Among the most ecstatically batshit movies I have ever seen. Entirely different stylistically and thematically from the other de Leon film I’ve watched (enjoyed Itim yesterday). Don’t really feel like...

Wong Kar-wai understands US pop songs better than most Americans.

I was reading Godfrey Cheshire’s “In the Time of Kiarostami” yesterday. To quote: “Axis of evil? Give me a break. Did the president think he was writing videogame copy for testosterone-addled 13-year ...

Like many great films, this calls into question the authenticity of the reality it presents while paradoxically offering a seemingly genuine look at culture. In this instance, Winterbottom, Coogan, an...

Brutal look at the authoritarian and journalistic obsession with terrorism. Guilty by proxy and without justice, the fictional Katharina Blum falls victim to an overzealous police state. 51 years late...

Does the rare romcom move of critiquing and honestly portraying obsession. Most films with this plot would find a way to romanticize the toxicity. Here, we see how pathetic it looks. Silver directs an...

I can think of something else parasitic that really likes water.

One of my favorite Kurosawas. Probably haven’t rewatched yet this decade, and I have no interest in Spike’s version, so it was time. Might rewatch Stray Dog next. Still looking for very late (post Dre...

Few things hit like a Pasolini sunset. Don’t really know much Euripides but damn some pretty dark stuff thematically. Really enjoying how at least a few 70s European auteurs (also Fassbinder) employ a...

Enjoyed this with an introduction at the Yale Film Archive’s Wajda centennial. I’m not that familiar with his work, aside from hearing a memorable lecture on Ashes and Diamonds a decade and a half bac...

Street fights set to Bach are a pretty big vibe.

Pasolini’s take on Sophocles. Love the intercutting between timelines at different parts of the narrative. Some unbelievable cinematography, especially the handheld pans across sunny horizons, occasio...

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Among Fassbinder’s most visually compelling narratives. Features fades to white as literary transitions, which gives an ethereal effect. Ballhaus gets plenty of opportunities to showcase pans and trac...

A Hollywood reworking of The Vanishing with historically American torture tactics and that characteristic Villeneuve bleakness.

There’s a scene about halfway through this in which two characters discuss a workplace innovation, the application of which requires an understanding of trigonometry. Fassbinder films the scene, mostl...

My first time revisiting since 2018. Enjoyed this time with commentary. In showing past, present, and dream realities, 8 1/2 fully announces Fellini’s departure from neorealism (for which he received ...

Delightful stuff. Might have to go back and watch that opening sequence at least all over again. Just under 80 minutes and streaming on Tubi. Soviet cult classic was enough to get my attention. Lots o...

A masterclass in cinematic subtlety, confronting the viewer with random yet similar and irrefutably connected murders. Hanekesque but a plot that director would never attempt. Charges everyday objects...

Paul Malls on the table have never looked so artistic. Dog jumps very high for food. Rainy day card tradition when gardeners can’t work makes sense. Awesome old recordings of songs in Japanese against...

Sublime, nonlinear/psychedelic epic with top-tier editing and pacing. All-time final shot.

Simultaneously epic and focused, spanning seven years and clocking in at less than 80 minutes. One of the great documentaries on NYC culture in any era: more specifically, 80s fashion houses featuring...

Contains some of my favorite pillow shots: empty hallways, fall foliage, Japanese architecture, and more. Ozu’s blocking and pacing are second to none.