Brian Lewis

I loved Anora! It is a fun, funny, electric experience yet also raw, heartbreaking, and eventually heavy experience too but it always has an innate, genuine sense of heart. It has a Cinderella setup like a damsel being saved by a prince but flips it on its head realistically, authentically, hilariously and dramatically. It’s like Uncut Gems in terms of tension/drama but with a lot more heart, humor, and more poignant for sure. Lots of drama, lots of tense situations, but it’s a FUN thrill ride, not an overly depressing and super bleak one. It has one of the best endings of the year, it’s one of the funniest movies of the year, the film has a lot of heart yet is raw and dramatic at all the right moments. One situation was so funny that my theater was in tears. It’s well directed, the characters are memorable, it is a great script, it’s an incredible, raunchy romantic ride

Not the best serial killer film since Silence of the Lambs (excuse me? What about Zodiac and Se7en?), not the best horror film since Hereditary, but I still really enjoyed it, and I'll go ahead and say it was the best horror film since Talk To Me (which I loved). I loved the atmosphere of this film. Although not quite on the level of Kurosawa's Cure in terms of atmosphere, I thought the unease, dread, and discomfort was pretty great, especially along with the fantastic cinematography which enhances it even further. Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage are really good here, with Cage being pretty damn creepy and unnerving, it's truly a gonzo performance. He really is a gross guy here. Oz Perkins has a clear sense of direction here, and the film is both taut and a nice slow-burn that isn't too long or over stays it's welcome. I wish the ending was better though. Not a bad ending, but not a very good ending either. It's a "meh" ending, feels too off and weak-ish, but I loved what was going on before. Also, some of the CGI blood bothered me. Wish some of the violence looked a bit less fake. I don't need crazy, goopy, gratuitous practical effects, I just wish that CGI was less noticeable. Also, it's not quite as scary as the marketing says, but the dread, unease, and Cage's wild performance was scary enough for me! Just not SUPER harrowing, but the scariness I think IS there. I had a really good time, but not a "perfect" or "masterpiece" time. I still recommend it though. I'm feeling a solid 7.5 out of 10, or an 8 out of 10 (a lower 8). Glad it's doing well at the box office. Check it out. Not exceptional, but still good!

It didn’t completely blow me away, but I really enjoyed this AND thought it’s one of the much better horror films released in recent years! First off, the performances were really fantastic. Especially for such young actors and actresses it was very impressive. ESPECIALLY Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird, they were amazing in my book. There was some tough parts those roles demanded, and they really pulled it off. Also the horror itself (especially the makeup) was quite good. When it was creepy, it was creepy. When it got violent, it wasn’t gratuitous, but VERY impactful, wince inducing, and had lots of weight. When it was intense, it was heart pounding levels of tension. Though don’t expect lots of jumpscares, this is more of the anxiety inducing type of horror. It’s not elevated horror, not jump scare kind either. More of its own thing. I feel it could’ve been a bit scarier, but I still felt they did quite well! Also the sound design is great, especially in the more brutal scenes. It hits HARD, and really makes you go,”OUCH”! Some minor issues I had: there was ONE scene in here(won’t spoil) that tried to be scary (though still makes sense narratively) that was REALLY silly/goofy. Like… come on. That was really goofy. Thankfully, that’s the only scene I felt was like that. Also I felt the ending was a BIT Abrupt, maybe felt like it needed a little more meat to wrap it up. And like I said earlier, it’s a very good horror film, but I feel it could have been a bit scarier, tho there’s some great horror here still. One more thing that’s maybe a nitpick, the beginning act of the movie felt a bit too slow. Maybe have slightly better pacing? maybe that's just me... Overall, it’s not one of the best horror films of all time but I really enjoyed it. Rackaracka did great for their debut! Happy it’s doing well at the box office. Hope Sophie Wilde/Joe Bird hopefully get more roles too! I’d give it an 8/10 or a 7.5/10. 4/5 for now. Recommended! Another a24 hit.

Man…… this masterpiece holds up SO WELL!! Just rewatched recently and it really is just so, SO well done. Everything good about this film has already been said many times. This film deserves its praise. 10/10, an action cinema masterpiece

The humor did not work for me, but everything else was good to great! Although it was not 100% free of the MCU formula, it still overall felt mostly like its own thing in a very good way and was still quite unlike most MCU movies which was quite a breath of fresh air to see. Also the fighting choreography is EXCELLENT and some of the best since John Wick Chapter 3 and the bathroom fight scene from Mission Impossible Fallout. When it comes to Awkwafina... she was not horrible, but I did not find her funny to be honest, but her character did stick to being serious in the serious scenes instead of ruining them with unneeded comedy which was nice. Also Tony Leung was FANTASTIC as a villain! He was three-dimensional and was great overall as not just a villain but a human. Also I must say... I usually don't like excessive cgi BS, but even the CGI was very nice to see even when used in the fights/action pieces where punches don't land and true martial arts isn't the focus. I thought I'd hate the more CGI fights but I was quite surprised. I'm not the biggest MCU fan honestly... there's still a good amount of MCU movies I very much enjoyed like Homecoming, Winter Solider, and quite a bit more, while others like Black Panther and Endgame were very "meh" to "ok" for me... this movie was absolutely an extremely pleasant surprise though. Easily in my top 5 MCU films, a very enjoyable film that feels different enough than other more formulaic-ish Marvel movies, and while I didn't find it to be a 10/10, it is still DAMN good, and if you're an action fan (The Raid 1/2, Ip Man, John Wick, any other martial arts movies) then I think you'll enjoy it even more! HIGHLY recommend, and I'm very happy to see this movie doing well, and I wouldn't mind buying this on bluray and seeing it again. 8/10 : VERY Good