Favorite films

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2006

★★★½ Liked Watched 16 May 2025

I knew I wasn't going to be able to catch up with all of Jia Zhangke's films before Caught by the Tides, but I figured I should at least see the three whose repurposed footage and outtakes are featured in Zhangke's latest. So having started with the last of those films, Ash Is Purest White, why not go in reverse-chronological order? Still Life is both very much apiece with Ash while also feeling quite different. The themes of cultural transformation…

2025

★★★ Watched 16 May 2025

I view the Final Destination franchise with almost nothing but contempt. The first film wastes a potentially intriguing premise on a mostly boring movie save for the brief jolt of the surprise bull kill. The second movie is likewise very boring, save for the logging set-piece which is maybe the signature scene of the series. Final Destination 3 is so transcendentally stupid that it becomes fun in a guilty pleasure sort of way, making it my de facto favourite, but…

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2014

★★★★★ Liked 30

The first movie my partner and I ever watched together in the theater was Gone Girl. It seemed fitting it should also be the first movie we watch after being engaged.

The irony of the film's subject matter is not lost on me.

2023

★★½ 7

Not since Citizen Kane's poster declared "It's Terrific!" has a tagline so aptly summarized the film it's advertising. "If you love Barbie this movie is for you." Of course it is, from the glittery surface of pinks and pastels to the references and nods to the real toyline's history to the film's conviction that Barbie isn't just a toy, but taps into and reflects a deeper aspect of womanhood. "If you hate Barbie this movie is for you." And of…

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