“Eddington”

7.7

I typically hate COVID era movies, for obvious reasons… No one wants to go back to that.

This film somehow nails the absurdity and expertly skewers the insanity of those times in a way that won me over. Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal play local politicians perfectly in this masterpiece of mania. It’s really tough to adequately describe this one without losing the plot. You really have to see it to believe it! I haven’t said “what the actual fuck?!” out loud in a theater at a movie this much in a LONG time… Do with that information what you will.

“By Any Means”

6.7

It’s a more violent version of “The Green Book” from a few years back. I wanted to like this one more, but the movie gets in its own way via editing mistakes that derail the story and mangle the pacing to an unrecoverable point of no return. The third act is a mess due to this, and it misses the runway on the landing. Very strange creative choices for what could have been an even more interesting story.