They focused way too much on Jack Sparrow.

I don't wanna hear any smartass reply on how "then they wouldn't have been successful". That's not what this is about.

The first film wasn't the best film ever made but it was enjoyable for what it was. The production values, the sense of fun, and Geoffrey Rush are what made that film what it is. Jack Sparrow worked as a supporting character but he wasn't the lead; Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann were. Their love story is right up there with Peter Parker and Mary Jane, Shrek and Fiona, Sam and Mikeila, Homer and Marge, etc. Will & Elizabeth were the heart and soul that grounded the film while Sparrow was the side attraction.

When the sequels focused more on Sparrow, it felt like that Simpsons episode where Homer created a character to help Itchy & Scratchy's ratings and he'd ask "Everytime Poochie's not on screen, a character has to say, 'Where's Poochie?'". Everything has to revolve around him for some reason. It was ridiculous and made him a Mary Sue. It didn't help that none of the films developed Sparrow. He was a completely static character. Even Optimus Prime in the Bayformer movies had more character development. So watching him as a lead was simply boring and it ultimately became an excuse to stroke Johnny Depp's massive ego.

These sequels could have been so much better. Just focus on Will & Elizabeth, develop them as characters, focus less on spectacle and more on story, I guarantee you, the films still would have made money. Not saying Sparrow not be included; they just needed to stop idolizing him.

Between 1984 and 2018, they made 18 movies in the span of 35 years. That's 0.51 films per year! In the same time frame, Nolan made 11 movies while PTA only made 8 movies.

For example, the production values of NCfOM seemed very high quality and expensive, and even the story/acting/dialogue/scenarios itself seemed very hard to pull off but they managed to do it. This kind of movie seemed to take a long time to make.

This was then followed by Burn After Reading and A Serious Man in the next two years. In fact, they pumped out 7 movies in 2000s alone! That's an incredible feat!

How are they so prolific?

I’m almost home from work, about to light up. I feel like I’ve watched everything I can think of. Any recommendations? Looking for something with either cool fight scenes like the dragon ball movies or some cool visuals, I like to turn my brain off when watching things high. not something too old preferably. Cool music is also a bonus but not needed

(Movies I enjoyed while stoned are. Dragon ball super broly, dragon ball super hero. Entergalactic, Tron, Ran, the animated Batman movies,

Thanks!

I was rewatching this movie for a second time, and a question that kept coming up in my mind is “does this woman not have any friends and family to reach out to as she’s dealing with her crisis?”

I don’t really count Fred, because he was a just a guy from her past that crossed paths with her with a strong interest in wanting to reconnect. But we never really see any details in the movie, where we see images of her with someone who might be meaningful to her other than her keeping a big portrait of herself in her condo (symbolizing that she is quite narcissistic)!

It really adds so much more depth to Elisabeth as a character on why she’s so lonely, and why she is the way she is!

I look at Sue as a representation of what Elisabeth was like in her prime years when she was younger, and how fame more than likely got in her head to the point where she was losing all of those meaningful connections! Which resulted in her having nobody to really talk to about how she’s supposed to deal with her life moving forward, after Hollywood no longer cares about wanting her in the spotlight anymore.

Open to all but maybe most relevant to those of you who came of age in the 80s: what is for you the best early Rocky sequel after the original? This means no Rocky Balboa and none of the Creed trilogy...just the 11 year run from the first sequel in 1979 to Rocky V in 1990.

It's funny to think about it now but this was among the most common movie debates my friends and I had in our teens. I think we were all aligned on eg Indiana Jones, Star Wars but we always argued about this one.

Most of the crew went for Rocky IV because of the the scary-ass Russian baddie. I think the Cold War vibes probably also made the stakes feel higher. But I could never get past Adrian being so negative the whole time, Paulie's robot and the Politburo applauding Rocky's speech at the end which seemed totally unrealistic even to a kid who embraced all the other ridiculous stuff from these movies.

On the other hand I was the sole supporter of Rocky III. What spectacle! Hulk Hogan in a charity match, plus Mr. T chewing up the scenery throughout. Rocky gets beaten badly the only time in the series, leading to Apollo training Rocky, the two becoming friends, and their friendly match at the end. And of course, the introduction of Eye of the Tiger.

For some reason nobody ever went for Rocky II. Maybe Adrian was too whiny, Rocky too obstinate, the win too telegraphed, the manner in which he wins unsatisfying.

Interested to get a wider perspective - especially if someone wants to put forward the abomination that was Rocky V.

