https://www.facebook.com/228880581271573/

AF-1 Media, Nottingham (2026)

03/06/2026

OBSESSION (2026,) REVIEW BY FRANZ VENEZUELA

GOD bless everyone who made this movie. Internet sketch comedian and director Curry Baker's newest stripped down horror film is here to creep and twist its way into your heart and continue the horror renaissance that has exploded from Youtube filmmakers.

Baron Bailey can't get it up to tell a Nikki Freeman he likes her. Yet there's definetely some not great things lurking under the surface of "Bear's" life, especially once he finds his cat dead. Baron's crush on Nikki is impeded by the mundane; miscommunications, petty inconveniences, and seemingly feeling a lot for her despite not knowing squat about her home life. So spying a novelty wishing trinket, a One Wish Willow, at a crystal shop, he desperately wishes for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world.

The first 20 minutes of the movie are a fun portrayal of friends down on their luck, working at a music shop for Sarah's dad (Andy Richter in a cute minor role,) trying to get through to trivia night just to have something to do while they semeingly wait to pursue their dreams. Once Baron cracks the willow its a full ride of domestic horror.

Inde Navaratte is fascinating in her portrayal of Nikki and hopefully she be getting some recognition come award season. Once the effects of the wish take hold her behavior rapidly becomes disturbing; upping the ante every few minutes with unhinged interactions. A public shouting at a restaurant that arises from a simple question and the cat gets a morbid memorial. As the situation escalates, Bear comes face to face with his own vision of domestic violence, as the movie uses its classic "monkeys paw" approach, showing the violence and the morbid derangement of whatever is inside Nikki. A third act kill is so fast and matter-of-fact in its brutality as the shot briefly on the gore.

There's many layers of different terrible emotions. Nikki's utter removal of agency, is both the tragedy and the terror as their friends attempt to deal with the matters, in a way that feels very naturalistic. There's one moment at the beginning of the third act, where Baron and Nikki are "arguing," if even that word could be used to describe the broken layers of relationship dynamics, where in the midst of the screaming and the restrained angle of the camera just lands the domestic tragedy. Its a note of something pathetic and sad in between the lunacy. Bear has horribly transgressed and there is no negotiating with the force he has unleashed that has broken all their lives. A quiet scene where Baron seems to actually communicate with Nikki gets to the heart of the movie's themes, with his quiet exit out of the room revealing much about Baron's broken nature.

The film is also morbidly funny in a handful of absurd moments that nail the ludicrous tone that Baker has spent many a year practicing. It so finely balances its juxtaposition of dread and terrified mundanity, that even the most basic request from Baron render a mix of small jump scares that try to throw off the viewer's expectations. It's easily one of the best new indie horror films of the year, and if the numbers are correct, is set to break box office records by beating Disney at the box office. At two hours it's shockingly hefty for such a tiny film but wrings every moments with vigor as it creeps to its final moments.

09/05/2026

MORTAL KOMBAT II: REVIEW BY FRANZ VENEZUELA

I think this year, with the release of Mario Bros Galaxy, Mortal Kombat II and Street Fighter, we have hit the peak limit for trying to cram videogame stories into movies. We have finally achieved the switch from movies becoming games and games becoming movies, and it may be hitting the final nail in the coffin to narrative cohesion in cinema.

So good news, this isn't the worst Mortal Kombat movie, that still famously belongs to MK Annihilation. In terms of entertainment value and visuals, it's better than the previous movie, and I would be brave enough to say it's probably the second best after the 95'. I know that it's not a high bar, considering that this entire series is just a bloody, nonsensical fantasy attempt to remake Enter the Dragon, and I say that as someone who has loved MK since the beginning.

The movie starts earnestly enough, establishing the realm of Edenia and its conquest by Shao Khan. Despite the basic settup, it is a narrative mess. The pacing of scenes seems to change moment to moment. The editing is better than the last movie but the biggest flaw is the obvious reshoot cuts. There is a modern plague of solo character doing reaction shots against a CG background, completely cutting them off from the rest of the scene. Director Simon McQuoid worked in commercials and these two movies are his only features, with little evidence of improved skill with blocking or pacing.

Unless you know who characters are, and get a grip on them outside the minor lines explaining the obvious settup, character motivation seems to slip through the cracks. Characters who are known to have strong relationships in the games literally don't even say a word to each other in this movie. Ironically enough, the fantasy game exposition feels like window dressing, and not the stuff that's actually supposed to drive character and story. Not that the actual plot of MK has discernable themes, outside of trying to toss its pieces around just to see what will happen.

