I am an appetite, nothing more.

Nosferatu (2024) — 3.5/5

It's most definitely my favorite of Eggers' movies because I think there's an undercurrent of humor to the whole affair. The high foreheads and high drama is all just a bit silly, isn't it? Beyond that, I waited too long between watching and writing down my thoughts so I've mostly forgotten the details, but I recall appreciating that this movie is about women fucking, and for me this movie is part of a larger theme of modern horror movies that I love where the monster is some aspect of shame; this time of having experienced orgasmic pleasure and the indignity of liking it. Nosferatu is la petite mort, writ large. 

I want to feel everything for as long as I can.

Dying For Sex (limited series) — 4/5

Weird takeaway, but it makes me feel the beauty in dying slow. And then a couple of days later I got a headache that lasted all day and man, what a stupid thing to think. So I'll dial that back and say that yes, I can see there is beauty within dying slow, and the show illustrates that wonderfully, but no, God, if you're listening, I'm not sure I'd like that for myself. Though its exploration of sex wants to be a 50/50 split between itself and death, death is what the show excels at, taking you through the process of a body and mind practicing its cessation of existence. And, similar to 'Fleishman Is in Trouble', feels like the show successfully makes you think the show is about one person only to reveal it's about the other person as well. Jenny Slater seemed like a supporting actress in the Judy Greer mold (lovable, happy to see her in anything), but she grows to be the second lead, and her life, like the dying girl's, is put on pause. Love stories about friendships are my favorite love stories. Michelle Williams is adorable, and I'm sorry she has to die, but what a way to go and thank you for taking me with you. And though I haven't finished 'Catastrophe' yet, I hope Rob Delaney's character ends in divorce so that this can be a pseudo-sequel to that show.

The order of things.

House of the Dragon S1 — 3.5/5

Were I not watching this for work, I would not have watched it, as the idea of a prequel two hundred years before a foregone conclusion gives me little to concern myself. How pleasantly surprised am I, then. The show, just as Game of Thrones did so well, has cast interesting actors as interesting characters, and very quickly I'm sucked back in to the scheming. Milly Alcock, particularly, is almost unreadable as an actress; seemingly sincere, a liar, a sweet thing, or a deviant, based on the turn of the light. The show loses something to focus on when it loses her, but it then pivots to being about the everything and all of it, distracting you with new characters and allegiances. On the whole, those characters are characters that are quickly formed, but as far as the central duo, I honestly can't tell what the show wants me to think of them. Are they vile powermongers, or just the unfortunate people caught up in it all? There's fun to be had in that lack of surety, but it mostly just makes me care about anyone else more than them. 

Not the fault of any one driver per se.

Death of a Unicorn — 2/5

Fun concept that doesn't have a tonality to match. I've grown to believe Paul Rudd is a bad actor outside of a very niche form of comedic acting. I pretty much hate him when he tries to be serious, as I can never take him as such.

Now that you know this,

what will you do?

I'm gonna let you tell me who you are.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps — 4/5

I just want to call the whole thing 'cohesive.' It's not a word that's going to drive people to the theaters, but man oh man, does everything just fit together. The style matches the tone, the art direction decisions all add up to a singular world. It feels different; it feels purposeful. The hubbub — or lack thereof — around the movie makes me want to knock it down a half-point, they're making me feel like I'm wrong, but I'm trying to hold on to how much fun I had watching it. It feels big, it's cosmic, it's got a giant Galactus roaming the streets of New York, but it also doesn't go further than is needed. The first three years of their existence is handled with a quick summary, the Thing and Johnny don't overplay their joke-y characteristics, Reed's hints at self-hatred (?) and a slightly nasal voice, a cute robot, and "yeah, sure, let's go to space" without excess fanfare. All the stylistic touches could have easily turned it into a cartoon, but they're all played casually. They live easily within the world that's been created. It gives you enough to get it, and then gets out.