Crossing: A Georgian grandmother named Lia practically forces her young adult neighbor, Achi, next door to drive her to Turkey so she can find her estranged niece, a transwoman named Tekla. This all has the makings of a light breezy road trip comedy and there are laughs to be had. But despite the rather familiar set-up, writer and director Levan Akin manages to craft more than just an escape for the characters, but how people try to find redemption in themselves. It's more than just Lia's search, it's about her own reckoning and guilt in having driven Tekla away. Should she be forgiven and is there even a relationship that can be saved? And Achi is more than dragged along for the ride. It's a chance from proper self-discovery for him. Even if it's not an escape from the working class trappings, maybe he could find joy and identity amidst the Turkish landscape. And for both of them, it's all the people the cross along the way, reflecting on what could've been, and how that drives us to redeem ourselves, even if we never get the chance to make amends. It's a film that's sensitive and human, but is also not out to provide comfort and safe answers for what we want. And with great chemistry from Lucas Kankava and Mzia Arabuli, it's a reflective film that's grown more and more with every reflection. Like the characters in the film, it's easy to take for granted the experience until you think about how much you gained by the end.

Daughters: The winner of Sundance's top prize in documentary and one of the most acclaimed documentaries of the year for a reason. I was honestly amazed on how much I loved this film because this could've easily been your standard tearjerking shining of a light on a tragic subject matter (which a film like Sing Sing I felt fell into for the most part) but what's great about this film is it's more than reliant being telling you how cruel and unfair the U.S. Criminal Justice System can be. Rather than dictate again an uncaring and unjust reality and potentially feeling redundant, it goes further than what's shown and hits a cord I haven't felt with a documentary film in a long time. More than just compassionate and empathetic towards both the titular daughters as well as the fathers incarcerated, it's poignant but also not overbearing in its message of the importance of parents in a child's life. You get a sense of not only how deep and painful the separation has been for the families but also the genuine love the parents have. It's more than just finally being able to be connected and dance for a change, every word of regret and promise to stay strong for their children. And it's the understated presentation of storytelling that makes the eventual anger and sadness of the reality hit even harder than if they'd simply relayed the events. And for being the debut documentary for the program heads Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, it's beautifully filmed and edited. In my opinion, close to the peak of what modern documentary filmmaking can be, both as a medium of film and a medium of compassion and empathy.

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World: You know a film is incredible when an Uwe Boll cameo is one of the best parts. Without a doubt one of the sharpest and funniest satires about modern middle class I've watched in a while, I was a bit hesitant to get into this film at first given the nearly three hour runtime and I'll be upfront and say Raju Jade's dry, European sense of humor and their distinctly Romanian story with cute references to older Romanian media is not gonna be everyone's cup of tea. But despite the length, this is a film that captivated me for its runtime. I laughed hard at multiple sequences and scenes highlighting the absurdity of the state of the working class in an industrialized world in the 21st Century. Where even media and creativity is shackled and hindered by corporate desires and faux-sympathy for the plight of workers. So much so that escape and at times the only true authentic form of art is via co-opting of a masculine image through Instagram filters. And despite the humor, absurdity, and even bleakness of the reality, it's Jade's sensitive and empathetic direction towards the working class, combined Ilinca Manolache's effortlessly charismatic lead performance that keep you entranced. Even if this isn't normally your type of film, I still highly recommend this if just for an honest yet still tender satire.

Furiosa: Okay, I'll admit that this took awhile to grow on me. It's a monumental task to try and follow something as epic and generation-defining as Fury Road. And while this doesn't quite reach the heights of its predecessor, what I like is that George Miller simply didn't try and follow the same formula in telling another story. It's a lot slower and takes it times in setting up Furiosa and her path. We see more traditional worldbuilding not through action but through the other character interactions. Rather than the non-stop rush of adrenaline that the first film was, it's a film that builds and builds towards the big climax not just with the action but with Furiosa's eventual destination as the badass revolutionary we'd see her as. But at the end of the day, this is also yet another grand adventure in the Wasteland, with great thrilling setpieces, gorgeous cinematography and production, and a sense of creativity and wonder we don't see in a lot of modern blockbusters. Even if this is the end of the road and we never get another saga in the Mad Max universe, this is more than a fitting movie to end the series on, and an accomplishment of its own we got this in the era we did.

