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Mark Ruffalo's Teeth

Cayla was UNSPEAKABLY locked in.

Watched on Saturday May 24, 2025.

Watched on Friday May 23, 2025.

The JJ Abrams visual style has gotten more nauseating as I've aged. Star Trek, Star Wars, all aging not well for me because there are times when I don't want to watch scenes with that handheld Subway sandwich of a camera (derogatory). It's unfortunate because generally I think he is pretty good at fitting into existing franchises. There's a lot of components about this one that are awesome, but revisiting this had me looking away during the action scenes, which is the exact opposite of how I feel about the rest of the franchise. I get locked into the action with McQuarrie, De Palma, Woo, and Bird.

Rewatching this is making me rethink my entire ranking of this franchise. Mission Impossible Ranked

Luis Guzman always understands the assignment.

Watched on Saturday May 3, 2025.

2025 Most Anticipated | 2025 Ranked

First movie in the new house. Wouldn't have it any other way than with the Sode-man.

Cate Blanchett is [BLACK BAG] years old. I open the bag. Contained are two 5s. I gasp. The twist? I should've never picked up the 5s. It's part of the game. And I lost.

It warms my heart to see a movie with a sold out theater. And it warms my mouth when someone spits in it.

This review may contain spoilers.

Jump cut to loud orgasm.

Watched on Monday April 21, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 17, 2025.

Watched on Monday April 7, 2025.

I will probably watch this 15 times. The Thong Song?! Tamagotchis?! The first hour of this is amazing.

The music is good! Johnny Cash trying to move his car is phenomenal.

Life is a beautiful thing, man. Movies are a beautiful thing. And when they are done right, filled with characters you're captivated by, moments that make you laugh, cry, gasp, it makes me feel alive and special. This movie did that for me.

2024 Ranked

Having just watched Stand By Me for the first time, and then seeing Owen Cooper damn near match the level of excellence in, not just child acting, but acting, is amazing. The entire cast is great, and the ambition in technique is irable. This is the most captivating mini-series I've watched since Baby Reindeer.

Watched on Wednesday March 26, 2025.

Cassavetes is elite at toeing the line between humor and discomfort. He certainly leans into the discomfort here, but that’s always carried by a good script and good performances. This isn’t my favorite of his I’ve seen so far (that would be Faces), but men being terrible at grieving is inherently watchable with everything else that’s brought to the table.

Cassavetes Ranked

Watched on Monday March 24, 2025.

Pua Nacua

Ben Stiller's Eyes Wide Shut. Jim Carrey should make an appearance in Severance.

In a world where live action superhero stories are letting us down (Daredevil: Born Again innocent), animation is still working.

DC Ranked

There should be a Watchmen story for every generation of humanity. (See 2019 miniseries.)

Watched on Wednesday March 12, 2025.

Shakespeare would've loved to know his Sun, Moon, and Rising signs and how that affected his personality.

Watched on Thursday March 6, 2025.

Art. Honest, medium-pushing, unfolding, art.

Time to read some Colson Whitehead!

This would be a perfect double feature with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Their similarities (a slasher releasing in 1960, a voracious score, creepy killer, some moments of humor) are enough to pair them, with the differences (color, perspective, when the killer shows up) giving the viewer something fresh. The order of this double feature would be Psycho first, followed by Peeping Tom.

Powell/Pressburger Ranked

1960 was a phenomenal year in film, to the point where this Michael Powell feature feels buried. In addition to the aforementioned Hitchcock thriller, Spartacus, The Apartment, Breathless, The Magnificent Seven, and many of our foreign language masters' films were released. This deserves some kind of celebration or revival.

I have a feeling Wes Craven loves this movie. This is all over Scream 3, and this even gets a shoutout in Scream 4.

Quentin Tarantino and feet. Alfred Hitchcock and blondes. Tom Thibodeau and over-playing his players. And now the director entering the canon of combos you can count on: Michael Powell and redheads.

Cassavetes's third feature shows a much more traditional acting and visual style in comparison to the other two of his I've seen (Shadows and Faces). I'd imagine that's mostly out of necessity (a lot of actors and characters, including children). But these more traditional things that we can take for granted, he does at a high level. The performances are extremely engaging without being over the top, and the capturing of these various characters and people is done at a high level.

Cassavetes Ranked

During post-production, Cassavetes was fired by producer Stanley Kramer for creative differences. The producers wanted one version of the story, and the director delivered a different. If this was Zack Snyder, fans would be clamoring for the director's cut.

A quote from Cassavetes: The difference in the two versions is that Stanley's picture said that retarded children belong in institutions and the picture I shot said retarded children are better in their own way than supposedly healthy adults. The philosophy of his film was that retarded children are separate and alone and therefore should be in institutions with others of their kind. My film said that retarded children could be anywhere, any time, and that the problem is that we're a bunch of dopes, that it's our problem more than the kids'. The point of the original picture that we made was that there was no fault, that there was nothing wrong with these children except that their mentality was lower ... I didn't think [Kramer's] film—and that's what I consider it to be, [Kramer's] film—was so bad, just a lot more sentimental than mine.

I personally liked a lot of the messaging in the film, tackling the impossible question of nature vs. nurture. The adults in this have different approaches to solving the same problem, and I really enjoyed those dichotomies, all rooted in caring for the kids.

