWING ANY WORRY THAT SHE WAS IN A DIFFERENT WORLD FOR MONTHS?? EVEN WALLY WARNED HIM TO LOOK OUT FOR IRIS !! IS HE THAT DUMB??

the writers keep bringing back wells bc they cant have barry be smart on his own and hes a fucking pissbaby with father issues who needs that man who tried to kill him in his life. fucking grow up and let barry be smart!

iris barely gets scenes but the ones she does get are really the only interesting parts of the show. but i do not love that they gave her powers for three seconds and took it away. LET HER BE MIRROR MASTER FOR A LONG TERM !! IT WAS FAR MORE INTERESTING THAN HALF OF THE SHOW

the show is clearly trying too hard to be diverse when they dont have any diversity in the writers room, why the fuck is chester still around?? he is literally cisco and wally combined, hes just the comic relief atp. he adds absolutely nothing to the team or story. he doesnt even have his powers anymore. hes completely useless bc every skill he has can be found in multiple other characters.

westallen dont even get moments to be alone in the last episode despite having been separated for so long. no loft scene no nothing. joe doesnt even come back to see his daughter.

im so fucking tired of this writing and how poor it is compared to earlier seasons. the only reason im even watching it is for candice, to see the future flash family, see dawn and don again, to see how iris basically created more speedsters and the force quest storyline. but the moment this show ends im leaving with a giant fuck you. i hope candice gets into main stream films with black writers and filmmakers like jordan peele

My Top 10 Movies Of 2017

So this was hard because I saw a lot of good shit this year and I thought 2017 was a way better year for films than 2016. Here’s my list:

1. Baby Driver Is Edgar Wright capable of making a terrible movie? The answer so far has been a resounding no. The man who gave us The Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World continues his unstoppable streak as one of the best film makers of the 21st century and gives us a fantastic hybrid of heist movie and jukebox musical. Baby Driver is an excellent example of great character study, technical prowess, and scene geography. I adored every second of it. It also has the best soundtrack of the year. Oh, and a film that finally knows how to use Jon Hamm correctly!

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 Are Wonder Woman, Logan, and Thor: Ragnarok technically better movies than this? Probably. But I don’t care. GOTG Vol. 2 is still my favorite comic book movie of 2017 and holds the most emotional resonance for me. It deals with themes of losing a parent, toxic fatherhood, and making a family of people who aren’t blood-related to you and it had many moments where I wept in a movie theater openly. It’s a tearjerking heartbreaker that still manages to deliver the laughs and satisfying space battles. I can’t wait to see what James Gunn has in store for us in Guardians 3.

3. Blade Runner 2049 Easily the best science fiction movie of 2017. Absolutely gorgeous to look at, fantastic performances all around (including one of the best roles Harrison Ford has had in many years) and manages to ask a lot of poignant questions about what it means to be human. There are things about it I like even more than the original and that’s saying a lot. Unfortunately this didn’t do well at the box office, but I hope more people do see it. Denis Villeneuve is one of the most gifted directors working today.

4. Thor: Ragnarok The best movie in the Thor trilogy, the most fun I had at a movie all year, and it has some subtle anti-colonialism messaging to boot. Marvel lets Taika Waititi loose on their product and he gave us a cosmic party adventure that wouldn’t look out of place in the Flash Gordon universe. It’s drenched in 80′s - the colors, the costume design, and Mark Mothersbaugh’s synthy score, but it doesn’t feel cynical like the upcoming Ready Player One. Also, hearing the term “devil’s anus” in a superhero movie will never not be funny to me.

5. I, Tonya Darkly funny, well acted, and an almost feminist call-to-arms to reevaluate Tonya Harding in the pop-culture landscape. This is a star-making turn for Margot Robbie and I hope she wins all the awards she can for it. We also see strong acting from Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Paul Walter Hauser, and Bobby Canavale. The cast is stellar. I only saw this a couple days ago as of typing this out and I can’t stop thinking about it.