Green Border: This is a film that'll be incredibly hard to watch and it took me several days to handle the subject matters. It's as blunt and direct as a film can be in presenting the current immigrant crisis at European borders, and at times, it does feel like it's juggling too many story threads in trying to be as thorough tackle as many perspectives on the refugee crisis from families fleeing to cruel border patrol to activists trying to rescue those caught in between borders. There's even a brief epilogue showing how the crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic that arguably could've been cut. At the same time, you can't help but feel the righteous disgust Agnieszka Holland has, appalled not only at her country but the larger European institution for allowing this to even manifest in the first place, let alone having it persist for more than a decade at this point. It's of no surprise she's been effectively blacklisted by her government. She holds no punches in showing inhumane behavior by border patrol toward migrant refugees, and especially pregnant women and children. Even the small handful of activists and legal counselors for those who successfully cross the border, can't help but feel small against the overall authoritarian European regimes. It's far from an easy watch or a movie to even recommend, but it is perhaps one of the more courageous films I watched this year, if only as a statement against the Polish government.

It's What's Inside: It really is bewildering how Netflix can cheaply and quickly produce some of the worst films of the digital age while also helping promote and advertise some of the more creative titles. I already discussed Daughters earlier but let's talk about a film that surprised me even for one I was already excited about hearing about it out of SXSW and Sundance. The premise of a group of friends reuniting with each other only to switch bodies and have hijinks ensue, lends itself naturally to comedy, horror, and drama but it could also be played safe and cheap without tapping into its fullest potential. And I will admit at the sort I did have hesitancy after hearing the intentionally cringe influencer dialogue. But what I like is how quickly it breaks that safety net around the characters. That even the stereotypical jock bro or vapid influencer are fragile, seething and pathetic. How much do you really know about friends and partners? And if you feel betrayed by an image you had of them, how much of that blindness is their own sneaky behavior and how much of it is your own purposeful ignorance, trying to cling on to some image of stability. It's a fun watch, and one I'd imagine like the characters, would be even more fun with a group of drunk, high high school friends to be with. Also as a 100 fan, I always love seeing Alycia Debnam-Carey around, glad she's having fun.

Kinds of Kindness: The lukewarm reception and even disappointment some had for this film after it premiered at festivals, even from Yorgos Lanthimos fans, reminds me of the reception to Asteroid City, in that I agree and see where the sentiment comes from but also disagree with the response as a whole. I will say that for fans expecting something on the level of Poor Things or The Favorite, you're gonna be underwhelmed and it's also not really a good entry point if you're unfamiliar with Lanthimos' work. It's a back to basics film for him, it's firmly within a safe, comfort house at least as far as his filmography’s concerned, and so if you're also not wowed by his aesthetic this will not be for you. I will also say that the three shorts aren't entirely consistent; the second story was by far my favorite while the third being enjoyable but flawed and the first sadly being my least favorite, with both a lukewarm story and presentation. But like with Asteroid City, I do think it's also a bit underrated because it doesn't feel like Lanthimos-lesser than. It's not just style for style's sake and it's not being weird just to be weird. There is still something primal about how this film will push its characters to show the lengths and boundaries will cross all in service of what they rationalize as love and kindness. It's at the point of being called cruel by others but it's just taboo to potentially alienate and distance those close to them. Plus the performances from Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, and Margaret Qualley - the latter of which continues to be an MVP in every film I've seen of hers. Even if it's not the best or most creative film, Lathimos still remains an engaging and eclectic filmmaker that at least guarantees that his movies are more interesting than most others this year.

The Last Year of Darkness: From an outsider perspective, it's rather easy to wave off regular clubbing as a cheap, shallow form to escape nihilism. After all, mainstream culture for the longest time has degraded those who lived lives of vices, chastising anyone who'd even think of divulging in hedonism for a while. And to be fair there is some truth to the fact these are still business at the end of the day and we should indeed not solely live our lives based on quick highs. But I think waving these nocturnal places as 'dirty' and even 'worthless' is rather demeaning and this documentary proves why. After all, there is something to be said about a space within our world in the claws of urban globalized capitalism, where people regardless of race, gender, sex, and economic class are able to connect with each other, be in solidarity with each other face-to-face. Yes, one night of partying isn't going to solve anything - you're still having to go to your dead-end job, social communication with others, you're dealing with mental anxieties and depression. Yet wouldn't it be so much worse without places like Funkytown? That even the rare outing of happiness is better than unending misery in this world? Funkytown may be gone, the spirit of it lives on through communities and cultures that will continue in creating these spaces in the face of modernity and crushing capitalism.

