eagandersongil

"One Battle After Another" has the feel of an epic: it's fun, over-the-top, ridiculous (in a good way), and thrilling. Director Paul Thomas Anderson tries to add a political and critical touch here, but it doesn't really work. Everything is far too exaggerated to take any side seriously, and every point of view is hypocritical and constantly contradicts itself. Honestly, it's very difficult to extract any serious political message - which, in a way, is great, as it exposes the absurdity of extremism through caricatured characters who are extremely fragile and insecure.

The direction is excellent, the editing makes the three-hour runtime fly by, and the performances are outstanding, with special mention to the trio Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, and Sean Penn (who delivers one of his best performances). The soundtrack is also great, maintaining a steady and growing rhythm. Some of the screenplay choices are confusing, but overall the story comes together well.

"One Battle After Another" may not be P. T. Anderson's best film, but it is still a great one. Rating: 8/10.

"The Long Walk", a new adaptation of a story by Stephen King, delivers solid production value, with well-crafted direction, great performances - the film's strongest aspect, in fact - as well as a good soundtrack and cinematography. However, it's very hard to connect with the narrative. The drama involving the characters eventually feels silly. Not because it's poorly done, but because we don't feel anything: there's little context, very few flashbacks, and we're thrown into a story that's already nearing its end. This makes it quite difficult to engage.

When I started watching, I hoped the focus would truly be on the long walk, but later regretted it. Overall, the movie does resemble The Hunger Games in concept, but it's a weaker film. What still keeps the audience somewhat engaged is the interaction between the characters, which manages to be exciting at times.

At the end of the day, "The Long Walk" is just an average movie. Rating: 7/10.

"Gotcha" is a film based on a true and entertaining story: a group of friends who have been playing tag for 30 years. It's not the kind of story we're used to seeing adapted into a movie, especially with such a strong cast. But it really happened, and the film does exactly what it sets out to do: be funny, nothing more. With exaggerations that work, visual gags, and a "classic afternoon movie" vibe, it's a fun film to watch. The movie even hints at a moral lesson about growing up, which partially works, but the most important thing is that it's entertaining and doesn't try to be anything else.

Rating: 7/10.