Year: 2021

Always the most cunning and captivating wordsmith, Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin grows increasingly sure-handed behind the director’s chair with each new project he takes on.

Much like his writing, Sorkin becomes more daring as his confidence grows in his third feature film released last week in theaters and on Amazon Prime reflects both his drive and ambition to make prestige cinematic drama.

Being the Ricardos is a quintessential Sorkin project filled with high-octane, rapid fire dialogue, intensely dry humor and an a stage play mentality that creates an alluring two hours for cinephiles to sink their teeth into. 

This isn’t to say that the film is accessible to all audiences or will resonate with casual moviegoers. Sorkin takes a lot of liberties consolidating two years worth of real life drama in the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz into one week’s worth of events surrounding the taping of an episode of their hit television show “I Love Lucy.”

A radio broadcast accuses Lucille of being a Communist and a tabloid profiles Desi as a serial cheater all while the couple are announcing their second pregnancy to the show’s staff. It’s a cavalcade of events that Sorkin orchestrates with a deft pen and often compelling directorial eye. 

Yet, Sorkin’s script feels more authentic if you consider the entire project a more fictionalized account that just happens to be based on real people rather than an honest work of nonfiction.

He litters his screenplay with fictionalized retrospective interviews, often jumbling the timeline of events to fit a mood rather than provide clarity to the audience.

The star of Being the Ricardos isn’t Lucille and Desi, nor A-listers Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem who capably play both the real people as well as the “I Love Lucy” characters. It’s Sorkin, the guy waving his wand like a feverish maestro making a performance of his band leadership. There’s never a moment in the film that doesn’t have the good and bad of Sorkin’s growing auteurism stamped all over it. 

It’s honestly too bad at times because Kidman is especially offering a compelling turn as Lucille and her ability to demonstrate both the unique physicality that Lucille had to set her apart as a comedienne and the deep thinking that helped shape the show and the people around her. 

Kidman carries the film on her shoulders for much of the 135-minute run time and wonderfully rallies viewers to Lucille’s side with charm and becomes an ideal focal point for all the chaos that surrounds her. It’s a truly engaging look at the inner monologue of one of America’s first true television icons and while Kidman often doesn’t “look” the part, her ability to become Lucille and to a lesser extent, Lucy, is considerable and powerful.

Bardem, by contrast, doesn’t give a character driven performance as Desi as Sorkin isn’t truly interested in finding Desi’s motivations.

But Bardem brings charisma and machismo in spades and the turn is filled with a bravado that lights up the energy of the film at the drop of the hat. Desi’s scenes are always the most compelling because Bardem’s larger-than-life persona radiates off the screen and his chemistry with Kidman perfectly captures the hot and cold unevenness of Desi and Lucille’s marriage.

The ensemble cast all give excellent turns as well with Nina Arianda’s Vivian Vance aka Ethel Merman and Tony Hale’s executive producer Jess Oppenheimer being standouts. 

The film’s considerable production design pays off in a big way as viewers will easily feel themselves transported to 1950s Hollywood and its classical glitz and glamour.  Cinematography from Jeff Cronenweth only adds to the luxurious feel while also offering a sense of smoky haze pouring in during long office scenes. 

Likely Amazon’s premiere contender for accolades this awards season, Being the Ricardos will probably fall short of expectations with only Kidman a probable Oscar nominee in Best Actress. Sorkin is always a threat for a screenplay nomination and films about Hollywood traditionally over-perform with Academy voters. 

Being the Ricardos is a bold statement from Sorkin that will leave some viewers behind as he tries to be audacious as a dialogue driven filmmaker. But with the ease of access seeing the film on Amazon Prime, the mostly true story of the people behind Lucy and Ricky Ricardo is worth taking a chance on. 

Marvel Studios has had a problem for the better part of two years now. 

Ever since the release of Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the Disney-owned franchise has been wallowing in a dilemma partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic and partially due to their own making. 

With most of their Avengers core retiring from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, producer Kevin Feige has had to start from scratch building characters like Shang-Chi, countless Eternals and elevating secondary characters through their Disney+ miniseries. 

