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| BITCHSLAP STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
14359 |
| Total Ratings: |
225698 |
| Total Reviews: |
28726 |
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| BENEDETTA |
"Sinema Paradiso"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Paul Verhoeven is, of course, best known for directing such controversial films as “Robocop,” “Basic Instinct,” “Starship Troopers” and “Elle,” works that have brought together sex, violence, lurid storytelling and dark satire into cinematic stews that tend to amuse and outrage viewers in equal numbers. At the same time, he has also spent many years pursuing a side gig as a Biblical scholar that would lead to him publishing the 2007 book “Jesus of Nazareth,” a serious inquiry into the life and teachings of Christ that was borne out of research he had done for a movie he intended to make at one point entitled “Jesus: The Man.” In the past, he has allowed these two interests to commingle in interesting ways—his films have always been filled with religious imagery—but never to the degree that they do in his latest effort, “Benedetta,” a deliberate provocation that takes the real-life story chronicled in Judith C. Brown’s 1986 nonfiction book “Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy” and transforms it into a meditation of sex, power and greed within the Church via a framework that shares a number of uncanny parallels with, of all things, his still-notorious “Showgirls,” all just in time for Christmas, no less." (more)
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| ENCANTO |
"All over the place, but once it locks in..."
Jay Seaver says... "It's been some time since Disney's last traditionally-animated feature, and while "Encanto" wouldn't necessarily be better that way - the filmmakers would have made a lot of different choices - there's a looseness to the film that occasionally feels at odds with CGI precision. It feels like the result of doodling, riffing, and batting ideas across a room, and as a result the ways in which it shines can almost sneak up on a viewer: All these bits of story that don't quite fit together wind up forming a pattern that may just get to its viewers more than they expected." (more)
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| BATTLE AT LAKE CHANGJIN, THE |
"A-List Propaganda"
Jay Seaver says... "A few years back, someone wrote the amusing line that China was making a lot of "'Call of Duty' movies", referring to the popular series of military-action games even if it also clearly applies to the films' themes. Both fit; Dante Lam, in particular, has become known for these blockbuster productions that are clearly propaganda but also so capably made with fairly universal themes that one can enjoy them somewhat as an American fan of the genre even knowing that the faceless enemy forces would be the heroes in a Hollywood production. "The Battle at Lake Changjin" is the biggest and most jingoistic yet to make it to American shores, with Lam joined by fellow A-list directors Chen Kaige and Tsui Hark, an all-star cast, a massive budget and three-hour running time, along with very little approaching nuance." (more)
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| BELFAST |
"Not especially moving or effective."
Rob Gonsalves says... "In his autobiographical film "Belfast," writer-director Kenneth Branagh has a lot to say about the transporting power of movies, "Star Trek," and the loveliness of a smart girl in one’s classroom." (more)
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| KING RICHARD |
"Will power."
Rob Gonsalves says... "You may be forgiven, watching "King Richard," for wondering what exactly Richard Williams’ deal was. Was he a prophet or a damned lucky delusional?" (more)
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| GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE |
"Honestly not even that great as nostalgia."
Jay Seaver says... "There's a line, somewhere around 1978 or so, where folks on one side experienced the original "Ghostbusters" as a great, kind of crude big-budget comedy with a disappointing sequel in the same vein (maybe the first adult-skewing comedy their parents let them watch); on the other side, people who watched "The Real Ghostbusters" on Saturday mornings, had toys, games, comics, all sorts of stuff that goes with a light adventure franchise, even though most would circle back around to the original movie. "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" is a movie very much for the latter audience, and that's fine - they buy more movie tickets, after all - but once the filmmakers went that route, they could have made a much better movie." (more)
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| HOUSE OF GUCCI |
"Gucci Gucci Ewww"
Peter Sobczynski says... "At a time when it feels as if the majority of the films put into production have little more on their minds than to offer additional ways of monetizing the intellectual properties of the mega-conglomerates that own them, the fact that there is still someone like Ridley Scott out there should be a cause for celebration for most cineastes. At 83, an age when most people in his line of work have been consigned to the Lifetime Achievement Award circuit, he is not only still turning out films at a ferocious pace but appears to be one of the very few working today who is still willing and able to produce large-scale films that are aimed primarily at an adult audience. He is a filmmaker who clearly swings for the fences every time he takes on a new project and while that has resulted in a number of great works over the years—I will presume that a list of his notable works will not be needed—the down side is that he has also missed by a mile quite a few times in the past, though at least his failures tend to be more intriguing than the better efforts of most other filmmakers that I could name. For example, last month’s “The Last Duel” was a muddled Middle Ages epic that recounted the events leading up to France’s last legal sanctioned duel through three different viewpoints that interpreted the details in vastly dissimilar ways. I did not care for it very much but I am happy that he was able to get something that goes so far against the current grain produced and it received enough raves from other people to make me think that perhaps I should give it another chance and see if it improves on a second viewing." (more)
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| ETERNALS |
"Adventure almost as big as its ideas."
Jay Seaver says... "Jack Kirby's comic book series "The Eternals" was published by Marvel Comics but only retrofitted into the shared universe later, and not always well (one gets the idea later writers would have more use for the grand mythology than the individual characters), and one often gets the sense that the movie adaptation would be better off outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Though not perfect, Chloe Zhao's film is grand fantasy with its own big ideas, and is at its best when one doesn't have to worry about it fitting into another framework as this month's apocalypse." (more)
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FILMS I NEGLECTED TO REVIEW: "EVERYBODY CAN CHANGE!"
by Peter Sobczynski |
| "Please enjoy short reviews of "Boiling Point," "India Sweets and Spices," "Out of the Blue," "The Power of the Dog," "The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star" and "Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago--The Ultimate Director's Cut."" (more) |
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'THIS IS NOT YOUR BABY, OK? IT'S SOME OTHER IDIOT'S BABY, PROBABLY WITH AN EIGHTH GRADE EDUCATION AND A TRUNK FULL OF WACO PAMPHLETS.'
- Lucia, The Opposite Of Sex
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