Joseph Christensen

This is my favorite movie, hands down. Better than Empire Strikes Back, and I know what praise this is. This movie is captivating from the opening narration to the final scene. It's not a cinematic masterpiece, and you will guess the plot twists early. But that's to be expected from a fable that's older than any language you've ever heard of. As I learned after ninety minutes of frustration trying to parse the language this movie is filmed in, Basque has roots older than Latin. The fact that they've made a masterpiece film while speaking it fluently should be more than enough to make you appreciate it. That being said, the multiple story arcs of redemption and the connectedness of the main characters is more than enough. It's well-executed, solidly grounded, and worth your time.

At least I've found a film I dislike more than the new Star Wars trilogy. The new Batman is a mashup of Se7en, the Crow, and the classic detective murder mystery. So, there's not an original idea in the entire film. They even stole Darth Vader's entrance from Rogue One. The music is too loud throughout, and most of it is a 90s grunge rock piano cover on a loop. The occasional bursts of dialog are predictable exposition between the characters as they slowly explain everything the audience understood minutes before. Batman's detective skills are sub-par and his fighting skills are worse. But at least his brooding emo game is cranked up to eleven. It's as though Edward Cullen went away to a hidden monastery where the monks are so sullen they just die, but he's a vampire so he can't, and he just stays there a thousand years learning how to be brooding. Then he comes back to be a vigilante, but forgot how to be a detective and fight.