August 2026 [17-23]
The Raid 2, By Dawn's Early Light, Descendent, Cinema Paradiso
- The Raid 2 [2014] - 44
Following in the footsteps of Rambo: First Blood, The Raid 2 is somehow the sequel to The Raid: Redemption, despite “redemption” typically happening after something else happened. Regardless, The Raid 2 should have been called The Raid 2: This Time it’s Again, but Not as Good… Or something. This movie is long and convoluted and really cool to look at during its action sequences… But that’s it. This is one of those action-gangster movies that doesn’t want to have a plot or character development, instead just leaning heavy on the action [which is totally fine, of course], but then forgets to design any clarity of purpose or weight to basically anything it does. The film meanders between characters with a sort of implied tension that the narrative itself simply can’t justify, and ultimately leaves you feeling kicked in the logic, rather than the brain.
- By Dawn’s Early Light [1990] - 61
A really clear response to 1984’s British television drama, Threads, By Dawn’s Early Light begins with an incredibly striking premise, and then turns into a Harrison Ford-esque action-drama that quickly loses whatever intrigue was garnered during its opening minutes to an almost satirical reenactment of the stronger plot left on the editing room floor. There’s still elements of this made-for-TV movie that are interesting and thoughtful, and the cast is great, but a lot of what it wants to say about nuclear destruction and the fragility of both command-chains and civilization is lost in the hero-hurrah story that ends up being the main focus of the experience. I wouldn’t recommend against this if you want a sort of Tom Clancy take on nuclear war, but if you’re in for something truly profound and critical, I’d take the aforementioned Threads any day.
- Descendent [2025] - 82
While Peter Cilella’s Descendent is no They Look Like People or When I Consume You, there is a serious magic and insight into what he’s trying to do here… And most of it truly does sing. The story of a father-to-be feeling the stresses of his upcoming life event, Descendent is a movie that could have done with a couple more editing passes to be a darling and foundational scifi-horror, but there’s just a few too many ideas floating around its soup to fully abduct us into its world. At a willowy 92-minutes, Descendent had plenty of time to develop some of these ideas into deeper concepts, and I genuinely wish that it had, because the purposes behind the concepts are moving, intelligent, and painful. Still an incredibly authentic and exciting entry to the space, Cilella is absolutely one to watch.
- Cinema Paradiso [1988] - 86
A ramshackle theater, a small town, and a vision of lives near, far, and everything in-between, Giuseppe Tornatore and Vanna Paoli’s ode to the language of cinema stands tall as a painful and beautiful tale even 38-years on. From serving up a healthy portion of Italy’s interesting use of dubbed performances, to breathtaking and strikingly modern cinematography throughout, 1988’s Cinema Paradiso is a not only a love-letter to cinema as a form of expression, but to the act of artistic creation as a whole. I often like to say that every story is, at its core, a mystery, but I’d argue that the very act of creating any such story is so inherently vulnerable and personal, that it also can’t be anything other than a romance; Which is exactly what this film is all about — the love of movies, the love of storytelling, and the love… of love itself.
