4v291o
"Ultimately, the simplistic narrative holds this back from greatness—I would have preferred none at all rather than one so thinly sketched," I wrote in my review of Grandrieux's A New Life, and the same applies here, but A Lake unfortunately also strips away his previous film's intoxicating formalism and sense of abstraction in favor of something more tactile and elemental. The result is much less compelling for me, though I still appreciated Grandrieux's filmmaking sensibilities. The use of darkness, out of focus shots, and editing make the film evocative and engaging, picking up some of the slack from the lackluster narrative. Would have been much better with zero dialogue and more abstraction.
]]>Reference my review of the original for my general thoughts on both films. Having revisited both fairly recently, I now see how much more "Hollywood-ized" the remake is, not only in the heightened acting (from all 4 leads), but also in the formalism, specifically the lighting. It makes the film even more agonizing to endure and ultimately strengthens the effectiveness of Haneke's intent—that is, to be clear, not to onish the audience for enjoying thrillers/horror films (as the film has continuously been mischaracterized and dismissed for doing), but instead to provoke the audience to think about their relationship to the art/entertainment they consume by continuously reminding us that we're watching a film while also maintaining our identification with and emotional investment in the characters via expert filmmaking. Either version of the film is brilliant, fascinating as an academic experiment, a cinematic essay deconstructing the medium itself, and compelling as a grueling experience of sustained tension and horror.
]]>Relatively lower tier Wes Anderson, but that's less of an insult to the film than a testament to Anderson's consistently strong filmography. The cast is excellent, as always, and the story/structure kept me engaged, but there's a distinct sense of a missing ingredient here. Compared to most of his work, the humor is more muted, the plotting is less intricate, the pacing is less breakneck, and the characters aren't quite as dynamic.
]]>A pretty thin but engaging story. Moreau is perfectly cast, but I wish the film was more centered around her character.
]]>Compared to most, I'm pretty lukewarm on Alien, but seeing it on a big screen was a great experience. All-timer cast and set design, but the pacing doesn't entirely hold up for me.
]]>Watched on Friday May 23, 2025.
]]>Watched on Monday May 19, 2025.
]]>Boiling Point (2019) is a strong short film, fast-paced, stressful, and succinct, but surprisingly, expanded into a feature film with a relatively slower pace, it's somehow even more effective. The entire cast is strong, especially Graham, and the writing is more fleshed out and dynamic. The one-take gimmick, though seamlessly executed and undoubtedly impressive, is an unnecessary, challenging production constraint which adds less to the film here than in the short. I'll likely check out the tv series at some point, just to see if Barantini manages to preserve the palpable energy across another four hours.
]]>A glorified talent show directed by Tati and shot by Gunnar Fischer for some reason.
]]>Typical Tati: some amusing bits, but it's not substantial enough to leave any lasting impression.
]]>Based on the film's reputation for its cultural significance and importance (which it completely earns), I assumed this would be heavier, but instead it's much more fun and entertaining than I anticipated. I wish we had many more documentaries like this, using cinema verite to celebrate a culture most people aren't exposed to.
]]>Watched on Sunday May 11, 2025.
]]>Great cinematography, performances, direction, etc., and must have been groundbreaking for the time, but the material just didn't suck me in, and I especially disliked the ending. Obviously, it's lifted straight from the original opera (though I wouldn't know; despite my mother having been a professional opera singer, I've never seen a single opera in my life (yet)), but the film's adaptation of the material doesn't carry a distinctly operatic tone, so the ending felt unearned and unsatisfying, to say the least.
]]>Too wacky for its own good, I'd argue. There's not a single character even approaching normalcy to help ground this in any kind of recognizable reality, so it winds up just feeling like a couple dozen I Think You Should Leave sketches tenuously strewn together by a narrative through line. And I understand a lot of the comedy is derived from Craig's unpredictable, erratic behavior, but it comes at the expense of the film as a whole, because our main character's motivations and actions don't even track on a scene-to-scene basis. All that said, I laughed quite a lot, and I'd prefer a comedy which doesn't really work as a film than a cohesive comedy which isn't funny.
]]>Marginally tolerable. Barely rolled my eyes, and I liked the mini locked-room thriller in the first half.
]]>Not entirely cohesive, but I appreciate ambition in my big-budget entertainment! Didn't expect this to go full Wages of Fear, spending nearly an hour on pure character development before the action properly kicks off. Kinda disappointing that it then just turns into From Dusk Til Dawn, wasting the built up potential of its deliberate first half on a generic vamp 'em up.
