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“Is god more interested in my money or my soul?”

After three decades of subtle commentary on religion and faith, Wes Anderson finally puts that at the forefront of his mind with The Phoenician Scheme, a movie which deftly combines an oriental adventure worthy of Verne and a deeply moving story of fatherhood, daughterhood and money. Through the adventures of Zsa-Zsa Korda and his retinue (Del Toro, Threapleton and Cera are pitch perfect in this movie, possibly three of the best Wes performances), we see a truly remarkable world that feels rich and historied, similar enough to our own and yet different enough. In this world, God exists. 
The immaculate production and rich dialogue gives so much character to Korda, perfectly portraying his ego, his need for control, and the pain he felt growing up. His search for himself, for his grand Phoenician Scheme, beautifully reflects the need in all people for something larger, something greater. Liesl seeks it in God, Bjørn in duty, but they find it in each other.
This film feels like the natural conclusion from this mini meta-narrative arc Wes has gone on through the 20’s. The French Dispatch is a love letter to the ion behind storytelling, Asteroid City is a reflection on the search for meaning in narrative, and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is him pushing his aesthete sensibilities to the max, finding beauty in the artifice. In this film he abandons the pretense of meta-narration, at least with himself at the forefront. Instead, who tells the greatest story ever told? God, and God alone. All he asks from us is our devotion and to live simply. Isn’t that enough? Even if you don’t believe in the cause, or the God, does that make it wrong to live by its rules?
Do we need to complicate everything?
But maybe more than all that, the thing I absolutely love about this movie, is that it is a riotous good time. One of the absolute funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time, and with a sense of frenetic energy that’s unusual for Wes. The editing is sharp and fast, long lingering takes are used to emphasis a moment to cut through the energy. It’s been said but Michael Cera is the ultimate addition to the Wes Anderson family (given that Orson Welles died before Wes started making movies).
It’s going to be controversial, maybe more than his latest films, maybe less. But without a doubt in my mind, it cements Wes as the best director working today and a genuine, capital A Artist.

“Am I the only one who’s confused here?”

Captain Marvel does nothing to reinvent the wheel, but it does feel like one of the only MCU movies this side of Infinity War to be strongly built around a central character and her arc. As a mediation on identity, it’s able. As a feminist critique, it’s horseshit, it’s neo-liberal sludge that basically has nothing to offer more than “we need more female pilots in the army!” To that end, it’s also the most propagandist of these movies, calling back to Top Gun, but C’est la vie. It has the decency to at least have charming characters and good actors (Larson, Mendehlson, Jackson and Lynch are all quite good, Mendehlson especially). Not a bad time at the movies.

“Do you guys just put the word Quantum in front of everything?”

Certainly not the worst, but far and away the most dull, lifeless, derivative shell this franchise has had to offer until Quantumania. Nothing about this movie means or does anything successfully, and I can’t even pretend I was paying attention for more than like, half of it.

“We’re in the endgame now.”

What the Russo’s proved with Captain America: Civil War is that they do not know how to properly direct the larger than life elements of superhero and comic book fantasy. The first half, the low key half, is good, and then it all goes to shit once people start throwing around crazy powers. They also attempted to infuse it with real life significance only to pivot halfway through into some trite bullshit about personal stakes. That attempt is something they would never try again, and thus, we get Avengers: Infinity War. There is not a thing to take away from this movie, no moral center, other than “I like these characters and bad things are happening to them”. With a smattering of mostly unfunny jokes and a terribly written appearance by the Guardians (the MCU’s best characters), all this movie has going for it is hype moments and aura.
Unfortunately I am not immune to hype moments. Thor entering Wakanda, the blip, even now they bring me back to the theater, hearing the cheers and the silence. I just can’t imagine someone watching it know for the first time and really taking away anything from the experience.

“I don’t wanna fight your sister, that’s a family issue.”
“No, she’s an evil being!”
“I don’t care how- what she is, I’m not fighting any more beings, I’m sick of it.”

Very conflicting movie for me. I still enjoy it a lot, especially for a movie that used to be not only my favorite MCU movie, but one of my favorites in general (back when I was a wee lad). Looking at it now, it’s pretty okay. Mostly ugly with a really bad green-screen problem, but when shots are purely or 90% CGI, it actually looks quite good I thought. Chris Hemsworth is doing his thing, I absolutely adore him. It kind of just feels like a decently more competent version of The Dark World with an actual sense of humor, not overtly bad action, and the Hulk.
If I did half stars, it’d probably get 3.5 but hey, its more of a 4 than a 3. What can I say.

“How’s space?”
“Space is fine.”

I was almost digging it, but the morning after watching it, ooo boy. It’s just so generic, bland even. Chris Hemsworth doesn’t have nearly enough to do, and it just feels sloppily put together. It doesn’t advance Thor’s character in the way that it should, and it kind of leaves me wondering when Thor even ed the avengers again. All the pieces are there; the mixture of Asgardian mythos and the Roswell/UFO conspiracy stuff that made the first one so unique is still present, but a lot less so. I’m glad they at least brought back Selvig, my goat.
Oh well.

“I retire for what, like, five minutes and it all goes to shit?”

Incredibly, deeply disappointing. I think to critique this film best, one should compare it to its phase 2 counterpart, Iron Man 3. That movie said “we’re going to take the previous phase and ask, what are the real human consequences of these superhero antics?”
That film focused on the personal while this focuses on the political, and boy oh boy does it not work at all. First of all, the discourse around the accords is meaningless, hypothetical drivel. And what’s more, it completely gets ignored an hour and a half into the movie for what is, I’m serious, maybe the worst fight scene in the MCU thus far. Ugly and boring and droll.
And it sucks because the first hour is actually really good! The Russo’s channeled some of that Winter Soldier magic into a tense, tactical thrill ride. The Winter Soldier has a lot of problems, sure, but at least it’s fun and has good fights!
The only other thing this movie really had going for it is Zemo, far and away the best villain the mcu has to offer. Daniel Bruhl brings a quiet tragedy that makes the character work so well.
Ultimately, maybe it’s more kid than bad, but still… oof. Oof doof badoof. Not exciting.

“I watch her, I assume she watches me. If she’s in trouble, even of her own making, I will do everything in my power to extricate her. No matter what that means. You understand?”
“My god, that’s so hot.”

A distinctly British and very thrilling movie about the Power of Love and the evil of polyamory.
Kidding haha. But for real, solid movie. Very fun, very engaging, very smooth. Kind of took a while for me to fully engage with it, but when it hooked me, it hooked me. That polygraph test was really well done.

