4v291o

“If you’re first out the door, that’s not called panicking.”

Prime

I wonder what Cassian Andor would have thought of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.

Disney+

Make 10 men feel like 100.

Disney+

Watched on Tuesday April 8, 2025.

I have an outlandish theory that this film is actually an autobiographical manifestation of how Tony Gilroy saw himself as a screenwriter within an industry that knew he had immense value but couldn’t figure out exactly what to do with him.

A real 21st Century banger right here.

Amazon Prime

“Because my dad promised me.”

Netflix

Watched on Monday October 31, 2016.

Watched on Friday October 21, 2016.

Watched on Sunday June 26, 2016.

This was released while I worked for Justin Krook, who was a creative director at City Room Creative, a boutique trailer agency in Los Angeles. Entertaining and stylish documentary.

Watched on Wednesday June 8, 2016.

Watched on Tuesday May 10, 2016.

Watched on Tuesday May 10, 2016.

Watched on Friday May 6, 2016.

Watched on Friday May 6, 2016.

Watched on Friday April 15, 2016.

Watched on Friday April 29, 2016.

Watched on Wednesday April 27, 2016.

Watched on Monday April 25, 2016.

HBO

Watched on Sunday April 24, 2016.

Watched on Friday April 15, 2016.

Watched on Saturday April 9, 2016.

Watched on Saturday April 9, 2016.

No.

Watched on Thursday March 24, 2016.

Watched on Thursday March 3, 2016.

Watched on Monday February 8, 2016.

35mm
The Egyptian Theater

Watched on Thursday February 4, 2016.

Watched on Tuesday February 2, 2016.

Watched on Saturday January 30, 2016.

Watched on Thursday January 28, 2016.

Watched on Wednesday January 27, 2016.

35mm
The Egyptian Theater

El Capitan Theater

AMC Boston Commons 19

70mm - Roadshow Version
AMC Burbank 16

Watched on Wednesday January 6, 2016.

Watched on Friday January 1, 2016.

Arclight Sherman Oaks

Watched on Wednesday December 30, 2015.

Watched on Friday June 12, 2015.

Watched on Wednesday December 30, 2015.

Watched on Monday December 28, 2015.

Watched on Saturday December 26, 2015.

Watched on Thursday December 24, 2015.

4K Restoration 
Film Forum

The Dome at the Arclight Hollywood

Test screening
Fox Lot

Self-explanatory

• Memento
• Oppenheimer
• The Prestige
• Interstellar
• The Dark Knight
• Dunkirk
• Inception
• Tenet
• Batman Begins
• The Dark Knight Rises

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

Transitional vibes

• Phantom Thread
• The Last Waltz
• When Harry Met Sally...
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• David Byrne's American Utopia
• About Time
• Ocean's Eleven
• After the Thin Man
• Inside Llewyn Davis

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

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2024 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.
Star ratings be damned.
To be continued...

1. Challengers
2. Nickel Boys
3. The Brutalist
4. La Chimera
5. A Different Man
6. Hard Truths
7. The Substance
8. Red Rooms
9. Juror #2
10. Flow

...plus 55 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory

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

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

Self-explanatory

• Mulholland Drive
• Twin Peaks: The Return
• The Elephant Man
• Blue Velvet
• The Straight Story
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
• Lost Highway
• Eraserhead
• Inland Empire
• Dune

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

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2023 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.
Star ratings be damned.
To be continued...

1. May December
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. The Zone of Interest
4. Oppenheimer
5. Past Lives
6. Perfect Days
7. Showing Up
8. ages
9. The Boy and the Heron
10. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé

...plus 67 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2022 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

To be continued...

1. TÁR
2. RRR
3. "Sr."
4. After Yang
5. Top Gun: Maverick
6. Decision to Leave
7. EO
8. Ambulance
9. Aftersun
10. No Bears

...plus 71 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2021 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

To be continued...

