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The most notable thing is how bad Matthew Mcconaughey's character is. Both in terms of the writing and the acting. I really liked him in later films so this comes as a bit of a surprise.

I recently watched a few episodes of "True Detective" and had Jodie Foster on my mind. She was still a great actress even this long ago. I also like her character, just completely consumed by this one goal.

I felt it's heart was in the right place, and I guess I am behind the idea of doing science purely for the purposes of discovery... But I'm not sure this movie made a very good case for that.

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I think this is a good movie, it just isn't entirely my thing. I wish the romance between Fred & Ginger was a little more... something. Felt like two people who honestly wanted to dance more than romance. I know these movies are really more about dance numbers somewhat linked by plot, but I still kinda want more in terms of substance.

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I should preface this by saying that I play a board game called Dune: Imperium (and now Uprising). So I was primed to like this film. Truthfully I have twice failed to finish this book a long time ago as a teenager. Like the book, I am medium warm on the characters and medium on the plot.

With that said, I love the world of Dune. I like the set pieces, I like the scenery, I like the scenes as people come and go. The camerawork is fantastic. I love the ships and the buildings. I'm trying to communicate that the plot may be , but the whole film is a visual treat for the eyes.

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I think I last watched this like 25+ years ago. I think a lot of people have a vague memory of how weird this movie was, it is a core memory for a lot of childhoods.

This movie plays a bit like a fever dream. Sometimes transitions between scenes occur without there being a clear transition between one and the next. Sometimes characters seem to change without it being entirely clear what the cause was.

The buddy I saw it with fell asleep in the last battle (in the goblin town) and I have to admit that that part drags on a bit.

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The dance number at the end was pretty fun. I was especially impressed when the gents were (acrobatically) throwing the girls down the stairs.

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Watching this film, what I really found myself wishing was that the internet had been active 20 years earlier so I could read 1989 man on the street opinions on this film. I'd love to contrast what I thought of the film to what others thought of it at the time.

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The most interesting thing I can say is that, due to technical issues, I watched this through my sound system but without 5.1 sound or bass (just stereo). So basically I just had the dialog and very very light music. It's interesting to see how odd the pacing on films is when you take out the the music and parts of the audio. Like watching a sitcom without the laugh track.

Anyway, movie was fine.

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Why PG-13 violence?

Also, the editing, scene transitions, lighting, green screens, cg... Not the greatest work here guys.

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It felt kind of odd to watch everyone be competent at their job. I'm not sure what the point of the film really was, but it was interesting to watch them get wherever they were going with it. Was it a study of character, processes, society? Was it just a story, with no moral purpose at all really? Like I said, odd, but strangely intriguing.

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I was thinking it was enjoyable if not great right until the scene of him "handyman'ing" the fence. I don't know what it was about the shot of him holding the bottle of Elmer's, but it just immediately captured the humor of the movie. Just made the whole thing click for me. From that point onward everything was quite funny. It is such a good natured stupid kind of humor, like some of the better Steve Martin films but with dryer punchlines.

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Honestly, I had way to big a meal (+ dessert) while watching this film. I think I may have dozed off in the center. Still, from what I saw it was pretty good.

I think it falls in that line of being pretty funny but of limited romantic appeal. I think the real pleasure is in having a gradually sillier and sillier plot that rises to a crescendo at the end. Kinda reminds me a little of midsummer nights dream.

Also, I did like the Aunt a whole lot. She was a hoot.

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The film itself is not particularly interesting. However, I have a real soft spot for films that capture the ethos of a time or the mannerism of a people. I would love to know how accurate this one was at either of these? I was particularly struck how casual they were about sexuality whilst being much more serious about domestic violence. I also simultaneously felt very bad for the girls environment while also recognizing the mechanisms they had for dealing with it.

The whole thing seems weird, but then I start thinking that maybe I am the weird on for thinking that it is weird.

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I think I watched half of this film before. I don't quite remember why, but I just wasn't in the mood for it last time. I think my dropping it had to do with relying on the premise of souls being real being somewhat of the reason that life makes sense.

This time through I enjoyed for some reason. There were some genuinely touching moments and great scenes. I loved the flashback of the people in his life as he is playing the piano. Sitting at the piano stool with his father listening to him play.

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Solidly enjoyable if unchallenging film. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONK.

