Jarrett the Cinephile

Usually, I'm not particularly happy to see the vast majority of audiences (beyond critics and cinephiles) divided on a movie, but I am with Alex Garland's latest feature. I can also confidently put that he probably intended it anyway. Still of Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Nelson Lee in Civil War . (Credit: A24) For me, I had a positive cinematic experience coming out of the film. In hindsight, I realized it's inappropriate to say I "enjoyed" it, since much of the film was stressful and offered a terrifying "what-if" of the United States in the foreseeable future. Unlike most reviews I've seen or heard, Civil War was my first Garland film. Having also continued my habit of not watching the trailer and voluntarily avoiding spoilers everywhere, I must say I was impressed by the film's technical excellence. I will and can only revisit this remark after I watch Ex Machina and Annihilation (looks like I can get by witho

Dev Patel just "springboard-ed" his own career. What an electrifying filmmaker debut. It's hard to imagine an intense action-thriller like this with SO much passion, perseverance and personal touch to it was almost shelved onto Netflix directly. Jordan Peele deserves even more respect professionally for bringing this killer (literally) debut by Patel from the depths of Netflix's catalog and having it screened worldwide, deservingly, for moviegoers to witness the sheer potential, and hardwork, of Dev Patel. Still of Dev Patel in Monkey Man (Credits: Universal Pictures, Bron Studios, Thunder Road Films and Monkeypaw Productions) Monkey Man (2024)  is not a perfect film, both objectively and subjectively. By setting this straight, I think we can all appreciate Patel's efforts better. The story he tells here is one probably seen by cinephiles at least fifty times throughout their lives - the underdog-revenge tale. What Patel does, however, that sets both him and this