But what of the fights? The fights are solid at a glance, but there's little rhyme to the rhythm. The fighters don't even enter the arenas themselves, they are literally teleported via terrible CGI glow on their skin, that doesn't even use the dragon tatoos they established in the prior movie! They don't even use the thing they spent the whole last movie talking about! Frankly that's fine. The dynamics are debased down to "we are in this bracket of the tournament and now we can use superpowers." Sometimes this movie can feel like a speed run of itself, where the big moments don't get enough proper buildup, and the editing between multiple fight scenes feels distracting, rather than having a focus on one aspect at a time.

The tone between even the beginning scenes and ones that come after suffer from the haphazard tonal whiplash. The movie's attempt to be a celebration of its own franchise emphasizes it's own incoherent style and lore. Yet, there's also fun to it's try-hard edgelord 90's chique. Franchise co-creator Ed Boon even shows up at a Bartender in too obvious cameo (90's game developers are famously egomaniacal.)

I confess, there is a fun to the kitsch, even if Emmy Winner Todanobu Asano, of Sh**un and Ichi the Killer fame, has to cough through some pretty rough dialogue. I am an MK OG my friends, I know these characters back and forth and good lord, they make it too difficult trying to put a narrative pin on this donkey.

Think its the Johnny Cage movie? Not quite! The first 30 minutes of this movie are basically fantasy Team America with Karl Urban, as Hollywood washout Johnny Cage, perhaps played not quite greasy enough? But its a fun romp with Karl, who feels at place like its an episode of Xena he did in the 90's, even tossing in a dorky Lord of the Rings joke.Think that's it's just Johnny kicking ass to the end? Wrong!

The movie is in fact 40% Princess Kitana rebellion movie. Adeline Rudolph gets significant screentime as Kitana, the blade fan wielding princess, who has been a series mainstay as long as Sonya and the boys. Putting some narrative subversion in there, or just playing around the with tournament bracket? Don't expect any Edenian Feminism though. I'm not sure Sonya and Kitana even directly talk to each other.

The dark fantasy scenes where Kitana faces off with her evil stepfather Shao Khan are probably some of the best parts, at least visually. Shao Khan, one of the infamous difficult bosses of gaming, looks rad as hell, shot to look imposing with crazy drago man eyes and skull helmet. This is where the movie feels it actually has a proper narrative, despite the weekness of the dialogue.

Does some of it look a little cheap around the edges? The chains on Hiroyuki Sanada, cashing an easy paycheck as Scorpion, are blended into flames, something that still looks a little silly emanating from the Emmy winning thespian and producer. The CGI blends the seams of the village square, and the relatively small sets built for this movie. CG backgrounds fill in where even wood and plaster cannot, to the point where the establishing shots, designed to look like the game transitions, are there more for laughs than story.

Where the movie loses pace is in trying to put the fighting tournament together as a plot, which the prior movie also failed to do! So the movie literally just teleports our heroes to where they're going to fight, because... The Elder Gods said so? They even include a floating flaming beacon so we can literally count the score of whose in the tournament? Are we sure this isn't a Mario movie? It feels narratively similar, except for all the blood.

Let's not be hasty, the 95' MK wasn't exactly a masterpiece of action cinema, but it has its 90's charms. In fact, this movie works as a pretty decent direct sequel to that, Shao Khan material and all. Gods, sorcerers, ninjas, and Australians all pop around, but necromancy is real so death means literally nothing. Most of the prior cast is back, even Lewis Tan's Cole, who was largely an invention when the first attempt to get a new MK launched a decade ago. Depite lacking some chops, Lewis gets his beats in, with a handful of goofy franchise nods and visual jokes that actually change the IMAX resolution. These made it really annoying watching the sides of the screen switching back and forth between IMAX and HD.

The kills are fun, although it's clear to see time was spent on the big fights because Sonya's fight feels about as caged in and narratively divorced as any in this movie. The characters don't significantly change, although it's a structured romp getting to the 15th magic macguffin in this series, trying to fit in the magical nonsense reasons for a lot of Australian actors to pretend to be asian wizards in a demonic dystopia. Damon Herriman, such a standout as Charles Manson in Mindhunter and fun as hell on Justified, is sadly confined to the creepy, plotting Quan Chi, but he doesn't really get to relish in the mischief.

