KorraN-7

Holy s***. Finally, after a bunch of okay, mediocre and awful adaptations tackling Mary Shelley's gothic science fiction horror epic, Guillermo del Toro gets to have his vision fully realized in what's easily one of the most faithful adaptations ever made while still being his own film.

The visuals are phenomenal, the acting is outstanding all around (although Isaac and Elordi are the standouts), Guillermo's writing and direction are steadfast and intimately visceral, the music is haunting, and the cinematography is some of the best of the year. I will be seeing this again in theaters, but I hope Netflix sits down and let's this epic go to IMAX. That would be one hell of an experience.

This remake from director Luca Guadagnino and writer David Kajganich is a vicious and visceral trek through 1970s Berlin, where Susie Bannion strives to become the lead dancer for Madame Blanc at the Helena Markos Dance Academy, where a strange and deep darkness slowly comes to light.

Immediately, this remake is very different from the original Dario Argento film. Where his film is style over substance, this is the opposite. Guadagnino trades vibrant colors for dull hues, and a grim, fraught atmosphere instead of Argento's fun, borderline absurdist tone. I'd say the one through-line (other than the plot) is having Radiohead's lead singer and songwriter Thom York as the film's composer, following in the prog-rock shoes of Goblin from the original, and he does a fine job with a darker and more tension-filled score. The acting is outstanding from the entire cast, the effects are rightfully gnarly and gross, but Kajganich's script is the biggest win, combining aspects of Argento's "Suspiria" and his sequel "Inferno" into one epic while maintaining real emotion and suspense.

I love both films equally, because while I enjoy the original more, I would say this is the better film objectively.

"Superman" is the first film in James Gunn's reboot of the DC film universe from the former DCEU, and the 2nd property in this new "DCU" after "Creature Commandos." Three minutes after Superman loses his first fight against a metahuman known as the 'Hammer of Boravia,' he's thrust into a far more dangerous fight when Lex Luthor enacts a vicious plan to rid the Earth of humanity's Kryptonian hero.

I'm a stark defender of Zack Snyder's vision from the DCEU and I happily call both "Man of Steel" and "Zack Snyder's Justice League" two of the all time best Superman films ever made, alongside the classic '78 film. But with Gunn's vision here, I would say this is arguably the best yet. There are some things I don't like about it (a complete lack of acknowledgement of "Creature Commandos" when Rick Flag Sr. Shows up being the most egregious example), but damn is this movie still great from beginning to end! The performances, the visuals, the music, Gunn's direction, it all just works so well.

It's not perfect by any means and there are some noticable flaws, but this is still a great movie, one the world needs right now.