Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
6.8
This one’s complicated. I had low expectations that the movie hurdled with ease early on. There are some incredibly well crafted scares and sequences here. However, it falls into the traps we’ve come to expect from the “Conjuring” universe and ended up being okay for the most part. We’re tipping the scale into the “ok now, you’re diluting the brand now” territory. Which I hate to admit, because this universe has been some of the best studio horror of the past decade.
6.9
Nicholas Cage’s filmography has jumped the shark, and I am here for it!
A ridiculously simple premise with ridiculously ridiculous accents and execution. I don’t really know what to say to explain this one…
Turn your brain off, and enjoy the ride!
7.2
Wonderfully weird.
The design of the spacecraft and extra-terrestrial are perfect. Just normal enough but just strange enough to make it comedic. The unlikely team of humans coming together to discover a newfound purpose in life was a nice change of pace. It’s as if E.T. had the elderly as friends instead of kids fresh off a divorce. A really well made, adorable little movie.
7.2
The champion of the running movies so far, in my book. Not because of the race, but because of the people. The deeper themes that run beneath the surface of this are superb. Watching people break down, push through, and rebuild each other is breathtaking. It’s human Kintsugi. The surprise Navy SEAL David Goggins type, I expected. The first timer pushing himself so far that it made me hurt on the couch, or the gentleman processing the passing of his father in between timed intervals of a race in the middle of nowhere? I did not see the peeling back of the thin veil covering the depths of humanity being torn open adversity. Get ready to fall much deeper into the viewing experience and to leave much more reinvigorated than ever anticipated.
6.5
Insane. This guy and the people running this race are insane.
Similar to the “Saw” franchise, I’m discovering that there is a genre of running films whose theme is creativity in torture. How can we push ourselves mentally, physically, and spiritually to the brink in weirder ways. The map itself lets you know everything you need to know about the race. As is the theme with these movies, the true impact comes from the character studies, which are strong in this one.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 