Cinephile si Kurt

18/07/2025

Superman - Directed by James Gunn
8 stars out of 10

The feel-good film of the year.

James Gunn just pulled off a herculean effort to successfully kick off the new DC Universe (DCU). I've become a kind of cynic and am not excited to see superhero films nowadays because of the varying quality; most of them were just either mid or boring in my opinion. But when I saw the trailer, I was really excited to see what James Gunn's iteration of Superman will be. I'm glad that I am right because I really enjoyed it a lot.

I grew up watching a lot of Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited. Gunn literally made his live-action version of the animated series, imo. It really embraces the fantastical elements and the absurdity of the source material. We have a Superman that shows a lot of his humanity, just like in the comics. Literally the scene that won me over is the scene where he shows concern for his dog Krypto. David Corenswet's portrayal of Superman is really one of the best that I've seen. He just exudes this "gentle giant" vibes and he is just charismatic. This is the Superman that I know.

The entire cast delivered strong performances. Rachel Brosnahan is charming as Lois Lane. Nicholas Hoult might be the best film portrayal of Lex Luthor, just a literal evil person; he really got on my nerves and just displayed big hater energy, and I love it. Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific is one of the highlights too; his character really adds to the humor, and I just love his character here. I wish there were more scenes of Clark Kent working in the Daily Planet, especially showing his friendship with Jimmy Olsen, which really lacks in this one.

It's not a James Gunn flick without a bunch of heroes teaming up; in this one it's "The Justice Gang" with Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific. I just wish that Gunn just introduced them in the next Superman movies because we're supposed to focus on Superman more and not them yet because it really suffers the film's pacing imo. There are also some characters and relationships that were a bit undercooked.

Some of the choices here will not work for everybody for sure, but I am confident that everyone will love Krypto, one of the best parts of the film. James Gunn has now written multiple films that involve adorable CGI dogs, Krypto and Scooby-Doo.

Superman is a slam dunk. It has some flaws, but it's a great start for DC Studios, and it really got me interested in watching superhero movies again. I really trust James Gunn's vision; it might not work sometimes, but I still respect it. We need films like Superman. The world is pretty bleak right now; we need something that brings us hope.

17/07/2025

Happy Anniversary to Cinephile si Kurt!!! TYSM to all who followed and are still supporting this page.
More film related stuff coming soon.

P.S. Superman review. Next up 👀

08/07/2025

F1 the Movie—Directed by Joseph Kosinski

From the success of Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski is back with another banger. Another film that you really need to see on the biggest screen possible. F1 the Movie follows Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a former F1 prodigy who returns to F1 racing after 30 years to help his former teammate Ruben (Javier Bardem), who owns a team that is on the brink of collapse.

This might be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year that is worthy to be seen best on the big screen, and I'm really glad I did that. The way that Kosinski, his DP Claudio Miranda, and his team filmed the racing scenes is a massive achievement in and of itself. From the cameras that they set up inside of the vehicles, it even shows the POV of the driver that really immerses the viewers, and the cinematography of the film as a whole is really amazing. The actors did a really good job here, from Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, and Kerry Condon to Damson Idris. All of them were just so charming, and I really like how their characters were written.

The part of the film that I wish was stronger is the writing. Obviously it is a sports drama, and it just follows the same beats that you expect to see in many films that you have seen in this genre to please as much of the audience as possible. It's actually fine with me, but I really wish that there could've been at least some parts where they subvert our expectations, just like what they did in Maverick, but it's not the case here. It would've at least helped to justify the almost 2 hour and 30 minute runtime.

Despite the cheesy and cliché moments, I watched it with the right mindset, and I enjoyed the film overall. It feels like I'm watching a film from the 90s with all of the fist-pumping scenes, funny one-liners, and the overall vibes of it. F1 the Movie is a technical achievement in filmmaking that really deserves to be successful and a film that knows how to have fun.

07/07/2025

Thunderbolts* —Directed by Jake Scherier

8 Bobs out of 10.

Wait... What?! Has there been a truly good MCU film since GotG Volume 3? MCU Phase Five has been very disappointing, to be honest. Except for the last James Gunn film, MCU movies right now are just full of unnecessary cameos "for the nostalgia," just sequel teasing that affects the script, full of obvious reshoots, and frustratingly shying away from being more dramatic. Thunderbolts is not like that.

