One Battle After Another

DiCaprio makes almost anything watchable but this was a bit of a struggle, it lacked an original or complicated plot, the main evil organisation being a bunch of rich white guys who hate just interracial relationships, maybe this would have worked if they set the movie in the 50's or 60's.

Lasted 30 minutes. I can’t believe this won Oscars. I watched (tried to) on HBO max for free. And it was still too much.

A funny and intelligent rumination on my country. We're in a story that hasn't ended yet, and this film takes place in our reality. The action is good, the photography is sometimes beautiful and sometime ugly but always rich with information. I saw this movie in an IMAX theater and I would recommend watching it as big and loud as you can handle it. The score is very anxious, and the sound effects are visceral and intense. The camera moves in a way I could only describe as having an emotional weight. This movie chooses sometimes to show us grime and grit. It can be ugly to look at. It can be stunningly beautiful. I think filmmakers will be studying the formal aspects of this movie going forward. Being set in the present almost hides the presence of Paul Thomas Anderson in the movie, it's easier to see the beauty in some other person's lifetime. When V for Vendetta was released Alan Moore was offended that a story he wrote about Britain was being used a stand in for George W Bush and the USA. He said it was cowardly and dared an American to make their own movie about America. I wonder what he would think of this movie. I think this movie is an American's movie, About America. The acting is also very good, riding a line between theatrical and natural. The dialogue is also very good. Things mean more on repeated viewings. The viewer knows more than all the characters. I am hoping to leave a spoiler free review, but to rebut some common criticisms I have seen, this film is more of an honest family portrait of america as it is, than it is a roadmap to, or through a revolution.

…however, in my humble opinion, the title should have been Swan Songs, because for some of the cast and crew involved, it felt like it was.

Alot of race baiting,

And that's the only value to it