Sinners

I've been a fan of Coogler's work within the MCU, it's felt like he's always had a uniquely refreshing take to blockbusters, like there's been a vision to his work despite being a part of the larger Marvel machine. It should come as no surprise then that when tasked to bring his first original story to the big screen, he does so with the care, depth and vision which has graced his previous work.

Sinners is monumental, and truly unlike any other blockbuster of note in a very long time. It's not constrained by genre and even within the context of the movie seems to argue the case that genre is restrictive. As Lynda Martell aptly put "Genre's are a funny little concept, aren't they?". This film has the audacity to shatter the lines of genre and fuse so many together to make a compelling, rich story, which seeks to also muse on how past, present and future are all connected.

It's so unbelievable unique from the jump, that it's hard not to get pulled into this world. In the first few minutes, a deeply unsettling feeling casts over the film, and yet suddenly gears switch and we spend half of the film sinking our teeth into the world. Learning its characters through their interactions with each other. Building out and fleshing this world so we care, and it only makes the back half of the movie even more compelling.

It's quite genius actually, something other films perhaps feel to scared to do, to let an audience just exist in this world for a while before any real incident happens. Fleshing out this entire world, only for the back hald of the movie to be centred around a single location, adds this sense of claustrophobia and places you in the shoes of those trapped. It's ingenious.

How does one blend so many different genres together and make the story feel as unified as it does? In large part it's cause of the music. MY WORD. As a self proclaimed score whore, somebody who gets religiously obsessed with the scores in films, this is up their with the greats. Ludwig Göransson may just be the man who's work I've enjoyed the most on the world, everything that man touches is straight up masterpieces.

The way that music is used in this film, and actually I would extend that to the phenomenal sound design, is inspiring. It's propulsive and unique and gives this film the unflitching and distinct vision that makes this so refreshing. It feels so integral to the film it's hard to imagine it without the accompaniments of this sound.

In particular, as nearly every review on here has mentioned, THAT scene is maybe some of the coolest and most inventive uses of music I've ever seen. It's also just one of the most captivating scenes of cinema in recent memory. It's stunning, it sounds unreal but it's saying so much to the wider themes of genre, memory and history that this film is dripping with.

It's also filled with a pleathora of rich performances, and a pair of gravitating and complex performances from Michael B. Jordan. He truly is a force here, and is equally as comanding and compelling as both of the twins. He oozes this charisma that perfectly matches this blend of sexiness and horror. There's also equally compelling performances from Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, and especially Wunmi Mosaku who was a standout.

I would also like this to be a formal ask for every blockbuster to be shot with the care and love that this was. My word. It looks gorgeous in every scene. The focus on the actors, and the shallow depth of field and bokeh is so regal. The film grain, the use of IMAX, it just demanded your attention, and it was worthy of it.

So often now we're graced with these "arthouse horror" films, after we had a few masterpieces and nothing has really came close, studios are still chasing the success of these horror films with more to say. I loved how this is completely in its own lane, it's something new and that's why people are eating it up.

I wasn't in love with all of the filmmaking choices made here, but this made me feel electric throughout. It's film with a pulse and a beating heart that should be seen in cinemas