Their one saving grace: a web-slinging superhero with the charisma and comic book nostalgia to bring the MCU into a post-Endgame era and reinvigorate dying box offices for theaters across the country. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third in a trilogy of films from director Jon Watts, brings Tom Holland back inside his spandex suit to take on even more classic villains, push a film franchise forward and captivate audiences with the most powerfully dramatic superhero film in two years. 

It’s a film that does almost everything possible to rectify the star power issues created by the end of the Avengers saga and is the first universally beloved blockbuster since the pandemic changed how audiences watch movies. 

Coming immediately on the heels of the events from Spider-Man: Far From Home, the final film in this particular trilogy finds the hero facing unwanted celebrity status after his secret identity is revealed to the whole world. When he asks Doctor Strange to cast a spell to make everyone forget his identity, the fabric of reality is torn and villains from other universes are thrust into Peter Parker’s path for him and his friends to capture. 

Holland gives the best performance in his MCU career as Peter/Spider-Man, providing a deeper emotional impact than in previous films. It’s clear that at this point in his career Holland knows how to balance a character driven performance with a lighter, more accessible touch common to blockbusters. 

He’s also deft at being a capable scene partner against any of the many more outrageous villains and other supporting characters, giving people like Willam Dafoe and Alfred Molina the width to delve into classic characters they haven’t visited in more than a decade. 

His pivotal scenes opposite Dafoe and also Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May are among the most emotional of the entire MCU and maintain a darker tone that helps propel Spider-Man into a new era of cinema. 

Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange ably plays the surrogate father figure to Peter that Robert Downey Jr. once did as Iron Man. While not carrying the film, Cumberbatch gives a great counterbalance emotionally to Holland that helps set up Peter’s uneasy relationship with the film’s many villains.

No Way Home features an assortment of classic Spidey bad guys, but the standouts among them are Dafoe’s return as Norman Osborn and Molina’s second stint as Doctor Octopus. Both veteran actors perfectly tiptoe the line between friend and foe with Peter and elevate relatively cheesy comic book dialogue with gravitas.

Watts does a phenomenal job of balancing the film’s complicated narrative with special fan service moments intended to satisfy comic book nerds and fans of the Sam Raimi trilogy or Marc Webb Spider-Man films. 

Nothing feels too heavy for casual audiences and ardent Marvel fans who are careful enough to avoid major spoilers will be rewarded with truly special moments that will make audiences gleefully applaud. 

There are several surprise cameos – both brief and extended – that elevate No Way Home and it’s the final ones that bring both unparalleled comedic and emotional impact that will help finalize decades of unresolved Marvel-related conversations. 

One Oscar-nominated actor is the film’s most valuable character in spite of not appearing until the final act, offering up a heartfelt, earnest performance that reflects on Spider-Man films past and opens opportunities for new features. 

No Way Home is the strongest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since Endgame and helps to balance a franchise struggling to find their footing both creatively and at the box office. 

Cinephiles and comic book fans who crave being in the middle of the conversation about big blockbuster films like this should rush to theaters as soon as possible to see 2021’s most impactful studio movie.

There really isn’t such a thing as a bad Steven Spielberg movie.

Regardless of the film, one of America’s quintessential directors has crafted a career so illustrious and celebrated that it’s impossible to consider anything he makes bad.

So when it was announced that Spielberg would attempt to reinvigorate the 1957 Broadway musical and 1961 Academy Award Best Picture winner West Side Story, there’s no question that whatever he came up with would be visually stunning and magical from start to finish.

And it’s clear from watching the new version with Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort and newcomer Rachel Zegler as the star-crossed lovers at the center of the film that Spielberg watched the classic Natalie Wood/Rita Moreno film with adoration and an eye for how he could do better.

The film follows Tony, a former street gang leader trying to do right after spending a year in prison. He meets and falls for Maria, a Puerto Rican girl and sister of rival gang leader Bernardo, in a “Romeo and Juliet” like love affair that starts off a war between the Jets and Sharks in 1950s New York City.

The biggest flaw of West Side Story is the biggest star of the film, which holds the entire feature back from being something truly remarkable.

Elgort is exceptionally stiff in contrast to his castmates, an actor thrust into the world of Broadway as opposed to performers translating their talents to the silver screen. For the Tony and Maria relationship to work as quickly as Spielberg needs it to, Elgort has to be far more charming than he comes across here and it often feels like he’s marking out his character beats in long strokes as one might do in rehearsals where you don’t want to strain your energies before the real performance.

