The Starlight Journal

As a big fan of the 1st Quiet Place, the fact this was filmed in my hometown was the icing on the cake. It did take me a few years to finally get around to seeing this, but I was doing the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme for a solid half of the runtime whenever I’d see a location I recognized, or (somehow my 1st time seeing it) when I saw my friend as an extra during the prologue. This didn’t connect with me as strongly as the original did, but it is still a very solid horror/thriller, with the additions they make to this universe giving humanity a little bit of hope, and it was nice to see this unfold. Of course, having Cillian Murphy (with glorious beard) helps a ton here. With all the connections it had to what comes next (or should I say before), I’m glad I finally got to this before I saw…

Now we get to the newest installment of this horror franchise, but this time we go back in time! A few things stood out for me watching this movie:

• This was how I found out Joseph Quinn was British
• The real star of this film was the cat
• Lupita’s character’s name being Sam and her cat being named Frodo was lost on me during my first viewing of the film. Seeing that now, that was really clever and added a lot to their bond.

Although there were no real WOW moments for me like I had with the 1st two Quiet Place films, I did still enjoy this quite a bit. I would rank this on par with the second film, which is fitting considering how many connections I made with that film having watched them essentially back-to-back. The strength of this movie lied more with it’s characters, and the horror took a backseat, but I feel that was by design. Having this great character development made the 3rd act incredibly strong and satisfying. I have enjoyed every movie we’ve had from this franchise, but I do wonder if we’ll ever reach the heights that first film brought us.

Now this is a horror trilogy I have ate up and adored from start to finish. Each film as good as, if not better, than the one that preceded it. While I have not yet come to the conclusion that MaXXXine is a stronger film than X or Pearl, you could definitely argue it. Simply put, this movie rocks. The ’80s fit this movie like a glove – both the 80s aesthetic and the Satanic panic craze of the decade make the story a real home run. Mia Goth is of course fantastic as she has been this whole trilogy, and I wouldn’t complain whatsoever if Ti West and Mia Goth continue to tell stories with this franchise.

X made me fall in love with the slasher genre, Pearl showed the different, exuberant ways stories can be told in that medium, and MaXXXine showed that Maxine Minx is indeed a fucking movie star. This is my new favorite horror trilogy.

After MaXXXine, I had to go back to where it all began. Every film is pretty much neck and neck with each other, but this viewing solidified the 1st film as my favorite. To quote the movie, this is one goddamn fucked up horror picture, and it’s a masterpiece.

We now move away from horror movies to return to perhaps the slowest rewatch of a franchise I’ve ever done. I really don’t know why I am revisiting the Potter films at such a glacial pace. At the time of writing this much-delayed piece, I still have yet to continue it. That said, rewatching Half-Blood Prince has resolidified that this movie is still really, really good.

Just like Goblet of Fire, it perfectly balances the heavily dark themes of the film (perhaps the darkest yet, despite returning to a PG rating) with some of the most effective comedy of the series. In the past, the romance aspects of the film did not work for me, let’s just say I’ve never been the biggest Harry/Ginny shipper, but with adult eyes, they sure do work. We also do not even need to dive into our third consecutive heartwrenching ending in this franchise, three films in a row with three of the saddest endings of all time. And yet, they still all work insanely well on rewatch.

Only thing that knocks this film down a peg for me is I really am not a fan of the cinematography. The visuals are incredible, but they mute all the colors and there’s barely any light to speak of, making everything just grey and hard to see. When we said we liked the Potter films getting increasingly darker, this isn’t necessarily what we meant.

As always, fuck J.K. Rowling.

For years, all I heard about this movie was that it was just ’90s shlock, but after finally watching I had a good time with it. It is indeed very gloriously ’90s in so many ways – glorious ’90s soundtrack, glorious ’90s visuals (some hold up quite well, some do NOT), glorious ’90s product placement – it is a ’90s action flick in the best ways. Not to mention a tremendous Phillip Seymour Hoffman performance. Since Twisters dropped I have seen so much more love for this film than I was privy to, and I get it. This is a very fun film that is very much a product of it’s decade, but in the best ways.