“You gotta promise hardest, huh? Right? Absolutely no going outside. Can you do that? Bet you can-can.”

Unfortunate to end the retrospective on the weakest film, but C’est la vie. Similar to After Life, this film is more interesting than good. To see the clear echoes of his future work in this movie (the squalid conditions and claustrophobic architecture of Shoplifters, the sibling and family dynamics of Still Walking, the emphasis on child morality from Monster), it makes for a fascinating watch. It also makes for one that has just not real emotional investment in it. The film doesn’t feel like it has anything to say about the situation other than “isn’t this sad? How tragic” and like, I know it’s sad.
Maybe this movie just wasn’t the vibe for where I was at last night, but I find a movie that simply reflects a tragic reality much less interesting and emotionally investing than a movie that can make a claim about the world through that tragedy.

“Don’t make your sister do it”

Two things I want to say. First, I want to take this time to discuss the Kore-eda retrospective I saw this past weekend. It was a remarkable experience and getting to see someone considered to be a modern master talk about his work was fascinating. He has such a soft spoken quality to him, a humor and a deep sense of appreciation that shone through even when he seemed like he wanted to wrap things up. I’m very fortunate I got to experience it.
Second, I don’t recall any filmmaker has ever made two films in conversation with each other than Still Walking and Shoplifters. Family, what family means, how they influence is, and the abrupt way family can be taken away. Very powerful.

“Really? You can forget? Well, then that really is heaven.”

As my first introduction to Kore-eda’s touches with fantasy, I was excited to see how he brought that quiet calmness to a movie about what happens after life, and I’m impressed with how he does it. The interviews are the highlight of the film, and yet the film doesn’t spend nearly enough time with them, I thought. I’m more impressed, interested even, in this film than I necessarily like it. I think that’s the best way to describe it.

“There's nothing to watch on TV these days. They laugh so loud but nothing's funny.”

Kore-eda has the reputation he has for a reason; lots of his films are rather slow, and focus on mundane actions and their consequences. This is perhaps Kore-eda doing that to its most extreme degree, and it’s (of the six I’ve seen so far) absolutely his best. In its slowness it builds such a universal picture of the family, and yet one that still feels unique to these characters and this place. Given the extraordinary events that they are gathered to and the unique family dynamic, one still feels that they see themselves in the family. After the film, my roommate and I were discussing it and both had very specific and strong memories that the movie brought to the surface. Both of us felt a connection to it, maybe not in the same way or the same stench, but it was there. The film is a touching, uncomfortably comforting meditation on regret, on how family influences us, on the idea that a family member is basically just a stranger who you’ve spent years interacting with. That connection between family must be maintained, strengthened, or it will fade.
Also, I must compliment the film for both the performances and the look; similarly to Shoplifters, a simply gorgeous film with painstakingly simple but powerful performances from everyone involved.

“Which happens. Dads leave. No need to be a pussy about it.”

A very strange, fun little movie. If it wasn’t for the slightly confusing ending, I’d say this just about the perfect possible way to start phase two of the MCU. It’s buckets of fun, lots of good performances (maybe RDJ’s best in the mcu), and overall just feels like one final spurt of taking these things seriously. But alas.

“The language of the mystic arts is as old as civilization. The sorcerers of antiquity called the use of this language ‘spells’. But if that word offends your modern sensibilities, you can call it a program”

Disappointing to say the least. Not bad but definitely not good and I don’t have the energy to talk about it right now, so. Yeah.

“For the first time in existence, I am truly NOT ALONE!”

The gold standard for the MCU, and perhaps even comic book movies in general. So deeply, deeply human, a little clunky but so emotionally charged. It’s the perfect balance of humor and heart, something that most modern blocks busters WISH could they could do. Peter, Gamora, Yondu, Rocket, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Kraglin and Groot make for the best cast the mcu has ever seen or ever will get. It’s also, and I hate to say it, the only MCU movie that looks really, truly good. Absolutely fantastic movie that I’ll never get tired of singing the praises for.

“I found something inside of myself. Something… incredibly heroic. I mean, not to brag but, objectively-“

For the most part, I find this movie to be a bit clunky. Far too much expositional dialogue and while it certainly looks good, it’s not as beautiful as it’s predecessor. But god damnit, there is not an MCU, superhero, or comic book movie with a stronger emotional core than this movie save for the Raimi spider-man trilogy. The Guardians are composed of no less than 5 of the best characters in the mcu, and their bond and family is so apparent and develops so naturally. It’s a load of people saying what they’re feeling, but it works for this kind of larger-than-life, space opera. While it’s obviously taking a lot from not only the comics, but Star Wars and Star Trek and the last 50 years is sci-fi to be inspired by the two, the world just feels so fresh and organic, and I owe that to the fact that it’s part of the MCU. This movie truly felt like the first stepping up point to the cosmic, multiversal bullshit that the MCU has become, and maybe that’s a negative, but holy hell does it work here. Maybe only outdone by, well… you’ll have to wait for my next review for that.

“You want to take his face?”
“Yes! His face… off!”

Cult of Personality - Costumes by Ellen Mirojnick

Good stuff. Travolta and Cage used to be some of our great actors.

“I’m the new horseman! I’m the girl horseman! Woo! Yeah!”

An almost entirely marginal, yet somehow strong improvement over the first. Most of that can be attributed to Lizzy Caplan, gods gift to the visual arts. She breaths so much life into this movie, life that certainly wasn’t there the first time. Following the actual horsemen themselves instead of Mark Ruffalo, and then giving Ruffalo an actual character? Giving everyone in the movie even a little bit more to work with? Remarkable stuff. John M. Chu proves once that he can only make good movies when they’re set in Southeast Asia.

“Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we’re going to rob a bank.”

Stupid and fun. None of the people in this movie are really “people”, but yeah it’s just fun. Idk. I could talk about it more but just go watch Leo Vader’s YouTube Video about the movies.

“I’m not a violent dog. I don’t know why I bite.”

Isle of Dogs holds an… interesting place in my mind. As shown here, in my top 10 from May of 2019, it used to be my favorite movie of all time. In fact, it’s probably the second movie I ever calling my favorite movie after it dethroned King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Looking back on it now… while I still appreciate it and like it a lot, I can’t help but wonder what little high-school senior me saw in it so much. I think what really stood out to me back then was the optimism. This movie really does make you think that injustice can be defeated.
In 2025, what do I like about it? Well, it’s gorgeous to look at and listen to, it’s still deeply emotional in Wes’s most straightforward manner, it’s still effective. But I think there’s just other movies from him and from others that do pretty much everything this movie does, but better. But that animation though, ammi right?