6. Star Wars: The Last Jedi My favorite Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back. I loved The Force Awakens but you can’t deny it played it quite safe. This, on the other hand, does not. I love the weird, bold choices it makes in terms of storytelling and the Star Wars mythos, the characters, and the stunning visuals. Mark Hamill has never been better as Luke Skywalker and Rey, Kylo, Poe, and Finn continue to be fascinating. I also really loved Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico, a fangirl who loves Finn but doesn’t shy away from pointing out his faults. Plus a lot of MRA and Reddit choads hated this movie which gives it a ringing endorsement, as far as I’m concerned. 

7. Logan Lucky Holy shit. A movie about working-class people that doesn’t condescend to them. Steven Soderbergh’s return to the director’s chair sees him going back to the well for a heist movie but I liked this way better than any of his Ocean’s films. Adam Driver’s quiet dignity as Clyde and Channing Tatum’s likable Jimmy make for a great duo. Though Daniel Craig steals the show as Joe Bang. He’s terrific. There’s a scene in this movie where a little girl sings “Country Roads” by John Denver at a beauty pageant and could have been corny as hell and laughable. But it’s not. It’s a show-stopper and an emotionally effective moment.

8. Get Out The best horror movie of the year. No contest. Smart and genuinely scary. It has a lot of intelligent and relevant commentary about race in America but never comes across as preachy and heavy-handed. The fact that this is Jordan Peele’s first time as a director is astonishing. Oh, and I will never look at a spoon tapping against a teacup the same way ever again. *shudders*

9. Logan So if you’re Fox what do you do with the X-Men franchise after the disappointment of Apocalypse? Why, you do a Wolverine solo movie, make it R-Rated, and turn the universe into a dystopian western. Nice. Logan isn’t for everyone - it’s violent and bloody as hell and there are no happy endings. But I fucking loved it. It’s certainly the best X-Men film since First Class. Dafne Keen is a revelation as Laura Kinney (X-23) and one of my favorite female characters in recent memory. When her claws came out the first time I literally squeed in the theater. Please give her her own movie as soon as possible. Logan is a fitting send-off to Hugh Jackman’s signature role.

10. War For The Planet Of The Apes The third entry in the second best trilogy of the 2010′s (the first being Captain America) is a different breed of summer blockbuster and one I hope to see more of. It’s thoughtful, ambitious, and emotionally devastating. The themes of slavery and genocide and the allusions to militias and the white power movement are pretty clear and it definitely puts you on the side of the apes. Andy Serkis is still amazing as Caesar and the motion capture used to create him is astoundingly realistic, Woody Harrelson is genuinely frightening as the main villain, and Amiah Miller as the mute Nova is one of the best child performances of the year. Oh, and that last shot is killer. I’m hoping they make more of these films, but if they don’t this is one hell of a finale.

Some honorable mentions: Spider-Man: Homecoming Huge thank you to Marvel Studios for saving our favorite webslinger from the awful Amazing Spider-Man franchise, two movies that turned Peter Parker into Edward Cullen from Twilight (ugh).

Wonder Woman After the cinematic wrongness of Man Of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Suicide Squad (three of the worst big-budget movies of the decade that are not Transformers films), I had really low expectations for this one and was pleasantly surprised by how good this is. Three words: No Man’s Land.

IT Another film that surprised the hell out of me. A horror movie released in the beginning of September has no fucking right to be this good. But it is!

Dunkirk Christopher Nolan at the peak of his powers. This almost made my top 10 list for its technical acumen alone but it didn’t quite make the cut.

Atomic Blonde Probably the best pure action movie of the year. Is the plot convoluted as all hell? Sure. But it has Charlize Theron kicking major ass in well-choreographed fight scenes and making out with Sofia Boutella. What’s not to love?

Some Thoughts On The Best Movies Of 2019

Honorable Mentions: “Always Be My Maybe” (dir. Nahnatchka Khan), “Avengers: Endgame” (dirs. Joe and Anthony Russo), “Her Smell” (dir. Alex Ross Perry), “The Highwaymen” (dir. John Lee Hancock), “Joker” (dir. Todd Phillips), “Knives Out” (dir. Rian Johnson), “The Laundromat” (dir. Steven Soderbergh), “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese” (dir. Martin Scorsese), “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (dir. Jon Watts), “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (dir. J.J. Abrams), “Toy Story 4″ (dir. Josh Cooley), “Triple Frontier” (dir. J.C. Chandor), “Under the Silver Lake” (dir. David Robert Mitchell), “Waves” (dir. Trey Edward Shults), “Yesterday” (dir. Danny Boyle)

