Nightmare Alley (2021)

Today's movie of the day = Nightmare Alley. This is Guillermo del Toro's latest film starting Bradley Cooper and a wide range of other solid actors.

I have to start by saying that, visually, this film was beautiful. The sets, the costumes, the cinematography, were all top notch. It was a visual delight. Bradley Cooper did a good job in his role as well.

Sadly, that's where my praise ends. The film runs at 2 1/2 hours but could easily be a single Twilight Zone episode and still get the plot to the point in the half hour. In other words, this movie ran two hours too long. And that's what it feels like, a Twilight Zone episode.

I have a hard time writing this one as it's a Guillermo film and I'm a fan of his. I just can't with this film though. The story went on so long that by the time anything happened, I didn't care anymore. Usually I'd be looking at my phone on films that bore me like this but it was so beautiful that I had to watch. Even the couple of twists were super predictable.

The story is about a guy who goes and joins the circus, learns the ins and outs, and becomes a mentalist. Hw becomes popular and it goes forward from there (albeit very slowly).

I can only recommend this film if you care more about cinema from a visual standpoint. I won't recommend it from an entertainment standpoint, however.

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