Moss's Movie Musings

[MoSSurII]

Hello and welcome to Moss's Movie Musings!!!​

I like to post quick, bite-sized reviews of movies I've seen over on my Twitter, and decided I wanted to post them here as well. It won't be anything too serious, just my opinions and thoughts (And musings ).
Also, If you've seen any of the movies I write about, you're more than free to share your opinion on them, as well... I guess these won't be just my musings, then

Okay, less talking, more reviewing!!

P.S.: Do expect spoilers.

 

[MoSSurII]

Redline (2009)
Directed by Takeshi Koike
Story by Katsuhito Ishii

---​

This movie only has one Rule, and that's Cool. I finally fulfilled my childhood desire of watching this film, and I'm so happy I did. The style and energy and over-exaggeration of literally everything made me feel like a kid again.

Yellow Line, the introductory race.

I was honestly surprised, I expected there to be a lot more racing, but there's only two races. That's not that bad, though, the races are in the most important parts of the movie, the gap isn't too long, and it sets up the second race quite nicely.

Red Line, the finale race.

The 2 main characters were fun, I liked how JP was influenced by Sonoshee when they were teens. I do wish the romance shown was a bit deeper with more chemistry developed, but they did their best with the 1 hour 40 minute runtime.

Sweet JP and Sonoshee McLaren.

The movie really knows how to make flashy and memorable characters, but I wish we sat with them longer and explored them further.

From left to right: The Mad Brothers, Lynchman & Johnnyboya (Lynchcar); The Superboins, Boiboi & Bosbos (Boincar); Miki & Todoroki (Semimaru); Gori-rider (Gorilla Tank); and, my favorite of the bunch, Machinehead Tetsujin (God Wing).

The different antagonists of the story were also really memorable and fun, however, the stakes they brought in weren't too juicy. I feel like they could've been explored more and, once again, could've been deeper.

From left to right: Mr. President; Colonel Volton; Secretary Titan; and Funky Boy, the funkiest of boys.

A flashy, fun and flamboyant turn-your-brain-off movie. My biggest gripes, as you may be able to tell, were that a lot of what's in it could've been explored more, and I wish it was a little less turn-your-brain-off in that regard.

---

 

[RoccO]

A movie I really liked was Night on the Galactic Railroad. It sets up Giovanni and Campanella, as two cats from the back of the bus, one’s father is away. They are celebrating Centaurus festival, at town commons. Things get spicy. For some reason they are teleported across the galaxy and get visitations whilst on a mysterious train that ghosts through metaphysical dimensions. Someone dies... (No spoilers here so go watch it yourself.)

 

[MoSSurII]

Marty Supreme (2025)

Directed by Josh Safdie
Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie

---​

Godammit, how did they make a movie about ping pong- I mean table tennis so intense?!
Well, by giving us the douchiest, most arrogant protagonist who always tries his utmost way with everything even when it constantly comes to bite him back in the ass. Some stories avoid conflict for the sake of overcomplicating things, this movie literally hunts for any chance it can to make things worse, and that’s somehow both stressful and wildly entertaining.

And even though Marty comes out of most of these victorious, there are times where he's forced to swallow his pride and just follow what others want, even if he himself doesn't consciously learn this lesson until Milton FREAKwell spanks him with a table tennis bat.

Warning: Timmy's butt cheeks
​

I really liked the vibe of this movie, it had a really retro vibe to it.
And I think the most outwardly contributors to this are the contrast between the modern, fast-paced editing style and the old-timey, somewhat gritty setting and visuals of this film. The music and the behavior of the characters also contribute to this.

​

And speaking of music, the movie has an absolutely gorgeous soundtrack, which I was not expecting.
It ranged from feeling surreal and magical, to energetic and exciting. Bravo to Daniel Lopatin, bravo. Furthermore, the additional licensed songs like Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears and Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime by the Korgis were fantastic choices that complemented and elevated the scenes they were in by tenfold.

 

[MoSSurII]

All the actors and actresses melted into their roles beautifully, regardless of how much screentime they were given.
Tyler, The Creator as Wally (Boy can act, alright ), Odessa A’zion as Rachel, Luke Manley as Dion Galanis, Gwyneth Paltrow as Kay Stone, Koto Kawaguchi as Endo, and Kevin O’Leary as Milton Rockwell. They all embody archetypes often seen in older films, or what's often stereotyped to be old school, but the mannerisms and actions lean more towards what can be seen in modern cinema. This contrast of old and new, like the previous one, amplifies the retro feel of the movie.

...despite all these top-tier performances, though, one still managed to stand out from the rest...

Timothee Chalamet as Marty Mauser!!!
For a guy who is seemingly introverted and quiet in public, Timmy TimTim really nailed that narcissistic sonuvabich so well, and I doubt there's any other actor who'd put up as good a performance as he did. The character also really taught me the difference between a likeable protagonist and an entertaining one. Marty is very detestable as a person, but all the stuff he does is quite hilarious, even if it's in a rather unusual way.

This movie had me constantly screaming internally for him to just chill out and shut the hell up, but also giggling uncontrollably whenever his BS came full circle on him. All in all, a bloody good film that is really more about (aggressively, very aggressively) working hard to reach your goals no matter what than ping pong- er, table tennis.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7572681028028976439 ​

 

[Filifjonken]

Wonderful review, Moss.