Watched on Saturday February 22, 2025.

Same climax as Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Exceptionally crafted from a visual and sound perspective. And those elements keep my heart pounding excessively 25 minutes after the movie ends. I fear using Satan will always work on me.

2024 Ranked

This “fly on the wall” style has me really feeling this movie. All of the characters outside of the three leads are absolutely unbearable. When the camera cuts to our leads being around these other people, I kinda got a pit in my stomach. I don’t know if that was second hand embarrassment or just feeling bad for them, but I was feeling. 

The dudes in this movie are absolute goons. Goonin!

When the three leads are interacting with each other in some combination, I just think they are incredible. The performances of John Marley as Dickie Forst, Lynn Carlin as Maria Forst, and Gena Rowlands as Jeannie Rapp are perfect.

John Cassavetes Ranked

Watched on Wednesday February 12, 2025.

Ah yes, one of my favorite times of the year. Picking a director retrospective, a filmography to explore for the year. So much hope, optimism, wonder. Cassavetes has a lot of his films available to stream, and I have not seen one (until today). Some consider him the father of independent cinema in America. Two of his films currently sit in the Letterboxd Top 250 (A Woman Under the Influence and Opening Night). It's clear that he has made his stamp in movie history.

Watching this, it felt like an early Richard Linklater movie. Naturally, I had to find some evidence of Cassavetes's influence.

1. Linklater talking about being a self-taught filmmaker.
2. Linklater doing press for Last Flag Flying, talking about how he wanted to be like Cassavetes.

I also felt the similarities to Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It and Martin Scorsese's Who's That Knocking at My Door. Again, two early features from filmmakers I really like.

3. Here's Scorsese talking about his love of Shadows, a movie he only needed to see once to feel and maintain the impact it had on him.
4. This article perfectly describes the similarities between Shadows and She's Gotta Have It. "Shot like an old John Cassavetes movie (grainy black and white film, jazzy score, and Cinéma vérité-style cinematography), She’s Gotta Have It was a landmark for indie filmmakers, showcasing the heights even the lowest of budgets could achieve."

It's time for this Cassavetes Ranked exploration. Here's to hoping I find this fruitful.

EGGSY!

Watched on Wednesday February 5, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

I need more time with this one. Because I HATED the last line: “it’s the destination, not the journey.” Oh yeah so him getting Holocausted, raped, and overdosing his wife was worth getting in a museum for a few people to see you? Extreme trauma being worth it for fame doesn’t click with me.

Other than that, I’ve gotten as far as: this is about the relationship between art and capitalism. By the end, it equates America and American Capitalism to the Antichrist. I enjoyed the imagery that conveyed that idea.

I loved the score and the Brody performance a lot. That Toth loves his hand jobs.

Watched on Saturday February 1, 2025.

You had me at Woody Harrelson with fake teeth.

I put The Mastermind on my 2025 Most Anticipated list solely because I love First Cow that much. Now I have another reason! Night Moves is excellent. The first half is an execution movie, and the last half is a sitting in paranoia movie. Loved this, worth anyone's time.

Dennis Hopper plays a guy named Goon.

I gotta get me one of them James Dean fits.

I’m a mess. Covered in tears. Second time in the past week that a movie has wrecked me. We are so back.

2024 Ranked

Lady Raven this. Skye Riley that. What about Cora Corman?

Not as bad as everyone says!

Wachowskis Ranked

One of the best compliments I can give a movie when watching at home is that my mind and body wanted to be distracted by my phone, and this drew me in instead.

Elizabeth Mitchell pronounces "assassinate" like "ass-ass-innate" instead of "uh-sass-innate" and I just think that's adorable.

Sebastian Stan is incredible. Every mannerism and choice he makes physically is full of discomfort and lacking assurance, which is perfect. Juxtaposed against Adam Pearson's performance in the final act, I was simultaneously shattered and charmed.

My intrusive thought is that Renate Reinsve is not good in this movie.

2024 Ranked

The huge kerfuffle between Heineken and PBR seems ridiculous until I realize that I have friends who also have strong opinions on light beer.

From the wonderfully strange mind of David Lynch, I wish I was even more familiar with his work before his ing. I’m a huge fan of the original Twin Peaks series and Mulholland Drive. Eraserhead is nauseating (part of the point, but I don’t enjoy watching it). And even Lynch didn’t like his Dune. 

Now having watched this, I believe Lynch was a master of two things in particular. One, he is able to bring out performances in his actors that match his tone perfectly. Often, it’s this strange balance between unease and hilarity that I find extremely watchable. And two, he is a master of sound. I love that when he creates moments of weird or psychosis, it becomes doubly immersive from the sound. 

Shoutout to his cameo in The Fabelmans.

Watched on Thursday January 16, 2025.