Conversely, Zegler brings a youthful wonder to the role of Maria, along with rapturous vocals needed to carry some of the musical’s most iconic numbers like “Tonight” and “I Feel Pretty.” Her performance has a great deal of theatricality to it and Spielberg knows exactly how to frame Zegler’s innocent face in ways that radiate Maria’s joy and her pain.

However, the true stars of West Side Story are its supporting ensemble led by Broadway actor Mike Faist as Riff, the leader of the Jets. There’s such a dynamic energy to his performance from the way Riff carries himself through each moment to the vibrant urgency Faist delivers his dialogue. It’s a perfect blend of the theatrical roots of the story and a truly cinematic performance.

Ariana DeBose gives her all as Anita, though it’s hard to compare with Moreno’s Oscar winning turn in the same role as the focus shifts even more away from the character. Moreno herself returns to the story with her Valentina replacing the traditional character Doc as Tony’s caretaker/mentor and Moreno’s Hollywood legacy combined with a strong turn should earn her strong consideration for another Oscar nomination.

Spielberg’s film unquestionably contains some of the year’s best scenes. The showdown between the Jets and the Sharks in an abandoned salt warehouse leaps off the screen with a dynamic energy thanks to sharp lighting and crisp cinematography from Janusz Kaminski. Spielberg places audiences fully in the moment and the climatic action, while feeling theatrical, still comes across with total impact emotionally and becomes the catalyst for the final moments of the film.

Conversely, West Side Story breezes through large portions of the narrative, especially the romance between Tony and Maria which goes from meeting to complete devotion almost at the drop of a hat without genuine chemistry between Elgort and Zegler.

With Spielberg at the helm, it’s very unlikely West Side Story will fall by the wayside come awards season with the film almost certainly a lock for best picture and best director nominations. Kaminski has enough visually spectacular moments to overcome some of the more blatantly phony CGI scenes and land a best cinematography nomination while Faist should be the first member of the cast to be considered for an acting award for his exceptional turn as Riff.

West Side Story is one of Spielberg’s most visually impressive and dynamic films in the latter stages of his career and although the narrative and especially Elgort don’t pop with the same energy, it’s still a film worth checking out in theaters or at home in advance of its eventual Oscar contention run.

Octogenarian filmmaker Ridley Scott is among the hardest working directors in Hollywood.

With over 50 movies to his credit – including a pair of new releases this year and another two currently in production – Scott doesn’t stop for much of anything, let alone the coronavirus pandemic.

After completing his medieval epic The Last Duel during the latter part of 2020, Scott immediately sought to prepare his next elaborate undertaking in the spring of this year, an Italian fashion drama that wrapped in May only to release in theaters with a showstopping 157 minute run time six months later.

With more time and preparation, The Last Duel is unquestionably the better and more cohesive of Scott’s 2021 offerings, but this isn’t to say that his new feature isn’t just as dynamic and likely more universally watchable.

Gucci is perhaps the most elaborate, luxurious, well-acted soap operas in years, an embarrassment of riches that doesn’t always live up to the price tag but never fails to provide interesting moments and debatable filmmaking decisions.

Inspired by true events, the film follows the rise and fall of Patrizia Reggiani, a middle class woman thrust into the world of elite tastemakers when she happens to meet and fall in love with Maurizio Gucci, heir to the fashion empire, only to see her world crumble to the point where she plots his murder.

Lady Gaga will almost certainly receive her second Best Actress Oscar nomination for her magnetic work as Patrizia after just missing out on a win for 2018’s A Star is Born.

She thrives and relishes in the juicy dialogue writers Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna pen to cultivate an alluring world of intrigue. Though none of the Italian accents in the film feel incredibly authentic, every word oozes out of Gaga’s lips with a captivating intensity that hides the subtle physical changes she’s able to bring out in Patrizia over time.

It’s in great contrast to Adam Driver, who offers the most complex, introspective performance in the film as Maurizio, an overly cautious man that is constantly being manipulated by those around him until he learns from Patrizia’s ways. Driver is a deliberate actor whose use of restraint always leaves audiences wondering what Maurizio is truly thinking.