That being said, some of the beats in this movie are laugh out loud in their preposterousness. Joshua Lawson must be huge in Australia because I can't figure out another reason than him having such a prominent place in these movies other than the writers or the cast really like him or Kano. Yet they don't treat him like a villain, he's literally a funny good guy in this one. So what was the narrative logic?

At least Baraka fans rejoice! Our bladed boy gets more screen time than a lot of other characters, to trade hits with Cage and some fun antics, that make the pointy teethed Tarkatans more than just background fodder. All in all, I'm glad we got another MK movie that deliver on its promises of a tournament, goofy characters from the franchise's past get their big moments, violent combatants gets to mutilate each other. For fans of the franchise it's what we wanted, if not delivered with the most tact or skill, but hell if I didn't laugh and cheer whenever Shao Khan wrecked someone. Finish him indeed.

Drinking game rules:

Sip when:
-New weird side character introduced for first time.
-You wonder why they didn't just call him "Sub Zero" again.
-90's movie reference.
-Game reference.

Medium sip:
-Ed Boon smarm.
-"Finish him"/ "Fatality."
-Trying to ahve a story in this movie that makes no sense.
-Big kill

Finish drink:
-You stopped being able to tell if this movie is a parody of itself.
-You laugh out loud at anything Liu Kang attempts to say dramtically.

11/04/2026

SUPER MARIO GALAXY,
REVIEW BY FRANZ VENEZUELA.

Bowser Jr. did nothing wrong.

10/03/2026

PEAKY BLINDERS; THE IMMORTAL MAN, REVIEW BY FRANZ VENEZUELA.

It's been a hell of a journey for we Peaky Blinders fans. The dark, violent, melancholic, alcoholic saga of Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders brought fans of British historical gangster antics together via Netflix, and helped explode Cillian Murphy's fandom. 4 years after the end of the series, we return to Birmingham, one last time.

I'll try to avoid most spoilers, but the end of the series cemented the fates of many characters, so most of the show's supporting cast does not make an appearance. Some losses, like the tragic passing of actress Helen McRory in 2021 ("Our Aunt Pol" to the fans,) left a hole that was impossible to fill. This made the final season less of an ensemble, with many of the side characters getting small beats or very minor plot points, with the story focusing centrally on Tommy, but it's idiosyncratic attempts to elevate itself sometimes came at the price of plot and character.

The movie has less of the final season's flaws, mostly in that it keeps the plot contained and can better utilize set piece visuals. While the look of the show kept it perfectly period-appropriate, with the glow of old filament bulbs, fires from blast furnaces and foggy hillsides, the tight alleyway chases and shootouts of this film all feel expressive enough to keep the story going.

The movie's opening is striking, as Jewish prisoners in a German concentration camp are forced to produce millions of counterfeit British notes for the N***s, in order to cause economic ruin as the German Blitz descends on England. The opening is inspired by a real event, when on the November 19, 1940, the BSA factory in Birmingham was bombed, killing 53 women who were in the factory.

As Birmingham reels from the damage, Ada Thorne, (Sophie Rundle) the most sensible Shelby sibling, tries to keep the people, her insane family and her dispossessed brother together. However the plot's propulsion is with Barry Keoghan's Duke, Tommy's long estranged Romani loner son, replacing Conrad Khan from the final season. Duke's anarchic reign over the younger Blinders wreaks havoc by stealing guns from the armory (narratively reenacting the very same crime that started the series.)

Duke mimics aspects of Tommy's control of a scene, but is still seen as nothing but a thug by the locals. The Garrison pub has become a raucous mess, and the Blinders no longer keep up appearances of civility or decorum. Then there's the underhanded deal with Tim Roth's N**i sympathizer antagonist, Beckett, who makes inroads using not so subtle paternalistic influence over the impressionable malcontent.

In a show that had a long history of ridiculous accents, some to be funny, Keoghan doesn't try to do a gimmick. He doesn't lean into any of the high-tension twitchiness he's known for, preferring a more natural cadence that tries to layer the masks of identity he has built for himself. The first scene between Keoghan and Murphy is quite memorable, wrestling in the pig sty, which Keoghan reports did give him pink eye.