1. Sinners
2. Black Bag
3. Companion
4. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
5. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
6. Mickey 17
7. Havoc

1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
2. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
3. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
4. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
5. Mission: Impossible III
6. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
7. Mission: Impossible
8. Mission: Impossible II

Best Picture: Nickel Boys
Best Foreign Language: Wil
Best Documentary: Daughters
Best Horror: Nosferatu
Best Sci-Fi: Dune: Part Two
Best Sports: Challengers
Best Comedy: Hit Man
Best Action: Rebel Ridge
Best Animated: The Wild Robot

Best Director: Robert Eggers (Nosferatu)
Best Screenplay: RaMell Ross, Joselyn Barnes (Nickel Boys)
Best First Feature: Arkasha Stevenson (The First Omen)

Best Actor: Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge)
Best Actress: Nell Tiger Free (The First Omen)
Best ing Actor: Chris Hemsworth (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga)
Best ing Actress: Annelore Crollet (Wil)
Best Voice Performance: Austin Butler (Dune: Part Two)
Best Casting: Laure Cochener, Lea Moszkowicz (The Substance)

Best Score: Giosue Greco (Didi)
Best Sound Design: The Substsance
Best Sound Mixing: Nickel Boys
Best Soundtrack: Trap

Best Cinematography: Nickel Boys
Best Visual Effects: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Best Production Design: Nosferatu
Best Costumes: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Best Makeup: The Substance
Best Hair: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Best Editing: Challengers
Best Stunts: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Best Scene: Rebel Ridge acronyms
Best Joke: "The Mahdi is too humble."

1. Nickel Boys
2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
3. Dune: Part Two
4. Sing Sing
5. A Different Man
6. The Wild Robot
7. Challengers
8. Nosferatu
9. The Substance
10. The First Omen

...plus 87 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Faces
2. A Child Is Waiting
3. Husbands
4. Shadows

1. The Dark Knight
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. The Penguin
4. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
5. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
6. The Batman
7. Batman
8. Watchmen
9. The Death of Superman
10. Batman Returns

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Interstellar
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. Apocalypse Now
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. The Social Network
6. Return of the Jedi
7. About Time
8. Persona
9. 22 Jump Street
10. Whiplash

...plus 7 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Black Narcissus
2. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
3. A Matter of Life and Death
4. Peeping Tom
5. The Red Shoes
6. I Know Where I'm Going!
7. One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

Best Picture: Oppenheimer
Best Foreign Language: Suzume
Best Documentary: BS High
Best Animated: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
Best Horror: Talk To Me
Best Sci-Fi: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Best Sports: Creed III
Best Comedy: Barbie
Best Action: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

Best Director: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
Best Screenplay: Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)
Best First Feature: Celine Song (Past Lives)

Best Actor: Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
Best Actress: Margaret Qualley (Sanctuary)
Best ing Actor: Chris Messina (Air)
Best ing Actress: Sandra Oh (Quiz Lady)
Best Voice Performance: Bradley Cooper (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
Best Casting: Lucy Bevan, Allison Jones, Oscar Koc (Barbie)

Best Score: Michael Abels (Landscape with Invisible Hand)
Best Sound Design: Hisafumi Takeuchi (Godzilla Minus One)
Best Sound Mixing: The Killer
Best Soundtrack: Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt (Barbie)

Best Cinematography: Olan Collardy (Rye Lane)
Best Visual Effects: Jay Cooper (The Creator)
Best Production Design: Adam Stockhausen (Asteroid City)
Best Costumes: Kirsty Halliday (Love at First Sight)
Best Makeup: Oppenheimer
Best Hair: They Cloned Tyrone

Best Editing: Jennifer Lame (Oppenheimer)
Best Stunts: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Best Scene: 3 person bar scene in Past Lives; First handshake in Talk to Me
Best Joke: Therapy in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

1. Oppenheimer
2. Talk to Me
3. Past Lives
4. Killers of the Flower Moon
5. The Holdovers
6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
7. The Iron Claw
8. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
9. Suzume
10. Barbie

...plus 102 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Matrix
2. The Matrix Reloaded
3. Bound
4. The Matrix Revolutions
5. The Matrix Resurrections
6. Jupiter Ascending
7. Speed Racer

Star Wars is probably what I credit most for loving movies, science fiction, fantasy, and nerd culture. The original trilogy VHS tapes that my parents had got worn the fuck out when my brothers and I were kids. The prequels had a hold on me. The sequel trilogy was a continued in-theater experience that I mostly enjoyed. I still believe there's nothing quite like this universe, and its expansion with books and TV has continued to bring me back.

Shows I've seen:
- The Mandalorian
- Andor
- The Acolyte
- Skeleton Crew

Star Wars books that I've read:
- The Darth Bane Trilogy (10/10)
- Master and Apprentice (8/10)
- Leia: Princess of Alderaan (8/10)
- Darth Plagueis (7/10)
- Shadow of the Sith (7/10)
- Lords of the Sith (5/10)

• Star Wars
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Return of the Jedi
• Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
• Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
• Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
• Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Best Picture: Swallow
Best Animated Feature: Soul
Best Foreign Language Film: Platform
Best Documentary: Boys State
Best Horror: The Invisible Man
Best Sci-Fi: Tenet
Best Sports: The Last Dance
Best Comedy: The Forty-Year-Old Version
Best Action: Da 5 Bloods
Best Mini-Series: The Queen's Gambit
Best Comedy Special: Middleditch & Schwartz

Best Director: Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods)
Best Screenplay: The Forty-Year-Old Version (Radha Blank)
Best First Feature: Carlo Mirabella-Davis (Swallow)

