i go by AG :)
but on here you’ll see me as annoyingfilmbro (which is…accurate honestly)
this is basically a space for me to yell about movies i love (or don’t), overanalyze things, and convince you to watch something immediately.
if you’re looking for my actual reviews, you can find them under #afbreviews
a little about me is that i’ve been a film student for 8 years and i’m a photographer/cinematographer, so yes, I will notice lighting and talk about it.
i got my movie obsession from my dad (huge nerd, thank you sir), so this blog is basically years of built-up Opinions™
i’m big on visuals AND story, so expect me to freak out about both. i am a HUGE Wes Anderson fan (give me symmetry, give me color, give me compositionnn) and also a massive Christopher Nolan fan (big stories!!! big feelings!!! big everything!!!)
i love superhero movies (good, bad, terrible, i’m there every time), action movies, and anything that just feels FUN to watch. like for reference, some movies i will never shut up about include I Am Legend, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Fantastic Mr. Fox (so…that’s the range we’re working with here)
actually seeing support on my fic from yesterday is so encouraging :) I've always loved reading pics but never thought I would be able to write one myself
summer blockbuster season is officially HERE and unfortunately for my wallet…i WILL be seated.
like genuinely this summer looks STACKED.
film twitter is yelling, reddit is yelling, my Cinemark app is scared, and honestly? same.
so here are some of the biggest movies everyone seems to be losing their minds over right now:
Disclosure Day
release date: June 12
directed by: Steven Spielberg
spielberg doing aliens again??? yeah okay people (me) are LOCKED IN for this one. feels very “you need to see this in theaters immediately.” (i heart alien movies like no other)
Supergirl
release date: June 26
directed by: James Gunn
part of the new DC era!!!
okay i’m sorry but i will ALWAYS show up for superhero movies. good, bad, weird—I’m there. and people seem REALLY excited to see where DC goes next after Superman.
The Odyssey
release date: July 17
starring: Matt Damon + literally an insane cast
directed by: Christopher Nolan
okay this is THE movie people are freaking out about right now. IMAX tickets selling a YEAR early??? nolan nation is unwell.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
release date: July 31
starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya (the IT couple)
The people are READY for this movie. like the internet has been talking about this nonstop since the trailer dropped. (me included)
honestly this summer feels VERY “go to the theater immediately” coded and i’m obsessed with that.
give me giant IMAX screens. give me insane sound design. give me packed theaters reacting together again!!!
also fully preparing myself for at least one movie this summer to completely consume my personality for 3-5 business months.
what summer movies are y’all most excited for???
what’s your “opening weekend no matter what” movie???
10 hours later - clocking in with two rewatches (womp) of La La Land! And Barbie! (Needed something slightly more lighthearted after that initial devastation)
can I just say? THIS IS WHAT MAKING/WATCHING MOVIES IS ALL ABOUT!!!
PHM was just an amazing movie. 5 stars. it was beautiful. Cinematography? AMAZE! Acting? AMAZE! Soundtrack? AMAZE! like literally so so so good.
now, this movie has been out for like, literally a week, so the rest of my thoughts will be below the cut. TLDR: go watch Project Hail Mary ASAP!!!!!
I mean where to even begin?
So, honestly, I didn't read the book before this movie came out, so I can't speak to how good of an adaptation this is. but! what I can say, is that the plot was very well thought out. it was heartfelt, it was intriguing, and it made you invested in the character's journeys. It took what could have been a very linear plot line and made it interesting to the viewer. We are seeing the story of Dr. Ryland Grace from two distinct starting points, the very beginning and about halfway through his character arc. We are essentially learning about him as he remembers the facts himself. Not a crazy, brand new idea in film, but a good fit none the less for this story. [I also really appreciate how there is no out right violence, or "main character love interest" plot lines. no one is shooting a gun. there is no romance subplot. just some dudes trying to save the stars.]
Now the characters. OMG lovable from the get go. As soon as Ryland Grace is introduced, in both the spaceship and the classroom, you are drawn to him. He is relatable!!! He captures the essence all normal people feel of like, bumbling around through life, without taking away from how smart he is. He can be nervous, and worried about his place at times, and feel lonely. But that never takes away from his intelligence, and that isn't always the case in movies like this. I am really glad that they found the middle ground between the bumbling but lovable idiot and the hyper competent "can't interact with people" scientist. ok and Rocky!!! oh sweet sweet rocky. the first thought that came to mind was that ancient Tumblr post that's like "humans will pack bond with anything" [talking abt a Roomba] like, that is Rocky. instantly a crowd fav, but also not just the "sweet dumb alien" or the like "found dog" trope. Rocky is also smart! and Grace knows it! YOU CAN HAVE A WHOLE CAST OF SMART CHARACTERS IN A STORY!!! That is kind of my main takeaway from ALL the characters in PHM [which I won't go into even more depth about I guess] everyone is smart! the top scientists all over the UNIVERSE! what happens when characters can actually think, and don't have to be dumb for the plot to function! how refreshing!
alright. time for me to get realllllll film bro on ya.
THE. CINE. MATO. GRAPHY.
amaze amaze amaze. it was literally??? so?? gorgeous??? like duh, shot for imax, hella nice cameras/lights/sets. but like, compositionally it was stunning. I mean it comes as no surprise that it was so gorg. it was shot by cinematographer Greig Fraser who makes some crazyyyy good stuff. I knew before I even watched the movie that this was gonna be top tier. like, all of the shots of the spaceships? the infrared spacewalk?? even just the shots within the ships like cmonnnnn. Fraser sets the bar high with his previous movies [Dune 1/2, the Batman, Rogue One, etc] but this might honestly be some of his best work.
But something that takes the visuals to the next level is the music being played during these big moments. holy crap. sound you did amazing. this soundtrack is immediately being added into my rotation called "soundtrack to cry to" which is like, the best possible outcome. holy crap. I like don't even have words to describe it. [which is bad. this is literally supposed to be me using my words to explain how good this movie was]
okokok almost done, promise.
this movie is going to quickly become a personal classic. this movie reminds me of what a genuinely fantastic movie is supposed to be. how its supposed to make you feel. the joy you are supposed to have when talking about it and recommending it to your friends. THIS IS WHAT FILMMAKING IS ALL ABOUT!!! and honestly, that could make me cry.
ok for real. I need to stop talking. but, let me know what you thought of Project Hail Mary! What movie are you gonna watch next! What did this make you want to rewatch! let me know!!! I want to be your movie friend!!!
I have so many movies to post reviews of on here 😖 literally so behind but it's chill. I might start doing some shorter reviews along with my long reviews. who knows though
"I guess grammar is a false Andromedan concept as well."
Bugonia (2025)
I was expecting the honey to be a little more involved honestly.
ALRIGHTY. HELLO BALD EMMA STONE!
This movie was phenomenal. That's it. No notes.
Despite loving most Emma Stone movies, I genuinely hadn't heard or seen anything. about Bugonia before stumbling across the preview on Peacock. How I hadn't seen all the commotion with bald Emma Stone? Truly, I have no idea.
Going into this movie blind was honestly the BEST way to see it. Literally all I knew was the little preview that streaming platforms play when you scroll across the title. So, lets say I was in for a treat.
Starting off strong, this movie is GORGEOUS!!! Shot on VistaVision (a horizontal 35mm film process) makes this movie just so visibly rich and appealing. The colors, the shot choices, the framing, it was all so well done. Within the first five minutes I was thinking (out loud) about how beautiful this movie is. (Shoutout Robbie Ryan the GOAT)
Next, the acting. Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, and literally everyone else did such an amazing job. Plemons really had down that crazed conspiracy theory guy act down. Stone was so cold and calculating that I wanted to believe every word she said. Truly the actors made this movie what it was. While the plot was absolutely insane, they could NOT have pulled it off the way they did with any other actors.
Now. For the plot. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!
What. The. Hell. The simple plot of the movie is this. Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) , two conspiracy-theorists, kidnap Michelle (Emma Stone) , a high-ranking CEO. Teddy and Don are convinced that Michelle is an alien, sent to destroy the earth and its inhabitants. The two men are desperate to prove their story right, and persuade Michelle to let them speak to her emperor in order to save the planet.
Now, like I mentioned before, the acting is what really sold this story. Right from the get go, I was sure that Teddy was crazy. From the first scene of him explaining is theories and plan to Don, I was like oh yeah this dude is insane! And now he is dragging his cousin into this! After the kidnapping, I immediately sided with Michelle. Her pleading and confusion had me believing every word she said. No way she could be an alien. These guys just kidnapped her because of their delusions. Boy was I wrong.
I *genuinely* went through most of the movie believing that the guys wrongfully kidnapped this woman. I thought Michelle was playing it smart. Going along with their theories, pretending to take them to her ship, acting like she knew the history of the aliens, stalling once she was seen by other people. I thought she was just biding her time until the police could find and help her. Until the ambulance. As soon as she tries to sit up in the ambulance I (out loud mind you) said "OH SHIT. SHE'S AN ALIEN." My mouth was literally hanging open the whole time she ran back to her office, got into the closet, and actually beamed herself up to the mothership. HOLY FUCK.
Literally baffled. I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie. Like, it was amazing. I can NOT stop recommending it to people. This needs to be talked about more. 10/10/
oK! Well! It was certainly a movie! jk lets actually talk about it.
There are two ways you can look at this movie, and depending on which way you will have very different opinions.
First: (the more obvious way) as a F1 fan. I was an F1 fan before I watched the movie, and a rather involved fan at that. I've spent a lot of time and money on watching, learning, and keeping up with the sport. I know the different team dynamics and legacies, I have my favorite drivers, I understand the (basic) technical aspects. And coming into the movie with that kind of knowledge and understanding of the sport, yeah it was pretty cringe. Being a legit fan makes you see the movie in a kind of one-shot, "POV you're an f1 driver", brad Pitt self-insert kind of way. There were inconsistencies based on filming restrictions. You could kind of tell the real drivers were just barely putting up with the movie. So on and so forth.
BUT! I don't think this movie is for those types of fans!!!
The REAL way this movie should be judged is through the eyes of the second type of movie goer: the one with very little knowledge of the sport.
If you look at this movie as someone who has never watched F1, or as someone who is really into Brad Pitt movies, or as someone who just wanted to see the new trending movie then it is actually a pretty good film.
The cinematography was beautiful. Shot for imax, from the creators of Topgun: Maverick, there is no doubt it was gorgeous. I really liked the almost faded? kinda? type of coloring the movie had. The "action" scenes of the cars racing were stunning. Truly it was just a pretty movie.
The "main" actors played their roles really well. Brad Pitt obvi did a great job (sorry love his movies) Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, etc they all did an amazing job. Sonny Hayes as a character was super interesting to me, with his past in the formulas, the crash, and the urge to race in other categories. Joshua Pearce in his quest to be THE driver he always saw himself to be. The actors did a great job at portraying the story they were given. Now, if the drivers were a little awkward in some of their scenes? Sure obvi they would be, this isn't their job.
The overall plot of the movie? It's exactly what you'd expect. Underdog gets a second chance. It is what everyone thought it would be, and it delivered. It could have been cool too see a new type of storyline but in all honesty, every single sport has a movie just like this. So for the first kinda fictional f1 movie, if it ain't broke don't fix it. In the future if the popularity of the sport grows it would be great to see more creative storylines, but that wasn't really the goal of this movie ya know.
okok I'm rambling. But all in all, this movie isn't bad. It isn't the best movie in the world, but it definitely has the feel of kinda a "classic" sports movie. The movie is getting a lot of hate early on from the F1 fans who know of the inaccuracies in the technical aspects. But if you look at this movie from the stance of the common fan, or new fan, or average movie goer? It is a pretty good movie.
Plus, this could be just the movie to get more people into watching the actual races :)
"The best thing you can do is find someone who loves you for exactly what you are"
Juno (2007)
I can't believe it has taken me this long to watch this movie OMG. I was funny, it pulled at the heart, it was simple, and it was overall a really well made film.
I loved the actual character of Juno. Elliot Page did an amazing job at playing such a quirky, but not cringey, character. I loved Micheal Cera in this movie too. I feel like they both look and act very well together, and they make a very convincing couple. They are both just awkward enough with each other that it really portrayed a real high school relationship.
Jason Bateman is the worst (best) in this. Right from the get go he as juuuussssttt creepy enough to put you on edge, but you like, almost wanted to trust him. (Absolutely baffled that he LEFT Jennifer Garner like omfg why she is GORGEOUS) But anyways, Jennifer Garner was also phenom in this movie, like she is gorg, she looks like a great mom, and you could really tell how much she cared for that baby.
ok, moving on, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE SOUND TRACK!!! The music in this movie is perfect. It is amazing within the story. It is amazing on its own. Ok maybe this is my personal music taste showing but OOPS SUE ME. I will say when All the Young Dudes started playing I was STARTLED (Mott the Hoople mentioned) (the old marauders fan girl is showing)
But yeah, all of the music in the movie is stuff I either currently have on my playlist, or stuff that will be added IMMEDIATELY OMFG.
Ok this is turning into a long rant once again (sorry not sorry) but anyways, I wish we still made movies like this. Simple, sweet, indie films. Simple story. Pretty cinematography. Baller soundtrack. Feel-good indie movies.