• Red Rocket
• The Lost Daughter
• The Green Knight
• Licorice Pizza
• Annette
• Drive My Car
• The Power of the Dog
• Petite Maman
• The Last Duel
• Flee

...plus 57 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2020 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

To be continued...

1. Da 5 Bloods
2. David Byrne's American Utopia
3. First Cow
4. Never Rarely Sometimes Always
5. Nomadland
6. Another Round
7. Soul
8. Nine Days
9. Sound of Metal
10. Dick Johnson Is Dead

...plus 73 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My Criterion Challenge - taken from original post by Ben and invited by friend, Chris. 

I am a Criterion Collective enthusiast and have, over the last several years, bought way too many discs that I still haven’t seen. I’m using this challenge to correct that.

Watched 0/52

There are 52 categories - one for each week. Watch any Criterion related film released on Laserdisc, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, or on The Criterion Channel between 1/1/21-12/31/21. The films can be watched daily, weekly, or monthly, and in any order! I would like for all picks to be first time watches but will leave that up to you.
Helpful links to view the entire Criterion Collection: The Complete Collection and Criterion Collection by Spine Number  

Categories:
1. 1984 - watch a film released the year of Criterion's inception.
2. Directed by Akira Kurosawa
3. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard
4. Horror
5. Released on Laserdisc (Criterion Collection Laserdisc Titles)
6. Made in Spain
7. Wes Anderson's Top 10 (Wes Anderson’s Top 10)
8. Romance
9. A silent film
10. 1920s
11. 1930s
12. 1940s
13. 1950s
14. 1960s
15. 1970s
16. 1980s
17. 1990s
18. 2000s
19. 2010s
20. Directed by a woman
21. A film featured in the "Pioneers of African American Cinema" series (Pioneers of African American Cinema)
22. Documentary
23. Comedy
24. Any film on The Criterion Channel (Every Film Available on The Criterion Channel & Secondary List - if you don’t have this service then just choose any film featured on this list and watch however you please. Some may even be on other streaming services or available for rent.)
25. Martin Scorsese's Top 10 (Martin Scorsese's Top 10)
26. Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
27. Directed by Federico Fellini
28. The Merchant Ivory Collection (Merchant Ivory Collection)
29. Oscar Winners (Oscar winners)
30. Black and white
31. Directed by Charlie Chaplin
32. Watch any film featured in the Godzilla Boxset
33. Western
34. Made in Italy
35. Made in the Soviet Union
36. Made in India
37. A film from the Eclipse series (The Criterion Collection: Eclipse)
38. Kelly Reichardt's Top 10 (Kelly Reichardt's Top 10)
39. Directed by John Cassavetes
40. Watch a film between spine #100-200
41. Film Noir
42. Samurai
43. A film featured in the "Queersighted: Queer Fear" series (Queersighted: Queer Fear)
44. A film featured in the "New Korean Cinema" series (New Korean Cinema)
45. Directed by Ingmar Bergman
46. Directed by Agnes Varda
47. Based on a book (Criterion Films Based on a Book)
48. Foreign-Language Oscar Winners (Criterion Collection: Foreign-Language Oscar Winners)
49. Josh and Benny Safdie's Closet Picks (Josh and Benny Safdie's Closet Picks)
50. Watch a film with spine #1000 or higher
51. Watch a film featured in "Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits" (The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon, Game of Death)
52. Any Criterion film on your watchlist

Reviews tagged "cc2021" and “criterion challenge 2021.” Progress bar at the top.

• Dune

  Released 1984

  Cheating a bit - not CC, but...whatever

• Yojimbo

  Kurosawa

  I own the Y/S set

• Sanjuro

  Kurosawa

  I own the Y/S set

• Cronos

  GDT

  I own the box set

• The Devil's Backbone

  GDT

  I own the box set

• Last Tango in Paris

  Laserdisc

• All About My Mother

  Produced in Spain

• Au Hasard Balthazar

  Wes Anderson’s Top 10

  Own the Blu-ray

• The French Lieutenant's Woman

  Romance

  Own the Blu-ray

• The Phantom Carriage

  Silent

...plus 46 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2019 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

To be continued...