I was genuinely annoyed that the mechanic told our pilot that he could pull the handle to live (told as a flashback after the event in question). I kind of think it would have made better thematic sense to tell him "you need to pull this handle one second before collision in order to arm the bomb." Unbeknownst to the pilot, it is not to "set" the bomb, but instead will cause his seat to eject. Pilot thinks he is finally Kamikaziing, breaking his curse of cowardice. Mechanic can now respect the pilot, knowing that he would sacrificed (atoned) himself. Mechanic and pilot end film in outrage > anger > warm manly hug. Pilot then finds reason to live when he discovers his live in girlfriend is still alive.

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A solidly warm film. Kind of a combination of "Catcher in the Rye" meets "Dead Poet's Society".

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I get that this is a classic, but I didn't enjoy it that much.

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A little more fun than Frankenstein, but still basically pretty dull.

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The amount of plot armor and or fortuitous circumstances our protagonist gets is just absurd. I enjoyed certain aspects of the film, but I was just continuously distracted by the above.

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This film is mostly a character study. You simultaneously sympathize and shake your head as he works through life.

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Uncle Charlie is a great character. His infatuated/disillusioned niece was also masterfully done, though I wish there had been more agency for some of these characters.

Feel like this story is more about having a backdrop for these characters to interact, and less about anything in particularly happening.

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I quite enjoyed it until the last act. There were enough plot holes to leave me questioning my own sanity. Masterful scenes and camera work. I did enjoy the idea of a genial and almost good natured murderer.

This is an 800 page book that only gets really moving in the last few chapters. I feel that the series may be great, but I am hesitant to proceed on something that has had such a slow payout.

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Two things really stuck out to me in this film.

1. I was quite surprised when he re-revealed that she was pregnant. My full expectation was that he was going to somehow hide it from her in some way (drugs/hypnosis/something)? I kind of feel like a modern film might insist that the noble thing is to keep it to yourself. I can't put my finger on it but it just kind of struck me as one of those "this is a different time with a different set of mores" type things.
2. Something about his ways annoyed me. Was he a spirit healer? Why did he seem so against book learning? Who was he railing against in the medical industry? What was up with the jibs against paying farmers not to plant crops? It just felt like he had a lot of ideas, but none of them were coherent enough thoughts for me to make sense of them.
3. The scene of the 3 men playing trains upstairs was very cute. We have all been those guys.
4. The fact that people would immediately open up their most intimate details to him was a bit supernatural. I mean yes, he is charming, but seriously.

Anyway, I think the most credit I could give it was that it was a different type of film. The subject matter was actually pretty serious (unwanted pregnancy & murder), but the humor was consistent. I felt it missed opportunities to let us connect more deeply with the characters, but it was still by and large unique and pleasant to watch.

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It's fun. It's funny. It's charming.

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There is a lot to recommend this film. I had a few complaints. I felt it really pulled it together with the ending.

Things I liked:

1. Loved the set pieces for Barbieland. Great design, cool aesthetic. I would love a VR world of Barbie (shouldn't be too hard as its mostly plastic and that is easier to render).
2. Robbie & Gosling are very well cast here.
3. Gosling is genuinely funny. The "himbo" is perhaps becoming a bit of a worn joke in film, but it still works.
4. It was fun, well paced, and funny.

Things I was mixed on:

1. I don't like the trope of saying something very fast to sound intelligent. It sounds like reciting from a book and I think is a lazy way of conveying a viewpoint without really letting the audience "learn" with you.
2. For such a meta film, I felt it could have been a little more introspective. At one point Barbies says something along the lines of "I don't know where Ken sleeps". She then later on apologies to Ken for having "girls night" every night, but it would have been interesting if she had really seen some of the characteristics that she disliked in others in herself.
3. All the Barbie dolls worked together, but I would have loved to watch them fight over their differences. I would have enjoyed seeing nuclear physics Barbie argue with President barbie about public policy.

I was solidly enjoying the film throughout, but I felt the ending was what actually brought it home for me. I am not 100% on this, but my personal reading was that perhaps Barbie chose to become human because she wanted to have children (the ultimate act of creation). I thought that was interesting as the film started off with little girls rejecting their baby dolls in favor of Barbie. Barbie being a sort of rejection of the maternal role, and our own Barbie perhaps interested in pursuing it? A bit of a full circle thing? I don't know. Maybe an admission that for most human beings, the act of creating more life is the most significant thing they do? That perhaps we should celebrate that in the same ways we celebrate wealth, success, power, and fame? I thought it was a great dismount for the film.