]]>Completely forgot how formally inventive this is. The unbelievable cast steals the show, but the editing and sound design/mixing goes a long way toward making this as effective and idiosyncratic as it is. Wildly overlooked and underrated.
]]>I'm rarely one to criticize a film for lacking a meaning/purpose, but I struggle to grasp this film's aim, apart from presenting a realistic depiction of a real-life military operation. Watching a Q&A online with Garland and Mendoza gives clarity to the "how" but not the "why" behind the film's development, and, if anything, makes me yearn for a behind the scenes featurette, which I'd likely prefer to the film itself. My reaction is essentially two layers of "good job, guys, but what were we even doing here."
]]>A solid, fun thriller until the final 10 minutes, where it becomes inexcusably idiotic. Otherwise well crafted all around—though the stylization is a bit much with the lyric-video-esque onscreen texts—and Fahy's dedicated performance keeps the film balanced between emotional earnestness and playful stupidity.
]]>I hadn't seen this in 15 years, and apart from the ending and the general vibe, I ed very little. There's more of a narrative backbone and structure than I ed, and overall it's much more impressively formally than I anticipated. Kassovitz has such a grasp on the tone of this thing, it's as funny as it is stressful. I'd always assumed this was his debut, but I'm now very curious to check out Métisse.
]]>Watched on Saturday March 29, 2025.
]]>Gritty documentary about teenagers living on the streets of Seattle in the early '80s; maybe even the template for all the harrowing HBO documentaries of the 2000s (Dope Sick Love springs to mind). Surprising how few people have marked this as watched on letterboxd, considering how acclaimed it was/is.
]]>Watched on Sunday March 23, 2025.
]]>Doesn't warrant the lengthy runtime (Tati's longest), but still mostly charming and fun. A fitting bridge between Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, which was similarly stretched thin, and Playtime, which further capitalizes on Tati's visual sensibilities, often with simultaneous visual bits occurring within any given frame.
]]>Not my thing, but pretty entertaining nonetheless. I don't think it needs the romance subplot, especially given the film's focus on female relationships/empowerment, but I'm a fan of Cordero (as well as all the other actors), so I can't really complain.
]]>Clearly didn't work for me as intended. Conceptually interesting, but after about an hour, I grew numb to the monotony.
]]>Soderbergh's 10th post-"retirement" film is the best he's crafted since his reemergence. A fun and twisty spy thriller with an incredible cast, strong character-driven storytelling, and some of Sode's best cinematography and tightest editing. You really can't ask for more from one of the most prolific and best filmmakers working today.
]]>Narratively thin, aimless, and shallowly provocative.
]]>I need to dedicate more time to seeking out the rest of Leigh's work, because I've only seen 5 of his films and I've really liked all of them (atypical for me). I knew the general gist of Hard Truths going in and figured I knew what to expect of its narrative and characters, but there's so much more complexity to the story and depth to the characters than I anticipated. As everyone's noted, the performances are astounding, but the writing is equally impressive, incisive and thought-provoking. I especially loved the ending.
]]>Evaporated from my mind days later. I appreciate the formal touches trying to keep it engaging, but it's too slight and insignificant to resonate.
]]>Bong back in goofball mode, and with a tighter edit, it could actually be fairly successful. The changes from the book—which is pretty terrible—are mostly for the better, and the actors do a great job keeping it playful and fun, but it's far too long and narratively/tonally messy to warrant revisiting.
]]>Not quite as subtle as Radwanski's previous feature Anne at 13,000 Ft., and not nearly as psychologically complex or interesting. The problem's really in the title, as there's nowhere near enough Matt in here to warrant his name being there, but more importantly, there needs to be a lot more Mara in the film itself. It's strongest when it's focused on her character grappling with her conflicted thoughts and feelings, and Campbell's astonishing performance in/as Anne deserves a worthy follow up showcasing her talent. Take these criticisms with a grain of salt though, because this is a solid (if slight) character-focused drama.
]]>Such a shame that Perkins's evolution as a filmmaker sees him ditching his strengths—atmospheric, psychological horror—in favor of comedy, because his sense of humor is not remotely my cup of tea. Hot on the heels of allowing Cage to fully steamroll his previous effort Longlegs, Perkins releases another film which, while thankfully more cohesive in its blend of comedy and horror, is no less frustrating. Every half-hearted attempt at pathos or emotional depth is undercut by an even more lazy "joke," and the violence is equally uncreative, essentially it's just Final Destination but without the inventiveness which makes that already-sub-par franchise marginally interesting.