1. Ad Astra
2. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
3. Uncut Gems
4. Leaving Neverland
5. Pain and Glory
6. Transit
7. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
8. Little Women
9. Deadwood: The Movie
10. Knives Out

...plus 72 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

2010-2019, IMDb release date. These films defined my decade.
*UNRANKED*

• Drive
• The Social Network
• Manchester by the Sea
• Inside Llewyn Davis
• First Reformed
• Inception
• Nightcrawler
• Burning
• The Tribe
• Minding the Gap

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

Yes, ranked.

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• The Empire Strikes Back
• Star Wars
• Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
• Return of the Jedi
• Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
• Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

Self-explanatory

• Portrait of a Lady on Fire
• Desert One
• Bacurau
• Babyteeth
• Proxima
• Citizen K
• Deerskin
• To the Ends of the Earth
• Clemency

List of films viewed at this year’s #TCMFF in the order that they were watched.
*click the notes*

• Night World

  Tweeted Thoughts

  
  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm
  Intro by Sara Karloff

• The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

  Tweeted Thoughts

  The Egyptian
  Nitrate 35mm

• The Clock

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm
  Intro by Mario Cantone

• Vanity Street

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm

• Open Secret

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm
  Intro by Eddie Muller

• Winchester '73

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 1
  4K Restoration
  Intro by Jeremy Arnold

• All Through the Night

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm

• Kind Hearts and Coronets

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 1
  4K Restoration - UK version
  Intro by Dave Karger & Jefferson Mays

• Blood Money

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm
  Intro by Bruce Goldstein

• Life Begins at Forty

  Tweeted Thoughts

  Chinese Theater 6
  35mm
  Intro by Leonard Maltin

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

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2018 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

*S. Craig Zahler's Dragged Across Concrete, Alex Ross Perry's Her Smell, Olivier Assayas' Non-Fiction, and Gaspar Noe's Climax all removed due to shifting release dates.

Concluded.

1. Suspiria
2. First Reformed
3. Roma
4. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
5. Minding the Gap
6. Burning
7. The Rider
8. If Beale Street Could Talk
9. Madeline's Madeline
10. The Other Side of the Wind

...plus 71 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory

• Non-Fiction
• Never Look Away
• Her Smell
• In Fabric
• The Favourite
• Shoplifters
• Under the Silver Lake
• Vox Lux

Since I've started working from home, I've taken a cue from my dad and started to put on films in the background. Most of the time, they're films that I own and they're always films that I've seen. This isn't the best way to go about critically revisiting a film, but I do catch myself watching certain key scenes or watching just watch the flow of the images (since the volume tends to be quite low) and iring or considering new things all the same.

Anyway, here's a running list of what I've had on in the background.

• 20th Century Women

  4/3/18

• Her

  4/3/18

• Skyfall

  4/3/18

• Gone Girl

  4/4/18

• A Single Man

  4/4/18

• Thief

  4/4/18

• Collateral

  4/5/18

• Days of Heaven

  4/5/18

• Inside Llewyn Davis

  4/5/18

• In the Mood for Love

  4/6/18

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

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2017 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

To be continued...

1. Call Me by Your Name

   A stunning, raw, heartfelt, painful, classical, progressive, lucid, teary-eyed, tranquil, heartbreaking, poignant portrait of love, at it's best and worst. CMBYN is at once delicate and suggestive and then aggressive and heatedly sensual. Luca Guadagnino's formal reserve not only allows the film to breathe but lets the performances and the robust screenplay feel lived in and totally alive. And then, of course, there is the final shot.

2. A Ghost Story

   Nothing about this film should work and yet it’s all just right. Lowery succeeds in making something so simple seem monumental, and weaves intimate feelings of grief and loneliness into the very fabric of the space time continuum.