And here we have the rare sequel to a decades old film that I actually liked more than the original. The longer I’ve sat on Twisters, the more I like it. Like the first film, it’s pure blockbuster fun – helped by two great, chemistry-filled performances from Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. The tornado scenes were amazing to watch on the big screen, we have a group of fun characters, and Glen Powell continues to be that dude in 2024. I’m just convinced that he will have insane chemistry with everyone. Talk about a guy that exudes charisma 24/7.

Yes, I did go from really liking to loving this movie on my 2nd watch. Yes, I do think this is Pixar’s biggest win since before Covid, if not longer. In terms of Disney animation as a whole, it’s the biggest win since Frozen 2. However, the real story of this watch was this was my first time going to a dine-in theater. What a lovely experience that was. I’ve wanted to see a movie in a dine-in theater for the longest time, and it lived up to all my expectations. Shoutout to the Disney Springs AMC, that was the best movie theater I’ve ever been to. I now have so many memories associated with this movie, just like the 1st one, and I’m sure this will be a staple in my best of the year list come December.

I’ve gone on to watch Deadpool & Wolverine three times in the theater, however I will base my journal entry here on just my initial viewing. This movie is, first and foremost, a love letter to the good, bad, and ugly that was the 20 years of Fox’s Marvel films. It more than succeeds in that note. It made me feel nostalgic and warm and fuzzy for some movies I don’t even like. It also just really works as a movie. The surprises ranged from expected to “I did not see that coming whatsoever”. This team-up more than lived up to the hype that Ryan Reynolds has been building for years. Hugh Jackman to me is the best that’s ever done it in the world of comic-book films, and whether or not this is his true final outing as Wolverine (“till you’re 90!”), it was such a good time watching this in a packed theater.

I was worried on my initial watch that the movie would lose some of its luster once the initial shock of the surprises and the theater environment wear off. In my two watches since, this wasn’t the case for me at all, but I did find myself factoring that into my score on my first watch. When we revisit this in my August Film Journal, I’ll go into full gush mode..

As I alluded to in the beginning of this article, July marked my first trip to Disney World in over 17 years, and my first as an adult. Coming back from such a wonderful vacation had me in the mood to revisit some of the classics, so of course I had to watch my favorite Disney film.

In my mind, Disney’s magnum opus. The best 2D animated film ever made. One of my favorite films of all time. Throwing this on every year or two is just a healing experience, but it’s the freaking Lion King, you knew this already.

One of the highlights of my Disney trip was riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for the first time. Just opening this year, I was blown away by the reimagining of a classic Disney ride themed to this underrated 2000s Disney film. I hadn’t seen this movie in years, but I had to revisit it after going on the ride, and I’m so glad I did. Great voice acting, highlighted by Keith David’s wonderfully evil performance as our villain. A super enjoyable cast of characters, and one of my favorite Disney princesses in Tiana. I just love her as a character. The New Orleans culture feels like a character in the film rather than just a setpiece, everything is lovely, from the music, to the visuals, to the livelihood of the characters and communities. After Disney’s first few forays into CGI films in the mid-2000s, this was their return to their hand-drawn roots, and the animation here is simply superb. I am angry beyond belief that they only went on to return to this medium once more since this film.

Many point to this movie as the spark that went on to become the Disney Revival of the 2010s, and I can’t help but agree. It’s a really special movie.

In a year that’s given us quite a few bangers in the horror genre, this up to this point was the highlight of the year. Extremely tense, incredibly thrilling, and utterly terrifying, it doubles as both an exceptional detective thriller and satanic horror. Nick Cage as the titular character is batshit good and legit scary. Malika Monroe has one of the best lead roles of the year. The mystery plays out in an intriguing and surprising way with plenty of twists, and although I was expecting the “scariest movie of the year” marketing that Longlegs had to be typical studio hyperbole, this actually freaked me out. Bravo. This movie is haunting, and it sticks with you. One of the year’s best.