shades fills you in

Vulture declared summer 2022 the season of the maximalist movie! These movies jumpstarted theatres out of their pandemic funk. They were over-the-top and, at bottom, *fun*

What is a maximalist film? Wikipedia explains that they’re movies shaped by the philosophy of Maximalism, which celebrates the beauty of excess

Far-Out counts down 10 of the best maximalist movies in history, starting with the 1927 film Napoleon

A great example of a maximalist film is “Moonage Daydream”, a trippy film about the many sides of David Bowie -- WBUR

The Guardian talks with the film’s director, Brett Morgen, who agrees the movie’s steeped in maximalism. Read the full interview here

Not into Bowie? There’s also Elvis, another 2022 maximalist hit. Financial Times thought it was pretty good, but tells movie-goers to “bring aspirin”

If you couldn’t tell by the title, Everything Everywhere All at Once is another option. Ampersand calls it a “maximalist triumph”

The Lawrentian similarly loved RRR, an maximalist international hit that it describes as “epic in every sense of the word”

Of course, not everyone loves maximalist movies. This blogger didn’t love Top Gun 2022 because he thought the movie relied too much on extravagant visuals without building a solid narrative -- leaving the film feeling “shallow”

Vox: Sure, 2022’s maximalist films had broad appeal. But maybe it’s time for something different (and a little more low key) to hit theaters