The 'Godfather for Romani' stylizations and Tommy's superstitions come through in the form of Rebecca Ferguson as Kaulo, the Duke’s aunt from his mother's side, who uses her sharp charm, curious glances and apparent mystical persuasion to draw Tommy back into the fold, and to stop his son from ruining more of Birmingham and debasing everything Tommy thought he stood for.

Once the second half kicks in with one last big Blinders scheme, it's a grimy roller coaster right to the finish line. The remaining crew; Johnny Dogs (P***y Lee,) Curly (Ian Peck,) Charlie (Ned Dennehy) and Stephen Graham's Stagg pack in for one last the break in job as Birmingham continues to be bombed. For Tommy it is a claustrophobic affair, and puts him face to face with his demons, in a dark tunnel as the world is caving in on him.

The series' ambitions as an exciting gangster show, full of anachronistic music, slow motion walking and drunken violence, often ran up against the show's attempts to be deep. It's hard to focus on the characters when you go through the 3rd Nick Cave or Fontaines DC song over misty footage of Tommy going through drug problems and trauma nightmares. The pseudo music video montages of the middle seasons were one of the most more tedious aspects of the series, but are kept to a minimum in the film; despite Tommy's attempts to be as brooding as possible. There’s even last minute family revelations to throw in, which feel just a little like rubbing salt in the wounded relationships, or Steven Knight being unable to resist his habit of absolutely denying characters happiness.

Yet the show and movie succeed despite being held back by phrases trying too hard to be meaningful, because the strong acting holds it together. No matter how many times they all drunkenly spat on about their own self-aggrandizing mythology, Cillian Murphy’s masterful performance of Tommy kept everyone on pace and the whole crew sells it through the sheer power of acting, making the Blinders’ world feel alive with conviction, even as debauched, ludicrous and depressing as it sometimes may be.

The saga of the Peaky Blinders reaches its conclusion, or at least until Netflix can spin off Peaky Blinders the College Years or something. What does being a Peaky Blinder mean, as the world they built burns to ashes? Just another sad broken gang of men whose ambitions and flawed nature cost them everything? A group of folk outlaws who tried to fight the whole world with razors in their hats and whiskey in their veins? A fallen criminal mastermind must pull off one last job, if not for any real redemption, then to finish writing his legacy.

Fans of the series may critique ex*****on of certain plot beats and characters, but taken on its own, the Immortal Man manages to go out on its own terms. It may not always take the most direct steps to get to the end, but gets there with charm. Oddly enough at the screening I went to many people had never seen the series and went into the movie totally blind. Totally bonkers. By Order of the Peaky ****ing Blinders.

20/01/2026

The Adventures of X

27/12/2025

MARTY SUPREME REVIEW BY FRANZ VENEZUELA

Marty Supreme is like something from the 70's. A movie so experimental in both genre and yet absolutely compelling in its weird choices, insanely verbose and naturalistic arguing of the Safdie staples, but absolutely unhinged as hell in its plotting. Chalamet lives and breathes Marty Ma**er so intensely he forges a career defining role. A ping pong playing prince of thieves, a Jewish Don Juan, and a new icon of New York scumbag cinema.

Marty Ma**er is based on a real player, but this story is larger than life. It is practically titanic in its numerous rises and falls though echelons of society, from the dark table tennis halls of 1950's NYC, to London, Paris and numerous places across the globe in a quest for glory. Marty is out to satiate various appetites, seemingly fueled by nothing but his own insufferable ego. A good player for certain, a showman who seems to get high off the recognition, just as well, but he's also a man who says things so ludicrously shocking it becomes the funniest movie of the year. Still he uses every hustle, scheme, dodge and escape like a dickensian madman who rawdogs his way across NYC. The opening title sequences is the most bizarre but thematically significant fertilization sequence since Look Who’s Talking 2.

The 1950's of Supreme is dark but full of vigor. The mid century light bulbs barely show walls, as though the entire city is underground. The camera closely follows Marty and his associates through the narrow halls and cluttered bedrooms of NYC apartments, full of things that could have happened in any era. It’s so naturalistic it becomes timeless. In some ways it is a spiritual cousin to Inside Llewyn Davis; it's period specific for its industry, politics and social strata, but made mythic in its endless quest to find the American dream in every bizarre scheme and act of will. More important in comparing those two; both contain a quest for a pet with a symbolic name.

