Joonatan Itkonen
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Longlegs is one of the most terrifying films in years
★★★★★ | Violence of the fams Horror follows the logic of dreams. If we could reason ourselves out of terror, we would. But fear disregards rationality and rules. It thrives in an environment that doesn’t make sense. When a movie taps into that primal sensation, it touches something real and terrifying within the viewer. Longlegs is a movie about the loss of control. It features scenarios where logic and force should suffice, yet everything proves futile. Watching it, I was on the verge of a panic attack. For an autistic viewer, Longlegs hits every traumatic note imaginable. It feels like a cheat, until the film explains itself just enough for us to realize the game is rigged from the very st
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Time Bandits is a one-joke series that overstays its welcome
★★ | Time rhymes with crime I’m not a huge fan of the Terry Gilliam film which Taika Waititi’s and Jemaine Clement’s overlong TV series is based on. I saw it as a kid, then didn’t think about it until the Criterion release this past year. Revisiting it was much the same as with most childhood memories. Some of them are best left in Arcadia. So, in theory, Time Bandits the show is in a prime spot to wriggle into my good graces. The basic premise is still sound, and both Waititi and Clement — despite numerous misses in recent years — are talented filmmakers. The cast even includes the great Lisa Kudrow, who can make anything funnier by her presence alone. Yet from the very start, it’s clear th
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Deadpool & Wolverine is a frustrating ode to glibness
★★ | With friends like these I like sincerity, especially when it comes to comic book adaptations. These are, after all, movies for children. They need to be sincere for the fairy tale aspect to hold any power. Otherwise, it’s just a bunch of adults in costumes making fun of that which is making them rich. The comic book films of the early 2000s suffered from that glibness. The studios and actors all felt like they were above the material and, as a result, the films came off as awkward. Everyone felt uncomfortable being there; especially the audience, who had to suffer second-hand embarrassment over the likes of Daredevil and Electra. Beyond that, sincerity matters because the alternative is
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Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail is a new beginning for the illustrious MMO
★★★★ | Baby steps When I interviewed FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida last year, one of my major concerns regarding the MMOs future was how to avoid power creep from settling in. After all, by the finale of Endwalker, players had vanquished a cosmic threat and ended a conflict spanning centuries. The most dedicated Warriors of Light were clearing dungeons like no tomorrow. Yoshida shared the same concerns: “It doesn’t work to just exponentially increase the scale,” he told me. “At some point, as storytellers, we can tell the story has gotten away from us. The conflict becomes so large that we can’t see the big picture.” Which is probably why Dawntrail, the first expansion into a new decade of Fi
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Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
★★★★ | A demo-worthy disc of an underrated film The Film ★★★★ | Lovely and heartfelt adventure comedy for the whole family I really, really, disliked Ghostbusters: Afterlife. I found it soulless at best, and deeply immoral at worst. Nothing about it worked for me, and yet, it was something of a commercial and critical success. Not an overwhelming one, but enough to justify more sequels. So to say I was skeptical walking into Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire would be an understatement. I try not to have preconceived notions of a film before I see it, but sometimes it’s hard to get excited about certain properties. Especially when they’ve let you down for decades. Imagine my surprise, when about tw
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Twisters is unexpectedly one of the best films of the summer
★★★★ | Twister? I hardly know ‘er! Twisters has the same essential structure as Twister, the Jan de Bont classic about storm chasers. It’s both a reboot, remake, and a sequel, yet it works entirely as its own thing. They could have called it Riders of the Storm and nobody would have known the difference. But we live in a world of IP and everything has to be connected to something, even if it’s a movie from 30 years ago that few thought needed a sequel. Luckily, Twisters defies expectation more than once. It’s the kind of smart and compelling adventure drama they say Hollywood doesn’t make anymore. More than once I compared it to Jurassic Park in my notes and, for a change, it was as a compli
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Warhammer 40k: Boltgun is a deliriously fun throwback shooter
★★★★ | I resemble that remark Warhammer 40k: Boltgun is a boomer shooter, a term lovingly coined for games that embrace retro aesthetics and gameplay over realism. In short, it’s taking what worked before and adding modern quality of life improvements to it. I can get behind that. Even if the idea that my childhood is now retro makes me feel old. I’m only in my thirties! Once past the initial shock of my age, it didn’t take long for Boltgun to win me over. Yes, the look is definitely retro, resurrecting the sound and visual style of early 90s pixel nirvana. But it is also immediately clear that there’s much more happening behind the scenes than just a mere reproduction. First off, Boltgun pl
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The Bikeriders is a majestic portrait of America
★★★★★ | Leader of the pack Writer-director Jeff Nichols is a great American poet. He is at his best when documenting the lives of those who live beyond the blue highways. His heroes are societal outcasts. Some by their own choosing, others forced into exile by a callous system inhospitable to any who dance by their own tune. They are hurt, sometimes broken, yet always determined. There is a song in their heart, even if their mouth cannot begin to enunciate it. In The Bikeriders, Nichols turns his eye to the dying years of a counter culture attempting to understand itself. The motorcycle club itself is fictional, and the players amalgamations. Yet they feel like people each one of us has met
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Fly Me to the Moon is cute and breezy but with a boatload of problems
★★ | Makes Armageddon look like a documentary Fly Me to the Moon does so many things right that it only serves to highlight how dramatically it gets things wrong. It stars Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum at their very aw-shucks-iest. The setting is one of the most romantic periods in scientific history, at a time when NASA engineers and astronauts were akin to rock stars. It’s funded by Apple, meaning the production isn’t wanting for anything. For the first half-hour, it seems like the stars have aligned. Even after losing its original director (Jason Bateman). Fly Me to the Moon coasts on a breezy charm that is full of love for the space program. At least initially. I was enamored by
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Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is a delightful update of a 3DS classic
★★★★ | Who you gonna call? I have fond memories of the original Luigi’s Mansion 2. Initially released 12 years ago on the Nintendo 3DS — my favorite handheld gaming console at the time — it was a gloriously inventive puzzle adventure that made the most out of its hardware. Today, the original looks inarguably quaint, especially in comparison to its more refined third part. But, once again, Nintendo proves just how important game curation and restoration can be: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD retains the brilliance and whimsy of the original, while updating everything else to modern standards. The result is a fantastic trip down memory lane, hampered only by the price tag, which asks for a premium. Wha
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The Crow 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
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Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
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Aliens (1986) 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
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The Abyss 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a terrific expansion into the Land of Shadow
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A Quiet Place: Day One is a surprisingly emotional film about the end
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Nine Sols is a gorgeous Metroidvania and Sekiro hybrid that rewards the patient gamers
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Cannes 2024: Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In is a fairytale action film like no other
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