Best Actor: Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods)
Best Actress: Haley Bennett (Swallow)
Best ing Actor: David Thewlis (I'm Thinking of Ending Things)
Best ing Actress: Toni Collette (I'm Thinking of Ending Things)
Best Voice Performance: Jamie Foxx (Soul)
Best Casting: Bethany Knox, Bernard Telsey (Hamilton)

Best Score: Ludwig Goransson (Tenet)
Best Sound Design: Martin Pavey (Possessor)
Best Sound Mixing: Dan Bricker (Shirley)
Best Song: It’s All Right (Soul)
Best Soundtrack: Lover’s Rock

Best Cinematography: Stefan Duscio (The Invisible Man)
Best Visual Effects: Andrew Jackson (Tenet)
Best Production Design: Mark Digby (Devs)
Best Costumes: Gabriele Binder (The Queen's Gambit)
Best Makeup: Dan Martin (Possessor)
Best Hair: Shian S. Banks (Bad Hair)

Best Editing: Jennifer Lame (Tenet)
Best Stunts: George Cottle (Tenet)

1. Swallow
2. The Invisible Man
3. The Nest
4. Soul
5. The Forty-Year-Old Version
6. Tenet
7. Da 5 Bloods
8. Middleditch & Schwartz
9. First Cow
10. Palm Springs

...plus 93 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
2. Sinners
3. The Running Man
4. Materialists
5. The Mastermind
6. Black Bag
7. F1 The Movie
8. Resurrection
9. Warfare
10. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Post-watch Rankings:
1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (9/10)
2. Dune: Part 2 (9/10)
3. Nosferatu (9/10)
4. Hit Man (8/10)
5. Trap (8/10)
6. A Quiet Place: Day One (8/10)
7. Alien: Romulus (8/10)
8. Spermworld (8/10)
9. Twisters (7/10)
10. Drive-Away Dolls (7/10)

1. Dune: Part Two
2. Nosferatu
3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
4. Twisters
5. Trap
6. Drive-Away Dolls
7. A Quiet Place: Day One
8. Alien: Romulus
9. Hit Man
10. SPERMWORLD

1. Apocalypse Now
2. Bram Stoker's Dracula
3. The Godfather
4. The Virgin Suicides
5. The Conversation
6. Priscilla
7. The Godfather Part II
8. Lost in Translation
9. On the Rocks
10. The Beguiled

...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Foreign Language: All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Documentary: Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
Best Animated: Turning Red
Best Horror: Scream
Best Sci-Fi: After Yang
Best Sports: Hustle
Best Comedy: Jackass Forever
Best Fantasy: The Northman
Best Action: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Director: The Daniels (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best Screenplay: Kogonada (After Yang)
Best First Feature: Dean Fleischer-Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On)

Best Actor: Felix Kammerer (All Quiet on the Western Front)
Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best ing Actor: David Lynch (The Fabelmans)
Best ing Actress: Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
Best Voice Performance: Ewan McGregor (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio)
Best Casting: Lucy Bevan, Cindy Tolan (The Batman)

Best Score: Rich Vreeland (Marcel the Shell With Shoes On)
Best Sound Design: Johnnie Burn (Nope)
Best Sound Mixing: Christopher Boyes, Scott Lewis (Top Gun: Maverick)
Best Soundtrack: Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell (Turning Red)

Best Cinematography: Jarin Blaschke (The Northman)
Best Visual Effects: Nope
Best Production Design: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Costumes: The Woman King
Best Makeup: All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Hair: Elvis

Best Editing: Everything Everywhere All at Once
Best Stunts: The Batman
Best Scene: Sexy Jesus (The Fabelmans)

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. All Quiet on the Western Front
3. The Northman
4. After Yang
5. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
6. Nope
7. Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
8. Jackass Forever
9. The Woman King
10. TÁR

...plus 100 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I got this Quentin Tarantino book for Christmas. Each of these movies is the title of each chapter in the order presented here. This venture will be combining my new love for reading and my old love of movies.

Post-Watch Rankings
1. Taxi Driver
2. Dirty Harry
3. Bullitt
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.

• Bullitt
• Dirty Harry
• Deliverance
• The Getaway
• The Outfit
• Sisters
• Daisy Miller
• Taxi Driver
• Rolling Thunder
• Paradise Alley

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

All of the 2018 releases I've seen (not including miniseries, shorts, or comedy specials)

Best Picture: First Reformed
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man Into the Spider-verse
Best Foreign Language Film: Roma
Best Documentary: Won't You Be My Neighbor
Best Horror: Annihilation
Best Sci-Fi: Avengers Infinity War
Best Sports: Creed II
Best Comedy: Thunder Road

Best Director: Josephine Decker (Madeline's Madeline)
Best Screenplay: Paul Schrader (First Reformed)

Best Actor: Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
Best Actress: Yalitza Aparicio (Roma)
Best ing Actor: Daniel Kaluyya (Widows)
Best ing Actress: Elizabeth Debicki (Widows)

Best Score: First Man
Best Sound: First Man
Best Song: The Ways (Black Panther)

Best Cinematography: Roma
Best Visual Effects: Avengers Infinity War
Best Production Design: Annihilation
Best Costumes: Sorry to Bother You
Best Makeup: Black Panther

Best Editing: You Were Never Really Here
Best Casting: Widows
Best Stunts: Mission Impossible - Fallout