There are dozen plots and subplots that make up Supreme, but it starts with a comical opening scene in the shoe store where Marty works for his uncle. Via an elaborate vaudeville-esque lie, we meet his girlfriend Rachel. Odessa A’zion, is going to get a lot of attention for her performance, and not just for her various sufferings. She has a tongue and attitude of her own but can't escape the shady dealings in Marty's wake. She’s been Marty’s best friend since 8 years old, but she suffers under her piece of crap husband, (Emory Cohen from Lords of Chaos.) Her arc takes up most of the second half of the film, as she doggedly follows into a con stretching all the way to New Jersey, standing in a desolate car lot that feels lifted from some 50’s classic, where other more dire dangers await later down the plot.

Oh wait, this is also a great sports movie! The actual matches are shot wide to give the best scope of the action, but also to capture some of the raw physicality as players leap to sides of the table. Marty sized up the competition, a Japanese player Koto Endo, who surprises many with his angular penhold grip, easily outmaneuvering competition from across the world. Endo's newsreels is one of the best gags of the movie.

After Marty’s hilarious and potentially violent struggle to get to London, Marty’s showmanship becomes his ticket to grab the ear of Kay Stone, famous 1930’s actress played by Gwenyth Paltrow, in probably her best performance in years, going through her own would-be renaissance in a Broadway production that seems to be far from ready. The terrible Tennessee Williams knockoff may be one of my favorite threads. It is simultaneously hilarious and tragic, like the entire movie. Kay plays it straight across from Marty’s conniving guiles, always begging him to get the hell out, despite the seemingly passionate romance. For those who think the age gap betwene Chalomet would distract, you are absolutely wrong. Chalamet wears those shoulders with angular but yet insanely magnetic s*x appeal. She toys with him, if even just for fun. But the look he gives to the mirror during an intimate moment says a lot about how he needs to see himself. As if evne in the sheer audacity of his escapades, she is still just another notch on his belt. Meanwhile Marty continues to wear the s*xiest pencil thin mustache since Gene Wilder.

That's all before trying to get his own brand going with his friend Dion. I know nothing about actor Luke Manley but his portrayl of Dion is perfect. He's fascinating as a man caught in the tide of Marty's lunacy, especially regarding Dion's parent's car. Strangely his father is played by John Catsimatidis, the billionaire who owns Gristedes and Dagastino's so... Interesting??

There are a dozen times throughout the movie you will yell, "you so*******ch Marty!" Yet the ego trip has to end sometime, especially when he gets on the wrong side of Kay’s husband, Milton Rockwell, played by billionaire Kevin O’Leary, in a role that’s just as seismically deranged in a particularly humiliating scene, demonstrating one of his company’s paddles.

While abroad Marty pulls numerous ends while reuniting with his one-time rival-turned-friend Kletzki, played by Geza Rohrig. I want to know everything about this guy, because holy moly his segment is so bold in its placement, it becomes brilliant. It is more than just histrionics. The scene of Kletzki recounting giving honey for his starving friends in a death camp is shot so bold for something so strange that it beautifies the moment. It's both really funny in how surprising it is yet is so clear in its filming it becomes Biblical. That is a man who has seen what life really is, not the fickle circus Marty worries about.

The entire movie is a 5 act opera of a man whose energy will drive him to the ends of the Earth in search of glory, but literally cannot stay in his home town for more than 5 minutes without someone wanting to kill him. I cannot explain the layers of chases, escapades, asides, and jobs gone wrong that it becomes absolutely absurd, especially regarding a midway set pieces that literally drops into the scene!

His best friend is Tyler the Creator as Wally, a cab driver who hustles with Marty and absolutely nails the same level of rapid fire energy, he leads a hilarious dance running parallel to his still moving car, a sad dog precariously seated in the back is the only viewer to this gorgeous absurd dance. It is absolutely amazing segment. Pure cinema. I’m going to say it now; Best Supporting Actor: Tyler the Creator.

Chalamet is swinging for the fences but in a way that absolutely nails his manic ferocity, but this time there’s a lot of control in the performance. He works best when he’s not yelling, and the brief moment with his mother, played by Fran Drescher, show layers of things that might be healed if he actually tried to stand outside himself once in a while. He hands her a rock “It’s from a pyramid in Egypt… We built that.” The look on her face shows that there is love underneath his raw, rude bravado, but unfortunately he cannot escape the endless consequences from his rash decisions.