We got a more grounded, character-focused film, full of empathy and not afraid to get messy (in a good way). This is what Eternals wished it would be, but it just ended up as a big CGI fight in the end, which is typical MCU, but this one is very different. Instead of a big CGI fight in the end, we got a more surrealist and emotional third act that is actually very refreshing to see.

Jake Scherier did a great job as a director on this one; fresh from his successful A24 series Beef, he really brought that grounded drama to this superhero movie. Joanna Calo, from The Bear and Bojack Horseman fame, is one of the writers in this, and I think it's one of the best parts of this film as a whole. I really can find a lot of parallels in Thunderbolts and The Bear, which are relatable characters that feel like "real humans." The cinematographer of The Green Knight and A Ghost Story is in this one too, and there's also an impressive and grand score by Son Lux. Last but not least, a big shoutout to Florence Pugh, who is fantastic as Yelena; she is the heart and soul of this film.

Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige, we need more films like this.

28/06/2025

As it should

B**g Joon Ho’s PARASITE has been named the Best Film of the 21st Century by the .

27/06/2025

LFG

👀

27/06/2025

Seated

NO OTHER CHOICE
From master filmmaker Park Chan-wook.
Starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Yejin.
Coming soon.

25/06/2025

Hopping on the trend lol.
They are some of my favorite films of all time. Obviously 10 slots are not enough to share my best films of the 21st century so far but this is a good representation of my taste. I LOVE ASIAN CINEMA

09/06/2025

We're so cooked right now. SMH

Robin Padilla stood firm on Senate Bill No. 2805, which expands the authority of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to regulate online content amid backlash from the directors and actors’ guild.

READ MORE: https://inqnews.net/fCKF0Q

25/05/2025

Final Destination Bloodlines - Directed by Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein

My rating: 7 coins out of 10

The beloved horror franchise is back with its sixth entry following Final Destination in 2011. I can confirm that this might be one of the best entries in the Final Destination franchise. By the way, Final Destination 3 is one of my formative horror films that I saw when I was a kid that made me a horror fan today, and I can confirm that this new one is better than FF 3.

It has a very interesting premise; we follow Stefani Reyes (played by the Fil-Canadian actress Kaitlyn Santa Juana), who inherits visions of a previous premonition that averted a deadly structural failure in 1968 from her dying grandmother and is warned that Death is coming for her family. The characters this time were actually well written, and as an audience, we actually cared about them, unlike the previous films, where some of them just played a certain archetype and couldn't just wait to see their brutal death scenes.

Speaking of kill scenes, almost all of them were actually excellent. There are some all-time deaths imo that involve an MRI machine. It also has the best prologue/premonition in the franchise. Set in the 1960s on top of a high-rise tower, s**t hits the fan, and it just has a very tense buildup and a glorious payoff.

I'm just surprised that we actually have characters right here that we actually care about, and the drama between the family members and how they explore generational trauma are some of the things that I really appreciate. This also might be the most well-acted film of the franchise; like almost all of the actors here really did a great job, unlike the previous films like FF5 or the s**tty 4th one.

Moving to the negatives, there are just some pacing issues that I really noticed towards the second act. Despite the cool concept, it just doesn't dive in further to it. The ending also stinks; not surprised because almost all of the movies in the franchise are just like that, maybe except FF5 with a surprisingly good ending. Also, the main character is not that interesting this time; would've written better.

I also want to give a shoutout to the Tony Todd scenes and it actually was a great tribute to him, as this is his last movie appearance before he passed away. RIP

Final Destination Bloodlines is a fun and a hilariously funny entry to the famous horror franchise that is deserving to receive the love that it has been getting lately.

25/05/2025

Added all of them to my watchlist. So excited!!!

02/05/2025

Ricky Davao was truly one of the nicest celebs I’ve ever met. I had the chance to meet him at QCinema back in 2023. I was heartbroken when I saw the post on my feed.

Rest in peace, Sir Ricky.