charlie groll.

Movie Journal

Barbie (2023)
★★★★ ½

Jul 21, 2023
Movie poster for Barbie
Tons of fun, visually superb, and chock full of important messages.

Oppenheimer (2023)
★★★★★

Jul 20, 2023
Movie poster for Oppenheimer
An absolute masterpiece. 
Visuals, sound, acting, pacing. Oh, the pacing! I’m in love with every aspect of this film - how it told the complex story of a great historical figure while keeping me gripped every second of 3 full hours.

Hot Shots! (1991)
★★ ½

Jul 05, 2023
Movie poster for Hot Shots!
Fun time with some light guffaws. Not quite Airplane nor Naked Gun, though.

When Marnie Was There (2014)
★★★★

Jun 25, 2023
Movie poster for When Marnie Was There
It’s always amazing how much Ghibli can build up characters and make me feel so much for them in such a short amount of time. 
Calling her “mom” at the end really hit hard.

Asteroid City (2023)
★★★★ ½

Jun 23, 2023
Movie poster for Asteroid City
I feel like I got the strongest peak yet into Wes’s perception of storytelling and the human condition. I kept waiting to get it or care about the characters, but, sometime in Act II, I stopped searching and just felt it all at once.
Layers upon layers of pure storytelling gold.

Black Mirror: Loch Henry (2023)
★★★★

Jun 19, 2023
Movie poster for Black Mirror: Loch Henry
Great execution and very much in the current zeitgeist. Pacing was good, acting was great, and the story was really engaging. The characters felt like real people, which makes the story just that much easier to get enveloped in.

Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful (2023)
★★★★

Jun 18, 2023
Movie poster for Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful
I keep getting stuck on how this isn't a "dystopian far-off future" and, instead, highlights the dystopian present we live in and how realistic this was. It makes me uncomfortable... not in a self-reflective way but in a pit-of-despair way.

Extraction (2020)
★★ ½

Jun 18, 2023
Movie poster for Extraction
Enjoyed some of the shakey-cam stuff a lot and the main action was pretty fun, but too many “oh come on” moments to force the plot detracted from really caring about what happens to the characters.

Paterson (2016)
★★★★

Jun 02, 2023
Movie poster for Paterson
Love me some slice of life. Makes me want to create something.

The Lighthouse (2019)
★★★★★

May 13, 2023
Movie poster for The Lighthouse
Quite the descents into madness. 
Loved the photography, loved the pacing, and loved the sound design.