]]>Astonishing opening sequence set an improper expectation of something closer to Kiarostami's style of docufiction, but I did momentarily perk up again at the halfway point when the film makes a structural pivot (though I think it'd have been more impactful if reversed). Can't say those two brief moments of excitement are enough to carry this, but as always I'll take a drowsy Weerasethakul film over most "active" films.
]]>Watched on Sunday February 16, 2025.
]]>Honestly didn't know what to expect from this, because I've never seen a Minnelli film before, I don't particularly care for musicals, period pieces, etc., but this was irresistibly charming and delightful from start to finish. Lush cinematography, set design, choreography, etc. make the musical aspects sing, but it's the vibrant cast of characters that makes the film so entertaining and moving. Seeing this for the first time on an original print is a memory I will cherish forever.
]]>Watched on Friday February 14, 2025.
]]>More of an ensemble piece than I anticipated. Displays a lot of early talent from Demy as both a writer and director, and it's delightful to see him operating in a looser mode than I'm used to, but the result isn't as powerful or engaging as I hoped for based on the opening stretch.
]]>Never fully lost me as I feared it would in its final stretch, but the third act does start to drag, becoming more contrived, character motivations less consistent, etc. but it's carried by such an inventive premise and a fun cast of characters. Thatcher's impressed me with her talent as far back as Prospect, so it's wonderful to see her finally break through over the past year.
]]>One of those primarily visual films where you're either fully entranced for the entire duration or mildly/intermittently engaged, and I fall in the latter category for this one. Would definitely revisit with Nicolas Jaar's score at some point.
]]>Watched on Monday January 27, 2025.
]]>Watched on Sunday January 26, 2025.
]]>This is right in my wheelhouse, and yet, I disliked it more than anyone I know of. The cinematography is relatively strong, but that's where my faint praise ends. The writing, direction, pacing, and even the performances—including Sonne's, who I thought was a revelation in Holiday—are overwrought to the point of parody. As a purveyor of bleak European dramas, even this was a bridge too far (read: affected, forced) for me.
]]>As 58 minutes, it's either too long or too short. It's simultaneously undercooked and overstretched, even if it's quite effective at times and undeniably beautifully animated.
]]>Highly recommend avoiding plot descriptions for this film as they completely spoil the film's biggest surprises.
Had to consult my review of Jauja to even what I thought of it, and while I primarily praised Alonso's formalism in his previous film while lamenting the lack of substance, I'm glad I can't say the same of his follow up. Eureka is a gloriously inscrutable film which I found enrapturing for the bulk of its runtime. Its unique structure is the main draw for me (no surprise there), but in a sense, also its downfall, as its final third felt like a deflation after the preceding 90 minutes. As with all—in this case, borderline—slow cinema films, I think this would benefit more from a theatrical viewing, and I'd jump at the chance to reassess it in ideal conditions.
]]>In high school, my friends and I burned a CD with 15 tracks of just this one song "Hyper Lenny", wrote "The Greatest Mix CD of All Time" on it, and put it in the CD binder in my car, so that when unsuspecting people would see it and request to listen to it, I would reply "sure but we have to listen to at least 3 songs." This feels (both in title and vibes) like an extension of that inside joke/bit, and I had a great time with it.
]]>Look, I can't pretend to know the Wolf Man experience, nor am I a glass expert, but it's very curious to me that they make such an important distinction between vehicle windows and house windows. Incredibly stupid movie, and everyone is giving their worst.
]]>Based on the plot description, poster, tagline, etc. I assumed this would be your typical weepy movie about a jaded older person forced to take care of a child who slowly warms their heart and helps them atone for their past failures, etc. But for 30 minutes or so, this bucked my expectations, avoiding sentimentality and leaning into the grittier elements as it develops the characters and sets up the story. Once they depart the titular station, though, it quickly becomes exactly the film I anticipated, and while the performances do a great job of elevating the material, it still fundamentally feels formulaic and sappy.
]]>Brain-dead Easton Ellis. Araki describes his own film as "Beverly Hills 90210 on acid," but it plays more like SNL's The Californians on K2. The soundtrack and set design are doing all of the heavy lifting. Doesn't take its characters or content seriously enough to qualify as social commentary, nor is it anywhere near incisive enough to as satire. A total jerk-off-motion of a movie.
]]>I knew the plot going in, and I consider myself pretty unfazed by taboo content like this, and yet I still said "jesus christ" out loud during two different scenes. But even considering that the film managed to surprise me, not only with its content but specifically the thrilling direction it takes in the second half, the ending is too disappointing and deflating to give this an emphatic recommendation.
]]>...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 27 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Films and miniseries I've seen adapted from source material I've read. Latest addition at the top, then alphabetical.
