Nate Nguyen

'Bullet Train' is stylized to great effect, full of aesthetic with its neon-soaked Japan setting, its edits and textual fonts. It has hilarious comedic beats, wild twists and turns in the script that just keep building upon one another, and great action thrills. It's a modern popcorn action flick done right. Granted, it's not trying to tell a profound narrative with Shakespearean characters, it's not trying to mend your soul, or elevate you spiritually, or connect with you on an emotional level. But I can overlook that because director David Leitch has crafted something absolutely entertaining in its purest sense, and even the expensive A-list cast is definitely having fun in here.

Based on the incredible true story of the rescue mission of a junior football team and their coach who got trapped in a cave for 18 days, 'Thirteen Lives' is an inspiring study on courage, resolve, tenacity, patience, the human spirit, and international collaboration, bolstered by stellar acting performances and strong direction from Ron Howard. It's a crowd-pleaser that will move audiences without a doubt. But with the way it checks all the boxes of the drama genre formula and how things play it super straight, neat, clean, and artistically unambitious, it all feels like Oscar-bait. Then the final act with the rescue mission itself feels more repetitive and bland than I hoped it would be. Perhaps this would have worked better as a documentary instead of a Hollywoodized drama movie.

With an inconsistent and messy story, the latest movie from auteur Jordan Peele, 'Nope' is not his best. But that's only a disappointment to Peele's standards. It remains one of the most bold and original films of 2022 so far, a summer blockbuster with a vision that doesn't follow any formulas. It's an effectively eerie alien invasion sci-fi thriller with biting social commentary about our obsession with spectacle in the entertainment industry, has good performances, intricately orchestrated sequences, originality and grand theatrical spectacle. But those who are looking for a genuinely scary horror movie, or a cerebrally twisty, mind-bending intellect piece, adjust your expectations. It's none of these things. It's a straightforward "monster movie" without being dumbed down.

It's amusing to see Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in these kinds of roles, but "The Gray Man" only works as shallow blockbuster entertainment. This globetrotting action spy thriller checks all the boxes of the genre to the point of being generic, and though there's no shortage of spectacular action sequences, extravagant explosions and wild set pieces that clearly reflect its high budget, it's a movie completely devoid of soul, emotion, thoughtful storytelling, or compelling character work.

I couldn't quite connect with Thor: Love & Thunder. Something about this movie was just off to me. Seems to me like Thor's character arc had already been fully formed and resolved back during the Thanos/Infinity saga. So now they've just run out of ideas of what to do with him and it all feels either too forced or hollow in here. Also, why does every potentially good dramatic or tense moment have to be undermined by a joke/gag, that don't even land that often. Emotionally, it also falls flat. Gorr was great, but they don't do nearly enough with him. The action sequences in the intro scenes and final scenes were incredible though for sure. And the movie just screams personality, aesthetic and style as well, just like the previous MCU release Multiverse of Madness. When Gorr is on screen doing his thing, it all works. When he's not on screen and they're focusing on Jane and Thor, I'm just like eh whatever.

This movie lives up to all the Cannes Festival hype, the critical acclaim and is the second best movie of 2022 only behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. I'm absolutely floored! Now the Oscar Best Picture buzz is a little exaggerated. But at the same time it's not too exaggerated either??? I can definitely see it getting a nomination. It has those all-American crowd pleaser qualities with so much heart and soul in its story and characters. I'm so surprised they made it work narratively even despite not having a traditional conflict, nor a traditional human antagonist. They managed to imbue stakes, tension and effective human drama in a simple pilot bombing mission. Tom Cruise shines in his performance as the titular Maverick and the new cast of characters succeed at presenting themselves to be endearing and humanized. The piloting action sequences are breathtaking, capturing a certain immersion and making the audience feel like they are sitting in the cockpit. The production and sound design are nothing short of immaculate. Even when 'Top Gun: Maverick' sticks with its cheesy and formulaic tropes, and even when it starts veering into predictable territory, it all comes together excellently, making for one of the most memorable cinematic blockbuster experiences of the year. A viewing in IMAX is essential.

This is an example of a director lost in his own head, much to the detriment of his audience. 'Crimes of the Future' showed great potential with its tackling of body horror blended with dystopian sci-fi ideas of the human species evolving beyond their biology, intertwined with ideas about bureaucracy, policing and social agendas. But it's completely disinterested in answering any of its own questions or present anything coherent. In the end, what we're left with is just a passive art exhibition of graphic and shocking material with an empty narrative, hollow themes and underdeveloped characters, that make none of this meaningful or comprehensible. An all-around unpleasant and boring viewing experience with nothing for me to latch onto.

Though much of its efforts went into crafting cheap, fun, cerebrally lazy blockbuster entertainment with some good moments, Jurassic World Dominion's biggest weakness is its story. It's bland, it's incoherent, it has contrived plot points, and it has a confused identity, abandoning its entire premise about dinosaurs coexisting with humans to focus on trivial things that aren't productive to the narrative, making all this feel empty and inconsequential. Still, there's something comforting about this movie being the equivalent of eating at a McDonald's drive-through. It's not outright bad, but it sure is forgettable, underwhelming and lacking in impact.

'Elvis' is a dull and overly stylized film that has no interest in exploring the legendary King of Rock's life in a deeper human level. Instead, it opts to be a cool technical demo of crazy frantic editing and over-the-top visuals like it's a 3 hour montage or movie trailer on meth. But the storytelling here is either too shallow or almost nonexistent. Don't get me wrong, Austin Butler perfectly embodies Elvis Presley in his looks, mannerisms and voice in an Oscar worthy performance. But I was hoping for more with this film than just a stellar acting showcase.

'The Black Phone' is an effectively chilling kidnapping thriller with some supernatural elements to layer it into a fascinating concept horror. It could have been even greater had it went deeper with its ideas. But everything still comes together nicely and the movie keeps me engaged due to it knowing how to make you root for this sympathetic kidnapped protagonist to escape from his captor. This one's a crowd-pleaser, so a jam-packed theater will definitely heighten the experience.