“I’m gonna hold this in for a little while.”


Cult of Personality 2025 - Anjelica Houston 

Of all Anderson’s work, The Darjeeling Limited isn’t his most emotional, his funniest, or his strongest. But it’s far and away his loosest and in that looseness, his mission statement as an artist becomes perhaps clearer than it ever has been or ever will be. A deeply tragic tale about what it means to be a father, a son, a brother, and your own person born out of that schism. A testament to the power of love, and yet to the destruction that love can bring to one’s soul. Plus, it stars the three best Wes collaborators. Obviously, a grand old time.

“We heard tale of a party”

Pretty much the bare minimum I expect from any fantasy film is that the world feel real, that magic and horror is truly part of the DNA of reality, and Sinners absolutely delivers. A fascinatingly unique take on vampirism, strong performances from everyone involved, and cinematography, sound and music that all build such a comforting, deadly atmosphere. Really impressive stuff.

“How am I gonna get a scar like that eating pussy?”

Buckets of fun, buckets of fun. Al Pacino is the greatest actor alive.

“There are few things more fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone else die.”

I think it’s almost funny that Kubrick has such a reputation for having disdain for humanity; disdain pretty much confirmed by the man himself, sure, but with a catch. In every movie of his, there is someone, a victim or a savior, someone good and pure who’s willing or forced to stand up to the cruelty the rest of humanity forces upon them. In this movie, Kirk Douglas’s Colonel Dax is perhaps the most noble character Kubrick has ever built. So steadfast in his pursuit of Justice, of sympathy and care for his men, and so raw with anger at those above him. Yet even he isn’t immune from petty revenge, from a cruel sense of Justice. There’s always someone else to blame, someone else who’s fault everything is… never is the responsibility on you. Even the men at the top are beholden to the populace, or so they claim to be. Even so, there are a few good men. I just pray to god every day that one day, a single one be allowed to win. Please, just once.
That’s all we need. Then it’ll be over. Everything will be alright.
Everything will be alright. We just need someone to help us.
Everything will be over soon.

“You know what I want more than anything else in the world?”
“No. What do you want?”
“I want you to be proud of me.”

In the year of our lord 2025, when most people’s idea of pedophilia is sex traffickers and violent strangers, it’s easy to forget that both statistically and culturally, the greatest danger to young women is the people who love them the most. That the greatest harm is twisted love, adoration and pedophilic love disguised as doing right by your little one. And Lolita captures that effortlessly, while being wholeheartedly the funniest movie I’ve seen in months. James Mason in this movie is KILLING me, it’s one of the best comedic performances I think I’ve ever seen. He’s so sniveling and pathetic, every moment where he tries to show his intellect just comes across as creepy and obnoxious as he is. Yet he, and the film in general, are also capable of great revulsion, of making a scene that makes you so uncomfortable you can’t look away. I did not expect to love this as much as I did, but what can I say.

“I like boys! I like loud music! I like gyrating! I'M 13, DEAL WITH IT!”

Buckets of fun for the whole family. Thought the period stuff would be a bigger part of it but I was mistaken. Is it doing anything particularly new? No, but it’s doing it quite effectively, which is nice.

“Uh, I'm not very hungry; just gimme a double Polar Burger wit' everything and a cherry soda wit' chocolate ice cream.”

Idk if this is a hot take but Sandy is easily the best song in the whole movie. I think Grease is a very fine movie, it’s just part of a cultural phenomenon that I’m not privy to. Very fascinating as a portrait of not only 1950’s American high school (aka hell on earth; there’s a reason Rebel Without a Cause is so beloved), but of the late 70’s/80’s nostalgic obsession with the 50’s. Also, just kind of a blast. Way more sexual harassment than I .

“Well, the thing of it is… we’re all huntsmen.”

I think part of the reason I really dig this is because it’s just so similar to a lot of the ideas I had when I wanted to be a high fantasy author in middle and high school. The one note but incredibly charming characters, the fucking epic worldbuilding and inventive take on the story of Snow White and the ice queen. It abandons even the pretense of being based in actual fairy tales that it’s predecessor had in favor of pure fantasy bullshit, and it’s just a load of fun. Plus, just like the last one, Hemsworth is absolutely nailing it, and it almost entirely works on his shoulders. He’s so fun and charismatic, hard not to have a good time when he’s on screen. His blind optimism mixed with the world weariness of Eric’s character just shines through what could have easily been simply Protagonist #235. Plus Theron is eating the role up this time, she’s so ridiculously evil, it’s amazing. Pretty much any issues I could have had with the movie, I was distracted by “oh fuck yeah, her bow is made out of deer antlers and also, it’s her swords”

“You look very fetching in mail.”

An intriguing more than a good one. Very generic, in two senses of the word. First, in that it draws from mythology and folklore of the entirety of the Germanic/Celtic word, and that makes for a very interesting aesthetic. Second, unsurprisingly, the story has very little new ground and few original ideas. But really, I didn’t care that much. The knights, the creatures, the magic, it all feels very fun and just a joy to live though. Stewart is messy, Theron is alright, and Hemsworth… fuck. He’s such a good action star, I think maybe the only person these days who’s carrying over the action tradition of the 80’s and 90’s.
Frankly, the main reason I watched this is because I want to watch The Huntsman: Winter’s War, so we’ll see if that lives up to this, or exceeds it.

“I was so busy fighting for a world that I wanted, I didn't think about what you needed. You've looked after us for long enough. Time to look after yourselves.”

This movie is so eager to be a dense, dramatic, thematically complex ending to the trilogy that 1. It detracts from any emotional core of the first two and 2. It’s also not thematically complex at all, it’s barely thematically coherent. Humans and dragons living apart is what the island of Berk wanted at the beginning of the trilogy, so I guess they just went through 6 years of development for nothing. It has too many plot threads, thematic threads, and characters to juggle that it doesn’t end up doing anything of real value or significance. Anything I did enjoy about the film is merely, well, I like the first two and it had stuff from them. That’s it.

“Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with.”

Pretty much what I said last time. Stoick’s death is the most emotionally resonant moment in the franchise but that comes at the cost of the movie being kind of a mess tonally and thematically, an issue which will plague the franchise until it’s end.

“It’s a mistake to confuse pity with love.”