3. Foxtrot

   A superbly told triad of connected narratives that dissect the way that casual accidents lead to greater tragedies. Beautifully conceived and formally daring throughout, Foxtrot is one of the year’s greatest discoveries. No matter where you start, that’s where you end up.

4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

   Star Wars has largely been about failure, in its narrative marrow and its artistic creation. With The Last Jedi , Rian Johnson has managed to right many seemingly irreparable wrongs. Some take George Lucas' mythology, warts and all, as scripture, but Johnson dared to dream bigger - he grew beyond what came before him. The Last Jedi is a franchise masterpiece.

5. The Lost City of Z

   This is the kind of film rarely seen anymore, rarely even attempted. A true epic made with traditional form, so rich in detail and design it's easy to get lost in it; Apocalypse Now by way of David Lean. James Gray's reach is immense, and he comes damn close to fully achieving what he strives for. Could have lived in this film for hours.

6. The Florida Project

   Sean Baker takes a humane approach to his subjects and follows in the footsteps of Andrea Arnold and Barry Jenkins in discovering a unique way to capture a specific perspective and juxtapose the sadness and despair with beautifully assured cinematography. Battles are small in scale but seismic in impact. The film is small but its heart is immense.

7. The Shape of Water

   Guillermo del Toro's best film in over a decade and maybe his most ionately made film yet, The Shape of Water is a fantastical romance that pays homage to the gestures of silent films and the theatricality of golden age musicals. Try not to be totally enraptured by this elegant, swoon-worthy fable.

8. Good Time

   Robert Pattinson delivers both the best performance of his career and of the year. As a whole, the title of this one says it all.

9. Dunkirk

   In IMAX 70mm, Dunkirk appears to open itself up to the viewer; despite it's grim and soggy aesthetic, Hoyt van Hoytema's cinematography takes on a warmth in celluloid. As Tom Hardy's spitfire coasts above the beaches of Dunkirk, it feels like you could reach out and touch its wing. Christopher Nolan has finally tapped into the true splendor of the large scale format; every single moment becomes grand.

10. Columbus

    *Tied at #10 with Lady Bird *

    Columbus is about how the environment can shape a person just as much as one's upbringing, but it also makes the case that surroundings and architecture specifically can change and even heal a person. Kogonada's measured pace delivers this theme without it being spelled out, especially when he manages to repeat shots and return to locations that were appealing before but take on a whole new meaning after some time has ed. And Haley Lu Richardson makes as strong of an impression in this film as Jennifer Lawrence did in her early films.

...plus 69 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

List of films I viewed for the first time in 2017 that were not new 2017 releases (includes 2016 releases that were viewed at home; 2016 releases that I managed to catch theatrcally in 2017 were discounted).

Chronological. Not ranked.

• Captain Fantastic
• Divines
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
• Deepwater Horizon
• Cameraperson
• Il Soro
• Suicide Squad
• Triple 9
• O.J.: Made in America
• The Vanishing

...plus 38 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Self-explanatory. These films all received, or will receive, some kind of release, whether limited, theatrical, VOD, etc. in the U.S. sometime in 2016 - ignore dates supplied by Letterboxd.

Star ratings be damned.

1. Manchester by the Sea
2. Jackie
3. American Honey
4. Moonlight
5. Krisha
6. Midnight Special
7. A Bigger Splash
8. Swiss Army Man
9. La La Land
10. De Palma

...plus 72 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Anticipation for new films grow year round. It's always a frantic dash to the multiplex whenever anything of note begins its run, especially during the holidays when we cram as many movies into a few days so we can feel like we've "seen everything." Unfortunately, that's always at the expense of the great, older works that are usually playing concurrently at a specialty theater nearby. In the age of streaming and in a post-Filmstruck world, classic films are easier to locate than ever, but few people have the luxury of getting to see notable pieces of cinema in a dark theater projected on a huge screen surrounded by strangers.