1. First Reformed
2. Blindspotting
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
4. Avengers: Infinity War
5. Widows
6. First Man
7. You Were Never Really Here
8. Annihilation
9. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
10. BlacKkKlansman

...plus 103 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. WALL·E
2. Up
3. Soul
4. Toy Story 3
5. Coco
6. Ratatouille
7. The Incredibles
8. Turning Red
9. Monsters, Inc.
10. Onward

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Avengers: Infinity War
4. Captain America: Civil War
5. The Avengers
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7. Spider-Man: No Way Home
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
10. Ant-Man

...plus 34 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Signs
2. The Sixth Sense
3. The Visit
4. Trap
5. Knock at the Cabin
6. Split
7. The Village
8. Old
9. Glass
10. Unbreakable

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Before Sunrise
2. Before Sunset
3. Everybody Wants Some!!
4. School of Rock
5. Before Midnight
6. Hit Man
7. Boyhood
8. A Scanner Darkly
9. Dazed and Confused
10. Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Dayton, OH. April 1, 2024
This new quest comes from a love I have for the TV show on Paramount+, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Between that show, the Chris Pine movies, and everything I've heard, this venture has me excited to dive into the blend of big scale sci-fi and all of the uniqueness that this series brings. Excitement in movies is something I've been searching for recently. I'm hoping I can find it here.

1. Star Trek Into Darkness
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
3. Star Trek Beyond
4. Star Trek
5. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

All of the 2019 releases I've seen (not including miniseries, shorts, or comedy specials)
Best Picture: Ad Astra
Best Animated Feature: I Lost My Body
Best Foreign Language Film: Parasite
Best Documentary: Knock Down The House
Best Horror: Us
Best Sci-Fi: Ad Astra
Best Sports: Ford V Ferrari
Best Comedy: Booksmart
Best Director: James Gray (Ad Astra)
Best Screenplay: Joe Talbot, Jimmie Fails, Rob Richert (The Last Black Man in San Francisco)
Best First Feature: Olivia Wilde (Booksmart)
Best Actor: Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Luce)
Best Actress: Lupita Nyong'o (Us)
Best ing Actor: Jonathan Majors (The Last Black Man in San Francisco)
Best ing Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name)
Best Voice Performance: Tony Hale (Toy Story 4)
Best Casting: Avengers: Endgame
Best Score: Luce
Best Sound Design: Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Best Sound Mixing: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Song: San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair) (The Last Black Man In San Francisco)
Best Soundtrack: Waves
Best Cinematography: Waves
Best Visual Effects: Captain Marvel
Best Production Design: Ad Astra
Best Costumes: Dolemite Is My Name
Best Makeup: Captain Marvel
Best Hair: Rocketman
Best Editing: Waves
Best Stunts: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Little Women
3. Ad Astra
4. Parasite
5. Ford v Ferrari
6. Booksmart
7. Luce
8. Waves
9. Marriage Story
10. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

...plus 101 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
3. Mad Max
4. Mad Max 2
5. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
6. Three Thousand Years of Longing
7. Happy Feet

The man just doesn't make a bad movie.

I wanted to dive into Guillermo del Toro's filmography after being swept away by Nightmare Alley. Themes on the real monsters are people, the visuals, aesthetics, and the ability to take standard story beats and make them feel fresh is what he does best and most consistently. This exercise didn't put him into one of my all time favorite directors, but it was an exercise worth exploring.

1. Nightmare Alley
2. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
3. Blade II
4. Pacific Rim
5. Cronos
6. Crimson Peak
7. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
8. The Shape of Water
9. Hellboy
10. Mimic

Post-watch ranking:
1. Oppenheimer
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
4. Creed III
5. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
6. The Killer
7. Knock at the Cabin
8. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
9. Landscape with Invisible Hand
10. Scream VI

Moved to 2024:
Dune: Part Two

1. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Creed III
4. Oppenheimer
5. Dune: Part Two
6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
7. Scream VI
8. The Killer
9. The Boy and the Heron
10. Landscape with Invisible Hand

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Wolf of Wall Street
• GoodFellas
• Taxi Driver
• The Irishman
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Silence
• Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
• The Departed
• Raging Bull
• Shutter Island

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Howl's Moving Castle
• Princess Mononoke
• Grave of the Fireflies
• Only Yesterday
• The Wind Rises
• Spirited Away
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Ponyo
• Porco Rosso
• Whisper of the Heart

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Zodiac
2. The Social Network
3. Gone Girl
4. Se7en
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
7. The Killer
8. Fight Club
9. The Game
10. Mank

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Conjuring 2
2. The Conjuring
3. Annabelle: Creation
4. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
5. The Nun
6. The Curse of La Llorona
7. Annabelle

1. Interstellar
2. The Prestige
3. Oppenheimer
4. The Dark Knight
5. Inception
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Tenet
8. Batman Begins
9. Dunkirk
10. Insomnia

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Best Picture: Nightmare Alley
Best Documentary: Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself
Best Animated: The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Best Foreign Language: The Worst Person in the World
Best Musical: West Side Story
Best Horror: A Quiet Place Part II
Best Sci-Fi: Spider-Man: No Way Home
Best Sports: King Richard
Best Comedy: Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Best Action: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Best Mini-Series: Squid Game
Best Docu-Series: The Inside Story
Best Comedy Special: Bo Burnham: Inside