First of all, for something so early in his career, it’s clear that Kubrick has had the eye for imagery and movement that he’d keep throughout his life. Some of the shots here, god damn. Unfortunately, I simply did not pay enough attention to really grasp onto the finer details of the film. Until, that is, the final section. It grabbed my attention fully, and it made me realize that the film is, potentially, a lot more complex and interesting than my meager attempt to watch would indicate.
This movie is essentially a priority for rewatching in a few months, when I feel I can really pay attention and dig into the masculine vs feminine nature of this film. But alas, I will have to wait.

“Here’s to five miserable months on the wagon, and all the irreparable harm that it’s caused me.”

The Shining is without a doubt the single most densely packed film I’ve seen from Kubrick. I think the overall theme of the film is very easy to understand; it’s about the evils of the American empire. But where it’s truly special is, in its intricacies and careful construction, how many different ways it manifests that evil, and brings them all together into a terrifying miasma of sound and sight. The genocide of native Americans, segregation and racism, the abuse hidden in the American nuclear family, corporate ownership of bodies, it’s all in there. As a pure audio-visual experience, this might be Kubrick’s best. The performances from Nicholson, Duvall and Lloyd are perfect not only as performances, but things with which to build the terror of the film. A deeply haunting and painful experience, equal parts tragic and, well… scary.
I also just appreciate this films existence as the ultimate theory movie. “Film theories” get a bad wrap but with a movie like this, which is ambiguous on purpose and leaves dozens of little clues around, I think it’s just a perfectly valid way (and fun one) to engage with the film. I also like how many things straight up don’t get addressed (WHO THE FUCK IS TONY?)

“Gentlemen may talk of the age of chivalry, but the ploughmen, poachers and pickpockets whom they lead. It is with these sad instruments that your great warriors and kings have been doing their murderous work in the world.”

“I love the use of the color blue by the artist.”

25 Directors in 2025 - Stanley Kubrick

Of all the work of Stanley Kubrick, except maybe Spartacus which I haven’t seen, there is none that feels as truly monumental as Barry Lyndon. It’s been said, but I will say it again; one of the best looking movies ever made. Every frame immerses you completely in the age of chivalry and refinement, a time when the austere beauty of the arts worked only to hide something deeper, darker, more brutal. That beauty, every shot, hides something within that you must find, as does Barry, played absolutely wonderfully by Ryan O’Neal. Redmond Barry, a man motivated solely by his own pleasure, who is proven every step of the way to be mostly incompetent and who’s success is largely down to a few innate good qualities he refuses to let out. Barry, like England and like the rest of the world, is so desperately caught up in class, in gender, in wealth, in title, that they allow these things to consume the very core of them, leaving nothing but rot and mold. Barry spends his life roaming from one father figure to the next, all in search of someone to replace the man killed over the sale of some horses. When he finally gains his title of Barry Lyndon, every cruelty and abuse that was suffered unto him was ed on, to his wife and to his children and to everyone around him. Kubrick is able to capture not only the totality of a character, but the totality of a society, a very specific society; and thus, the very nature of humanity.

“Weak.”

People much smarter than me can talk about the attempt to be apolitical about the Iraq war. With two directors going into the film with the very clear goal of merely recreating a combat mission as it actually is, presenting the situation and saying, “well, what do you think about this?”, it’s clear from the get go that it’s not trying to have a take on the subject… until the ending lmao. Then it becomes very clear it’s all about “the guys, the lads, we’re the good guys and we rule!”
Hard to say if that’s coming from Mendoza’s raw memory of the events or Garland’s fear of doing anything political, but either way, it’s not bad. It’s alright, even. A little droll but very good looking, well acted (for the most part), and an intriguing exercise in filmmaking more than anything else.

“I’m not trying to beat the state, I’m just trying to save my daughter.”

One of the most insanely xenophobic things I think I’ve ever seen. I’m shocked a Frenchman would want to portray his city like this, but I’m not surprised that the villains are Balkans, and then the random, completely out of nowhere villains at the end are vaguely Arabic with an elder. Pure paranoia porn for American parents to convince them that the world outside the nuclear family and the Strong Masculine Father is dangerous and women shouldn’t be allowed to have agency; the movie literally ends with the father purchasing his own daughter! (Ignore how much abuse is suffered at the hands of Strong Masculine Fathers).
I could ignore all that pretty easily - hell, I ignore worse for Bad Boys II - if it was even the tiniest bit interesting with its action but it’s really not. Too many cuts, too little choreography, and too few fights. Combine that with a script that had me going CinemaSins mode every five minutes, and you have a recipe for a truly disappointing film experience.

“It would be too easy if God saw to everything.”

25 Directors in 2025 - Robert Bresson

An oft-forgotten element of captivity, loneliness, etc, that’s always on my mind is the monotony. Grinding away for hours, for weeks, at the door to your cell, nothing to do but focus on your task and try not to let your mind wander. Under Bresson’s eye, the prison and the many months spent in its walls blend together into a routine that becomes almost bland and mundane. When the final escape attempt finally comes around, it’s made all the stronger because we know exactly how long he’s spent, how much time and energy he puts into this plan. Every moment, while you might not be paying total attention, every sound and every tiny detail makes you ask. Why is he holding on this shot? What’s making that noise? You become as paranoid as Fontaine himself.
It’s also, perhaps, one of my favorite cinematic depiction of the Nazi’s. They are given no gravitas, no sadistic edge, they’re what they are; the boots of Facism. Likewise, all we know about Fontaine is that he was a French resistance fighter, and he has a family. Devotion to the cause strips him of his identity, but that’s a good thing in this case? Hard to say.
Regardless, Bresson does it again! What a chad.

“Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We... have stubbornness issues.”

What I said last time. Did have to bump this down from #1 in the dreamworks ranking to #2 but oh well

“Is that you, John Wayne? Is this me?”
“Hey, start the cameras. This is Vietnam, the movie!”
“Yeah, Joker can be John Wayne. I’ll be a horse!”
“T.H.E. Rock can be a rock”
“I’ll be Ann Margaret”
“Animal Mother can be a rabid Buffalo”
“I’ll be General Custer”
“Well, who’ll be the Indians?”
“Hey, we’ll let the gooks play the Indians!”

10th Letterboxd Season Challenge - Week 23

The men of this country think that pulling a trigger is the most natural thing in the world. That violence and blood can be waved off as easy as anything else. They beat it into us, turning us into the rabid killing machines they need us to be. Or, god forbid, they just let us be what we always are.
Kubrick guarantees one thing every film, and that is the most intense, blood pumping film you could imagine. On a formal level, I’m struggling to think of anybody better.