10. “High Flying Bird” (dir. Steven Soderbergh) Steven Soderbergh loves process movies, films where collaboration has to take place in order to achieve a set goal. So, heists. Almost all of Soderbergh's movies have a heist element in the text -- often literally, as with the "Ocean's" franchise or "Logan Lucky"; sometimes deeper, as with "Magic Mike" or "High Flying Bird." This new Soderbergh joint is a fucking blast -- and right from the start, with Andre Holland rat-tat-tatting his way through a fancy lunch with an NBA rookie who's still wet behind the ears (Melvin Gregg, good stuff). On the face of it, "High Flying Bird" is a heist movie, one where we watch Holland's Ray and his dogged former assistant (Zazie Beetz) use shoe-leather to stop an NBA lockout and make themselves a lot of money in the process. But its deeper reading is about a disrupter trying to disrupt again without falling behind the curve (it might as well be about Soderbergh himself). The ideas presented in "High Flying Bird" are so modern its almost as if Soderbergh has seen the future, one where athletes democratize sports in the way so many other fields have been democratized by social media. The production and release of "High Flying Bird" -- it was shot on an iPhone and dropped on Netflix -- are timely too. Soderbergh continues to get over on all these guys, doing it better and faster than most people half his age. Maybe he loves heists so much because he's made a career out of pulling jobs on the unsuspecting for 30 years.

9. “Booksmart” (dir. Olivia Wilde) A classic right out of the box, even in spite of the ponderous discourse surrounding its release. “Booksmart” takes the one-crazy-night structure and core relationship of "Superbad" and mixes it with the heart and sincerity of "Lady Bird" to create a coming-of-age movie that transcends gender and time and finds room to turn Beanie Feldstein into a giant star. This is a god-level performance, paying off what everyone hoped would happen after she played the beta in "Lady Bird." She's the alpha here and tears the movie to shreds. Give her a goddamn Oscar.

8. “Parasite” (dir. Bong Joon Ho) There is always another bottom. “Parasite” starts as one kind of movie and becomes another and the deftness with which it transitions is but one of the many delights buried within what has become a landmark release. Two things to note, before hitting the next blurb: first, the ending montage is unforgettable, quite literally as I’ve often replayed it in my head during quieter moments; and second, the score is the best of the year.

7. “Little Women” (dir. Greta Gerwig) Bigger in scope and bolder in construction than “Lady Bird,” Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women” stamps her as one of the best filmmakers working today. No one is able to be as honest in depicting complicated human feelings and as unafraid to portray outright empathy amid conflict. The only downside to Gerwig hitting the rarefied air of an auteur is that she doesn’t seem to want to act anymore. But we’ll take the role switch if there are more movies like “Little Women” on the horizon.

6. “Marriage Story” (dir. Noah Baumbach) Noah Baumbach is never really mentioned when conversations turn to best directors; he’s always felt a tier behind the Tarantinos and Scorseses of the world. But given a second thought, it’s hard to imagine why. Baumbach has been knocking out four-star movies since the ‘90s and “Marriage Story” might be his best. (Thanks to Netflix, it’s also by far his most widely seen; my parents even watched this one.) The divorce drama turned meme generator is typical Baumbach: smart people arguing about life with a bite that doesn’t shy away from showing the underside of humanity. But it feels like his most complete film, a perfect marriage of his earlier cynical work and his buoyant Gerwig period. It goes without saying but let’s say it anyway: Adam Driver is remarkable in this one, giving the best performance of the year. But Scarlett Johansson matches him scene for scene, a reminder of the raw talent she displayed during the “Lost in Translation” years when she was basically Andruw Jones for actors.