The soundtrack uses massive synths and hits from the 80’s to anachronistically wash the audience with raw emotional vibes, to make it feel as though the audience is rising and descending through various layers of some timeless palace. It’s third act kidnapping involving our protagonists and a seemingly mobbed up neighbor played by legendary director Abel Ferrera (King of New York) is so dire in its stakes but never flinches when it comes to keeping all its parts together.

There’s parody in its layering of visual jokes, such as Marty returning with a bunch of veterans from Japan, use blocking and editing as examples of the ridiculous world that he longs to be in. It's the counterpoint to Marty’s showmanship, something he had always counted on as a tool, becomes something exploited. His fear of becoming a circus act runs throughout, and whether or not his ability can actually carry him through while the entire world is clawing at his heels. He can never release his ego or his raw desire to be the “chosen one” as the newspapers call him as one of the strongest American competitors. However, in the movie’s climactic final moments, something greater is finally shown to him. This is the perfect prequel to Uncut Gems. If you loved that, you’ll love this. Instant classic.

Marty supreme drinking game:
sip when:
-Marty scores
-Makes out with Rachel
-Argues with Rachel

Big sip when:
-Dion!
-Famous New York weirdo shows up.
-Tyler the Creator does something cool.

Finish drink:
-The movie violently switches genres.

22/12/2025

AVATAR 3: FIRE AND ASH, REVIEW BY FRANZ VENEZUELA

James Cameron you wacky sea-mad cinephile. The one man whose trying to save cinema by making the craziest cat alien sci-fi fantasy that only gets sillier, but even more entertaining the more ludicrous it becomes. Early reviews have painted this movie as less than its predecessor, Way of Water. However I honestly rank them the same because they are essentially continuing the same story. Even with all the exoticism and piecemeal plotting, Cameron's pace on a scene to scene basis is strong with the absolute best 3D in the business that absolutely makes it worth the price of admission.

Avatar is a paradox. It is a movie, that according to its box office numbers, everyone has seen and many have loved but is not “beloved” or is said not to have cultural weight. It’s simultaneously a hyper fantastical sci-fi nature adventure and yet the visually hyper-real visuals created with extremely expensive technology are utilized to such a maximalist degree that the prospect of continuing the series seems insane. Yet when it comes to that Cameron and his crew, not only does that seem feasible, it may in fact be essential for cinema.

Britain Dalton’s Lo’ak now opens the narration of this film, the reverb particularly loud on the mix. The second son of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neyitiri (Zoe Saldana) is mourning the loss of his brother, Neytemen, from the prior film. At the movie’s start, those events were only days prior and the family is reeling with exhaustion from battle and trauma. Lo'ak may lack some of his father's determination in his narration, sounding four compared to the prior film's psychedelic musings on nature.

The domestic tragedy following directly from the last film may not totally enrapt some viewers, but the movie wants us to have fun in the adventure and to feel that all these goofy Na'vi are absolutely earnest about their teenage angst, and frustration with conservative family roles in an alien civilization.

What of Kiri? (Sigourney Weaver playing a double role.) Her own miraculous conception was implied in the first movie with some kind of divine vision, is now impaired by an onset of epilepsy that prevents her from both a natural and spiritual bond. Yet the onset of abilities with nature creates a new plot point that could spell an existential threat to the Na’vi in their defense against the humans. Are the mother earth metaphors taken a little far in this movie in multiple facets? Yes, but it pushes its nature-as-magic gimmick in service of looking cool and making sure that everyone knows Sigourney Weaver is a force of nature and must be respected as such.

Not enough has been said about Cameron’s ability with actors to have fairly natural performances even in intense circumstances. The Abyss, in particular, comes to mind, as a clear parallel with passionate people who love each other and help each other be strong to prevent a catastrophe. Here, the similar structure and themes are extrapolated to an alien culture, making naturalistic acting a little step removed. Are the teenagers goofy? Yeah but they’re half alien cat people living with talking whales. Yet, when a whale’s reply shakes the water like a gigantic subwoofer, and the foggy sea air is perfectly mysterious it is both weird and very cool. The performances work despite my beloved handful of wacky lines and entertainingly odd fantasy.

There may be some clumsy attempts at racial and xeno-politics, such as Neytiri's deep hatred of the humans despite her husband and their children. Zoen Saldana is bringing the level of energy the grief of a mother requires, even if some may take umbrage with mixed metaphors.

with spiritual shenanigans that become all too bizarrely literal. This movie has its own space opera iteration of the binding of Isaac for goodness’ sake! When religion is physically real, is there such thing as doubt or need for faith? There is a bit of a narrative inability to really reconcile their bellicose tactics, traditions of an alien culture and the hyper-exaggerated, natural utopia of planet Pandora.

