Cinematic Sommelier
6.6
I don’t know why I got my hopes up, but I did. This movie’s rotten tomatoes score is bananas. It’s a killer sloth. There’s nothing much past that. Better than “Black Christmas,” I guess? If you enjoy slashers, especially those set around the slaughter of sorority girls, then you’ll enjoy this one. That being said, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. Sloth going full Wolverine, slicing and dicing everyone in its path was not on my 2023 bingo card, yet here we are.
6.8
I think they were going for “Seven” here… but ended up with a by the numbers cop drama. It never got that deep, despite it’s best efforts.
Ben Mendelsohn and Shailene Woodley carry a lot of water to get this one across the finish line. it has it’s moments where it goes full “shock and awe,” and some potentially intriguing threads, but they fail to fully pull those threads or veer off the beaten path enough to have piqued my interest above general intrigue. It was a solid movie, just not as good as I was hoping it would be.
7.9
Are you afraid of the future?
Do you question the motives behind maternity processes?
Do I have the film for you! I myself do not have children, and I’d be fascinated to know the way it would change my perspective on this one. From gender to societal roles and implications, this film takes a deep dive into much broader territory than I was expecting. There’s so much going on, yet it feels perfectly natural and palatable as the story unfolds and our characters journey on into the unknowns of a changing relationship with themselves, each other, and the world around them. Here I thought I’d never get to use “nature vs. nurture” in one of these things, yet here we are. It’s a fitting distillation of this film’s core.
6.9
If you liked “The Hangover” trilogy or “Girls’ Night Out,” you’ll like this one. The cast is perfection, and the third act will pack much more of a punch than your expecting. You won’t see the shedding a tear from heartfelt closure coming from this one.
8.1
He did it again! Denzel and crew stuck the landing and nailed the conclusion of the trilogy. This time with the additional impact of a reunion with Dakota Fanning, a chemistry you can feel permeate the story and provide a strong heart to the story that I was afraid would be missing in this one without the usual supporting cast, following the events of Part 2. They haven’t lost a beat since “Man on Fire.”
You won’t find better choreography and kill count outside of “John Wick,” with only “Nobody” giving them a run for their money.
I found this film to have a return to form and a softer touch than 2. There was no lack of bloodshed, but moments between Fanning and Washington, paired with attention to detail like the score paying homage to Nina Rota’s “Godfather” theme to fit the Italian locale… I appreciated the well rounded nature of this stuck landing. Incredibly well done and well worth a watch!
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 