5. “Hustlers” (dir. Lorene Scafaria) From the opening tracking shot -- an unbroken take that follows newbie Destiny (Constance Wu in her best performance yet) as she tries to scratch together some cash during her first night at the klerb -- Lorene Scafaria makes her case for a Scorseseian tribute previously done best by Paul Thomas Anderson. But “Hustlers” isn’t a mere riff on “Goodfellas” or “Boogie Nights,” it’s a Trojan horse packed tight with big statements on the long-lasting ramifications of the 2008 financial crisis, the bonds of true friendship, and the way parenthood literally changes the mind of a parent (”motherhood is a mental illness,” Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona says twice during the film, first with a laugh and then later with a tear). It all culminates with a finale that doubles as a punch in the gut, with a monologue delivered by Lopez that should replace Ben Affleck’s juicy dialogue from “The Town” for aspiring actors on YouTube. Through it all, Scafaria controls every frame and sequence with confidence and ease not portended even by her previous solid work. It’s some masterful stuff, as is the way she’s able to tease out powerful performances from her motley crew of actors: Cardi B (lol sure), Lizzo, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Wu, and, of course, J.Lo, who does Robert De Niro in “Goodfellas” better than anyone else who has tried since 1990.

4. “Us” (dir. Jordan Peele) Oh, hey, “Us” is awesome. A “Twilight Zone” riff mixed with a greatest hits of references (including but not limited to “Scream,” “Jaws,” “The Shining,” “Signs,” “Funny Games,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and “C.H.U.D.”) that throws a bunch of big, lofty ideas into the batter. Chief among them: How the ruling class must be taken out by the disenfranchised and how the disenfranchised, after wresting power from that class, will not go quietly into the night. (Alternate take: Bury the unwoke person you were as a youth before they can come back and ruin your life.) It all works so well — thrilling and hilarious, often at the same time. Lupita Nyong’o is otherworldly here (best actress 2020) and Winston Duke does an outrageous Jordan Peele impression that should please dads everywhere. Highest praise: During a year when we celebrated the greatness of 1999 movies, “Us” would rank up there with the best of the lot.

3. “The Irishman” (dir. Martin Scorsese) I've never thought to cry while watching a Martin Scorsese movie. That's not the kind of filmmaker he has been previously -- and even the movies he's made that pack an emotional wallop do so with almost surgical precision. Perhaps he's getting softer in his old age, or maybe I am: on my third viewing of "The Irishman" (but really, let's call it what it is: "I Heard You Paint Houses"), I teared up on more than one occasion. The elephant in the room after its release became Peggy and the wrongly perceived lack of agency given to her character. But watching how her relationship with Frank unfolds from birth to death with so few words is the movie's greatest trick. The first time we see Peggy, as an infant, she casts her big eyes on dad; those same glances -- angry, heartbroken, disgusted, pitiful stares -- make up their entire relationship. Only once does Frank experience something similar: after he kills Hoffa (a 20-minute sequence that features little dialogue and no music; we stan), Frank is next shown watching from a church pew as Bill Bufalino gives away his daughter at the altar on her wedding day; it's an act of fatherly love and joy that he'll never experience, not after what he's done hours before. Frank knows it too; just look at his face. A fucking masterpiece from our greatest filmmaker.

2. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (dir. Quentin Tarantino) Speaking of masterpieces: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is Quentin Tarantino’s best movie in 20 years and his most introspective ever; cinema’s former enfant terrible has finally grown up. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” grapples with what happens when masculinity runs its course and when one generation loses prominence to the next. But it’s also just super hilarious — filled with moments that are best described as lol. This is the best performance Leonardo DiCaprio has ever given. It’s a remarkable tight-rope walk: he's an actor playing a slightly worse actor who himself is giving a performance and then having to also give another performance as the actor he's playing? As his sidekick-slash-lifemate, Brad Pitt is so effortless that it's almost redundant to praise him. And while there are other delights to enjoy among the cast (Margaret Qualley, Julia “tha God” Butters), let’s highlight Margot Robbie: She finds such warmth and grace within Sharon Tate that it's hard not to leave the film feeling a tremendous amount of sadness and regret. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" might rewrite her history, but the real world did not. Unfortunately, this legend was never printed. But at least it exists in the movies.

1. “Uncut Gems” (dirs. Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie) What if the last 30 minutes of "Goodfellas" was actually 120 minutes and starred an all-time Adam Sandler, Mike Francesa, and Kevin Garnett, and prominently featured Billy Joel's "The Stranger"? The Safdie Brothers wrote and directed my fever dreams and it resulted in the best movie of 2019, 2018, 2017. This is a landmark; why bother writing anything else?