In 2016, in addition to compulsive moviegoing for new releases, I tried to see as many non-new releases on the big screen as possible. In coastal cities like Los Angeles and New York City, we are blessed with programmers like BAM and American Cineamtheque, the Film Forum and Cinefamily, the Metrograph and the New Beverly who constantly provide a wealth of opportunities to catch remarkable films of all kinds in the way they ought to be seen. Here is a list of the 30 non-2016 releases I saw on a big screen in 2016, ranked based on experiential factors (not solely on the quality of the film).

Some brief notes regarding the format, venue, and overall experience are included.

*Double and Triple bills are specified as such.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

   [70mm, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, BeyondFest 2016]

   Hallucinatory cinema at its absolute finest. Crystal clear print, struck specifically for the event (and to be exclusively shown by American Cinematheque for the next five years), we achieved literal liftoff. Best theater going experience of my life.

2. Singin' in the Rain

   [35mm, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood]

   Gene Kelly's third and final wife introduced the film. Before it began, she came right over to me and introduced herself. I instantly blurted out that I was a tap dancer, her response was, "This better not be your first time seeing this."

   RIP Debbie Reynolds

3. Baraka

   [70mm, The Aero Theater in Santa Monica]

   It has the dramatic arc of a computer screensaver and yet my heart was pounding so hard I thought it'd explode right out of my chest. Supposedly this was one of only two 70mm prints that currently exist.

4. The Devils

   [35mm, Cinefamily in Hollywood]

   It's a sin that this film is not readily available in the U.S. It is terrifying in so many incredible ways; Reed and Redgrave practically tear through the screen.

5. Lawrence of Arabia

   [4K D, The Arclight Hollywood Dome]

   As a cinefile, this was a bold black box in need of checking off. So glad that I finally did. It is big, shiny, fun, exciting, and as good as you've heard. It plays so often in LA, I'm looking forward to going again.

6. McCabe & Mrs. Miller

   [35mm, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Vilmos Szigmond tribute]

   As far as technicians go, Vilmos Szigmond's ing in early January was a tough way to begin what became a very brutal year. If there is a positive to pull from losing him, it's that I got to see this Altman masterpiece on the big screen.

   Hurts even more knowing that Leonard Cohen would Vilmos some 11 months later.

   *Billed with "The Long Goodbye."

7. The Long Goodbye

   [35mm, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Vilmos Szigmond tribute]

   "Inherent Vice" owes a lot to this film.

   *Billed with "McCabe & Mrs. Miller."

8. Heaven's Gate

   [2K Criterion Restoration, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Michael Cimino tribute]

   I was one of a small, dedicated crowd who spent a Saturday night in the summer watching this much maligned, nearly 4-hour epic Western. It was like discovering some long lost treasure. It's extremely beautiful and sad all at once, and nobody will ever make anything like it again.

9. Blow Out

   [35mm, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Vilmos Szigmond tribute]

   De Palma and Szigmond were a dream team and "Blow Out" is their finest hour. Those diopter shots on celluloid all make my heart flutter.

   *Billed with "Obsession."

10. Obsession

    [4K D, The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Vilmos Szigmond tribute]

    Underrated De Palma entry. Szigmond flourishes abound.

    *Billed with "Blow Out."

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

A best-to-worst rundown of the 15 films I saw at AFI Fest in Hollywood, California (11/6-11/12).

"Youth"
"45 Years"
"Rams"
"Macbeth"
"Evolution"
"James White"
"Ma"
"Ixcanul"
"The Clan"
"No Home Movie"
"Anomalisa"
"Hitchcock/Truffaut"
"Chevalier"
"Dheepan"
"The Liar"

1. Youth
2. 45 Years
3. Rams
4. Macbeth
5. Evolution
6. James White
7. Ma
8. Ixcanul
9. The Clan
10. No Home Movie

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