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alley)
Best Screenplay: Eksil Vogt, Joachim Trier (The Last Duel)
Best First Feature: Michael Sarnoski (Pig)

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper (Nightmare Alley)
Best Actress: Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza)
Best ing Actor: Mike Faist (West Side Story)
Best ing Actress: Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog)
Best Voice Performance: John Leguizamo (Encanto)
Best Casting: Alexa L. Fogel (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Best Score: Some Kind of Heaven (Ari Balouzian)
Best Sound Design: Dune
Best Sound Mixing: West Side Story
Best Song: We Don't Talk About Bruno (Encanto)
Best Soundtrack: Summer of Soul

Best Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Best Visual Effects: Dune
Best Production Design: Dune
Best Costumes: The Green Knight 
Best Makeup: The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Hair: The Matrix Resurrections

Best Editing: Nightmare Alley
Best Stunts: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Best Scene: Therapy, tick, tick... BOOM!

1. Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself
2. Nightmare Alley
3. The Worst Person in the World
4. Spider-Man: No Way Home
5. Some Kind of Heaven
6. Pig
7. The Green Knight
8. Judas and the Black Messiah
9. The Mitchells vs. the Machines
10. Dune

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Kid
2. The Great Dictator
3. City Lights
4. Modern Times
5. The Gold Rush
6. The Circus
7. A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate

1. Creed
2. Rocky III
3. Rocky
4. Creed III
5. Creed II
6. Rocky II
7. Rocky IV
8. Rocky Balboa
9. Rocky V

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

2021, I went back to the movies! 2022 I be trying to go back MORE. Some of my favorite experiences in a movie theater in 2021 were Nightmare Alley, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and West Side Story. Now I'm trying to have more experiences, because it hasn't been enough.

1. Mission: Impossible 7
Oh, everyone who was in Fallout is returning for this?? I'm in. Honestly, it's that easy, Fallout was so insane in the theater, and it holds up at home.

2. Killers of the Flower Moon
Scorsese continues to deliver. And he is re-teaming with DiCaprio and Plemons. You'd think that Marty would've lost his touch or his ion at some point. But The Irishman, Silence, Wolf of Wall Street are all extremely good if not incredible. I still expect the best from him.

3. Nope
Jordan Peele horror starring Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, and Steven Yeun. I mean, come on.

4. Creed III
Creed is my favorite movie, and I liked Creed II more than most people. If anything, I'm curious to see who Michael B Jordan is as a director, and continuing to see how he takes that character.

5. Lightyear
The trailer for this movie slaps. Space and sci-fi is my weakness when it comes to movie excitement. And I trust Pixar.

6. Knives Out 2
I loved seeing the first in a theater. So while I will miss seeing it with a hundred people, Cayla and I will still have a good time at home with this.

7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
I had to pick an MCU movie because I do love it so much. Black Panther 2 has had production issues. Thor 4 I think I'm just a little less excited for than some of this multiverse shit. Confuse me, daddy.

8. The Batman
Dope trailer, good director, good lead, a lot of crime and villainry and darkness. Are there too many Batman movies? sure. But this still looks cool and different.

9. Babylon
I love me some Damien Chazelle. Plus we got some more Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie? More than that, it's just a loaded cast, and I'm interested in his return to the big screen, first time since 2018.

10. Bullet Train
From director David Leitch, Five assassins aboard a fast moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common. yo. With all the action movies I have on my list, this one might end up being the best one? Should be a good time.

11. Don't Worry, Darling
Olivia Wilde's return to the director's chair, her first movie after Booksmart. This time, it's a mystery thriller starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. Also, cinematographer Matthew Libatique is an absolute beast.

12. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One)
I just loved the first one. Hopefully they can continue the magic that first entry had.

Post-Watch Rankings:
1. Nope (9/10)
2. The Batman (8/10)
3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (8/10)
4. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (8/10)
5. Babylon (7/10)
6. Bullet Train (7/10)
7. Lightyear (6/10)
8. Don't Worry Darling (5/10)

Got delayed after the making of this list
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Killers of the Flower Moon
Creed III
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

1. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Nope
4. Creed III
5. Lightyear
6. Glass Onion
7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
8. The Batman
9. Babylon
10. Bullet Train

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Aliens
• The Terminator
• Titanic
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Avatar
• True Lies
• The Abyss

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Minority Report
3. Catch Me If You Can
4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
6. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
7. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
8. Jurassic Park
9. The Fabelmans
10. Saving Private Ryan

...plus 11 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Jurassic Park
2. Jurassic World
3. Jurassic Park III
4. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
5. Jurassic World Dominion
6. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

2020 was a shit-show. Not movie-wise! Just not getting to go to the theater since March (not including the drive-in I went to for Tenet). This list is inspired by things that I will be spending my money to see on that sweet sweet big screen. Give me all of the sound, give me all of the visuals, give me all of the popcorn and Dr. Pepper. Based on a post-COVID world, this is my list.

1. Dune
Denis Villeneuve has made my two favorite sci-fi features of the last few years. Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival. I love Prisoners and Enemy, and Sicario scares me. He is a genius in the craft, and I really hope this movie makes money.

2. Last Night in Soho
Edgar Wright is the Michelin Man; every thing he touches turns to gold. He has a clear vision and a creative mind centered around fun. Yes, this is a horror-thriller, but that doesn't mean there won't be fun. I can't wait to check out the trailer, and September can't come soon enough.

