Round-up 34: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year: MARTY SUPREME / DREAM BIG

Tis’ the season, folks. I am wishing you all the best as we enter the new year, and I hope everyone had a wonderful and very merry Christmas. I, myself, had a pretty relaxing time with my family. No complaints. Sometimes the quiet years are the best. I watched some good movies, grinded out some Battlefield 6, and watched plenty of football. With the running around between events, however, I didn’t see everything I wanted to, but this coming week I’ll have some more time off and I can catch up on everything I’ve been meaning to get around to. I will tease some of them at the end. What’s most important, is that I got to see Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme (2025) on Christmas Eve; my thoughts on this film will be saved for very last, as I have much to say.

I started with another recommendation from a close friend, but not on the terms of it being great, more of a “I need a second opinion, here” sort of thing. The topic of discussion being Celine Song’s big A24 release of 2025, Materialists, starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evan. I was brutally honest in my review to said friend: this was not good. There’s a clear-cut difference in my eyes between good and competent. This was competently made, sure, but good Lord is it bloated with melodramatic bullshit that never truly resolves itself. There is a single good plotline in here that involves dissecting the protagonist’s career by showcasing the very dark side of dating in the present day, but it’s a subplot that feels rather randomly thrown in to get an R-rating. The acting is fine, the writing is miserable, but fine, and the direction is, once again, fine. This is one of the two key issues with the film overall. It’s competently made with no flair, and its subjects, themes, and most importantly characters, are all really miserable, unlikable, and cringey to watch. They all make horribly selfish decisions and view other human beings like material opportunities. I understand this was part of the point of the story, but with no redeemable qualities otherwise it’s like sludging your way through a really dull and uncomfortable two hours. The climax fizzles out so fast you barely see the credits hit coming. Ultimately a really disappointing flick.

The morning of the winter solstice, I was awakened very early in the morning and was unable to return to sleep. I decided the remedy was to put on a super long film I’d been meaning to get around to, just so I could survive until daylight. I pursued the HBO Max for a while and found myself face to face with the Lord of the Rings Extended cuts. Knowing myself, this was the best route to take at three in the morning on a day off. I never jump around when it comes to series, so I watched where the journey (truly) begins, The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), directed by the legendary Peter Jackson and released the year of my birth. One aspect that doesn’t come off from this first film that I feel is worth noting is that Jackson filmed all three of the first trilogy back-to-back, as though the whole thing were one film. The extended cut of The Fellowship showcases the energy a lot as it meanders through the Shire in the first act, and even how dialogue between the characters is noticeably expanded. There was a clear intent on making this a full-fledged epic the sprawls. I won’t bore the majority of readers who have inevitably had great exposure to the story of Middle Earth, but I will say I had an absolute blast watching this in the early morning hours. The only reason it ranks beneath the latter films is the way that it does feel very much like an introductory statement to much more critical events later on. Still, a wildly entertaining film that fully explores the world J.R.R. Tolkien crafted generations ago. I highly encourage checking out the expanded cuts, as it felt much more engrossing. I, myself, will be watching the other two expanded films in the coming weeks.

I also got around to watching Edgar Wright’s new film, The Running Man (2025), a remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film from 1987 and more directly based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. I have not read the novel, so I can’t speak to how accurate it is to the original story, but I will say the concept is very original and fun. The execution here was alright, and Glen Powell is very charismatic as the protagonist on the run, but in my opinion, this did not live up the standards Wright has set for himself following films like Hot Fuzz (2007) and Baby Driver (2017) just to name a couple that stand out. The plot follows Powell as the leading man, a poor father with a sick daughter and no way to make money to help her and his wife. Backed against a wall, he’s forced to sign up for “The Running Man”, a live television show where you are hunted by a group of trained assassins. If you win, you’ll walk away with millions of dollars and a comfortable life forever. No one seems to be able to win, or even make it that far in the runs, but he is convinced by a ruthless executive played by Josh Brolin to give it a go, given his radical approach to expressing his violent attitude about the world. The film takes a little bit to get going, which is one of my biggest gripes, but once it does take off, boy does it go with a bang. The action is very well directed, very exciting stuff, which is to be expected from Mr. Wright, but the melodrama in-between is a bit of a bore, and the dialogue is often cringey and childish. Don’t misunderstand me as I did very much enjoy this film, I think the issue was that I went into it with higher expectations than the team making it had. The aim here was to make a crowd-pleasing and accessible action film for the masses, so it leaned more into the Marvelification (my own term) of dialogue and structure. All this to say, it would’ve been fun to see this one on the big screen, I won’t lie.

One of my recent additions to my personal Criterion Collection was Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing (1956). I had seen this film once before a couple of years back, but seeing that it had a Criterion Blu-ray made me curious to see what special features might be included and if the transfer had any redeeming qualities (it does in my opinion). This is one of Kubrick’s very first films, and while it has a lot of the qualities of his later works, it is definitely a bit more rough around the edges. That roughness serves the plot in a way I don’t think he originally anticipated, but in my opinion perfectly amplifies the vibes of the film. The plot follows a group of small-time criminals who band together to plan a heist of the local horse racing track and what follows when the plan almost goes as expected. One of my favorite aspects about this film is its pacing, something that if you’ve been reading along for any period of time you’ll know is a big deal for me. It races along just as face as the horses during the race itself. The characters have snappy dialogue, the action is quick and violent, especially for the era, and the heist itself is wickedly exciting. What surprised me about this one this time around was how gritty and dark it was overall, specifically for being made in the mid-50s. The masks the criminals wear for the robbery are scary on their own, but the way the black and white colors enhance the shadows only turn up the creepiness. Any fans of Kubrick must see this film, especially for fans of Sterling Hayden’s hilarious performance in Dr. Strangelove (1964), as he delivers a much more sinister one here. This will remain one of my favorite old-school crime thrillers, and I will recommend to anyone who has even the slightest interest in Kubrick or the genre.

