I’m thankful the filmmaker, Paul Thomas Anderson, wanted One Battle After Another to be a dark-comedy because I was sure laughing within the first few minutes of this flick! Oh, geez! Yes, spoiler alert (well, not too much of one), this movie is so intense!

Now, I’m a huge fan of both Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro, so this movie has been on my ‘must see’ list since it released, but other than Wicked, I wasn’t going to go trek out to the theatre. Luckily, the family added us to their HBO account so hubby and I could see this. But wow! We were NOT ready for the ridiculous discordant jazz that ran throughout most of it! Yes, I know the soundtrack is meant to create tone and layers, tension and release, but it made me super anxious and annoyed at the same time! I want to watch it again with closed captioning and MUTE on! Seriously!

Otherwise, the rest of the songs used in the movie soundtrack were good, some even great. Use of the nostalgic songs such as, “Dirty Work” by Steely Dan (which, was my favorite and will stick with me for a long time), “Soldier Boy” from The Shirelles, “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, “Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)” from The Jackson 5, and “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, were great additions–and certainly brought relief from that terrible jazz. Well, I could have done without “Eye of the Tiger” since it’s so over played in film. But you get the idea. Jonny Greenwood (from Radiohead) really messed up the movie in my humble opinion. And this is why music is sooo subjective! Then again, Jonny is a risk taker I suppose.

Benicio made a GREAT sensei and helper to Leo in the movie and I was happy to see the two act together. But there’s at least one scene where Leo is running and his legs are so skinny! He looks like a little girl! I laughed at that one, and felt like they shot it in a way that made him purposefully look silly. Sorry Leo! As for star power, all the acting in ‘Battle’ was impressive. Sean Penn was a surprise right from the beginning of his performance. You’ve gotta see it to get what I’m referencing here. And talk about moral ambiguity. Sean’s character certainly brought THAT! I had flashbacks while watching Sean’s colonel antics to David Walliams gun-loving instructor in the Little Britain skits! Hilarious!

Anyway, a few scenes were let down’s like when the daughter is found in the nunnery. But overall this was a funny romp and not a waste of time. It shed a bit of light on an otherwise sad tale of revolutionary types. And with what all that’s been going on in Minnesota lately, it seems timely. It may get your rebel juices flowing.

February begins

Our son-in-law (SIL) added us to their HBO family account, which is how we watched One Battle After Another. I’d hoped Don’t Look Up would be on there too, as I’d been waiting a good while to see it, but I didn’t find it there. If anyone knows where I can watch that, let me know in the comments please. I’m a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan, so there’s that. Years ago, my daughter and I went to see Gangs of New York in the theatre because we love him so much, and that’s saying a lot because neither of us like blood and gore in movies!

Of course, I guess I got over my disdain of blood and gore because I’m finally getting to finish Stranger Things, thanks to my son sharing his Netflix account with me! Ha! I’d never seen season 4, so I’m watching it currently in order to see the final season. Season 5. It’s had me glued to my chair! I love all of the characters and all the 80s stuff… they even had a hanging glass lamp (though in a different color) as my parents had and that my son had kept and had hung in our outdoor kitchen when we lived on his off grid property in Florida a few years ago!

I’m starting to feel a little better too, thanks to some wonderful nerve tinctures a soulie-sister friend formulated for me and shipped to me from Florida. I can’t thank her enough! If she’s going to sell them on her website I’ll write a separate article on that with a link. I hope she will sell them because WOW! It was sure an answer to prayer for me! And I know my son and at least a couple friends will want to give these a try. Here’s the brief note I wrote on Substack about the tinctures:

Screenshot

Finished Sons of Anarchy

Hubby and I finished watching the older TV series, Sons of Anarchy. And OMG we couldn’t believe how IT ended! Ugh. Sad. Suspense. Brutal. It will live with me for a while. I was so glad Gemma saw her dad again, but Jax!

Integrating the Spirals

I’m encouraging those “over 60” to open to lifelong learning (observe and gently question their pre-conceived beliefs, aka ‘Programming’), become more aware of their thoughts and emotions, consistently move their bodies (too many are stuck in their heads and physically unhealthy), become strong, and resilient in spirit, soul, mind, body. And to question EVERYTHING!

Link to my YouTube channel where you can see the videos: https://youtube.com/@spiralsister

Yours in consciousness-expansion as we evolve and revolve during our mystical awakening. All while doing-my-egoless-best, to take you on a limitless, spiraling thought ride to better health, through doing more with ease, to help us sustain the JOY in our lives! (With lots of Gratitude throughout.)

Sheila “Spiral Sister” Murrey

The information provided is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe.

About us

My husband is an award-winning illustrator, plus he’s a seasoned guitarist, bass player, and songwriter (with over 400 original songs). You can view some of his artwork and listen to many of his songs at: https://www.youtube.com/user/richardmurrey

Here’s a video of us performing on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/416711742?ref=fb-share

My books on Amazon

I have four books on Amazon. The two most recent are: Have Yourself a Wholly Vibrant Life: Reversing Asthma and Other Chronic Illness Naturally and Blue Eyes: Ethereal Messages of Connection.

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12 thoughts on “Movie Review: One Battle After Another”

  1. Sheila, this was such a fun read. You had me laughing, especially the jazz commentary. 😂
    Now that college football is over, I’m always hunting for something good to watch on weekends, so this actually bumped One Battle After Another higher on my list, though I may follow your “mute + captions” strategy. I’m with you on Leo and Benicio, that combo alone makes it worth checking out. Appreciate the honest review and the soundtrack notes too.

    Have a Wonderful and Blessed Sunday

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      1. 😊 I really enjoyed your post, it was fun, honest, and full of personality. Always a joy to read your thoughts, and I’m glad we can share these little discoveries together.

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    1. Oh, yes, Edward! Thank you for reminding me of her! That scene where Leo says he couldn’t do her hair. That gave me a lump in my throat because my mom always used to get so frustrated with my hair when I was young, and as a teen. And no way would my dad even come near my hair! It was a small but meaningful scene. (I have naturally curly hair and it would literally mat to the back of my head when I was a kid.)

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      1. Oh, wow, definitely a tough one. It’s always hard to watch movies or scenes that remind us of the past. Every time I see a scene of a single mom struggling, it impacts me because it reminds me of my mom trying to make things happen.

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  3. Is that a good thing or a bad thing, Sheila? lol.
    Nice to have your son in law share.. altho I watched on but i’m not a fan.. xx
    ” I guess I got over my disdain of blood and gore because I’m finally getting to finish Stranger Things, thanks to my son sharing his Netflix account with me!

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  4. I thought there was no other way Sons of Anarchy could have ended, though there’s speculation about a future series. I have some ideas. I watched “Don’t Look Up” on Netflix a few years ago, I think it’s still there and I recommend it.

    Glad you’re on the mend.

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    1. Ah, I hear you, Michael (about ‘Sons’). I suppose you’re right. My daughter said she had figured Tara would be the only one to make it out alive. But alas…
      As for Don’t Look Up, we just watched it a few nights ago! I’d been wanting to see it since it first came out and had not been able to find it ANYWHERE! I happened to get hold of the remote (haha! Richard always has it) and I scrolled through the listings and tada! I found it on Netflix which we only recently got access to from the kids. It was fantastic! I loved it.

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