Viewing Journal: 9/27/2026

390) FORGOTTEN ISLAND

(2026 dir. J.Crawford / Mercado) Date Seen: September 27 2026

"We are our memories, we are that 

chimerical museum of shifting shapes, 

that heap of broken mirrors." 

— Jorge Luis Borges

Excellent. And i'm surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did, because I found the ads to be too visually overstimulating & they sorta made me dread that the movie was going to be another hollow wave of skittle barf like THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE. Audiences don't need anymore sensory bombardments as faux profundity. What FORGOTTEN ISLAND is is a great story about love (specifically for one's friends) & the tragedy of memory loss. The themes of ETERNAL SUNSHINE re-spun through the optical energy of SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. + better use of the Lisa Frank color palette than RUBY GILLMAN) & btw, the movie's also a landmark for Filipino representation.

389) AVENGERS: ENDGAME

(2019 dir. Russo bros.) 2nd Viewing: September 27 2026

"Encore" 7th Anniversary

notes from repeat viewing:

• Opening shot is a curious bore to start a film on; Closeup up of aiming a bow & arrow. Especially if you're into theorist neat construction things, like the first & last shots being spiritual bookends (like INFINITY WAR's first & lasts).
• Many thought twas ugly, but I like the way the interior of the stranded "Benatar" is lit gloomy like a crawlspace or tomb. Works good w/ Danvers showing up as an ever-brightening light.
• Every early exposition scene is shot & blocked like tv. Law & Order office scenes.
• I still don't really understand what Thanos thought he'd accomplish w/ his Malthusian "snap". Wouldn't many of the same problems still exist?
• Tony's a whiny bitch when he first gets home. It's like a Jerry Lewis moment when he pulls his reactor heart out in protest & immediately collapses.
• Yo-hansson is smokin' with the blonde short bob hair.
• Thanos seems like the type of douche that would eat durian fruit on public transportation.
  
• Cap leading group therapy is heartwarming.
• cool scene outta nowhere of masked Hawkeye cutting down Yakuza in Tokyo injects much-needed energy into dour proceedings.
• Actually scene above leads into the stretch of the film that works best for me --all the planning & executing of the time-travel heist.
• LOVE the frame-within-a-frame that the barn slats make when Hawkeye first tests Quantum Tunnel.
• Got first glimpse of that hideous digital backdrop w/ "Battle of Earth" fight approaching. & I think i understand the Russo & VFX team's decision to have it be lit that way in theory, but yuck. Problem is, filmmakers were already cross-cutting to 2 parallel action scenes before it that are born out of James Cameron set pieces; the trapped in rubble flooding (TITANIC, ABYSS) & Hawkeye battling Outriders in the corridor (ALIENS), so to have a third sequence take place amongst scenery visually indebted to Jim would've maybe felt too derivative?? & then adding that glimmer of sun peeking out served 2 functions: to help differentiate it from the TERMINATOR 1 & 2's Future War nightmares (short of human skulls, it's the same expressionist rubble)
  
  
  & also maybe they felt the distant sun would make the audience feel more hopeful? Whatever the reasons, it makes the whole scene have tacky light - so thankfully the big war that plays out over it is silly enough & fun. I personally would've been tempted to conceal / reveal everything via thunderstorm, à la the Agent Smith "Showdown in Mega City" fight MATRIX REVOLUTIONS.
  
  that's allz i got..