In preparation for Marty Supreme, I decided to go back and rewatch my two favorite films of the brothers’, starting with Good Time (2017), starring Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. This one was far more intense than I remembered it, which shouldn’t have been even the smallest of surprises, but being a self-described mega-fan of their efforts on Uncut Gems (2019), and having seen that film more times than I can count, I wasn’t fully prepared for how gung-ho the filmmaking style was, and moreover how well it matched with the chaotic storyline. The plot follows Pattinson’s anti-protagonist who robs a bank in New York City with his mentally disabled brother, only for the whole thing to go awry and for his brother to get arrested by police for the crime. He must then go on a dark journey through the city’s criminal underworld to gather the funds necessary to get him out on bond. The story takes many dark turns that you don’t see coming, making it one of those rare film experiences where you truly find something new in every viewing. It’s a difficult watch, for sure, with numerous scenes of very morally questionable and outright terrible behavior from the leading man, but if you can stomach the intensity, it is a very rewarding final act. Uncut Gems is a film I have spoken about so many times at nauseum that I’m sure anyone who knows me even a little knows that it is one of my favorite films ever made. I’ll keep my comments on Gems brief as I have milked that cow dry. The story, for those who don’t know, follows Adam Sandler as a degenerate sports gambler and diamond merchant in New York City (running theme, here). His debts begin to pile up as he continues to dig himself deeper and deeper into both financial and familial trouble, all culminating in the most intense climactic thirty minutes of the 2000s. I’ll shut up now before I start going on for thirty minutes worth of damn writing that’ll bore the hell out of everyone except myself. If you haven’t seen Uncut Gems, go watch Uncut Gems.

Earlier this year, it was announced following the divorce of the Safdie brothers that they would each be doing their own respective sports-based films. Benny Safdie wrote and directed The Smashing Machine (2025) starring Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr in a biographical drama. But it was Josh Safdie teaming up with his long-time compatriot Ronald Bronstein for Marty Supreme (Christmas Day) that had me the most excited. The more information we got about the film, the more ecstatic I became. When I got word that my local theater was showing it Christmas Eve, I knew I would have to go. This plan was solidified when I found out further that I would be getting off of work early that day. What wasn’t planned until the day of, was my brothers tagging along with me. A pleasant surprise, as we don’t all get to hang out that often between school and work amongst the three of us. Around three in the afternoon we piled into my tiny sedan and went to the local theater to see the film I’d been waiting for most of the year. Big props to theaters that carry beer by the way. Huge fan of that.

The greatest theater experience I’ve ever had watching a film was seeing Uncut Gems on opening day in a packed theater by myself. Josh Safdie did it again with Marty Supreme. Seeing this with my brothers, seeing them laugh and get excited by the events on screen was the best Christmas gift I got this year. The story follows Timmy Chamalet as Marty Mauser, a young Jewish man struggling to get by in early 1950s New York City as a hustling ping pong player. The opening act shows him overseas in London almost winning a major table tennis tournament, but losing embarrassingly in the final round to a stoic Japanese man with far superior skill than him. He returns home to a personal life on the brink of implosion: a married girl from his childhood who’s pregnant with possibly his child, his pissed off uncle who wants to force him into his shoe store business, and an affair with a formerly celebrated actress whose husband he fights to get in business with himself. The plot unfolds in an episodic manner from this point forward, as Marty goes on various misadventures, not too far from the likes of Tom Sawyer mixed up in the world of Good Time(2017) but set in the 1950s. It is a brilliant concoction of tones and energies, and the casting of the characters leans heavily into this as well. Aside from Timmy, the cast includes but is not limited to: Gwenyth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Kevin O’Leary, Fran Drescher, and Odessa A’zion, among many others. Tyler is incredible as the buddy-pal character with a similarly questionable moral compass who leads Marty down a hustling arc mid-film. But the true standout performance for me, alongside Timmy as the titular Marty, of course, was Kevin O’Leary as the cruel-spirited business mogul whom Marty chases for cash and a platform. I understand to some he is a controversial figure, but I can’t say I know enough about him to really have an informed opinion on that. What I do have an informed opinion on is his performance in this film, which is phenomenal, especially considering he has no formal acting training. The clashes he has with Timmy throughout are some of the funniest, yet tensest dramatic moments in the entire film. His personality fits so perfectly into the dark tone and aesthetic of the film overall; when Marty is up against gangsters, crazy family members, and the odds stacking against him, the business mogul ends up just being another obstacle to boost Marty’s never-ending confidence. Which is ultimately what the film centers around. Where Gems had Howard, Marty is the center of not just the story, but the themes and message the film is aiming to communicate. It’s an experience you need to have. I can’t say too much more without entering spoiler territory, but the final thing I’ll leave you on is this: if you can recall the final act of Uncut Gems and how chaotic, stressful, and ultimately cathartic it felt, think of that with Marty Supreme, except it has a few more surprises up its sleeve. Watch this in theaters, now!

This will be the final post of the year. I’d call it a pretty successful year, I think. Positive and upward movements. I hope you had a great year as well. And I’m wishing you all a great transition into the new year. Hopefully all our wildest dreams come true in 2026. Until next time, next year. Go watch Marty Supreme and tell me what you think. Dream Big.