“What kind of man are you?”

25 Directors in 2025 - Jean-Pierre Melville
10th Letterboxd Season Challenge - Bonus 5

In the same vain as The Parallax View in that it takes something so commonly depicted in the film, the Hitman in this case, and asks, “but what would it actually look like?”
Alan Delon and Cathy Rosier are on some Renee Jeanne Falconetti levels of acting with the eyes and the tiny movements of the face. Same with the look, everything feels so constructed, just like Jef’s plans. But one can’t keep emotion out of the plans, can they?

“Loud and accepting screech”

Fuck I’m crying.

“Everything good dies here. Even the stars.”

Letterboxd Season Challenge - Week 

Very eerie, very spooky, very well acted. The legacy of slavery and all that. Don’t have much to say other than good job, Mr Tournier.

“You think it weak of me, my lord?”
“Not weak. Almost human.”

10th Letterboxd Season Challenge - Bonus 3

I’m a little disappointed sadly. While it’s perfectly fine as a rowdy adventure tale, it doesn’t really hold up to the mythology or the other films of its kind either. It feels like it’s unwilling or unable to really grapple with Jason as a hero, simply claiming that he is good and what he does is therefore good, despite much evidence to the contrary. Jason is, perhaps more than any other hero of the Greek world, best suited for this idea of heroism vs actual morality, and one can’t help but feel the lack of this (or indeed any sort of larger point) dangling over the film like some kind of sword of Jason. It also lacks the other thing I think makes for a good historical epic, and that’s performance. The dubbing stuff is just odd.
Still though, can’t be overstated how good Harryhousen’s effects are. Anytime one of his creations was on screen the film got noticeably better.

“No one understands what my life has become. What a total fucking, miserable thing my life has become. No one understands one fucking thing!”

10th Letterboxd Season Challenge - Week 18

The role of “woman” in Americana is just such a fascinating subject. In these backwater towns, all over the country really, men are allowed to be angry at the system, while women are allocated to merely exist within it.
This movie paints rural America in such an interesting and beautiful way, tinged with melancholy and sadness at every turn. The beautiful vistas of the Montana mountains and the tall trees just don’t feel as grand as they really are from the backseat of a car, or the confines of a window. It work’s phenomenally as a tri-story tale, all the parts feel distinct but build together so well. Laura Dern, Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Jared Harris, and Lilly fucking Gladstone? All firing on every caliber possible. Fantastic film, really. Reichardt the best.

“Wait. Grandma got eaten?”

It’s the best of the three by virtue of a few funny moments and a lack of a truly insidious through line, but it still just completely does not work as a movie. And yet I find myself inexplicably drawn to it and it’s ilk. Strange.

“I had you. I had you. I had you…”

Wow! Much better than I thought it’d be ngl. Pretty much everything is firing on all calibers, especially the look and sound, plus Clooney? Fuckin one of the greats. The only real two big knocks against it are 1. The film suffers from too much tension. There’s too little time to breath so at a certain point it just becomes droll. 2. The film leans too much into like a “the power of the human will!” sense which is kinda silly. If it was more about the cosmic indifference in space and how it’s stupid we have astronauts, it’d be better.

“I never really liked myself.”

I don’t really believe in romance. Certainly not for me, maybe not for anybody. The idea of caring about someone, desiring them, more than anybody else, seems dehumanizing, almost as if they cease to be a person in your eyes. But damnit, wouldn’t it feel good? To see someone so completely, to give yourself in to that feeling.
It’s not possible. The central contradiction with love; you must be willing to change for your partner, while also being willing to accept their flaws. You become less than human; you become part of a marriage. When women wear the dress, they become women no longer, they become mere things, extensions of Woodcock’s designs and genius. Likewise, in sickness, Woodcock becomes something less than human for Alma, a thing who needs her as opposed to a lover.
Such is love.
Exquisite movie. Gorgeous visually and sonically. Every ing year makes Gary Oldman winning for Darkest Hour more embarrassing.

“Do you have nightmares?”

Logang

“Thought somehow you girls were above all that.”

What stands out to me the most on a rewatch is the romance. No movie romance is as strong to me as the one between Mad Max Rockatansky and Imperator Furiosa, despite them not kissing, touching, or even talking all that much. True love, in the cinematic sense, is when you understand someone as well as you understand yourself, you see their flaws and say “no, these are your greatest strengths”. In Max, Furiosa sees the only other person who cares even a little bit in the wasteland, and in Furiosa, Max sees the only other person who understands how the wasteland can twist and break you. Both of them see it, and in the end when they leave, it’s because of that love; Max is a nomad, the Road Warrior, and Furiosa is the darkest of angels, fifth rider of the apocalypse, destined to lead, and to deliver us from evil.

“I have a defective baby?”

This movie has a couple big knocks against it right off the bat. First of all, there are two emotional cores in this movie and neither of them work very well. First is the relationship between Roz and Brightbill, which is hackneyed and so clearly trying as hard as possible to invoke a strong emotion, but it’s desperation makes it not work very well. Second is the community between all the animals on the island, which falls apart when you think about it even a little bit. For a movie that’s so eager to show how mature it is by reminding you that animals die, and that nature is cruel, it still doesn’t have the spine to actually have any consequences, and it expects you to believe that the movie will end with the animals living in harmony together. Both of those things can’t be true. Finally, and the real kicker, there’s not nearly enough connective tissue between those two emotional cores; there are attempts made but none effectively. Combine all of that with an oddly structured screenplay that had me thinking the movie was over like five separate times, and you have a recipe for a movie that’s not very good.
Luckily, even though this review is largely negative, not a bad movie. The animation and voice acting? Quite charming. There are a few moments where the emotional beats feel natural and in those times, they were effective. The movies not bad, I would just describe it as weak, if that makes any sense. Dreamworks really needs to stop crimping the Pixar formula; they’re just not very good at it. Their movies work best when they’re zany comedies (The Bad Guys) or when they go all in on the emotional story, the heart of the movie (How to Train Your Dragon).

