hopscotchee: nicholas hoult score: 77 rating: pg-13 time: 107 minutes
ew, could you imagine if we were those gen-z-ers who were like 'this movie was lit'!! ah! no! we would never do that to you. as your trusty movie reviewers, we promise you'll never have to read any stupid cringe-baby puns in our reviews; however, you will have to endure when we say that the current war is (one of few films) not even one bit guilty of the (twinsAF-coined) aloha effect, proving to shine just as brightly through the behinds-the-scenes mechanics as the stars within the film!! and for such one-of-a-kind occasions like this one, we like to optimize our spotlight and shine it on the film's real spotlight, director alfonso gomez-rejon, the creative current pumped throughout the entirety of this electrifying movie!! if this were a concert we would turn on our phone flashlights and wave them very slow and dramatic in the air to show our appreciation for such clean cut uniqueness like this film's.
though we could analyze every inch of this film like spreading a good deal of butter from edge to edge of a slice of bread, it seems only proper to showcase the film's specialties and sophistication by first defusing any reader or viewers' prior opinion that 'history movies' are 'dumb' or 'boring'. while, yes, historical films do require viewers to be 'in the mood' for their typically drawn out storylines, slow action, and formal dialogue, the current war stands out as quite the opposite from these stereotypes!! taking a new angle on an old story, alfonso gomez-rejon gives the well known tale of the invention of the lightbulb in 1879 a twist from a 21st century perspective, shining light on the humanity and morals behind the men involved. finessed with the film's added in fast and vast shot comp, the competitive 'who-will-win-the-race' like pace of the film, brought on heavily thanks to its quick editing, turned up the anticipation and left a story we've grown up learning about ironically suspenseful til the very last frame!!
which, crediting the editing, we can say that aside from (spoiler) the one randomly inconsistent flashback of westinghouse that didn't really make sense or tie back to the other flashbacks or whole point of the story, the way the story was stylistically cut-together stayed evenly consistent to the movie's productive and inventive aesthetic, enticing your attention span constantly with each and every scene.
however, moving on to other attributes of the film's overall flare, you can't have a believable movie that's set during the very invention of the lightbulb in large factories, train stations, and press rooms without having killer soundmixing!! needless to say this movie executed (wink wink)!! fully embracing the audience in the heat of the rivalry with vividly heightened sound effects, the thick, methodic tension between both edison and westinghouse gave this film edge to convey the emotional tale they wanted to much accuracy. particularly during the (spoiler) montaged sequence which incorporated the yellow lightbulbs vs the red lightbulbs to distinguish the two characters and their companies competing in the current war, the crisp popping noises of the lightbulbs, when being screwed on to the map to indicate which inventor got their electrical current in which states, neatly achieved both asmr-like interest and detail to clue in and connect the viewer to the plot lines as well as the power lines.
needing only to lastly mention how tesla's sharply dressed appearance countered and made up for some of the dead weight of the noticeably fake sideburn make-up on the actors, all and all, the current war rightfully received a fine 77 score from us. and given that the very creation of the lightbulb led us to the power to produce motion pictures, the current war is also a highly recommended twinsAF watch for more than just the clout of stars attached to the poster heading. so, appreciating all the uniqueness approached toward portraying such a familiar story, we hope to see more from alfonso gomez-rejon in his bright, bright film future and encourage you to turn off your lights and pop in this movie for a change!!
-- thanks, nicholas xo