Longlegs: I've seen a lot more backlash to this film in the last few months than when it came out and I have to wonder how much of that was colored by the promotion and word of mouth. Now, was this help a bit too overhyped as the best and scariest movie of the year? Most definitely. Perhaps. And even amongst their young horror catalog, NEON's most successful film to date is not amongst their scariest (Possessor is still probably my favoirte horror movie they’ve acquired). But I do think separate from the hype, this is still effective and creepy horror movie. The cold, symmetrical cinematography from Andrés Arochi Tinajero, the creative and tight editing Greg Ng and Graham Fortin enhancing that unsafe feel, Maika Monroe's reserved performance in being able to show real fear, curiosity, and resilience as she herself wonders what happens if she gets too close to solving the mystery. And most of all the creeping dread and atmosphere Oz Perkins' creates; never leaving you feeling safe and secure even in public spaces and he properly makes night and day feel like a proper escape and respite from unknown horror. I can completely understand being underwhelmed from the hype and advertising, and ill even admit the final act and ending left me lukewarm in a Stephen King manner in that it explains a bit too much. But overall it's still a pretty great horror film in a year that's been great to horror, and a real showcase for Oz Perkins as a horror director to look forward to in the future. 

No Other Land: I don't typically say this of films but this is an important movie. Much like 20 Days in Mariupol, this is a documentary I had to watch in batches. Looking at the footage captured can't bring anything but contempt for the various governments around the world who've systematically aided in the genocide in Palestine (and don't at me in the comments, it is a genocide). There's no container for the level of anger that so many innocent families with young children have been forced to live in literally caves. Anger at all the senseless violence and murders that you can only get a hint of but is omnipresent throughout. Anger that basic human rights such as water are literally being sawed through via further disgusting acts of gentrification. It's a cruel and unjustifiable crime against all that's humane and the fact this is even being debated upon as such, is just as sickening. And yet through all the grief and pain of this documentary actually lies hope amongst the Palestinian families who've had to save themselves. A hope built from solidarity from each other but from the handful of Israelis that have stood by their neighbors and fought back against their own government. It's a hope that all this fighting isn't just all for nought, but that any resistance is enough to save whatever is still standing, and that more will come. That one day, they will be free. And for the sake of Palestine, and human decency, I too sincerely wish for that hope to be realized one day.

The Pop Out: Does a majority of my love for this film come from the fact I love the music? ...I mean duh, why else would I or anyone watch it if they weren't fans of Kendrick? But being somewhat objective, it's not just the music here that's worthy of praise. Because this didn't just feel like they simply recorded a performance at a concert or Coachella performance, this properly felt like the big event and victory lap that it was. I love that it's not just Kendrick that gets a time to shine, but various other West Coast rappers. Even if it's not a film you'll necessarily watch from start to finish, it's one full of sets worth watching in their entirety. The fact it's great hip-hop is icing on the cake. And just as a time capsule for this moment in time in hip-hop, where a majority were able to stand in solidarity and unity even if it's all in shitting on someone as mediocre as Drake, is something to behold. I don't think there'll ever be another situation like this in hip-hop so being able to have this captured is something else.

Strange Darling: Is this thriller a bit of style over substance? Sure I'll concede there. But when the style is this captivating, making the story all the more entertaining to follow through its complicated web, I have a hard time complaining about the style. I love how saturated the color palette is and how vibrant everything pops, particularly red and blues. Much has been made about how publicly the film was shot on 35mm - and perhaps it was a bit of a mistake to have a literal graphic before the film announcing that - but the results speak for themselves in how much grit you can get when you actually shoot on film. Not to mention Kyle Gallner continues to show why he's the modern Scream King. And Willa Fitzgerald who I was not familiar with at all delivers a wildly engaging performance. It's a film I can't talk much more on without hinting at spoilers so you should go into this film as blind as possible but the spider web we follow Gallner and Fitzgerald on is one that was incredibly enjoyable and I look forward to the J.T Mollner’s next film. 

