Category: 3.5 Stars
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Raising Arizona
“There what’s right and there’s what’s right, and never the twain shall meet.” Raising Arizona (The Coens, 1987) What a weird movie. They never really did anything like this again, did they? I mean, O’ Brother Where Art Thou wasn’t even this kind of full-throttle whimsy and magical realism. This is perhaps Cage’s most appealing…
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The Gentlemen
“There’s fuckery afoot.” The Gentlemen (Guy Ritchie, 2019) When Guy Ritchie decides to make a Guy Ritchie movie, it’s always a fun time. Despite the fact that the narrative structure pretty much only exists to be a cute way to cultivate twists and turns, the movie works. Almost everyone is perfectly cast: Hunnam and Farrell…
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Women Talking
“We didn’t talk about our bodies, so when something like this happened, there was no language for it.” Women Talking (Sarah Polley, 2022) A really interesting and important movie about the internal politics of an oppressed and predated upon group of women. Gentle and dreamy cinematography in the Campion, Malick, and Dominik style. All of…
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St. Elmo’s Fire
“Marriage is a concept invented by people who were lucky to make it to 20 without being eaten by dinosaurs.” St. Elmo’s Fire (Joel Schumacher, 1985) This and The Breakfast Club come out in the same year, and the Brat Pack is born. The former is an exploration into who we are when we’re young…
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Some Kind of Wonderful
“Don’t go mistaking paradise for a pair of long legs.” Some Kind of Wonderful (Howard Deutch, 1987) A step up in screenwriting and filmmaking from Pretty in Pink. I think it’s because there is a larger population of better actors. Stoltz is excellent, and I wish he got the career that Zemeckis and Spielberg promised.…
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A Star is Born
“Ain’t it hard keepin’ it so hardcore?” A Star is Born (Bradley Cooper, 2018) A pretty damn impressive directorial debut. It’s certainly not perfect, especially in terms of the editing, but some of the shots are really beautiful. Gaga’s performance is a wonderful, sober deviation from her character work in House of Gucci (my first…
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Punch-Drunk Love
“I don’t know if there is anything wrong because I don’t know how other people are.” Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002) A remarkably quaint follow-up to two massive ensemble pieces. Less triumphant than I remember, but a fun time nonetheless. It still surprises me how good Sandler is in this film. He makes all…
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Triangle of Sadness
“So is this runway casting for a grumpy brand or a smiley brand?” Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022) A fun exploration of how wealth, beauty, and decadence only establishes a master class in civil society. But none of those characteristics can save you from the torments of nature and the constraints of true human…
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Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
“Do not play detective.” Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Shane Black, 2005) The directorial debut of one of the most successful and prolific screenwriters in Hollywood history. The use of voice-over narration, mid-scene pauses, and fourth-wall breaking indicates that the script was likely written in the mid-90s but wasn’t able to get produced until the mid…
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Knight of Cups
“Dreams are nice, but you can’t live in them.” Knight of Cups (Terrence Malick, 2015) Malick isn’t for everyone, but I truly adore and admire his craft. Borderline experimental filmmaking that dances with the poetry of introspection and flirts with the profundity of otherwise unremarkable candid moments. In this film, he attempts to capture the…
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Pig
“We don’t get a lot of things to really care about.” Pig (Michael Sarnoski, 2021) Mandy meets Burnt. A small, simple production that shines a spotlight on solemnity and solitude. Cage is tremendous. The twenty-first century renaissance of his career is truly something to behold, and this performance may be his best yet. I’d pay…
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The Virgin Suicides
“We knew that they knew everything about us and that we couldn’t fathom them at all.” The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999) An important if imperfect movie. I admire how much Coppola wanted to convey a novel on film so early into her career, and her attempt here is sublime. Her impulses are all correct,…
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Locke
“We do okay because I straightened the name out.” Locke (Steven Knight, 2013) An impressive and audacious screenplay. Tom Hardy owns the camera. There are many reasons why this movie is great, but my favorite among them is the fact that the story takes place over almost the exact run-time of the film. After it’s…
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Heaven Adores You
“Playing things too safe is the most popular way to fail.” Heaven Adores You (Nickolas Dylan Rossi, 2014) A spartan but informative documentary about a gifted artist, told by the friends and colleagues that knew him best. One realizes pretty quickly that not much remains of the man’s life in photography, journals, video footage, candid…
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Paterson
“I go through trillions of molecules that move aside to make way for me, while on both sides trillions more stay where they are.” Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016) I suppose this film challenges the audience to reckon with the extent to which we find poetry in the mundane, how often we allow ourselves to slow…
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First Reformed
“Even a pastor needs a pastor.” First Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2017)A movie about damaged people believing in corrupted faiths living in a doomed world. I liked it.
olde zoetrope 