3. No Time To Die
This movie has a lot of baggage. But Daniel Craig's last Bond movie looks to be at least interesting. Director Cary Fukunaga has made some really interesting stuff, but he also has a bad history with people trying to mess with his vision. Netflix gave him no flack, and he made Maniac, one of my favorite miniseries I saw that year. Funny, weird, and interesting. WB gave him some flack, and he only got a writing credit for IT Chapter 1 (the better of the two chapters). I look forward to how this is received by Bond fans.

4. Mission: Impossible 7
Speaking of movies you HAVE to see in a theater, this is one of the essentials. When I look back on best movies of 2018, and some of my favorite experiences, Mission: Impossible - Fallout was among the best. I didn't breathe for 2hr20min, and everything I was watching was everything I want in a franchise and action spy thriller. Everyone returns for this one, which makes me happy. These people have an incredible grasp on what makes this movie series great. I look forward to what they bring next.

5. Candyman
My girlfriend will not be ing me on this one, not a fan of the horror genre. I watched the original Candyman in early 2020 for the first time, and I liked it! The trailer is bananas (or bees), and I love me some Teyonah Parris and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

6. The Matrix 4
While I am a huge fan of the first in this series, I feel like a defender of the sequels. The Matrix trilogy is simply right up my alley. Sci-fi action, high concept, dope shit, with sprinkles of horror/thriller. This is exciting, and I believe in the Wachowski's.

7. The King's Man
The Kingsman franchise is getting a prequel! I don't think the sequel was great, but this is a group of movies that don't take itself too seriously. A riff on the Bond movies. A fun time. The trailer for this looks so sick, and more importantly, something that would be great in a theater.

8. Black Widow
I felt at peace with the MCU after Endgame. But I would be lying if I thought this didn't look cool, or at least a decent time. Plus, Florence Pugh!

9. In The Heights
I trust everyone involved in this film. I gained trust in Jon Chu after Crazy Rich Asians. I gained trust in Miranda after watching Hamilton this year. I gained trust in Anthony Ramos after Hamilton and Monsters and Men. Also, this will be a date night with the gf. A good time!

Post-Watch Ranking
1. Dune (8/10)
2. No Time to Die (8/10)
3. In The Heights (7/10)
4. Black Widow (7/10)
5. Candyman (7/10)
6. Last Night in Soho (7/10)
7. The Matrix Resurrections (7/10)
8. The King's Man (5/10)

1. Dune
2. Last Night in Soho
3. No Time to Die
4. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
5. Candyman
6. The Matrix Resurrections
7. The King's Man
8. Black Widow
9. In the Heights

1. The Master
2. Magnolia
3. There Will Be Blood
4. Inherent Vice
5. Licorice Pizza
6. Punch-Drunk Love
7. Phantom Thread
8. Boogie Nights
9. Hard Eight

This year, I am just going to watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it. I think last year, I put a lot of pressure on myself to watch as much as I could that was released that year. This year is going to be different. I have a lot of old stuff I haven't watched that I want to watch. There are directors that I want to explore. And that is reflected in this list.

My choices are less-so about franchises and more about the people involved. I got superhero fatigue last year for the first time when I saw Spiderman (which I enjoyed!). I'm ready to focus less on Star Wars sequel trilogy and the MCU infinity saga. So here is my list:

1. Tenet
Christopher Nolan is the reason I love movies. He has made some of my favorite movies of all time, and he is one of the most creative directors in the business today. With TENET, he brings in a lot of new people that he hasn't worked with before. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson are two of the most exciting actors right now. Ludwig Goransson did the music for Black Panther, Creed, and The Mandalorian. Jennifer Lame edited the best edited movie of 2019 imo, Marriage Story. AND THEN the trailer came out and I couldn't be more excited. And it's because I know he can pull some crazy sci-fi shit off and make it practical and real.

2. Dune
Denis Villeneuve has made my two favorite sci-fi features of the last three years. Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival. I love Prisoners and Enemy, and Sicario scares me. He is a genius in the craft, and I really hope this movie makes money.

3. Last Night in Soho
Edgar Wright is the Michelin Man; every thing he touches turns to gold. He has a clear vision and a creative mind centered around fun. Yes, this is a horror-thriller, but that doesn't mean there won't be fun. I can't wait to check out the trailer, and September can't come soon enough.

4. Mank
This is the new David Fincher feature about the making of the Citizen Kane script. If there is one thing I know, it is that I should never underestimate David Fincher. I didn't expect to like Mindhunter and it is one of my favorite shows. The Social Network and Zodiac are two of the greatest movies ever imo. I'm pumped, and I expect this to be dark.

5. No Time To Die
This movie has a lot of baggage. But Daniel Craig's last Bond movie looks to be at least interesting. Director Cary Fukunaga has made some really interesting stuff, but he also has a bad history with people trying to mess with his vision. Netflix gave him no flack, and he made Maniac, one of my favorite miniseries I saw that year. Funny, weird, and interesting. WB gave him some flack, and he only got a writing credit for IT Chapter 1 (the better of the two chapters). I look forward to how this is received by Bond fans.