If one compares this movie’s whales to say, the mysterious and alien nature of the Sandworms of Dune 1&2, then Avatar is more hyper romantic fantasy than science fiction. Avatar goes back and forth in pop culture as some kind of movie that lacks substance or heart, but that’s the opinion of cruel people who will never root for my man, Spider! That goofy little pink rapscallion who befriended his way into the Sully clan, only to learn his war criminal father is back as a cloned cat man. It’s often more ludicrous and often hilarious but we’re long past the buy in phase for a movie that uses phrases like,
“The fire of hate gives way to the ash of grief,” and,
“When you ride the beast, you become the beast.”
These two sentences were within the first half hour of the movie and almost caused me to keel over with laughter in the theater. By then it was absolutely impossible for me to dislike this movie.

The place setting of relations is nimble enough for the wacky adventure of cat people. Yes, the maximalist runtime of 3 hours and 15 minutes is substantial but visually it’s still worth every moment. The movie’s bights are brighter to compensate for the darkened 3D glasses. Some people may argue the seemingly enhanced frame rate and the 3D for IMAX is bizarre and may feel liked a rollercoaster rather than a movie, but damn did they make it smooth. The movie wants you to feel in the room with the characters, and the way light should look even in dark environments and where the eclipse cycle of Pandora seems to demarcate the acts.

Once the fireworks start going off it’s a ride all the way to the end. The action beats of the second and third act are exciting and a lot of fun with tons of set piece battles big and small raging across Pandora. Way of Water was setting the stage so we could have all the toys on the table. Knife fights, shootouts, ambushes, rescues. Some staging grounds similar to the prior film, but with Cameron’s tropes cranked up. Jemaine Clement even makes a minor heroic arc that is basically just Cameron daring to say, “what if the vehicular chase from Aliens was WAY BIGGER???”

Meanwhile, the villain heavy hitters, Stephen Lang returning as Quaritch and Oona Chaplin as Varang, get to viciously flirt with each other, do space drugs and violent bad guy stuff. Forums are already aflood with memes about Quaritch as fetishistic conquistador; blind to the true meaning of the world yet compelled by his desires; revenge and lust. Varang is a brutal leader of the Mangkwan, who lost all their natural resources in a cataclysm and became hardened raiders who use drugs and zealous hatred of the worshippers of Eywa. Their swaying sharp movements make for very fun and vicious antagonists and for whom Quaritch seems to be drawn to respects their insane determination. The second act is the year's biggest villain romcom.

While Avatar may fumble with its historical analogies, such as the villains’ demented torture of the Na'vi nerve “queues,” which implies a level of s*xual violence that the movie just manages to walk without becoming offensively silly. Cameron wanted to take a step up from the Xenomorphs and make compellingly wild villain who could just straight up torture main characters.

Does it’s “warrior mom” ethos and negotiations about grief, family, tradition, mercy and love above all teeter on the edge of saccharine? Maybe, but when Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Winslet are sharing the screen, with passion and fury against the human invaders in their hearts, sweeping down from the sky like the very wrath of Eywa herself, it's an absolute blast. James Cameron just wanted his best strong mom protagonists to hang out damnit! Jake and Neytiri even get a dope slow motion walk shot as their allies ascend to the skies and it is exactly as cool as it desires to be.

Plus it’s also really hard to not use your big name cast with a movie already this expensive to make at an absolutely whopping 400 million dollars. Even adjusted for inflation, that makes it the 11th most expensive movie ever made. An extra 3 minutes over the previous movie and an extra $50 million dollars. Still, it’s a ride that’s fun as hell if just for the visuals in IMAX, plus those preview teasers for next year’s big films will have fans raving for months.

Avatar Fire and Ash drinking game:
Sip:
-Narration
-Whale speaks
-“Comms”

Big sip:
-Neytiri’s bow.
-Jake’s “marine BS”
-Edie Falco
-Quaritch having the time of his life.

Finish drink:
-You realize James Cameron may literally think he can capture GOD on cinema.

AF-1 Media

03/06/2026

09/05/2026

11/04/2026

10/03/2026

20/01/2026

27/12/2025

22/12/2025

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category