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So, I watched Train Dreams. I’ve seen Jermiah Johnson. It was alright. Ok, maybe a bit mundane and I’m being very generous when I say that. But Train Dreams is absolutely revered by most critics. So, am I wrong? No, because I would never review Train Dreams. I would never review movies such as Dunkirk, Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down because I don’t like war movies. I would never review films such as Cars or Super Mario Bros because I don’t appreciate the genre as a whole. I wish more critics in the world were reasonable like I am. Eh, maybe I’m a bit of a narcissist for saying that.

If you do not like juvenile comedy, do not review “Wedding Crashers”. If you don’t enjoy ridiculous action scenes, stay away from “True Lies”. Lastly, if you are watching “The Grudge” through a blanket that’s draped over your face, maybe throw this one to somebody else on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Eibert and Gene Siskel always had a tough time with comedies and action movies because they had this pathetic urge to be taken seriously by the mass audience. But this sophistication is detrimental to filmmaking. Their thumbs up and thumbs down culture are as ridiculous as Scorsese saying that the Marvel movies are not cinema. But making Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Costigan go on an insane undercover operation in “The Departed” for god knows what type of reward is apparently logical. Let’s all fucking relax. Every critic should pick specific genres that they are interested in and review accordingly. Saying that, once in a blue moon, an off the cuff movie will blow you away and that evaluation can be appreciated separately. Bill Simmons says it the best: “Pauline Kael needs a bit of ‘settle down’ juice”. So, pick your poison properly.

So, about Train Dreams…Well I said I would not review it so I’ll be a man of my word. I’ll leave with this one note. It is definitely better than “The Brutalist”.