6. Wonder Woman 1984
I liked the first one, and this one looks fun. I have questions about Steve's return, but I like that the amazons are returning, and hopefully the time period will make for a cool soundtrack.

7. The Invisible Man
I guess I only liked Upgrade. It was pretty cool though, and I think that plus his writing past make Leigh Whannel interesting at the very least. Seeing the trailer was a sigh of relief, because I found myself wanting to see this, hoping it will be one of the great horror movies to open the decade. Horror is thriving, and I expect this to continue the greatness of this horror era.

8. King of Staten Island
I know of the skeleton of the story. Pete Davidson's dad dies in 9/11, and it affects his life while he turns toward stand-up comedy. I think Judd Apatow is the perfect director for this. He is just a really good dramedy director and writer.

9. Infinite
Fuqua has made some just-okay movies recently. I'm not a huge Wahlberg fan. But the concept seems really cool. A man discovers that his hallucinations are actually visions from past lives. This is a cool elevator pitch!

Here are the rest of my 2020 goals:
- finish these filmographies (Edgar Wright, David Fincher, David Lynch)
- read Dune
- finish these TV series (Mindhunter, Mr. Robot, Westworld, Clone Wars, Breaking Bad)

List Ranked:
1. The Invisible Man (9/10)
2. Tenet (9/10)
3. The King of Staten Island (8/10)
4. Wonder Woman 1984 (8/10)
5. Mank (7/10)

Movies Pushed to 2021:
Dune
Last Night in Soho
No Time to Die
Infinite

Goals Complete:
- David Fincher's filmography
- Mindhunter

1. Tenet
2. Dune
3. Last Night in Soho
4. Mank
5. No Time to Die
6. Wonder Woman 1984
7. The Invisible Man
8. The King of Staten Island
9. Infinite

1. Da 5 Bloods
2. Do the Right Thing
3. BlacKkKlansman
4. Malcolm X
5. Chi-Raq
6. David Byrne's American Utopia
7. 25th Hour
8. Rodney King
9. Get on the Bus
10. Mo' Better Blues

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I know I'll always this time in human history. I certainly have never witnessed anything like this in my life. Thus starts the social distancing. I have a feeling I'm going to be watching more movies, partially to distract myself, partially to entertain, and partially to have an excuse to write about my feelings.

Start: Last movie I saw in theaters before they shut down. (The Invisible Man)
End: When the theater opens back up and I see my first movie. (Tenet)

• The Invisible Man

  This will probably be the last time I go to a movie theater for a while. Which bums me out because I really wanted to see The Way Back and Onward in a theater. But this was essential viewing, and the sound and cinematography really stand out in a theater. I'm glad I caught this.

• The Nice Guys

  Watched with the gf. She had never seen it, and she loved it. Lots of laughs!

• We the Animals

  For a first fictional feature, this is quite impressive. Drawing and imagination play a big role in this movie, and it all culminates into something that ends a little too fast, but was engaging to watch.

• The Night Before

  Super weird, but I laughed a lot. I might revisit this around the holidays.

• The Master

  I've seen a decent amount of "cult" movies, but I've never seen one quite like this. Of course, many of those movies are shrouded in a horror, thriller, or sci-fi basis. This is one that tests the emotional state of its characters as well as the viewer. The most challenging part of this, to me, is the therapy of it all. A lot of this "religion" is essentially based around receiving therapy and help! Am I supposed to think this cult is crazy? Look at the way the are affected. Look at the therapy the Joaquin Phoenix character is receiving. I guess it's not just therapy though. It is love, isn't it? Love that helped him? Or maybe it was tying up loose ends. Maybe all of those things are not so different. I don't know. But I feel as though I may have just watched The Master(piece).

  Sorry.

  When I saw There Will Be Blood years ago, I never would have thought that another PTA project would sur it. Since then I have seen most of his works, and I believe that this and Magnolia may have sured it. That's crazy of me to think! There Will Be Blood is that good!

  1. Magnolia
  2. The Master
  3. There Will Be Blood
  4. Inherent Vice
  5. Punch Drunk Love
  6. Phantom Thread
  7. Boogie Nights

  I haven't seen Hard Eight.

• Bert Kreischer: Hey Big Boy
• Jumanji: The Next Level
• The Social Network
• Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis
• Interstellar

...plus 172 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Slumdog Millionaire
• The Last Airbender
• Lion
• The Wedding Guest
• The Man Who Knew Infinity
• Chappie

2019 should be a phenomenal year for blockbusters, artists, and those in between. These are my most anticipated for 2019.
I wrote something about this list.
Current ranking of this list:
1. Ad Astra (10/10)
2. Avengers Endgame (10/10)
3. Us (9/10)
4. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (8/10)
5. Captain Marvel (8/10)
6. The Irishman (8/10)
7. Knives Out (8/10)
8. High Flying Bird (8/10)
9. The Rise Of Skywalker (8/10)
10. Spider-Man: Far From Home (8/10)
11. IT Chapter 2 (7/10)
12. Godzilla King of the Monsters (7/10)
13. The Lion King (7/10)
14. Joker (7/10)
15. High Life (7/10)
16. Velvet Buzzsaw (6/10)

1. Avengers: Endgame
2. Ad Astra
3. Us
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
5. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
6. Captain Marvel
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home
8. The Irishman
9. Godzilla: King of the Monsters
10. The Lion King

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.