MOVIE: Eddington (2025)

Eddington Year: 2025 Rating: R Length: 148 minutes / 2.47 hours Making a film set in and somewhat about the effects of the COVID pandemic feels far too close for comfort. And yet, Eddington (2025) paints both sides of this culture war in a way that highlights their hypocrisy while also taking a huge left turn in the third act that was so far from the realm of the possible that it almost made the whole movie pointless. Of course, perhaps that was the point: that citizens ultimately don’t have control over the results that large corporations want for this country. Set in the early months of the 2020 COVID pandemic, the titular New Mexico town of Eddington is facing the same left vs. right arguments about the virus and what to do about it. Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) clearly wants to help people but is portrayed as a low-intelligence right-wing believer in individual rights. In contrast, Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) is running...
Read More

MOVIE: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Year: 2022 Rating: R Length: 107 minutes / 1.78 hours One of the best bits in the television show Community was Abed's exploration of Nicolas Cage's career. Is he a genius? Is he a hack? There is an almost equal amount of evidence to suggest either side. When I first saw the trailers for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), I thought the meta take on Nicolas Cage's career would be a fun trip. However, which version of the actor would we get? Genius or hack? The fundamental problem with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is that it doesn't go far enough into the meta. It felt like someone just opened up IMDb and chose the top ten Nicolas Cage blockbusters to name-drop throughout the movie. We don't get Moonstruck (1987). We don't get Leaving Las Vegas (1995). We don't get Adaptation. (2001). As a result, this film mostly focuses on his action-oriented movies, which typically aren't...
Read More