Gucci is also perhaps the most restrained turn from Oscar winner Al Pacino in years, whose Aldo Gucci warmly comes across as the charming uncle and when tested, his reactions feel far more natural and not comically over the top.

This is not the case with Jared Leto’s performance as the Gucci family’s black sheep, Paolo, which is so far beyond being in the same movie as the other actors that it feels like Leto just beamed himself down in a fat suit from another planet. His Paolo is what it would be like to have Fredo from The Godfather films portrayed by Luigi from Super Mario Brothers.

Gaga, Driver, Pacino et al uniformly balance the tone between serious melodrama and lighthearted humor, while Leto’s caricature dances around the screen as if in a complete farce. Audiences could easily be driven out of the world of Gucci entirely by Leto’s outlandishness if not for how committed everyone around him is to a more restrained style.

Conversely, Salma Hayek’s limited role as Patrizia’s confident and psychic Pina adds a unique twist to Gaga’s character and allows her to find the darker side needed to be as ruthless as Patrizia becomes. But her role is so limited – and worse yet, the storytelling introducing Pina into the narrative so haphazard – that her inclusion doesn’t totally work in the larger picture either.

As a film of its stature, profile and budget would naturally require, House of Gucci looks and feels the part of a glamorous blockbuster. Each set is lavish and meticulously crafted with the production team partnering with Gucci’s archival team to find and authentically style the actors in period designer clothing.

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski’s visuals are uniformly crisp and bold and help bridge the gaps in storytelling where audiences may be missing pieces of the puzzle to understand the narrative timeline and how characters are impacting the events of the film. 

House of Gucci has the Oscar-bait aura around it with the glitz, glamour and big name stars, although it’s difficult to see a Best Picture nomination due to a muddled tone and storytelling flaws. Gaga feels like an acting lock with Driver a strong possibility as well, with several technical nominations likely.

While not the best film from Scott this season – The Last Duel being a must-see drama – House of Gucci has the widespread appeal, beauty and drama worthy of checking out at a local cinema or early next year upon its release on Paramount+.

When we are young, the fuller picture of the world around us isn’t clear.

Things that affect us directly – things that happen on the street where we live, the other children in class, our families – become seared in our memories.

Understanding things that happen in the periphery simply have less significance because the impact is lesser.

Such is the case with Belfast, a semi-autobiographical film from writer/director Kenneth Branagh, whose remembrances of his home city in Ireland and the tumultuous civil war between Catholics and Protestants during the late 1960s are clouded by the shroud of youth.

It’s for this reason that Belfast works as a charming crowd-pleasing film in spite of its setting as the film is almost exclusively seen through the eyes of young Buddy, an elementary school student focused more on the girl he likes that sits at the front of the class than the rioting and violence that creeps just outside his door from the opening moments of the film.

Branagh makes the most personal, heartfelt feature of his illustrious career with Belfast, largely simple storytelling woven together in a series of vignettes about everyday life for Buddy, his older brother, Ma and Pa, as well as his grandparents on a single street in Belfast.

Nearly half the 97-minute film could be completely separated from what’s really happening outside the barricade that protects Buddy’s street from attacks. The true scope of the violence eludes the audience because it’s outside Buddy’s purview as viewers experience Belfast through his eyes, real or imagined.

Newcomer Jude Hill is a revelation as Buddy, a precocious actor that approaches every scene with a blending of kindness and childlike wonder and it’s the immediate attachment he’s able to create with an audience that makes viewers fearful for him and his family’s safety during the most trying of moments in Belfast that wouldn’t otherwise work so well.

Jamie Dornan gives a career-best effort as Buddy’s father, absent for much of the film due to working in London, but his presence in Belfast is felt long after he leaves as the steady hand wanting to do right by his family and find a better life for them even if it costs them their home in Ireland.

Caitroina Balfe is often electric as Ma, hiding her fragile state in front of her boys to a great extent as she exudes a matronly persona, but it’s in the one-on-one scenes opposite Dornan that Ma’s emotions are able to release even slightly and Balfe can truly showcase the wear and tear keeping her family safe during civil war has on Ma’s mental and emotional state.

Ciarán Hinds is perhaps the best performer in the entire film with a genuine warmth and wry sense of humor that leaps off the screen every time his Pop appears. The instant chemistry he’s able to develop with Hill as grandfather and grandson becomes a cornerstone of the entire film. An underutilized Dame Judy Dench as Hinds’ wife Granny has her moments, but never feels on the same level as the other main characters.

Belfast boasts strong production design and a pitch-perfect soundtrack penned by Belfast native Van Morrison that helps create the world of the film.

Where there’s a slight stumble, however, is in the cinematography from Haris Zamarloukos, which is bookended with over-sharpened, almost chamber of commerce level visuals in color that look like an advertisement to visit Belfast, perhaps a requirement for funding the film.

Almost all of the film is shot in black-and-white with a variation of sharpness to help accentuate the blurred lines between Buddy’s realities and the way he sees things, especially when he’s watching television, movies or theater that come across in shimmering technicolor to showcase just how fantastical Buddy’s world can be.

Without a doubt, Belfast will be a significant player come awards season as a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar with surefire nominations for Branagh in directing and screenplay. It’s quite possible that both Hinds and Dornan earn Best Supporting Actor nominations, while Balfe is the strongest acting contender of the ensemble.

Still expanding into more theaters over the course of the winter, Belfast is bound to be one of the more talked about dramas over the next three-to-four months and has cemented its spot as one of the 10 best films of 2021, making it a must see in theaters.

Pablo Larraín doesn’t approach his biographical subject manner in any traditional sense.

His 2016 film Jackie, which was nominated for three Oscars, followed Natalie Portman as the recently widowed wife of United States President John F. Kennedy in the immediate days after his assassination and took a more artistic stance on relatively recent historical record.

The second in what is expected to be a trilogy of uniquely crafted biopics, Spencer, bears the Larraín’s overall aesthetic but is considerably more avantgarde and brooding in tone, a sort of neo-horror drama of melancholia in the British countryside.

Likely Academy Award nominee Kristen Stewart portrays Princess Diana during a Christmas holiday with the royal family at the rural Sandringham estate, where her stress and fatigue from media scrutiny has caused mental health issues and rumors of impropriety have led her to decide to end her marriage to Prince Charles.

Spencer isn’t simply unique for focusing on a brief moment in Diana’s tragic life, but it’s in the way every second is painstakingly captured to isolate, frighten and turn Stewart’s character against herself. 

It’s pseudo-psychological thriller masquerading as character driven period drama and Larraín methodically tears down Diana’s walls through imaginative allegorical imagery. At one point, a dead bird lying in the road positioned in the front of Larraín’s frame is meant to stand in for Diana herself as the royal convoy drives over the camera and bird without a care in the world.

Most will comment on Stewart’s transformation into Diana as a character-based one. Her accent work is nothing short of excellent and the light airy quality Stewart gives to her affectations is only slightly muffled by the hesitancy and care with which Diana often uses the little words she speaks in the film.

But the more astonishing work done is how Stewart morphs herself physically within the moment, with her body constantly skittish and on the edge as if Diana will recoil herself at the slightest pin drop. It’s remarkably considered in expressing the fragility of Diana’s mental state and her wavering self-confidence, especially when she feels she’s being watched.

The ensemble cast takes considerable lengths to distance themselves from Stewart’s performance, even so much as Larraín to keep the actress away from preparations and rehearsals until the very last moment to maximize the chilling cold between Diana and members of the royal family.

All the supporting performances help build Stewart up, but it’s Sally Hawkins’ pivotal role as one of Diana’s dressers that solidifies and crystalizes Stewart’s Diana as the single best work of her career and one likely to carry her to a Best Actress Oscar.

Claire Mathon’s cinematography has a distinct faded quality to it, as if glimpsing through an old photo moving in real time and Larraín’s eye for placing the camera uncomfortably close to Stewart’s face to press the emotion or exceedingly wide for artistic effect makes for a constantly striking work of art to look at.

Paired with Jonny Greenwood’s cutting and wave-balancing orchestral score, Spencer often feels like a ghost story playing out in real time.

The film’s unique style opting to show the audience through visual language rather than scenes of intense dialogue will likely make it inaccessible for some audiences who need a simpler story and understandable character beats. There isn’t an “Oscar reel” moment for Stewart where Diana lashes out physically or screams emotionally at Charles and the Queen.

Diana’s pain is expressed in what she refuses to say or cannot bring herself to express and the specter of Anne Boleyn haunting her every action over the course of the weekend can be one of the more confusing elements of the storyline for those who don’t buy in early.

A haunting portrait of looming tragedy amid callousness in a regal backdrop, Spencer is unquestionably one of the year’s top films, a major contender come awards season and something the most ardent of cinephiles should seek out in theaters now or at home viewing early next year.

World building in cinema can be a richly rewarding experience that will encircle and fully immerse the audience, pulling them out of their everyday lives and transporting them beyond their mind’s eye.

Crafting something intricate that will stand up to scrutiny and encourage repeat viewings while not overwhelming casual audiences is an especially tricky feat to accomplish. It’s one that director Denis Villeneuve tackles head-on with a flair for dramatic, picturesque visuals with a moving art gallery aesthetic that will surely thrill many and confound others.

Based on the Frank Herbert science fiction novel of the same name, Dune follows the son of a noble family charged with protecting valuable natural resources on the galaxy’s most dangerous planet while being thrust into a destiny beyond his understanding. 

Villeneuve takes exceptional care to fully design and intricately flourish every note of Herbert’s novel to the point where the 155-minute run time of a film originally titled Dune: Part One feels narratively incomplete.

Because things are so long-winded in exposition and orienting viewers in the smaller details of the world of Arrakis, Dune can occasionally feel hollow and emotionally distant as characters pontificate about religious prophecies that never fully flesh out or political relationships that won’t come into play until an expected second film finishes Herbert’s original narrative.

Timothée Chalamet delivers a relatively commanding performance as the main character Paul, especially in more intense moments where Paul seemingly loses control over his emotions. Much of his role has softer tones as Paul attempts to find his way through a strange new world and because of the film’s structure, the work he’s doing likely will not pay off until the sequel bridges the gap.

Dune has a star-studded ensemble cast to surround Chalamet with, all of whom give considered, meaningful turns to help create the world of Villeneuve’s film.

Rebecca Ferguson gives the most emotionally resonant performance as Paul’s mother and it’s in the smaller moments opposite Chalamet or the confrontational moments with Charlotte Rampling that she truly shines.

Oscar Isaac is much more stoic and polished here than audiences may have seen him as more brash in the Star Wars sequels, but his Duke Leto is a drumbeat from which Villeneuve is able to build the political world of Dune.

For most of the 155-minute run time, Zendaya’s Chani appears simply as a clairvoyant vision in Paul’s dreams, a far-away whisper of things to come while not providing much to the actual film. Her presence is mainly to foreshadow the importance of her character in a potential second film not yet greenlit for production.

Smaller turns for Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin and Stellan Skarsgård also feel like placeholders for part two, though it’s Jason Momoa’s strongest theatrical turn as Paul’s weapons trainer and confidant Duncan Idaho that serves as standout among the secondary cast.

Villeneuve’s films have always had magical, artistic cinematography at the forefront and Dune is no exception with Greig Fraser’s visuals providing the backbone of the entire movie in keeping casual audiences engaged during the many overwrought and confusing moments for those unfamiliar with the novel’s canon.

It’s clear every frame of Dune has meaning beyond the simple visuals seen at first glance and exploring the nuance and unspoken iconography translated from Herbert’s novel will be a treasure trove that ardent fans will be scouring and debating over for years to come.

Even without dialogue or Hans Zimmer’s pulsating, ever-present score pounding in the ears of audiences, Villeneuve and Fraser have created a tapestry of art that transcends most big-budget blockbuster films and will remain the largest selling point for skeptical first-timers.

With a production as audacious and bold as Dune is, the exceptional quality of technical aspects of the film make it ripe for nominations, and likely wins, come awards season in below-the-line categories like cinematography, production design, editing and original score. In all likelihood, a Best Picture nod at the Oscars would make too much sense while voters could opt for more developed performances in other films rather than recognizing the ensemble cast of Dune in any notable way.

The spectacle on such an epic scale almost demands audiences seek Dune out in the largest theater possible to maximize the “experience” of it all, though the relative ease of access on HBO Max for more casual audiences to pause, rewind or segment out the film’s exceedingly dense subject matter and world building is more than acceptable as well.

Regardless, Villeneuve has crafted one of the year’s most complex and artistic cinematic films worthy of both acclaim and moviegoers’ time.