Movie reviews of Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen

Even though some of the gruesome set-pieces are relatively well-executed, David Blue Garcia’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a derivative disappointment with hollow characters (that make fairly dumb decisions), plot contrivances, themes that go nowhere interesting, and poor dialogue. This is a bit of a dud, unfortunately. Review

While I don’t love it as much as its biggest fans seem to do, I will say that I really dug this one. Although it perhaps never reaches the action movie highs of Reloaded or Revolutions (the new action here is just not as smooth or inventive), I do think The Matrix Resurrctions is arguably the best Matrix sequel. Review

Kimi is a very entertaining modern techno-thriller with a lot of energy. It is also arguably the best film set in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that has come out thus far. Review

It is both a beautiful, heartbreaking, and harrowing film and probably my pick for the best documentary of 2021. Review

I really do think that the revival significantly improved upon my own memory of the original show. It really did remind me of just how much I once enjoyed it. Review

The film is funny but brutal, as well as clever and provocative as it comments on the legacyquel trend (and toxic fandom). It fits right into the existing franchise and is probably now the third-best film in the series. Review

It isn’t really going to be a hidden gem, but it is a decent film. Review

It is so good in large part thanks to these multi-faceted performances, its well-written narrative, and its gripping, grimy, and brutal Medieval action sequences. Review

I think it is fair to say that this primarily feels like an exercise in style and visual design. However, it is a quite successful exercise, in my honest opinion. Review

It feels rushed in spite of its surprisingly slow pace, and it is difficult to really become fully engaged with the film. So, Chloé Zhao’s structurally confused and overstuffed Eternals is probably, at the end of the day, a lower-tier Marvel Cinematic Universe film, but I greatly admire the filmmakers’ ambition, as they tried to take an established cinematic universe in a different direction. Review

This is a deeply sweet, inspiring, and undoubtedly crowd-pleasing sports biopic with a magnificent performance at the center of it. Review

Though it is sure to be divisive, what Adam McKay brought to the table really worked for me with Don’t Look Up. It is a disheartening, depressing, and cynical pre-apocalyptic satire with a lot of pointed (though sometimes crass) comedy fueled by very real anger. Review

Florian Zeller’s directorial debut is simply an extraordinary, heartbreaking, and, frankly, terrifying performance-driven psychological drama. It deserves all the praise it has been getting. Review

The wildly entertaining and undeniably satisfying No Way Home has the best Tom Holland Spider-Man performance yet, and also features a pitch-perfect performance from returning star Willem Dafoe. Review

It is a film that may test audiences’ patience, but it is also a film that you should give a chance. It is more than just the film the first hour tells you that it is. Review

Michael Sarnoski’s Pig is one of, if not, the best directorial debut of 2021. It is a surprisingly thoughtful and meditative drama. Review

Robin de Jesús and Andrew Garfield’s spirited performances helped to bring this story to life in a way that really connected with me, and I’m sure audiences around the world will feel similarly. Review

There are probably even plot holes here and there, but it is a chuckle-worthy action-adventure film that is suitable viewing while you’re lying on the couch on your day-off. Review

It is an undeniably charming Hanks film, it looks fantastic and sometimes quite real, and I think other dog owners, like myself, will be won over by the film, even if it may be slight and somewhat unremarkable. Review

I think it would’ve been better if it had shown the same restraint that the original Danish film did, but Gyllenhaal’s committed performance helps to make the American remake a decent call center thriller. Review

Lewis Gilbert’s first Bond-film is a little bit uneven and the plot is eventually somewhat protracted, but, for the most part, it is a genuinely thrilling and briskly paced action spy film that puts James Bond in an exciting location. Review

I think that Thunderball, though it was made on a bigger budget than any of the Bond-films before it, is a let-down. The film feels very long, the action is never very exciting, and the villain is the blandest in the franchise thus far. Thunderball is just a surprisingly sluggish film. Review

Goldfinger features Sean Connery at his best, the most iconic Bond theme song, arguably some of the most iconic supporting characters and scenes. Frankly, this film is classic James Bond at its best. Review

Terence Young’s From Russia With Love is the first good James Bond movie. Review