Very, VERY roughly ranked; nothing is concrete
Last updated: April 26th, 2025
Also check out The Henry Performance Canon ™️ 
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DIRECTORS WITH MULTIPLE MOVIES:
•FIVE - Steven Spielberg, Stanley Kubrick
•FOUR - Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach
•THREE - Gregg Araki, John Boorman, Robert Bresson, Carl Th. Dreyer, Martin Scorsese
•TWO - Robert Eggers, Akira Kurosawa, David Lean, Ridley Scott
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MOVIES BY DECADE:
•2020’s - 10
•2010’s - 20
•2000’s - 10
•1990’s - 8
•1980’s - 11
•1970’s - 12
•1960’s - 11
•1950’s - 8
•1940’s - 4
•1930’s - 3
•1920’s - 2
•1910’s - 1

1. The Green Knight
2. The Lighthouse
3. Jurassic Park
4. Highlander
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
6. It's Such a Beautiful Day
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
8. Excalibur
9. Angel's Egg
10. Paths of Glory

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

A companion to my Top 100 Films, a list of my favorite performances. Limited to 50 films and one role per actor, it doesn’t add up to 50 performances since some include multiple performances or an entire ensemble.

1. The Lighthouse

   Willem Dafoe as Thomas Wake; Robert Pattinson as Ephraim Winslow

2. Dog Day Afternoon

   Al Pacino as Sonny Wortzik

3. The ion of Joan of Arc

   Renée Jeanne Falconetti as Joan of Arc

4. Shoplifters

   Ensemble

5. The Master

   Joaquin Phoenix as Freddie Quell; Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lancaster Dodd 

6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

   Peter Sellers as Lionel Mandrake, Merkin Muffley and Dr Strangelove; George C. Scott as General Buck Turgidson; Sterling Hayden as General Jack D. Ripper 

7. Lawrence of Arabia

   Peter O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence

8. Brief Encounter

   Celia Johnson as Laura Jesson 

9. Inside Llewyn Davis

   Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis 

10. In a Lonely Place

    Humphrey Bogart as Dixon “Dix” Steele 

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

“I wouldn't say that I'm particularly bothered or obsessed with detail.”

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. The French Dispatch
4. Rushmore
5. Asteroid City
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. The Phoenician Scheme
8. The Darjeeling Limited
9. Moonrise Kingdom
10. Isle of Dogs

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

Movies born out of the success of the two big fantasy franchises of the early 2000’s (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings). Mostly focused on movies that are big budget, action and action-comedies, major American studio productions, attempts to build franchises, and films that are just bad.
May include some small budget, independent or arthouse films, but for the most part that’s not what these are.

• Snow White and the Huntsman
• The Huntsman: Winter's War
• Jack the Giant Slayer
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
• Maleficent
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
• Warcraft
• King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
• Alice in Wonderland
• Alice Through the Looking Glass

...plus 50 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

In progress

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Thor
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron
7. Iron Man 3
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
10. The Avengers

...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Link to original list

• Twilight

  Day 1: watch a movie that made at least 200 million dollars

• Phantom of the Paradise

  Day 2: watch a movie directed by Brian De Palma

• All the President's Men

  Day 3: watch a movie nominated for a best sound category at the Oscar’s 

• Mary Poppins

  Day 4: watch a movie based on a children’s book

• The Salesman

  Day 5: watch a movie from a middle eastern country 

• Autumn Sonata

  Day 6: watch an autumn movie

• The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum

  Day 7: watch a movie with a plant on the poster

• Cool Hand Luke

  Day 8: watch a prison movie 

• The Tender Bar

  Day 9: watch a movie about kids being educated 

• Some Like It Hot

  Day 10: watch a movie about friends 

...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Sinners
2. Black Bag
3. Warfare

“In the neighborhood around Waseda, there were all these movie theaters, so every morning I left the house and watched movies instead of going to class. The experience of encountering films then is one of my greatest memories. Before that I'd never paid any attention to directors, but there I was taking a crash course in Ozu, Kurosawa, Naruse, Truffaut, Renoir, Fellini. Because I've always been naturally a more introspective person, I was more interested in becoming a screenwriter than a director.”

1. Still Walking
2. Shoplifters
3. Monster
4. After Life
5. Broker
6. Nobody Knows

25 Directors in 2025
Cult of Personality 2025
Animation x 52 Challenge
Birth Year Challenge Part One
———————————
MOVIES BY DECADE:

• 24 Hour Party People
• 25th Hour
• The Age of the Earth
• Alphaville
• Altered States
• American Pop
• The Angel
• Army of Shadows
• Arthur Christmas
• Bambi

...plus 191 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Easy stuff - pick a bunch of movies from my birth year, as many as my current age. Gotta watch em all before my next birthday. Woo hoo!
Original challenge —> boxd.it/1HtxO
———
FIRST FAILURE - 2024, 24 Hour Party People
SECOND FAILURE - 2025, Unknown Pleasures 

• Gangs of New York
• The Pianist
• The Hours
• Talk to Her
• Frida
• Road to Perdition
• Catch Me If You Can
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Russian Ark
• The Twilight Samurai

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A collection of all my important rankings.
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
DIRECTORS - COMPLETE
Wes Anderson | Robert Eggers | Chad Stahelski
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DIRECTORS - IN PROGRESS
Paul Thomas Anderson | Gregg Araki | Sean Baker | Ralph Bakshi | Noah Baumbach | Michael Bay | John Boorman | Robert Bresson | Tim Burton | James Cameron | Park Chan-wook |Damien Chazelle | Jean Cocteau |Joel and Ethan Coen | Brian De Palma | Carl Th. Dreyer | John Ford | Greta Gerwig | Luca Guadagnino | Howard Hawks | John Huston | Bong Joon-ho | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Stanley Kubrick | Akira Kurosawa | Fritz Lang | Richard Linklater | Ken Loach | George Miller | Hayao Miyazaki | Christopher Nolan | Sam Raimi | Nicholas Ray | Kelly Reichardt | Martin Scorsese | Ridley Scott | Steven Spielberg |Quentin Tarantino | Gore Verbinski | James Whale
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MISCELLANEOUS RANKINGS - IN PROGRESS
Best Picture Winners | James Bond | Dreamworks Animation | Walt Disney Animation | Pixar Animation | Transformers/G.I. Joe/TMNT | Alien/Predator/AVP/Blade Runner | Godzilla, Kong and Friends | MCU

• Pricele$$

What the title says. Movies that take a classic story, book, film or narrative with a hero or a villain, but with a twist.
Some are good, some are bad, but all kind of make me say, “yeah, it WOULD be crazy if the wicked witch was the good guy… is that all you got?”