...plus 68 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Latest addition at the top.
...plus 124 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Latest addition at the top.
4K
Apocalypse After: Films by Bertrand Mandico [11-film collection]
...plus 129 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Latest addition at the top, then alphabetical.
...plus 57 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of one of my favorite filmmakers' films. Only includes films (re)watched since I ed letterboxd in 2017.
...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Favorite films from my youth which I made friends watch at sleepovers, organized by release date (with a rotating highlight at the top).
...plus 78 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Extended Cut
...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Feature-length bangers under 90 minutes, from shortest to longest.
...plus 56 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>My ranking of the AFI Top 100 films.
You can read my thoughts on most of them in my old column for Cinema Etc.
...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Latest addition at the top.
4K UHD
...plus 152 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Favorite film for each year I've been alive.
21st century films are organized by US release date.
...plus 28 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Includes films which haven't yet been acquired for US distribution.
]]>31 first watches of horror films for October 2023, ranked.
...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Ranking of the films I've logged that I absolutely loathe (rated 1/5 or under).
...plus 30 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>Not listed: The Kingdom: Exodus (first two episodes)
...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>**COMPLETED**
A film challenge to be completed at your own pace. 24 first time watches anytime over the next 12 months, starting in September 2021 and wrapping up August 2022.
This challenge is designed to expand your horizons and make you do a little research. Share your findings in the notes!
1. VIDEO NASTY (A film that has been banned in your home country)
2. O.G. (A film that has been remade)
3. THE ACADEMY RATIO (A film shot in 4:3)
4. BOMBIN’ (A film that recouped less than 10% of it’s budget at the box-office)
5. AUTEUR THEORY (A film where the director is credited in at least two other significant roles in the production)
6. THE PATRIOT ACT (A film set in the city/state/country of your birth)
7. CAMERA OBSCURA (A film that has less than 500 Letterboxd logs)
8. 👀 (A film that is in one of your favourite follows watchlist that isn’t in yours)
9. WAYANS WORLD (A film that stars a Wayans brother)
10. CINESTHESIA (A film with a colour in the title)
11. EVERYBODY’S A CRITIC (A film with a CinemaScore of F)
12. PATRIARCHY (A film that fails the Bechdel Test)
13. DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB (A film directed by someone in the acting profession)
14. SHORT CUT (A film between 30 and 60 minutes in length)
15. ORIGIN STORY (According to Letterboxd, the most popular film from the year of your birth that also contains your initials somewhere in the title)
16. YOU GOT THIS (A film you own but haven’t watched yet)
17. NEPOTISM (A film with two or more of the same family tree in its cast or crew)
18. CAPESHIT (A non-MCU film based on a Marvel property)
19. ADAPTATION (A film based on a book, play, TV show, videogame or other source material)
20. HISTORY LESSON (A film set more than 500 years in the past)
21. FUTURE SHOCK (A film set more than 500 years into the future)
22. BIG PUSSY (A film with The Soprano’s Vincent Pastore in the cast)
23. CANCELLED (A film that never received its planned sequel)
24. CALL IT A DAY (A film that takes place within one 24 hour period)
VIDEO NASTY
Banned in several US cities and states at the time of release.
O.G.
Remade as Against All Odds (1984).
THE ACADEMY RATIO
BOMBIN'
Worldwide box-office gross estimated at $3.5 million against its budget of $44 million (7.95%).
AUTEUR THEORY
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Written by: Gus Van Sant
Produced by: Gus Van Sant
Edited by: Gus Van Sant (uncredited)
Featuring: Gus Van Sant (uncredited)
THE PATRIOT ACT
Filmed on location in Chicago, IL.
CAMERA OBSCURA
95 views.
👀
On the watchlist of Chris, Lee, Ryan, & Nora.
WAYANS WORLD
Keenen Ivory Wayans
CINESTHESIA
Blue
...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>A ranking of every film I'm assigned on twitter, updated to include all assignments (excluding my own) from group chats, as well as lottery assignments. Notes included.
@DJ_Keyser [Fab Five]
@Br4dAstra (rewatch) [Film Club Etc. Chat]
@Shcmoraaa [Fab Five]
@realHenryB [JCC]
@realHenryB [Vox Fux]
@lukeonfilm [Lottery]
@InViroVanitas [Film Club Etc. Chat]
@Br4dAstra (rewatch) [Fab Five]
@DJ_Keyser [Original Chat]
@Yinzburghs [Lottery]
...plus 167 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>31 first watches of horror films for October 2020, ranked.
...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
]]>...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
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