Skip to main content

One Battle After Another (2025)


One Battle After Another (2025) is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who is no stranger to ambitious projects after films like Licorice Pizza and, one of the best films of all time, There Will Be Blood. His direction once again shows his knack for blending complex characters with striking visuals, though the film occasionally falters in how it handles some of its supporting roles.

Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio, known for The Wolf of Wall Street and Titanic, is nothing short of amazing. He completely commits to the role, bringing intensity and emotional depth that anchors the movie.

Oscar winner Sean Penn, best remembered for Mystic River and Milk, transforms himself into a truly awful villain. His presence is unsettling and effective, giving the story one of its strongest dramatic cores.

Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro, from Sicario and Traffic, plays the calm and collected Sensei with quiet authority. His controlled performance contrasts beautifully with the chaos around him.

Teyana Taylor, who has appeared in Straw and one of my favorite 2023 films A Thousand and One, is unfortunately sexualized early in the film and then tossed aside by the script, a disappointing use of her talent.

Newcomer Chase Infiniti, making one of their first major appearances, is mesmerizing and grounded. Her performance feels authentic and is one of the most exciting surprises of the film. 

I was worried going in the film would be too political as I didn't want to watch propaganda. While the film is great, it does strike some chords that will alienate half the audience. Expect an Oscar. Result: B+

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No Other Choice (2025)

No Other Choice (2025) is directed by Park Chan-wook , the filmmaker behind Oldboy and Snowpiercer . His signature style is all over this film, with moments of completely bizarre dialogue and acting choices that feel intentional rather than accidental. While it doesn’t reach the heights of his most celebrated work, it’s still unmistakably his, strange, uncomfortable, and darkly humorous. I still need to see The Handmaiden , which many consider his best film, and this only reinforced that curiosity. Lee Byung-hun , who many Western audiences may remember from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and KPop Demon Hunters , plays the lead role as a desperate father trying to secure a job. His character’s decision to literally eliminate the competition is where the film fully leans into its absurdity. I barely recognized him at first, which speaks to how fully he disappears into the role. His performance walks a fine line between grounded desperation and unhinged logic. Son Ye-jin , known for Th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)

  Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third film in the James Cameron sci-fi epic.  What can be said about Christopher Nolan can be said about James Cameron , except Cameron makes billions of dollars while Nolan makes hundreds of millions. Oppenheimer came close though. Generation Z will not understand how impactful Titanic was but so many of them understand and went to see the first  Avatar. Sam Worthington  and Zoe Saldaña  return as the king and queen warlords of the Na'vi. This time they got whales and squids on their side. That might sound an awful lot like the second movie and you'd be right. This film adds more to the lore but pretty much tells the same story.  Oona Chaplin , of Game of Throne fame, is on fire as Varang. She's beautiful and joker level crazy with her pyromania. Her existence is really just to sell the dichotomy of this film and the second, but she was still enthralling never the less. Also the soap opera love between her and the main vill...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ex Machina (2014)

Ex Machina is about an inventor who has cracked the Turing test and needs someone else to validate his work and also so he can show off and dance with his fembots. Alex Garland  wrote and directed this film. He's part of the reason I'm reviewing this film. Part because the film is great and part because he's got a new film coming out called Annihilation. Considering this is his first film to ever direct he did phenomenal compared to other's firsts. Cue Emenim's phenomenal song. Before Ex Machina, he wrote 28 Days Later another solid movie and Sunshine which wasn't. Alicia Vikander  plays the main synthetic intelligence who believes that if she fails the Turing test that she will be decommissioned like previous failed attempts by the antagonist. I totally forgot that she wasn't an artificial person and was actually an actress. She's also got an upcoming movie called Tomb Raider coming out soon. Though you might recognize her as the girl from Jason B...
Post a Comment
Read more