• Maleficent
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
• Cruella
• Wicked
• Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey
• Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
• Shrek
• Shrek 2

• Elephant
• Atman
• David Lynch Cooks Quinoa
• Hotel Chevalier
• A Trip to the Moon
• La Jetée
• Un Chien Andalou
• Meshes of the Afternoon
• The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat
• Hedgehog in the Fog

...plus 125 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets through many a dark night.”

Films that touch on suicide and suicidal people

• Ordinary People
• Manchester by the Sea
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• First Reformed
• The Manchurian Candidate
• The Room
• Loving Vincent
• The Devil, Probably
• Leviathan
• The Royal Tenenbaums

...plus 22 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• L'Argent
• Diary of a Country Priest
• Mouchette
• Four Nights of a Dreamer
• A Gentle Woman
• Les Dames du bois de Boulogne
• Angels of Sin
• Fear and Desire
• Spartacus
• Eyes Wide Shut

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

• Paths of Glory
• Old Joy
• Superman
• I Saw the TV Glow
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Babylon
• It's Such a Beautiful Day
• Wendy and Lucy
• Ordinary People
• The Muppet Christmas Carol

...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“I have a reputation as an action director because I know how to kill, how to shoot people, how to spill blood.”

• The Untouchables
• Carrie
• Scarface
• Mission: Impossible

“Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved--that about sums it up. I'm interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure.”

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Paths of Glory
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
4. Lolita
5. Full Metal Jacket
6. The Shining
7. Barry Lyndon
8. A Clockwork Orange
9. The Killing
10. Killer's Kiss

Link to original challenge

38% complete

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• National Treasure
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets
• Rebel Without a Cause
• Die Hard
• Murder on the Orient Express
• Brief Encounter
• Die Hard 2
• Superman
• A Bug's Life

...plus 17 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every Pixar movie ranked

1. Ratatouille
2. Inside Out
3. The Incredibles
4. Finding Nemo
5. Soul
6. Coco
7. WALL·E
8. Monsters, Inc.
9. Toy Story
10. Luca

...plus 16 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My most morbid and self-harming long term watch project

1. The Bad Guys
2. How to Train Your Dragon
3. Orion and the Dark
4. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
5. Megamind
6. Kung Fu Panda
7. How to Train Your Dragon 2
8. The Prince of Egypt
9. Chicken Run
10. Flushed Away

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

“Every movie I’ve made is different, but it’s because I’m different. I’m not the same person I was in 1992 or 1999.”

1. Mysterious Skin
2. The Doom Generation
3. Nowhere
4. The Living End
5. Totally F***ed Up

“There are so many things our eyes don't see. But the camera sees everything. We are too clever, and our cleverness plays us false. We should trust mainly our feelings and those senses that never lie to us. Our intelligence disturbs our proper vision of things.”

1. The Devil, Probably
2. Au Hasard Balthazar
3. Lancelot of the Lake
4. A Man Escaped
5. The Trial of Joan of Arc
6. Pickpocket

• A Complete Unknown
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Belfast
• The United States vs. Billie Holiday
• The Irishman
• Green Book
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Loving
• Spotlight

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Mission: Impossible

Original List Here

Prompts and weeks in the notes

TOP THREE:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road (5/5)
2. The Doom Generation (5/5)
3. Full Metal Jacket (5/5)

BOTTOM THREE:
1. John Carter (3/5)
2. AVP: Alien vs Predator (2/5)
3. Gamera the Giant Monster (2/5)

• The Evil Dead

  Week 1 (September 2nd - 8th): watch an X-Rated movie

• The Nightingale

  Week 2 (September 9th - 15th): watch an anxiety inducing movie

• Hope and Glory

  Week 3 (September 16th - 22nd): watch a Nicecore movie 

• The Doom Generation

  Week 4 (September 23rd - 29th): watch a female-led dark comedy

• AVP: Alien vs. Predator

  Week 5 (September 30th - October 6th): watch a movie directed by an Anderson 

• Gamera, the Giant Monster

  Week 6 (October 7th - 13th): watch a Kaiju movie
  

• Nanook of the North

  Week 7 (October 14th - 20th): watch a film about Native, Indigenous or Aboriginal characters

• John Carter

  Week 8 (October 21st - 27th): watch a movie with aliens 

• On the Silver Globe

  Week 9 (October 28th - November 3rd): watch a found footage film

• Russian Ark

  Week 10 (November 4th - 10th): watch a one-take or a long-take heavy film

...plus 33 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“I recognize that there are themes I repeat, and ways of shooting that I repeat. My movies end up being about the moments of getting from here to there, but not in a grand way. Getting from the hutch to town, from the parking lot to the gas station. But this isn't a grand plan - I am just a practical person.

1. Old Joy
2. Wendy and Lucy
3. Certain Women
4. Showing Up

What makes a historical epic? As far as I’m concerned, there are two criteria
1. Set in a defined, real period in human history (for the sake of this list, nothing post-ww2 with one major exception)
2. Grand in scope; the primary purpose (or at least a primary purpose) of the film is to portray the grandness and scale of history

• Lawrence of Arabia
• Zulu
• Spartacus
• Cleopatra
• Gladiator
• Gone with the Wind
• Ben-Hur
• The 300 Spartans
• The Adventures of Robin Hood
• The King

...plus 134 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Just the movies released specifically by Walt Disney Animation Studios, so no Pixar or anything like that :)

1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. The Lion King
4. Aladdin
5. The Great Mouse Detective
6. The Sword in the Stone
7. The Emperor's New Groove
8. Sleeping Beauty
9. Wreck-It Ralph
10. Robin Hood

...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“I've often wondered what gets me to direct and what gets me to produce. I've never been able to answer the question adequately even for myself. When something gets a stranglehold on me and compels me to direct it, I don't question why. I don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I just know what it feels like to be overwhelmed with a desire to make a movie. And I also know as a businessman what it means to be overwhelmed with a desire to produce a good story. But there's a great difference between production and direction for me. Once I'm producing something, I never think, "Gee, I wonder what it would have been like if I had directed it." I may often question choices I make as a producer. But I've never questioned the choices I make as a director. Whether in success or in failure, I'm proud of every single movie I've ever directed.“

1. Jurassic Park
2. Catch Me If You Can
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
5. Jaws
6. The Adventures of Tintin
7. The Fabelmans
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. War of the Worlds
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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

Sorted by spine

• Seven Samurai
• Beauty and the Beast
• Yojimbo
• Sanjuro
• The ion of Joan of Arc
• Kwaidan
• The Last Temptation of Christ
• Onibaba
• Au Hasard Balthazar
• Vampyr

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every film in my collection of DVD’s, Blu-Ray’s, and other discs that contain movies

• 10,000 BC
• 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• 300
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• After Hours
• Airplane!
• Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
• Almost Famous
• Amadeus

...plus 250 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“No matter how many times you do it, you don't get used to the sadness - for me at least - of coming to the end of a film.”

