Fredtimbo

Within maybe 30 minutes of watching the movie, I sensed F9 might not have been written by Chris Morgan, who wrote most of the Fast & Furious films, including the spinoff Hobbs & Shaw. When the end credits rolled, my suspicion was confirmed. Justin Lin directed this installment, and it has the usual fun, over-the-top action, but I was a bit disappointed the story and writing are not up to par with the other movies in the film series.

It got spaceships and epic battles, but something is surprisingly refreshing about this Australian alien invasion movie. Occupation: Rainfall is kind of a mixture of Independence Day and Battle: Los Angeles with a bit of Star Wars, but it's exceptionally well done--the story, direction, editing, cast, overall acting, and visual effects. Highly recommended.

I've seen Citizen Kane and know about the public feud between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over the film. Mank is based on the screenwriter who wrote Citizen Kane, Herman Mankiewicz. Although it's interesting and was directed by David Fincher, the movie seemed to have gone on a lot longer than necessary.