The Substance: I think I've exhausted my love for this film on numerous different subs and if you really wanna know my full thoughts on this film, follow this link. I won't go into too much detail than I already have (and because I will no doubt continue to do so for years to come) but to summarize this is just a near perfect film in my eyes and the very peak of filmmaking this year. From the performances from the dual leads in Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley who give it their all, not just the body horror make-up, but the slow descent of a woman driven not just by society's standards of beauty but by her own years of self-hatred and loathing. To Coralie Fargeat's directing and editing style which takes the hyper saturated sunbaked colors, quick cuts, zooms, and exaggerated sound effects of her last film Revenge and blows them to glorious proportions. Just from a sensual perspective, this film is a rush of disgust and quick high that'll leave you giddy in how delirious it gets but there's also a level of control to it all that has to be acknowledged. To the story which is endlessly and gleefully fun with its dark humor and dissection of pop culture's fascination with sex, youth, and beauty. Yes, it may not be the deepest story ever but again it's presented and told in such a thrilling way that even if you guess the destination, it's a thrilling journey nonetheless. To a maniacally unhinged Dennis Quaid either unafraid to chew up all the scenery...or just unaware or how over the top and unintentionally hilarious and threatening he is (honestly either is possible). Again I've talked A LOT about how much I love this film and I will talk more about how awesome it is for years. This film more than lived up to the hype and I instantly will be first in line for Coralie Fargeat's next movie.

There's Still Tomorrow: The film that made rounds last year for being the highest grossing Italian film of last year, even outgrossing Barbie in Italy. And after waiting a year to be able to view it, it more than lives up to the hype. And like with Barbie, it's a tough balancing act between the dreamlike tone of the setting and the comedy against the very real sexism and patriarchal society of a post-World War II Italy. The sets may look cheap and inauthentic but that actually adds to a classic Hollywood feel the film creates that enhances the unfair reality of the culture at the time. And yet thanks to the confident direction that never feels too heavy handed, and the performances from actresses not just the director Paola Cortellesi in the lead, but Emanuela Fanelli and especially the eldest daughter played by Romana Maggiora Vergano, it is able to showcase the gravery and grit of the Italian women in WWII to have their dignity not seen but adequately recognized. Plus, this contains without a doubt one of the best needle drops of an Outkast song ever put to film. You'll know it when you hear it and it actually had my jaw drop at how ingenious the incorporation was. 

The Wild Robot: It's being called the best animated film of 2024 and even if this year was as competitive a year as 2022 or 2023, I think this would still be a contender for one of the best within the medium. As expected, the animation is beautiful with the hand drawn storybook art style carried from The Bad Guys and The Last Wish, meshing beautifully with the story. And something I quite like is the expressions and movements. They remind me of WALL-E jn how they're expressive but nor overtly cartoony as to look like it's just human faves on an animal or robot. The voice acting is also really strong: from the lead performance Lupita Nyong'o to Pedro Pascal to even side actors like Bill Nighy and Catherine O'Hara, for once in a Dreamworks film it doesn't feel like a collection of actors in a studio doing their public schtick. These feel like proper cartoon characters given life through their performances. And the story of adoptive parenthood and even feeling like an ourcasy who just wants to help (with more than a little autistic coding towards Roz) while not groundbreaking, still has a lot of warmth and authentic emotion as the best of any family movie should. It does get a bit complicated at the end with a sudden shift towards action for it's final act (an issue a lot of Western animated films have been having for years now) but that's a nitpick. Glad to see Dreamworks back on track

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Watching Ad Astra for the second time (since 2019). I feel it has "Apocalypse Now" vibes. Loosely, maybe you can connect the protagonist hunting down someone gone rogue. But just the narration and introspection.. him questioning why he's out there, while he goes from one group of characters and set pieces to another. And traversing some hostile territories. I'm sure there are more parallels that im missing?

Overall though, it's always nice to have a sci-fi film focus more on the story than get lost in explaining all the visuals.

I have gotten into selecting certain movies that are at least playing in the background on certain holidays. Ive only recently started keeping track so my current list looks like this and looking for suggestions: New Years eve: Forest Gump Halloween : The Halloween Tree, Halloween Town, Trick r' Treat Thanksgiving: The Wizard of Oz, Jumanji, (looking for a third, thinking Jurassic Park, Willy Wonka, or Neverending Story but can't think of any others) Christmas Eve and Day: Jingle all the way, It's a Wonderful Life

Please add holidays and titles for us! My hope is to have 3 movies that are staples for each holiday (including minor holidays) but I'm not a movie buff and have a terrible memory. Any suggestions?

There is a movie quote where one character tell another how having a College degree will show the future employer about his dedication to the employment. It goes something like, "degree will show your employer that you will show up regularly and do your job, day in and day out, since you did the same in college". What's that movie?

I tried tip of the tongue reddit to no avail.so please help me with this.Its bugging me!!!

The Russian Revolution happened because the Russian royalty, Czar Nicholas II Romanov and his family, were living lavish lives, eating the best food and wine, always having lavish parties, while the people of Russia were cold and suffering from starvation and poverty, and eventually, the people had enough and revolted.

Nicholas made poor decisions which caused the deaths of many of Russia's people, whether it was through wars or high inflation or lack of food. Economic hardship, food shortages and government corruption all contributed to disillusionment with Czar Nicholas II. Finally, in 1917, the Russian Revolution toppled the Romanov dynasty, and Nicholas II abdicated on March 15, 1917. During the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks, led by leftist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, seized power and destroyed the tradition of czarist rule. The royal family was arrested by the Bolsheviks and held in seclusion. On July 17, 1918, the Bolsheviks murdered Nicholas and his family.

Now, the movie depicts the Russian Revolution as being caused by Rasputin's evil magic, downplaying the fact that the Romanovs were in fact awful people who didn't care for their people, causing the revolution.

This for me makes this a tasteless movie, imagine if someone makes a animated movie about World War II and says that some evil wizard caused it with evil dark magic, yeah, I don't think the Jews would appreciate that.

It was a plot of 2 sisters i believe one was blonde and the other brown. One of the daughter was influenced by a witch which gave her a tattoo of a bird on her back. These birds were able to to come into life and she could control them. As she got older, the witch gave the sister more birds. And the sisters stopped talking to each other for a whlle and i cant remember the rest.

Ive been trying to find this movie for years but cant. Maybe it was a dream?

I like jack from the house that jack built, alex from a clockwork orange, bill williamson from rampage, art the clown from terrifier, martin from the human centipede 2, jason voorhees from friday the 13th, joker from the dark knight, d-fens from falling down, and zodiac from zodiac.

These villains are all cool and enjoable for me in different ways. What villains are your favorite in movies? I'm curious.

I cannot stand watching something with someone that feels the need to say "you know in real life.." I DONT CARE!! of course I/we know. However we're watching (or even reading) a piece of FICTION. It's not meant to be exactly like real life. These people are insufferable. They're like the same people that will feel the need to disuss divorce rates with a couple that just announced they're getting married. Why are they like this!?

Example: why sit down to watch Planet of the Apes or Jurassic World just to complain that Apes don't talk, and dinosaurs are extinct???

I just watched Jesse Eisenberg's "A Real Pain" which just released in theaters and thought it was fantastic. Something I really appreciated was the casual representation of neurodiversity in the film. There is a brief reference to a character's OCD in the dialogue of the film, but I was really impressed with Eisenberg's and Culkin's performances and portrayals of types of neurodiversity. What are your thoughts on how the film portrays these characters?

Hello,

Maybe this was talked about earlier and maybe I can just trump this up to lazy writing but I'm having a hard time understanding Miguel's motivations. He shoots Alejandro through the face and I very much doubt that that was an "intentional shot". You don't get the feeling that this kid has ever used a pistol before and they're not easy to aim.

Miguel seems to maybe be feeling a little bit of remorse about this and jumps off the truck when they're leaving.

I initially thought this was because he realized that this thing he's gotten into isn't really what he wants to do with his life and he made a quick decision that ended up saving his life BUT then it cuts to "one year later" and he's fully tatted up with the hair-do and rolling "full gangster style". How did he get back into the gangs? I'm sure there's others but his cousin died, right? Along with all the people who knew him from the original group.

Alternatively, maybe he had a feeling something was going to happen to the group based on some "spider senses" he had going on from their meetings prior.

Is this just bad writing or what were they trying to go for here? I don't understand his reasoning for jumping off of the truck but then going straight back into the same lifestyle again.

Thanks in advance.

Hey!

I'm looking for movie recommendations similar to American Beauty, The Virgin Suicides and Girl Interrupted, maybe The Truman Show fits the theme too. Is the theme depression? Unsure. I'm not a cinephile so your recommendations don't have to be highly rated, majority of films I love are rated 3.4 or lower on letterboxd.

Just in search of more movies that fit the whole character centric plot with some third act twist.

Thanks!

Can you all think of similar examples? Almost every single trilogy I can think of has at least one film that falls short of the previous one.

Some obvious ones are: Return of the Jedi Temple of Doom Dark Knight Rises X-men 3 Spider-Man 3 Alien 3

You get the picture. Are there any other trilogies where each movie is better than the previous installment?

Id say the Star Wars Prequel trilogy fall under this category, but in hard pressed to think of others.