1. The Master
2. Phantom Thread
3. Punch-Drunk Love
4. Boogie Nights
5. Licorice Pizza

Link to the original list

• The Sting

  1. Watch a movie featuring pranks, hijinks, or schemes
  
  

• Dracula

  2. Watch either a universal monster movie or an Elvis movie 

• Flow

  3. Watch a movie I didn’t get a chance to see in theaters 

• Victims of Sin

  4. Watch a movie from a country featured in EPCOT’s World Showcase)

• The Wind Rises

  5. Watch a movie that heavily features aviation 

• The Turin Horse

  6. Watch a movie that heavily features a horse

• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

  7. Watch a movie nominated for best costume design at the Oscars

• Pain & Gain

  8. Watch a movie featuring an actor I share a birthday with (Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson)

• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla

  9. Watch a movie with a memorable side character

• Fanny and Alexander

  10. Watch a movie with a brother/sister duo

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“I just love action movies. For me, the most universal language and the purest syntax of cinema is in the action movies.”

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Mad Max 2
3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
4. Mad Max
5. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

“I always think that humour is necessary in human stories because it's part of our lives. We all use humour to cope, to get by, and I can't stand when I see a film devoid of humour or a story that's devoid of humour, because it's just not real. And I guess the challenge is balancing that. When you want to tell a story that is ultimately tragic, how much do you infuse humour and where? And so that becomes a real balancing act along the way and I really have to give all the credit to my wonderful actors who truly helped me find that balance. And then ultimately, it's in post-production as well. Again, I just feel that without humour, it's not real.”

1. Anora
2. Tangerine
3. The Florida Project

1. Akira
2. Spider-Man 2
3. The Batman
4. Superman
5. The Adventures of Tintin
6. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
7. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance
8. Thor
9. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. The Suicide Squad

”I think any decent human being should run away from home.”

• Die Nibelungen: Siegfried
• Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge
• Metropolis

“I love it when people get really mean and call you a 'hack'. It's like, don't they see how well these movies are doing? They make an impression around the world. I met this guy in Bali who lives in a hut with a TV, and he loved The Rock. That means something, doesn't it?”

1. Bad Boys
2. Bad Boys II
3. The Rock
4. Transformers: The Last Knight
5. Ambulance
6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
7. Transformers: Age of Extinction
8. Transformers
9. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Every winner of the academy award for best picture RANKED; to be updated as I see more

1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. Ordinary People
3. Parasite
4. The Godfather
5. Moonlight
6. Rocky
7. Casablanca
8. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
9. 12 Years a Slave
10. Oppenheimer

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Anora
2. Conclave
3. Nickel Boys
4. Dune: Part Two
5. A Complete Unknown
6. The Substance
7. Wicked
8. Emilia Pérez

Double Take (found here) is my podcast alongside my good friend, where we’re running a tournament to decide the best film of the 2010’s. This is the list of films in the bracket, determined by categorizing which movies were mentioned the most in various “best of the decade” lists from critics and publications.

• 12 Years a Slave
• The Act of Killing
• Amour
• Arrival
• Before Midnight
• Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
• Black Panther
• Blade Runner 2049
• Boyhood
• Bridesmaids

...plus 54 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A list of 26 movies all based on, inspired by, or adapting the legends of King Arthur and his surrounding cast to show how diverse the stories based on him can be.

• Army of Darkness
• The Black Knight
• A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court
• DragonHeart
• Excalibur
• The Fisher King
• The Green Knight
• Hellboy
• In the Shadow of the Raven
• Johnny Mysto: Boy Wizard

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

“The concept of muse is alien to me. To speak of a muse implies there is a couple in which one person is the objectified ive element - there to help the creative, active, often male part of the duo to create. A muse is very ive. Who wants a muse? I don't want a muse. Do you want a muse? Collaboration deals with the concept of understanding the other, whereas 'muse' comes with the concept of denying the existence of the other.”

1. Challengers
2. Queer
3. Call Me by Your Name

“It's fun to fantasize being a guy who can do whatever he wants. This Terminator guy is indestructible. He can be as rude as he wants. He can walk through a door, go through a plate-glass window and just get up, brush off impacts from bullets. It's like the dark side of Superman, in a sense. I think it has a great cathartic value to people who wish they could just splinter open the door to their boss's office, walk in, break his desk in half, grab him by the throat and throw him out the window and get away with it. Everybody has that little demon that wants to be able to do whatever it wants, the bad kid that never gets punished.”

1. Avatar
2. The Terminator
3. Avatar: The Way of Water
4. Titanic

“Numerous times I lie in bed at night and imagine the cruellest torture. I imagine the most miserable ruining of that person's life. After that, I can fall asleep with a smile on my face. As long as it stays in the realm of imagination, the crueller the better - that's healthy. I'd like to recommend it to you all as well. I hope my films can help in any small way to help your imagination become at least a little bit crueler.”

1. The Handmaiden
2. Decision to Leave
3. t Security Area

Link to the original challenge

• Lilo & Stitch

  1. A movie from my birth year

• Fairytale

  2. A movie with less than 10,000 ratings

• Chronopolis

  3. A movie between 40 and 60 minutes long

• The Angel

  4. A movie with experimental storytelling

• The House

  5. A movie made for a streaming service 

• Waltz with Bashir

  6. A movie based on historical events

• Old Czech Legends

  7. A movie released before 2000

• Gandahar

  8. A movie set in outer space

• The Tale of Despereaux

  9. A movie about food

• American Pop

  10. A movie from my shuffled watchlist 

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

“I think "The Weather Man" is one of my favorite experiences just because when you work on a film that costs a lot less money you get to say, 'Hey, this movie isn't for you, and it's not for you either. And it's okay that you don't like it.' Because you don't spend $100 million and you don't need everybody to like your movie. And I think that's incredibly liberating. People talk about four quadrant movies all the time but those used to be accidents, like, 'Wow 12-year-olds are going and 26-year-olds are going!' Now it's an algorithm.”

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
2. Rango
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

“If it were all in the script, why make the film?”

1. In a Lonely Place
2. Rebel Without a Cause
3. On Dangerous Ground

“Gentlemen… hoist the colors.”

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides