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Watched on Wednesday May 28, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday May 27, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday May 27, 2025.

It’s interesting how some responses to this film in how the runtime is very long for a big summer blockbuster as if in the Golden Age of Hollywood, the roadshow features that were the big events of the time, the “old blockbusters” of the world were completely accepted as to what they were. Hell Lord of the Rings was celebrated for being 3+ hours long with every film. Not to say every film should be long nor am I saying any film of that magnitude deserves that (spoiler this film kind of had a hard justifying that at points) but it’s just something I’m definitely more and more going to consider. 
Like compared this to Pacifiction and I’ll probably will say this felt like a faster viewing experience just because of its editing and emphasis on plot constantly trying to hook you on something else. Even if I will always say I liked that film more. 

Too bad I didn’t give that much of shit about and every time they make references and connections to every other film in the franchise it’s incredibly cringe worthy. However the action is still fun especially the submarine sequence and when Tom Cruise says to some guy he beats up saying “Stop being on the internet” was the funniest thing ever.

Decided just to finally watch this in prep for tomorrow since I’m visiting family they decided “hey let’s see the new MI tomorrow.” Might as well catch up. Was fun.

Watched on Thursday May 22, 2025.

Watched on Sunday May 11, 2025.

Watched on Saturday May 10, 2025.

Watched on Saturday May 10, 2025.

Watched on Thursday May 1, 2025.

Watched on Thursday May 1, 2025.

I VITELLONI - Federico Fellini: Before The Sweet Life

With Fellini’s follow up he makes a pure ensemble piece with various colorful characters that many years later if you are familiar with much of modern cinema you can instantly tell with his personal use of narration from of the main characters to explain each main participant not only it’s influence on modern cinema but also its unique style and approach to storytelling. 

It’s an ensemble that really allows for characters to be the center point one moment and then have someone else follow up afterwards. In fact something I really about this film is the many consequences from characters and events and decisions that happens offscreen instead of feeling underwritten it creates a naturalism that makes it more authentic. When Olga make the decision leaves Alberto’s home, it feels like an out of nowhere thing for both us the audience and for Alberto. It’s one of many bitter moments showing the age of time. 

Ultimately this is a coming of age story for everyone and the fact it juggles so much seamlessly along with its tones of comedy and drama is definitely its biggest triumph. While towards the very end that tonal structure is a little awkward with heavily comedic moments feeling a little off when placed right to the films climatic end points, this is still a great film.

THE WHITE SHIEK - Federico Fellini: Before The Sweet Life

For some inexplicable reason, a lot of Fellini’s films I have seen for after his turning point as a filmmaker, arguably La Dolce Vita. The bridge that would begin his 60s run and beyond by completely exploring the idea of the “Felliniesque” style he would become famous for. However, never until now have I seen anything before “The Sweet Life”, when he was known as that filmmaker that emerged in the Neo Realist movement. His 5 feature films he made before La Dolce Vita showed his building blocks for what would become his late style yet also stand on their own as milestones for cinema. So in this little series, let’s explore the start shall we?:

Whenever we get to the feature debut of legacy master filmmakers, most times it’s either we see films that immediately showcase brilliance like with Welles’, Tarkovsky’s or Zvyaginstev’s or something that seems pedestrian in comparison to what they would do later on like with Croenberg’s, Carpenter’s or even Scorsese’s. Many “first” films from great filmmakers are easy to downplay and that’s usually their legacy. Which in all honestly is how I feel to about a lot of these. So when I say for Fellini’s standards, his debut film, The White Sheik is actually a little bit underrated, I mean it. 

This is a surprisingly great and fun watch that already feels like a strong statement this early on in his career. In some ways, it is more rewarding that I started off with his late career because everything we know and love about Fellini can be found right away here. The depiction of Rome, the slightly surreal landscapes from pastoral places and rural areas, the almost caricature like appearances of characters and performances, even the aspect of a film being about the process of film (something Fellini would explore later on) are all here an in charming fashion. 

It is a simple story in two plots. One of a wife who wants to adventure out to meet the Titular White Sheik and the other plot about her husband trying to find her while also keeping good company with his family. It’s a heartfelt and hilarious journey that with its short runtime makes for a breezy watch. What I find so brilliant is the writing which just shows how Fellini beyond his visuals is actually a great comedic writer in general who is able to find such wit and gags in any situation. One of my favorites is when Leopoldo Trieste’s character meets his family for the first time and kisses everyone in the room even some guest that has nothing to do with them or right asking how each family member is doing only for a response that one of them is already dead. Such writing is just littered all Peter this film and shows how Fellini already had such a strong reputation. 

While it is a film that can show its age with some of its foley work and the ending may feel a bit rushed with its main conflict resolved in a slightly unintentionally awkward scene for me in a hospital, this was such a surprise and brings out everything that I really about Fellini. Also gotta love the Cabiria cameo!

Watched on Friday April 18, 2025.

I’ll start with this:

You see, there is an approach someone like Peter Greenaway who claims his films might not be cinema at all because that clearly is something sincere in his work being made as his main reference of paintings and theater. Funny how it can be seen in opposition to someone like Robert Bresson who despises that very notion of “filmed theater” and ties to take the medium to its bare bones but yet he also would consider it to be “cinema” in the traditional form that much. Art has always tried to reexamine the possibilities of the form and went about going against traditions in various ways yet also making their own standards to make sure their art can be seen as a better alternative.

So then we have Harmony Korine saying how something like Baby Invasion is “next form of cinema”. Almost treating it as the next form of evolution. When in reality it’s just a filmed game that is more in line with something like Killer 7. 

It’s incredibly easy to say how I disliked this film simply because of how it’s very different to anything else I’ve seen and goes against any convention of storytelling. However what really makes me disappointed is simply the approach the film takes in general. I seeing Aggro Dr One Ft and thinking that as much as I disagree with Korine’s thought process at least that film I can walk away knowing it was simply a dumb fun experiment. Once again here it’s a dumb experiment but was more tiring. Because surprisingly this film is incredibly vapid and pointless. 

For a film about Twitch culture, video games and simply Gen Z it feels not that much like a true provocation or a strong perspective rather just a numb exercise that gets tried after half an hour. 
Korine would infamously say last year how “IShowSpeed is this generation’s Tarkovsky”, claiming the idea that for many individuals IShowSpeed was this person who is a “””creator””” that “””inspires””” people. But for anyone who has even seen a clip of him you’ll know his main trait is his eccentric persona. Constantly yelling and bad mouthing and getting angry at games he’s played. This is someone who just allows his “private parts” to be shown on camera. He’s not the most extreme Internet personality ever but he’s definitely one that suggests a strong violent approach to the online world and it’s funny this film rarely does that despite being about actual shooters.

It’s such a shallow perspective on anything that more feels like Korine playing around with his dumb AI toys. All just there to have fun and that is why anyone here that gives this film five stars cause you think it’s “deep” is the most hilarious thing ever. Korine would laugh at you for trying to analyze this piece of shit. He gets to make shit posts all day and that’s what they are. Simple shit posts that offer nothing.

There’s nothing wrong with having fun. There’s nothing wrong with trying to be completely off the grid but it’s truly sad when I feel nothing from a work expect numbness and later a frustration that something can’t make me feel anything. Obviously I am someone in Gen Z I have experienced this world of simulacra a lot. It’s how I’m writing this review. Maybe that text on the screen in this film was right in how there is no more reality. How we simply submit to this. I don’t know if Korine himself sub it’s to this given how he constantly says he uses texts and PS5s to people instead of actually seeing them in person but it would be scary. 

The “traditional” beauty is still out there in the world and we can confront that along with everything now. I believe in something great. That’s what is to me the true future of cinema.

Of course something that I immediately thought of the Devil’s Trill. A musical and visual aspect is the concept of temptation from said Devil. In how with something as universal and able to be as transcendent as music, it can be easy to sway many. Why many people would nickname Paganini the “Devil’s Violinist” is because for many his skill was something that could only come from beyond our mortal world. Our faith would believe in divine light but also comes with eternal darkness. 

The title of Sinners bluntly describes that plunge into coming to with the darkness that comes with temptation of many people that can be quite morally murky people. In our mortal world that already has crime, manipulation, and racism it presents that as almost a metaphysical gateway into exploring the even bigger manifestation of evil itself. All in this film that blends genres of vampire horror, historical fiction and by musical sequences that on the whole is a very enjoyable watch.

My favorite aspect of this film might just be its dialogue. Specifically. The screenplay is solid enough but the way it handles character interaction, development and personality really is the thing that immersed me into this time period and setting. Besides some intentional moments it is a film that fully rejects most aspects of modernity and fully reels into this culture down to its linguistics. Making for a far more authentic and unique piece that is genuinely refreshing to see and hear.
But of course visually speaking it is also incredibly strong. I’m actually very glad that Ryan Coogler decided to keep Autumn Durald Arkapaw as director of photography but with how obviously lackluster the Black Panther sequel was overall, some sequences that were shot showed she actually had some potential if in a production that allowed for far more creativity and freedom rather than the usual Marvel slop. I’m happy to say that exactly what happened because her capturing of environments in this film was truly a treat to see. From this wide shots in the day time showing towns and giant fields of cotton to this almost chiaroscuro approach to night time sequences emerged in shadow. It’s a very good looking film that absolutely used its almost entire $100M budget usefully.

On the whole its production along with its good performances and music make it for an enjoyable ride. One that is also very ambitious. Perhaps bitting a bit more than it could chew. It is an issue for me in how it seems like it tries to tackle a lot of thematics with a very quick pace especially towards its ending where most dramatic and climactic moments aren’t given to time to fully reel in. Speaking of that, to be honest I’m not sure how I feel about the ending being structured to be put in a mid credits scene which yes you hard correctly. There is a mid credits scene in this film. 

Of course I won’t spoil what it is but on its own when I think about what it says I actually really like it and I know that will probably be the most divisive part of this film. But to me it wisely acknowledges the constant appearance of a metaphysical force of evil always around mortally. What does it simply accept that. Perhaps there is balance and how there is redemption in people despite still having to commit sins in one form or another.  

However in general this film really felt over edited in parts. Relying on montages to the narrative and paths of the film which in some cases like in the ending really don’t work. All that being said I can’t help but always appreciate the grand ambitions of filmmakers and creatives. Ryan Coogler got lucky with directing a blockbuster franchise, but he proved that instead of playing it safe after making a lot of money, he went for something more unique. Something that almost gets to becoming a great film and I had fun watching it.

Watched on Sunday April 13, 2025.

Today is Andrei Tarkovsky’s birthday and for this celebration instead of rewatching any of his truly divine grand epics of cinematic form and aesthetics, I decided to rewatch something earlier than that. His senior film project. 

It’s actually been quite an inspiration for me as a filmmaker myself in recent months. Not just because it’s an early work for who is arguably the greatest filmmaker who ever lived but also in the simplicity of the story and world that Tarkovsky creates. It’s almost something I want to search for in any artistic work I make. 

Thank you Andrei Tarkovsky for the work and for the inspiration. You’ll always be eternal.

Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.

Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.

Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.

Watched on Saturday March 29, 2025.

Watched on Thursday March 27, 2025.

Watched on Thursday March 27, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday March 25, 2025.

Been showing several films to my grandma while on spring break. Some rewatches and some I’ve never seen. This film in particular I decided to finally watch after seeing my grandma do some cooking. It’s great to have moments like this. Especially when you share stories like this one that are just incredibly heartwarming.

Watched on Monday March 24, 2025.

Watched on Monday March 24, 2025.

𝐈𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

Finally after a long a tremendous journey, we have reached Lynch’s ultimate cinematic feature swan song with Inland Empire. It’s one that obviously I was not in a mature state in of viewing to be able to give it a fair chance. So thus my initial reaction was simply that of “it’s interesting but I don’t understand it”. Which is why on this rewatch after going through almost every piece of cinema Lynch has done now as an adult I can finally say that what this film is to me isn’t simply one of the most unique films I’ve seen but also one that actually has Lynch’s most poignant ending in his entire body of work. 

This is perhaps the only Lynch film I can say is the closest to being a complete horror film. I say this in how most of Lynch’s other work dabbles in these ideas but are usually never completely going for that tone. It’s what makes the Lynchian style after all. His films have their moments of humor, absurdism and yes even horrific moments. But Inland Empire stands out as having more and more terrifying concepts as the film goes on. Once Niki confuses her life from the life of her character everything becomes blurred visually. Moments more and more are made so uncomfortable once again by Lynch’s unparalleled use of sound design. But really at the center of this piece lies Laura Dern’s performance. 

So what was it about this role that apparently was so good it made Lynch go outside in Hollywood Blvd with a cow and giant placard saying "For Your Consideration" with Laura Dern for all to see? Is this really the greatest performance of 2006? Well it just might be. Unironically it is a challenging task what Dern must bring here. Essentially playing dual roles like many Lynch characters but here it’s with moments of such agony and pain that is there throughout it all. For me it was the moment where the character is stabbed and just lays on the street slowly dying that sold it for me. No matter if it was real or simply a rehearsal set I fully believed it and that’s enough for me to trust in something. 

Of course the film if it was about a specific thing you can point to it was be able the psyche of an actor. While Mulholland Drive was a Hollywood story of a grand scale with multiple moving parts that all connected with each other, Inland Empire is the more intimate side. All really about one woman. “A woman in trouble.” The actress that has to explore her own life as well as that of a character. And in truth it can be painful to explore something very dark and Lynch genuinely does not shy away from this. In more ways than one as we see who our real focus is it becomes a more emotional story that can seen about sexual abuse, prejudice, and the sacrifice for one’s art. 

There’s a lot right there but then there is something that does stand out amongst others for how it is a bizarre concept and that are the segments of the Rabbits “sitcom”. Truthfully in the most weird way something about these rabbits really connects with me on a deep level. It’s strange to say but I think it all comes down to what it reminds me of that I’ve mentioned a few times in other reviews, the dvd series made for toddlers Baby Einstein. The reason why Baby Einstein is something that sticks in my reference was because it subconsciously made me look at all art in a specific way. All about finding that emotional feeling and mood throughout that is indescribable. Now I can say it is some nostalgic touch that is either comforting or strange. Baby Einstein still is both to me and that’s all I can imagine but these rabbits. 

Beyond the similarities in design, the rabbits look and place that feels static is something that works in the context of this film. It is what this “lost girl” first sees giving us the clue of always being in the view of the viewer herself. And perhaps what the rabbits are simply examine how these aren’t human but they are never portrayed as monsters. Lynch genuinely likes seeing them. It may have a side of being satirical of the sitcom formula but like many other things Lynch has a fondness of the artificial.
But I do think this touches upon a theme in Inland Empire that I don’t see talked enough about in regards to this film and that is the theme of xenophobia.

What this film really shows in of its “real” perspective is that of a Polish story mainly from the “lost girl”. It’s her view looking at the American entertainment there is. Up until now Lynch barely went full on into this idea of America vs the whole world but here I think Lynch makes a unique point on the western view of art. The film that Niki is cast in On High in Blue Tomorrows is itself a remake of a Polish fairy tale film that was never completed because the two leads “died”. Not only does this comment on the industry constantly going through old ideas but also how many “foreign concepts” are made into something for the wide western audience. Like in the same year, another one of the great films of 2006 Tarsem’s The Fall was itself based on a Bulgarian film titled YoHoHo. Of course I’m sure none of you have heard of it and only would know of the remake. Which surprisingly in itself became a cult classic over the years and only recently getting a 4k restoration by MUBI. (A great one) 

But there in lies the main idea if we are to take this as a story about Hollywood. Hollywood has always been whether you want to believe it or not an industry that has had its success based on people from other parts of the world. From crew to its biggest names many come to America to create their work. Filmmakers alone like Charlie Chaplin, Ernst Lubitch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, Milos Forman, Alfonso Cuaron, Guillermo Del Toro, Yorgos Lantimos and many many more have been seen as some of the greatest directors to ever work in Hollywood and they all came from around the world. They come with their own “foreign” sensibilities and bring that to American cinema. And it is American cinema that many and we can forget about many other parts of the world. 

Of course that is just one interpretation I have. Because ultimately the ending is actually a happy one. The lost girl takes that American story and tries to make something meaningful to her. To make her not feel afraid of the world. The character of Niki at the end is fake. But not to her. It inspires her to be better and do the things she wants. It is her story first and I’m sure the stories of many other women “in trouble”. Isn’t that just wonderful? 

Lynch decided to make one last story of entering the light after all the darkness. To leave us knowing there can be a better tomorrow. He really believes that and he hopes we do too. Now that Lynch himself has gone somewhere else I believe it. No matter what flaws there have been along the way. I’m happy. 
Thanks David.

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

It is amazing how David Lynch has managed to become something beyond most filmmakers can do. Being able to create a style that is quintessentially him. Not just one that is imitated but seen as simply approach that is almost become universally known as “Lynchian”. It’s in that same breath of the Jungian approach to psychology, the Dickensian view of sentimentality and the struggles of society in narratives, the Hitchcockian setups and payoffs for all good ways of cinematic suspense pieces and here Lynchian is something far more complex. One that like the films he made can be seen as many different ideas. Perhaps it is his brand of surrealist imagery. Maybe it’s just his humor. Maybe it’s his horror. It can be all of these things because Lynch tackled all of these things. His oeuvre is remarkable on its own with many great films he has made but if there were to be one piece that could claim the title of his magnum opus, his piece-de-resistance it would have to be for me Mulholland Drive.

Reaching Mulholland Drive in the middle of the night (As I’ve been doing for most of these Lynch viewings for some strange coincidental reasons) just once again reaffirmed my instant love for this film. One where it’s like all the stars align for Lynch to have all of these ideas in his mind to create one consistent whole that works flawlessly. His most apparent example of exploring the concept of dreams in cinema directly but having enough of the oneiric to make it that much more authentic. 

Mulholland Drive to me is the grandest Labyrinth of Lynch’s body of work, but once again it’s quite interesting how it is something that can be considered quite straight forward. We start the film with two characters of Rita and Betty as they constantly find themselves in strange misadventures around the land of Hollywood. The tinsel town being the main centerpiece where all characters converse and travel and diverge in many circumstances. In this sense it is directly a film exploring the entertainment industry, celebrity, the artistic process and even hints of conspiracy with the authority and hierarchy of the place. But again they’re all just segments. The film playing out of this true dream like logic where moments in time are just there independently and the next thing that happens right afterward doesn’t have to connect directly with one another.

Here the world is there as it is. It’s strange and odd and seems fake with its happiness and smiles. But at the same time there is a sentiment from Lynch on how specifically with LA that is what he sees and he loves it. There are moments of the film loving its own artifice. Of just how everything as the possibility of bright colors and joyful attitudes. Of course when the curtains are down and the dream soon reveals the reality slowly (or rather was always there) that’s when part of “the mystery” of Mulholland Drive is revealed. Anyone who has seen the film already knows exactly what this means. 

But for now I just want to say how I can speak longer on every detail but in truth it’s not going to lead to a definite reading of this film. Instead it only shows my own personal take. So instead to leave it off I want to personally express my thoughts on one character that has always perplexed me. 

The character of the “cowboy” is perhaps the one Lynch character that actually intimidates me. He’s not as aggressive as Frank Booth, he’s not obviously as frightening as the mysterious man from Lost Highway but with this character he’s someone I could never truly understand. His expression is always flat. Rarely does he ever smile. He’s a walking archetype of the Hollywood Western hero but that’s all he is. An archetype. Some symbol of something grander. To this all he is, is simply a messenger. So what is his message. Well what he says to Adam is how he’ll be seen once more means something completely different to when he’ll be seen twice. For Adam in this case is if he appeases the studio heads. But what . As the audience watching him. 

Well I know that we do see him again. We see him twice. So what would that mean? One time is requesting that it’s time to wake up. The other time is just ing by. One moment might be in a dream. The other might be in reality. But really, even when we go to outside of the “dream” what makes this world anymore real than the dream? It’s all a film. A story. It could be the story of many people. Why do we as the viewer expect from our reality when we ourselves can make anything seem unnatural?

I think that’s why Lynch is so amazed by night time. Because when most of us sleep it’s in the comfort of our beds. We dream of will happen tomorrow in the day. But what if we are awake during the time when we are supposed to be asleep. What do we see and hear when it’s night time? For me I know I’ve been to many parties and night shifts at work. So places can feel empty at night. All I hear are owls and ambience of wind. It seems so quiet and thus anything could come up at us. It’s dangerous yet also calming. To not have anything bother us. The same could also be said in the daytime. Soon enough we can manipulate our own time how we like it. Our structure of how we live doesn’t have to be molded perfectly. I image that’s the case for David. 

That’s why I think Mulholland Drive represents everything Lynch is down to one film. His testament of all he fears and loves. It’s such a magical mysterious work of art that stays in the subconscious forever. It’s one of my favorite films of all time.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

The easiest thing to say when discussing The Straight Story is that it seems like the least likely thing for David Lynch to make on the surface level. However now having seen the film I couldn’t disagree more. Because while the film is never dabbling in other worldly and surreal aspects to filmmaking and fully engaging in a “realist” form of Cinema, that in itself has quite a Lynchian aspect to me. 

If there’s one thing that you examine is prevalent within the majority of Lynch’s works is that they all are film that are in one form or another observing Americana. American Society. Lynch always finds what he sees in his home country as a reference point for most of his art and that’s obviously evident as to why he was fascinated by this real story for inspiration as it was something that simply observes life as it is.

Lewis Bond from The House of Tabula made an interesting made an interesting comparison to me with two other directors that can be described as one of the things that makes Lynch Lynchian. That is how his style of filmmaking is like a combination of John Waters and Robert Bresson. At first you might think that would sound absurd but I actually wholeheartedly agree. With John Waters, he himself has said about their similarities in their love/hate view of the 50s Americana as well as their origins as low budget filmmakers. Using absurdist imagery to tell their stories. Sometimes I look at a scene like from Blue Velvet where Jeffery is being beaten up by Frank and then there’s just a woman dancing on top of the car and I just think of it as something John Waters would do. As for Bresson side I think it’s quite interesting. 

If you’ve seen any of his films you’ll know that he has specific way of shooting film. He has a very clinical eye in making his images presented with little camera movement and lighting that is mostly even. It’s a neutral quality that makes everything balanced. Rarely ever emphasizing high drama in cinema. It’s something that to this day we rarely find in any major acclaimed cinema. Even great “art house” cinema. But Lynch I think with The Straight Story manage to do something like it. 

What I’m saying is that Lynch here has probably made his most Bressonian film in his entire career and thus it makes it one of his most sincere films in that regard. While Bresson was about examining only here Lynch shows how with his view on people is as a humanist. He’s to me the more I look at his work one of the least cynical filmmakers ever and he takes that “clinical” form and turns into something that may have moments of existentialism but more than often it’s about appreciating the last few moments of life possibly. 

I could explain the plot of the film at any point in this review but more than any of his ironically this is the one that requires to go in the most blind and just experience it as a cinematic piece of art. But it’s truly fantastic and I feel happy that something like this was able to made. Because often we see films especially on elderly people that are presented and thought of as something “unremarkable” thus we get unremarkable films made that never use to medium as a way to examine these people but Lynch did something different and made a “coming of old-age” picture that transcends even that and becomes a portrait of the beauty of life itself warts and all. That to me is probably the most Lynchian thing you could do.

𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

Here we have one of the few Lynch films I had yet to see up until this point. One that seemed like on of Lynch’s most enigmatic works. Something that looked like of its time and completely Lynchian in nature with its soundstrack, neo noir tones and overall violent aesthetic. It’s something I was wondering what I would make of it and while I started watching this film with the sense of confusion by the end of this viewing I realized exactly what this was to me. A masterpiece. 

In many ways, this is something that is like Blue Velvet a giant pastiche. The reason I say this film feels like a product of its time is because it uses a lot of visual tropes and ideas that on its surface look completely shallow. The soundtrack is of heavy metal and rock mixed with Lynch’s 50s throwbacks. But all of this is mixed into a world that is perhaps more than any other Lynch film is of a complete subjective reality. 

That reality is of Fred/Pete. Played by two actors playing the same man. But why is that? Well in a basic Jungian perspective it’s the literal embodiment of the shadow. The parts of the human soul that we don’t want to acknowledge. In the specific case of this story, it is showing a man’s view of sex, violence and ion that can come when you least expect it. Fred starts off as a saxophonist in LA. A successful musician that seems to live a simple happy life with his wife. But soon in a quick second he’s arrested for the murder of said wife. Then we go to Pete. A simple worker less fortunate that gets roped in with a relationship with a mafia boss girlfriend. These are two sides of what Lynch sees not in this character but of LA. A society that is full of glamour and chaos. The public entertainment and the underbelly. 

It’s a really compelling view of this and Lynch while mostly unrelenting and by the end it seems like that journey the main character goes on will be an infinite loop that will be never ending it still feels like an honest truth from him in like all of his films examine the darkness but knowing how people are so ionate about certain things. On love and our futures that can be easily taken away. When I realized that for me that’s how I felt in this work through its clear messages, it was powerful and also because of one piece of context I knew beforehand. 

For those who don’t know, David Lynch himself was very interested in the OJ Simpson trial case that was going on at the time of writing Lost Highway it’s evident when you watch the film for obvious reasons. But I think why Lynch was fascinated by OJ in particular was because he particularly represented most of what America promoted. How sometime can come from nothing, get successful, be a celebrity, have this perfect looking wife, and then completely get rid of all of it once the underbelly reveals itself to be what it truly is. Because the idea of Americana is all a facility. Now Simpson himself was more complicated than that but for Lynch it’s that narrative that was there a in full. 

This Lynch creates a narrative that is of darkness and light. With images and characters that stick in your mind for a long time. That for me makes one of Lynch’s very best.

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

"This whole world is wild at heart and weird on top."

For this rewatch, it was very special because I got to rewatch this in the cinemas with a moderately big audience. The experience was great and very much solidified not only this film but of Lynch’s filmmaking as a whole. Because even though this still a “lesser” film to be, I still really enjoyed it.

It very much is a road trip film in exploring the outer side of America in an almost extreme satirical way. It’s a place of rotten strange people with an obsession with violence and materialistic needs. It’s almost like a film that came out near the beginning of 1990 would predict everything that decade would be seen as in the future. Especially its soundtrack of abrasive rock music only in contrast with Lynch placing his love for 50s crooner music right along side it. 

Speaking of which this is where Elvis impersonator extraordinaire Nicolas Cage comes in with perhaps the most sticking opening Lynch has done. After the opening has done. After the fiery opening credits that contain explosions all throughout, In The Mood starts playing on the soundtrack with this lavish party place where our two leads are showcased. Only when an assassin tries to kill Sailor does it immediately transition into one of the most violent moments in Lynch’s filmography. It’s almost cartoonishly silly with how his head is beaten. It very much is not only an interpretation to the characteristics of Sailor but of this whole world. One that nonchalantly for most of it sees violence as a thing that is there. There can be consequences as Sailor always goes to jail for this but it still keeps happening all around the main characters. Sailor in difference does violence to protect his loved one. 

Which brings me to what I was surprised by with watching it at the cinema. With a film with such bizarre imagery, violent sequences and Willem Dafoe as one of the most nastiest monsters on screen the film at the end of the day, Wild at Heart is about a romance between two rebels. A way for Lynch to express his own angst yet also remind us how much he loves the best parts of humanity. 

I sat next to around five women when I saw it and so naturally I heard when they were shocked or laughed but at the end of the film, it’s final scene with its final statement I actually heard them tear up. Getting so emotional over something that might be exaggerated but so sincere to who Lynch is. To be honest it almost got me. A really memorable ending to a very memorable film.

𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐭 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

"Why are there people like Frank? Why is there so much trouble in this world?"

When rewatching this seminal film about Lynch. The film that once again catapulted him back in the conversation as a idiosyncratic filmmaker, I’m more and more intrigued by how this might be Lynch’s most straightforward film specifically in of how you’re supposed to feel while watching. Lynch’s work is always on instinct and most of his ideas are meant to give you a specific feeling regardless of what it is. This is what makes Blue Velvet in particular very impactful and I can imagine those that saw the film when it came out even if they were repulsed by it. Because yes, it is a film that examines in detail the dark underbelly of society yet like all of Lynch’s films and like some of the opening lyrics to the Vinton song would suggests it has moments that feel soft like the light of the stars.

Blue Velvet really is the one Lynch film that boldly showcases a duality of light and darkness. How the suburbs of white picket fences can also be the same place where crimes emerges. There are people like Jeffery and people like Frank. Anyone it seems has the capacity to be on both sides. Lynch through all of this creates this giant tapestry of Americana that feels completely out of time. Some parts look like the 50s some parts feel like they could take place in the 30s and some genre features feel like a modern 70s noir. It’s a giant pastiche because this world is not one of reality. It’s an almost pure symbolic meant to express strong emotions to you. 

No symbol more prevalent than the severed ear. Which by the way is something that I say off the bat leads me to a nitpick about this film. It’s interesting how as much as David Lynch constantly says how he doesn’t like to explain his films, Blue Velvet itself actually does give some form of an answer to that ear. That yes, that could’ve been the ear of Dorthy’s husband cut off by Frank to warn her of what will happen if she makes a wrong step. All implied by Jeffrey. On one hand I wonder why something could be this simple but then again I still think it doesn’t take away from the ear as a symbol in it of itself. 

Because when you take a step back and look at that scene, maybe you the first time you saw that moment. Ask yourself, what is this scene? What is the severed ear in a grass plain on its surface? Well for me, no matter what you think or what comes out of your mind, it is a symbol of violence. And more importantly the act of violence from humanity. And here it is in the middle of a grass field with trees and birds chirping. The signs of pure life and creation and in the middle of this moment lies the exact opposite. Of us as humanity destroying ourselves and of nature. This is the kind of duality constantly seen in most of Lynch’s films. This scene wouldn’t work as specifically for Lynch if the ear was in some street with gangsters and drugs. Because it’s all violence. But here it’s two opposites existing with each other. 

It’s that violent symbol that is the reason for Jeffrey’s whole journey. He starts off as a naive boy who believes in the normalcy of his life only in one moment even more so than his Dad’s heart attack is what makes him realize there is more to this world than he realizes. He willingly goes on this path like any kid would. With strong curiosity. He goes in wanting to experience the adventure only to find the truth beneath the surface and how strange the world can be. 

This brings me to an aspect of Lynch that I think really brings to light his unique perspective that comes from such a powerful truth of our world. It’s easy to look at Lynch’s films as being random for random sakes. But that raises one question. What is normal to you then? What do you accept in this life you live in? Do people talk like “people”? Chances are if you look hard enough you’ll find something in your own life that is so unexplainable. You might want an explanation for anything but eventually you’ll have to those moments where to really understand something is not with complete rationality but with instinct. Of what you feel. As the two can go hand in hand. This for me is what Lynch saw in his life. If life doesn’t make sense why should art?

To be honest I’ve become tired of this complaint in art and instead ask the more important question with any art. Does everything come together to create cohesive logic within the context of the world the work establishes. With Lynch the answer always is a resounding yes. One moment in particular early on in the film is when Jeffrey shows the ear to Sandy’s father, the detective. He simply looks at it nonchalantly to confirm that yes it is a severed ear. It’s a moment that makes people laugh but think about how in the context of this character and world. He as someone who is an adult who’s experienced a lot probably in his career would feel more and more detached from everything. How much do we detach ourselves from a lot of terrible absurd things? Again Lynch is only exposing everything that is odd in our world through art. But it’s extremes through his spectrum in darkness to light. 

Because while you can read this film as a semi satire of Americana, it is also by the end a sincere exploration of the goodness that can come that is also. The film ends almost in a sappy joyful manner. Everything seems perfectly wrapped up with everyone getting that “happy ending”. But of course we are always reminded of the journey we went on. We can never forget. Just as many will definitely not forget the power of a film like Blue Velvet. 

It is perhaps the Lynch film that most people will watch first as their gateway into Lynch. That’s how my father first saw the film when it released in 1986. It is the Lynch that is one of his most bold in expressing everything from his perspective and it’s one that I love more and more.

𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐞 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

"I must not fear."

This will probably be the last time I will ever watch this film. I actually almost consider not watching it in the first place (There’s a reason I called this Into the Mind of Lynch. And it was because of Lynch’s singular vision that is there in everything except this. Lol.) even though it’s not a film I outright hate, it is a film that constantly frustrates me in many different levels. One in being its own adaptation of the book, another being how it never allows Lynch to fully present his own vision of the source and on a bias level the Dune we never got in Jodorowsky’s take that would’ve been a groundbreaking piece of cinema in its own right. Of course it would’ve been long and unless your name is Lav Diaz no filmmaker has dared to make a cinematic story over 10 hours. It’s a shame. 

But as for what we do have, it’s understandable why there are still defenders of this work. The costumes the sets and especially the musical score work incredibly well. It’s a shame that the pacing and story leave a lot to be desired as everything feels incredibly rushed. Of course now we have Villeneuve’s version which allows for more running time with two films. But in general this film in the context of why it exists still feels incredibly compared to everything Lynch has done before or after. It’s like how Kubrick did Spartacus only as a commercial work and when judging that compared to the rest of his filmography it sticks out like a sore thumb. The difference is everyone loved Spartacus whereas Dune would be left to the wayside. 

But on a silver living this might have been the reason as to why Lynch went the direction he did. Just think of a world where this film had completely destroyed Lynch’s career and he would submit defeat. But he didn’t submit defeat. Instead he pushed forward and probably showed the most inspiring story of any filmmaker in cinema history. He had such a flop that instead of hiding he completely emerged into the light and made what wanted to make. And look where that got him. Critical praise, a Palme d’Or, an Oscar nomination for Best Director, and overall making an even bigger legacy than what he started before Dune. 

It’s amazing how Lynch got the eyes of many in the business just off Eraserhead. ( George Lucas unironically thought Lynch would be a great candidate for Star Wars.) By the time he made Blue Velvert, Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, he proved to be more than just a guy who made the midnight movie. He made a strong body of work that inspired countless artists today. In an age where studios more than ever are (to be honest) exploiting young independent filmmakers to take advantage of their new experience in the business to handle their commercial slop it’s important we look at Lynch and see how in this field it’s clear he belonged elsewhere. What a story that is.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐧 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

"You are not an Elephant Man. You are Romeo."

One of the few films I haven’t seen before turns out to be Lynch’s most conventional work in his career so far. When judging this film in context to how Lynch would not stray through this direction for the rest of his career it’s interesting how for what many could see as Lynch’s most unconventional subject with the titular Elephant Man. With this he treats this subject perhaps at his most sentimental making the theme but very apparent in how we view the “abnormal” in the world. Particularly in the sense near the end with the circus. These “freaks” of nature are shown with the similar kind of humanity we had seen in Todd Browning’s Freaks. These people that don’t look like us are filmed without anything to suggest that they are monsters. 

If anything the people that look like us are the ones that act the most monstrous particularly of one man and his gang of debauchery come into John’s home and showcase how they view him as nothing but an attraction just like he starts out as in the beginning. In general there is this constant idea of John being used as an attraction no matter his circumstances. Even when Hopkin’s doctor character takes care of him and allows him to become more human than ever the public consciousness of the outside world are still those that are in awe of the novelty of his abnormal features. John’s most happiest moment in the theater where everyone in high society looks up to him and applauds for him. Some might read it as nothing different than him as a circus attraction and that is a dark thought but I chose to believe this is a sincere happy moment that affects John in the most positive way.

John Hurt’s performance really is remarkable in showcasing the empathy and personality of someone kind creative and curious of life. Through all that makeup and facial distortion there is still humanity in this man. So much so that is believable especially in his arc of becoming more and more true to who he is. Really all of the cast is great especially Anthony Hopkins even if his character is a little two dimensional which might be my only big issue with the film is that there wasn’t that much conflict and kind of felt like he was just only the moral com and nothing more. Which is fine as it is as I enjoyed his presence and there is one scene with he and his wife where he questions his decisions in how did he only volunteered for taking care of John just for clout. Is what he’s doing truly sincere? I kind of wished the film focused a bit more on that. 

If anything the scene that touched me the most was the scene with Mrs. Kendal and John connecting as friends over their love of the theater. Reciting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. A powerful and heartfelt moment of human connection showcasing the true goodness humanity is willing to share with anyone. 

But on that note this film was something I was kind of surprised by in how despite this being something very much of Lynch’s trademark ideas for a lot of it. It still feels like a quintessential Lynch film in his ideas and craft. Sequences that go in John’s dreams are really as Lynchian as one could be. Exploring the light and darkness in our lives and finding how they both coexist. All in all Lynch’s work has always been so humanist in nature and this is the film that presents this at its most literal. Only his later works are they more abstract but still having the same sentiments. So I suppose this is great film to start off with when it comes to understanding Lynch. His films overall might seem bizarre but everything about Lynch’s inner ideas really are about empathy and knowing the goodness in life. The Elephant Man is such a great example of that in cinema.

𝐄𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 — 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐜𝐡

"In heaven, everything is fine."

January 16th, 2025 was a day where we lost a master artist of cinema. David Lynch died leaving behind a giant legacy of art that has influenced many and more importantly deeply resonated with them as well. It shows how despite the exterior of surreal imagery and dark subject matter the interior of showing the exact opposite. Of kindness of light was just as strong and remained something that would never be replicated. So like many others I have decided to finally complete his work chronologically only leaving out his Twin Peaks Saga as that would deserve its own retrospective. 
With that said, here is Eraserhead. 

With this being my second time seeing Eraserhead it’s a moment where I gained even more appreciation while also seeing how this is still a style of cinema that can only become more ambitious than before. Lynch made this low budget feature for decades and it’s interesting how something at this small of a scale is perhaps Lynch at his most otherworldly. Whereas most of his other works dealt with dealing with the concept of some form of normalcy, here the world that Lynch crafts is simply that which might as well be on another planet. 

The black and white cinematography and the eerie use of sound design creates an atmosphere of nightmares of this factory industrial setting that is never something completely welcoming. This if anything is the subjective world of Henry. A neurotic odd man who doesn’t seem to be able to have the most capable conversation intelligence. He’s practically uncommitted to a lot of things and thus decides to live in his own fantasies. 

This brings me to something that I think is quite fascinating in that story and themes itself is actually very understandable. It’s essentially about visualizing the anxieties of becoming a father and the overall new responsibilities of newly made grown up adults. Lynch simply uses this surreal imagery to make what we find an odd shift in our lives that much more visible. Like it’s our subconscious and pure subjective view of the world on screen. 

Take the dinner scene with Mary’s parents. It’s a scene I’m sure we’ve seen thousands of times in films or even maybe you’ve been in that situation yourself. Meeting new people related to someone you care for or even just a formal thing. To some this experience that is unusual at first in your everyday life must feel quite different. This Lynch makes these characters feel more eccentric. Literally making the ideas in our minds of this change be all the more stranger. It’s overall absurd and strange but all of it still makes sense in its own logic. This is what Lynch wants. This it’s exactly what it need to be. 

However with that said it still is something simple. Perhaps knowing what Lynch would do next this actually feels a little pedestrian to me. Which I know sounds odd and by no means is this me saying it’s a failure at all. I wonder if Lynch wasn’t as lucky with his career as we know he would, how would Eraserhead have been received if only judged by itself. For me it’s such a great debut feature for what it is. Maybe some parts go on a little long but overall it’s a strong piece of work.

Watched on Wednesday March 12, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday March 12, 2025.

It really is all for that ending. A film that completely subverts the ideas of detective noir genre pictures that by today’s standards is still something quite harrowing. Having also been a very relevant story today. It’s one thing to catch one low life criminal but what if that low life criminal just so happens to have 10+ million dollars and can get away with anything due to that? What do you do then? The ending with that logic really feels hopeless. I’m someone who is an optimist for life and tires to find something somewhat hopeful in anything but this film. It’s like everything that could be something that be a happy moment is taken away. By the end it’s left on a somber note.

 Everyone knows the famous last line even me: “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown”. Literally it signals the logic of how this part in society works but I also took it as another way of saying the past given how Jake frequently mentions something from his past relating to Chinatown. (Shame it wasn’t the San Francisco Chinatown.) The past is left there and when it’s something so horrible in some instances you just need to move on.

The film was great.

This is perhaps the first time in a while that I leave a film simultaneously conflicted but still knowing that I really enjoyed what I watched. That’s not to say this film is confusing at all, if anything the film’s message on class, the environment capitalism, tribalism and even xenophobia are about as a subtile as a Ken Russell film at points (a compliment and something that I thought while watching the most ludicrous scenes).

What I mean is that this film has such a genuinely unique tone even for Bong Joon-ho’s standards of blending genres and tones of dark satirical comedy with an actual sincere approach to romance and relationships. It’s a film I can also doesn’t completely work with side characters that feel underdeveloped and some scenes near the end that feel out of people amongst a very optimistic conclusion and that’s when I was almost confused as to what I just watched. 

All in all why I’m happy though is that this is clearly from the mind of Bong Joon-ho. Even in his biggest scale this isn’t just some Sci-Fi action comedic romp that we usually expect. It’s a film that has moments that want you to feel uncomfortable, shocked and intrigued with its world and themes that are executed very well. I really enjoyed it nevertheless.

And I will say to this films credit, this easily has the best use of the Wilhelm Scream sound I’ve seen in a very long time.

Watched on Saturday March 1, 2025.

Watched on Friday February 28, 2025.

Watched on Friday February 28, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday February 26, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday February 26, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday February 26, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday February 25, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday February 25, 2025.

Watched on Friday February 21, 2025.

Mainly these are just for movies that don’t have an English language poster so I thought I’d do my part.

• From What Is Before
• Hovering Over the Water
• Eternity and a Day
• A Woman's Revenge
• Ritual
• Fragile as the World
• Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets
• Come and See
• This Transient Life
• Still Life

...plus 179 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Heightened Reality: 1-9
2. The Reality of the Situation: 10-15
3. Beyond Reality: 16-21
4. Ending Montage: 22-43

From this video essay I made: The True Image

1. A Matter of Life and Death
2. The Red Shoes
3. The Tales of Hoffmann
4. The Holy Mountain
5. El Topo
6. Satyricon
7. 8½
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. The Tree of Life
10. Afternoons of Solitude

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

From this video I made!
https://youtu.be/v1_dOAWhyBU?si=RvUflz3tiGf-IM9c

1. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
2. Metropolis
3. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
4. Napoleon
5. The ion of Joan of Arc
6. Un Chien Andalou
7. City Lights
8. Freaks
9. L'Atalante
10. Grand Illusion

...plus 91 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Not saying any of these movies are good or bad because of this. Just a trend I see on here.

I will say though that Shrek 2 and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules are the only two goated movies here.

• The Parent Trap
• The Princess Diaries
• The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
• Ever After
• Ella Enchanted
• Enchanted
• Peter Pan
• About Time
• 13 Going on 30
• Anastasia

...plus 138 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Really good IG . Check it out.
(Will be updated as more films show up)
Updated: February 19th, 2025
-> Cinematiaintings

• La Collectionneuse
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Come and See
• Funeral Parade of Roses
• The Sacrifice
• Dreams
• A Ghost Story
• Wild Strawberries
• The Master
• Close-Up

...plus 853 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Highest Rated Feature Films on Letterboxd.

This includes:
Every Year with both Narative and Documentaries.

EDIT: June 19, 2023. (Ratings Algorithm Change)
CURRENT EDIT: February 9th, 2025

This does not include:
Short films
Concert Movies
TV shows
Miscellaneous Shit
Extended Editions of Movies
Behind The Scenes
Mini Series unless they are considered films on Letterboxd.

Statistics:

All Popular Directors:
5 Entries - Charlie Chaplin
3 Entries - Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
3 Entries - Akira Kurosawa
3 Entries - Masaki Kobayashi
3 Entries - Billy Wilder

All Popular Countries:
48 Entries - United States
18 Entries - Japan
13 Entries -
6 Entries - United Kingdom
6 Entries - Brazil

• Sinners

  Rating: 4.2
  Director: Ryan Coogler
  Country: United States

• No Other Land

  Rating: 4.6
  Director: Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra
  Country: State of Palestine

• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

  Rating: 4.4
  Director: Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thomson, Kemp Powers
  Country: United States

• Everything Everywhere All at Once

  Rating: 4.3
  Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
  Country; United States

• Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

  Rating: 4.3
  Director: Hideaki Anno
  Country: Japan

• The Father

  Rating: 4.3
  Director: Florian Zeller
  Country: , United Kingdom, United States

• Parasite

  Rating: 4.6
  Director: Bong Joon-ho
  Country: South Korea

• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

  Rating: 4.4
  Director: Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
  Country: United States

• Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu

  Rating: 4.2
  Director: Tatsuya Oishi, Akiyuki Simbo
  Country: Japan

• O.J.: Made in America

  Rating: 4.5
  Director: Ezra Edelman
  Country: United States

...plus 96 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

From the newest House of Tabula video!
https://youtu.be/d2b4b_yqQ0A?si=tl7myqYZw_ZqzQPL

1-13 - Tier 1: Accessible and Universally Enjoyable
14-24 - Tier 2: The Auteur
25-33 - Tier 3: Narrative Complexity
34-42 - Tier 4: The Weight of The World
43-49 - Tier 5: Slow Cinema
50-60 - Tier 6: Cinema Collapsing In On Itself
61-67- Tier 7: Experimental Storytelling & Abstract Visual Narratives
68-70 - The Abyss 
71-83 - Other recommendations from the Patreon pdf

1. 12 Angry Men
2. Notorious
3. The Apartment
4. It's a Wonderful Life
5. Fargo
6. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
7. Le Trou
8. A Separation
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
10. Thelma & Louise

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

They are already better than the Oscars from the choices of winners I have seen them give so far.

Their website can be found here.
icsfilm.org/category/our-yearly-awards/

• All We Imagine as Light

  2024 Best Picture Winner

• Close Your Eyes

  2023 Best Picture Winner

• Trenque Lauquen

  2022 Best Picture Winner

• Happening

  2021 Best Picture Winner

• Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains

  2020 Best Picture Winner

• Pain and Glory

  2019 Best Picture Winner

• Zama

  2018 Best Picture Winner

• Call Me by Your Name

  2017 Best Picture Winner

• Toni Erdmann

  2016 Best Picture Winner

• Carol

  2015 Best Picture Winner

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

• Andrei Rublev

  A

• Barry Lyndon

  B

• The Color of Pomegranates

  C

• The Devil, Probably

  D

• Eternity and a Day

  E

• Fantasia

  F

• The Godfather

  G

• The Holy Mountain

  H

• In the Mood for Love

  I

• Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

  J

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

A list of every film that was either mentioned or shown in a collage of several others in certain segments.

Shoutout to Ogag for making my work a little bit easier with the already curated lists for many separate videos.

Link to all separate video lists: letterboxd.sitesdebloques.org/ogag/tag/the-cinema-cartography/lists/

Also if there are any that I may have missed, please let me know. Thank you.

1. Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory
2. Newark Athlete
3. Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze
4. Annabelle Serpentine Dance
5. The Sprinkler Sprinkled
6. The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon
7. The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
8. Horse Trick Riders
9. Fishing for Goldfish
10. The Blacksmiths

...plus 848 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

From the newest House of Tabula video!
https://youtu.be/o_4hdA11Z-Q?si=X3X1_UtJXyOe2dfc

1-136 : Primary Recommendations
137-177 : Additional related recommendations

1. Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze
2. The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat
3. The Big Swallow
4. A Trip to the Moon
5. The Great Train Robbery
6. Fantasmagorie
7. Suspense.
8. The Birth of a Nation
9. Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
10. J'accuse

...plus 167 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I wish I saw City of God when I was a month old.

• The Brutalist
• The Zone of Interest
• Godland
• Titane
• Beginning
• The Lighthouse
• The Portuguese Woman
• Phantom Thread
• The Handmaiden
• Son of Saul

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

My official ranking of the feature narrative films of Robert Bresson.

1. The Devil, Probably
2. L'Argent
3. Mouchette
4. Au Hasard Balthazar
5. Diary of a Country Priest
6. A Man Escaped
7. Four Nights of a Dreamer
8. Lancelot of the Lake
9. A Gentle Woman
10. Pickpocket

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

The complete list films shown in my new video you can watch here: https://youtu.be/fEjlM3Thjo0?si=Obl8ouPqgVu18oTn

• The Gospel According to Matthew
• The ion of Joan of Arc
• Marketa Lazarová
• Andrei Rublev
• Landscape in the Mist
• Winter Light
• The House That Jack Built
• Godland
• The Devil, Probably
• Fanny and Alexander

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

My favorite film from each decade of the past 100 years of cinema.

• The ion of Joan of Arc
• City Lights
• Fantasia
• Tokyo Story
• Theorem
• The Holy Mountain
• Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
• Voices Through Time
• Spirited Away
• The Tree of Life

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

This is list is a showcase of my honest statement that I am constantly inspired by art and true originality to me comes in what you are inspired by.

Here are many of the narrative, thematic and aesthetic references and influences that are found within my series 'Journey in Classic Era'. My biggest project I have ever worked on.

If you want to watch it for yourself, the links to Seasons 1 & 2 are here,

Season 1: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd42ovEmaJKyH9lZWr9ce5fcT0glUDHZV

Season 2: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd42ovEmaJKzWYpqIOH6dWq4uMNnoLkWx

Also there are some spoilers.

1. Fantasia

   My love of classical music synchronized with visuals all started with this film and when I first saw it on TV at 5 years old. 

2. Amadeus

   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s music has always been a big part of my life so naturally it would inspire me. As well as this film specifically being how I thought of Mozart. Same audio from the film can be heard in Season 1, Episode 2. 

   Also Mozart’s iconic red uniform because the reference for the Amadeus Legion’s colors. 

3. Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach

   Bach’s music and family history was an influence on me. Especially on the lore of the Currentzis family.

4. Eroica

   Beethoven’s music and symphonic magnitude was an influence on the series. 

5. The Genius of Mozart

   This dramatic documentary in general about the Mozart family was very influential in how I viewed classical music history. 

6. The Magic Flute

   The Magic Flute’s fantasy elements were a beginning influence on how I saw fantasy in the world building of the series.

7. The Ring of the Nibelung: Twilight of the Gods

   The main reference for the narrative and structure has been the Ring Cycle by Wagner. Especially with the idea of an ensemble piece of many central characters and with it having a four opera saga.

8. Loving Vincent

   Van Gogh, Pierre Renoir, and especially Monet’s impressionist works is how I draw many of my frames. Season 2 was when I fully embraced that. 

9. Baby Bach

   The opening credits and the title font were directly inspired by the Baby Einstein series. Several audio can be heard in various episodes. 
   I also decided to this thing every in the credits music for every Season Finale would be make directly using music from the Baby Einstein soundtrack. To kind of bookend each symphony acknowledging my childhood beginning.

10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

    The fellowship was the main fictional reference for the Amadeus Legion and specifically the dynamics of the main . The Lord of the Rings’ grandiose style in general was a reference for me. 

...plus 31 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

MY FAVOURITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME.
No longer 50. The 100 greatest films I have seen in my life so far. I’m sure new ones will soon arrive here. All in a random order. 
 

Updated 5.19.2024

1. Cries and Whispers
2. The Red Shoes
3. The Tree of Life
4. 8½
5. Oldboy
6. Andrei Rublev
7. Eternity and a Day
8. Pastoral: To Die in the Country
9. Phantom Thread
10. Pulp Fiction

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

It has been a five year journey with Andrei Tarkovsky, but I know I have completed the filmography of the greatest filmmaker that will possibly ever live.

1. Mirror
2. Andrei Rublev
3. The Sacrifice
4. Stalker
5. Nostalgia
6. Solaris
7. Ivan's Childhood

After nearly 50 years, Pasolini has finally got his wish of experiencing the completed trilogy he always wanted to do. Where other filmmakers lived on after his unfortunate death to thematically complete this tapestry.

Of course, Pasolini actually wanted for films like Porno Teo Kolossal and the movie about Gilles de Rais but in of thematics set out by Salò, I’d say cinema has finally found its holy trilogy of death and evil.

• Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
• The White Ribbon
• The Zone of Interest

This is a Watchlist for me personally of all the films that throughout film history I believe seem like the most important ones. After exploring my own personal taste, a look into its history, and how cinema is what it is today with what many consider as the high quality standard of cinema. This is the canon in my perspective of the films I have and those I have yet to see from the dawn of cinema all the way up to its most recent contemporaries. Showing how quality art from this medium is always being made. All this is left is finding them and singing their triumphs for others.

You can also say your own personal canon list down in the comments. 

347 / 730

1. The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat
2. The Big Swallow
3. A Trip to the Moon
4. The Great Train Robbery
5. Dante's Inferno
6. The Birth of a Nation
7. The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris
8. Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
9. J'accuse
10. Within Our Gates

...plus 720 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My official ranking of the feature narrative films of Pier Paolo Pasolini.

1. Theorem

   Easily his masterpiece. The perfect runtime. The greatest use of tone and atmosphere. It doesn’t feel like a film more like just a fine piece of art that deserves to be seen as a triumph. 

2. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

   His final film is like the culmination of what he has been doing with filmmaking. No longer even thinking about making cinema for the masses. Salò is disgusting but also has its own powerful beauty to it with compelling ideas. 

3. The Gospel According to Matthew

   Pasolini’s most extravagant piece. His take on the life of Christ might just be the most compelling look on the figure with the best use of black and white he did.

4. Oedipus Rex

   Pasolini adapted many myths but this would probably be the best of these interpretations. A gorgeous looking film with many amazing moments that has a beautiful atmosphere. 

5. Pigsty

   The most underrated Pasolini film in my opinion. A unique double tale which contrasts the bourgeoisie narrative with a visually compelling journey of a cannibal. 

6. Mamma Roma

   A great neorealist work with a fantastic lead performance and some very emotional scenes especially during its climax. 

7. Accattone

   A great debut feature that feels very different to much of Pasolini’s films but still has a few strings that subtly foreshadow what will come next. 

8. The Decameron

   My favorite of the Trilogy of Life. A lot of fun moments and beautiful imagery make this by far the most memorable out of the three. 

9. Arabian Nights

   Visually stunning and has a lot of personality even if the narrative can feel incredibly uneven. 

10. The Canterbury Tales

    Has many parts that are funny but some that are not but I will always say the ending makes it worth it just to see something truly batshit.

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

EVERY Film from the 8 hour long canon video by Alex Day.

You can watch the whole thing right here. 
-> The History of Cinema Video

1. age of Venus
2. Sallie Gardner at a Gallop
3. The Musician Monkey
4. Roundhay Garden Scene
5. Accordion Player
6. Man Walking Around a Corner
7. Horse and Rider Jumping Over an Obstacle
8. Monkeyshines, No. 1
9. Dickson Greeting
10. Men Boxing

...plus 2570 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Zone of Interest

   Zone of Interest Review

2. Barbie

   Barbie Review

3. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom

   Salo Rewatch Review

4. Phantom Thread

   Phantom Thread Rewatch Review

5. Happy End

   Happy End Review

6. The Boy and the Heron

   How Do You Live? Review

7. Climax

   Climax Rewatch Review

8. The Conformist

   The Conformist Review

9. Past Lives

   Past Lives Review

10. Saltburn

    Saltburn Review
    

1. Spirited Away
2. My Neighbor Totoro
3. Princess Mononoke
4. The Wind Rises
5. The Boy and the Heron
6. Kiki's Delivery Service
7. Howl's Moving Castle
8. Castle in the Sky
9. Ponyo
10. Porco Rosso

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

A video from Cinematiaintings
www.instagram.com/p/C0PH_B-C5QT/

1. The Mouth Agape
2. The Fire Within
3. Dancer in the Dark
4. The ion of Joan of Arc
5. Vivre Sa Vie
6. A Hidden Life
7. Spencer
8. A Short Film About Killing
9. Diamonds of the Night
10. Bones and All

...plus 84 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A video which I assume is the ’s list of favorite films out of the hundreds that has been posted for.

As quoted in his caption: "This video is a tribute to all those filmmakers who have helped us better understand the world around us, increased our self-awareness, and given us the courage to be open to new ideas and experiences."

Video Here: www.instagram.com/reel/Cm16zkUJAFc/

1. Damnation
2. Vertigo
3. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
4. Dreams
5. Persona
6. Paris, Texas
7. The 400 Blows
8. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
9. Ikiru
10. Her

...plus 124 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

As my baby cousin is now a few months old, I have been thinking about what films could be shown to a toddler. I have watched Baby Einstein and several other programs for that age. And now there’s this sense that there should be extremely specific media for that age and it should be just a bunch of bright colors and simple ideas. This is fine at some point but for his age, I want to go against the norm. Because I think I have seen no talk about how these experimental/artsy/"European style" of movies are actually some of the perfect first movies for babies. All a baby should learn is what moving images can be. So here are a collection of movies that I would absolutely show my baby cousin and maybe my own child at some point.

Comment down below for other suggestions if you have any.

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Solaris
• Koyaanisqatsi
• Mirror
• Man with a Movie Camera
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Samsara
• Pina
• Fantasia
• The Tree of Life

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

There are many great films you can find on YouTube, especially if you want to look at the underrated and obscure. Many of those films I have still not been able to see. Perhaps someday, I will be able to watch all of these and maybe that will come when I have time to just marathon all of this.

Again maybe someday...

• Tokyo Noise
• 0.5 mm
• The Roe's Room
• Elephant
• Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
• The Tragedy of Man
• God's Comedy
• Come and Go
• Columbus
• Himizu

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

- The list of my favorite movies that came out last decade. 

- Now you can the 6 elite films that got a 10/10 in the 1990’s.

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Underground
3. Beau Travail
4. The Double Life of Véronique
5. The Thin Red Line
6. Being John Malkovich
7. Eyes Wide Shut
8. Eternity and a Day
9. Dreams
10. Three Colours: Blue

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

- The list of my favorite movies that came out last decade.

- Now you can the 17 elite films that got a 10/10 in the 2000’s

- List might change if I see more movies. (Still need to see Eureka, The Pianist, Nobody Knows, & Evolution of a Pilipino Family.)

1. Oldboy
2. Love Exposure
3. City of God
4. Synecdoche, New York
5. Enter the Void
6. Spirited Away
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Mulholland Drive
9. The White Ribbon
10. Yi Yi

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

- The list of my favorite movies that came out last decade. 

- Now you can the 11 elite films that got a 10/10 in the 2010’s

- List might change if I see more movies. (Still need to see An Elephant Sitting Still.)

1. The Tree of Life
2. Amour
3. Black Swan
4. The Handmaiden
5. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
6. Phantom Thread
7. Her
8. Mysteries of Lisbon
9. The Lighthouse
10. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

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

Here is my official ranking of the filmography of Argentinian director, Gaspar Noe.

1. Enter the Void

   To me, this is Noe’s masterpiece. His epic odyssey that is by far his most grand and unique piece. He takes everything he loves from his favorite films from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Angst, and combines it all into only something he can make. A truly idiosyncratic work that has only grown on me as one of my favorite movies as well as just a brilliant cinematic experience I can always come back to. 

2. Climax

   I would still probably say to this day this remains Noe’s most ambitious work that manages to succeed and I will make sure that it will go down as a fantastic filmmaking achievement that it deserves to be known as.

3. Irreversible

   Noe’s most raw and uncompromising vision that takes such a dark story and flips it upside down only making it more horrifying. In no way shies away from the disgusting truth of the matter especially with the nine minute main piece of the whole movie. 

4. Vortex

   A big step up and a return to form with Noe perhaps at his most mature and emotionally touching. Still a bit dark like everything else he has done but it perhaps was the film that personally moved me more than the rest. 

5. Love

   Yes, it is the most juvenile Noe film in a filmography that o so leans on the edge on being juvenile. I can only imagine the horror of people watching this movie in 3D. Like as much as that would be the only movie I would see it in, I can also image it being the only time I would see it and wouldn’t do so with other times I would see it. Here’s a fun fact, this was the first Noe film I ever saw and it was all by accident when searching on YouTube . 13 year old me was very confused during the first viewing and that didn’t change many years later.

6. Lux Æterna

   As much as I wanted to put Love on the bottom and it would be before I watched this, and Lux Aeterna, is a movie who’s ideas are so undercooked because of its short runtime and how much in retrospect it is just a half baked version of Noe’s other works before and after. 

My official Kubrick Ranking.

1. Barry Lyndon

   The masterpiece, the legendary Barry Lyndon is one of the greatest movies of all time. I could probably talk about this movie for the rest of my life and I can never get bored with this movie. One day I will try and capture all my thoughts in one go. But for now it is the perfect movie for me. 

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey

   You have probably heard everything that could be said on this movie. It deserves all the praise it can get and to this day it feels like a miracle. As there will never be another movie like this. A true odyssey that feels like the most avant garde artists got the biggest budget and made this extraordinary tapestry. It’s perfect. 

3. A Clockwork Orange

   The first film that not only made me fall in love with Kubrick but in love with cinema as a whole. Just for that it will always have a special place in my heart. It still manages to be engaging, thought provoking and disturbingly funny all these years later.

4. The Shining

   My second favorite horror movie of all time. One of the most unsettling movies I have ever seen. One of the favorite music soundtracks ever. Every moment has almost become iconic. It’s just an absolute blast. 

5. Eyes Wide Shut

   Kubrick’s fantastical dream world in Eyes Wide Shut is so captivating and may be the most unique feeling out of Kubrick’s filmography and thus is unlike any other film in history. Filled with such memorable scenes and beautiful moments that are also unsettling. 

6. Full Metal Jacket

   Paths of Glory made be better than this, but Full Metal Jacket is the one I enjoy and get a lot out of. It’s entertaining but also deeply haunting at points. A feeling that has never left my mind from the first time I saw it.

7. Paths of Glory

   The first of many films that I would call a masterpiece. Only 88 minutes is exactly what this movie needs and it delivers in spades. The first film to have just the most meticulous and perfectly placed shots that are captivating, moving and unlike anything else. It’s a complex powerful sight to behold.

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

   Perhaps the only Kubrick movie I would call just a little little bit overrated. But it’s still fantastic. It is one of the best comedies of all time and has so many Classic and fantastic scenes bit there’s a good chunk that doesn’t fully live up to its best moments. Mostly with Mandrake. Still an entertaining movie all the way through. 

9. The Killing

   The first great and consistent project Kubrick would deliver. From the opening shot down to the last, it shows an intriguing hint as to what the director would do in the future in this entertaining and effective crime movie. 

10. Lolita

    Perhaps the one Kubrick movie that I need to rewatch. Maybe I’ll love it more, maybe I’ll love it less. But so far I only have good memories of it. Especially with its humor and performances. 

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

I found an old copy of the Letterboxd Top 250 from February 20th, 2017 that was saved. This is what the list looked like on that date.

1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather Part II
3. Seven Samurai
4. Harakiri
5. 12 Angry Men
6. The Empire Strikes Back
7. Pulp Fiction
8. High and Low
9. Come and See
10. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

...plus 240 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Definitely a New Years Resolution so see at least one film from these artists that I have known for years.

1. The Cranes Are Flying

   Mikhail Kalatozov

2. Burning

   Lee Chang-dong 

3. Ugetsu

   Kenji Mizoguchi

4. Bicycle Thieves

   Vittorio De Sica

5. The Ascent

   Larisa Shepitko

6. Pather Panchali

   Satyajit Ray

7. Manila in the Claws of Light

   Lino Brocka

8. A Moment of Innocence

   Mohsen Makhmalbaf

9. La Belle Noiseuse

   Jacques Rivette

10. Paterson

    Jim Jarmusch 

Inspiration for making this list: letterboxd.sitesdebloques.org/aronne_ibarra/list/about-me-thank-you-for-1000-followers/
Thank you.

Originally Posted on October 9th, 2021

Updated on October 9th, 2022

• Beginning

  Greetings, my name is Esteban David Rodriguez.

  Before I begin this story (as this section implies), I want to thank everyone for liking and commenting on my reviews and for all the amazing people I met over the past almost 3 years I have been on this site. It truly has been an amazing experience. One that I can assure is not going to go away anytime soon. This story is almost for you guys as it is for myself. I have shown a glimpse of my deeply personal side in a few of my long reviews but this will be the full package. This is a story of who I was, who I am now, and maybe a way of me guessing who I will be.

  Born on October 9th, 2002 A.D. I spent the majority of my childhood years with my parents and later my younger brother in Sacramento, California. Although I was born in America, I very much have Mexican blood and heritage. So I would experience both of these cultures simultaneously. But there was something else I had in life that I didn't fully grasp until I was much older. I was diagnosed with autism when I was very young. It was so bad where I wasn't able to speak my first words until I was 5 years old and I barely would even interact with anyone. Something that I always my parents saying to me one time was that the doctor when I was a toddler said my condition would probably not allow me to even graduate high school but we’ll talk about that later. Besides that my childhood looking back was basically the most surreal experience because of my memories with them and I still had a good childhood. My parents are the reason I accomplished so much so far in life and I thank them as much as I can.

• Baby Bach

  Perhaps my most cherished memories of this era was experiencing the Baby Einstein series. VeggieTales and Thomas Railways series have come close though. In many cases if it was fate or not, Baby Einstein represents what it felt like when I was a child. My mind went off in all directions creating one big imagination for myself that was all colors, sounds and random images from my mind. None of it made sense but its uniqueness for me is one I . This is for both my mind and this series. Maybe I didn't learn much intellectually but maybe I did learn something visually. Perhaps, these were the first seeds in me discovering who I really wanted to be.

• Amadeus

  When you see my bio on this site, I still have that quote “If something has classical music, I’ll probably love it.” My love for classical music from many composers has been pretty much a lifetime. My parents even say when I was a sperm but I leave that up in the “air”. But I will always love this music more than anything ever. Partly because of Baby Einstein but definitely because of my parents. And to this day no composer, no musician, no artist has had a deep connection to me more than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was always my favorite to the very day I am typing this review. His work is like nothing else and can make me feel any emotion I want to. He can make me be the happiest person on Earth and also make me be sad for eternity. I come to him for any feeling. In fact this era of music, baroque, classical, romantic, it is all my biggest inspiration in life. It was always for comfort, my true escape from the world and not only grows with time for me. Classical Music defines my life.

  If you want some recommendations on what to hear from Mozart first or just to listen to some more I would definitely say these:

  eine kleine nachtmusik
  Symphony no. 34, 40 & 41
  Piano Concertos 5, 12, 15, 21, 22, & 23

• Air

  But even this one piece outranks any Mozart, and it is my favorite and most nostalgic piece of music I would ever hear forever. This came at a time of transition where the decade of the 2000’s was coming to a close and I would soon start a new chapter in my life. This piece was Johann Sebastian Bach’s Air on G String. One piece that truly makes me cry in joy. Many people associate this with pain in Evangelion, but when I heard this piece when I was 7, I envisioned pure heaven on Earth, my old home was just endless flat grass and endless beautiful skies. It transports me to another world where I just linger. Letting myself be taken by whatever comes my way. It was the last piece of Classical Music I would discover before leaving for Michigan.

• Fantasia

  But before I got to that, of course I eventually watched films, mainly Pixar movies and not having any real interest in main Disney films at all. Except for the Mickey Mouse characters ironically. So then Fantasia came along. The first moment I went, “this is my favorite movie ever”. It has my two favorite things at the time, classical music and Mickey Mouse, at least for one scene. And to this day, it is still my favorite animated film of all time and one of my favorites movies, a credit that would be given to many other movies for years to come.

• Michigan

  And thus I moved to Michigan at the end of Summer 2010. I would then stay there until June 2016. During this time, I can definitely say much has changed and I have grown to have many interests and would see myself mature a lot as I try to be more social with others. Unlike Sacramento where I had one maybe two friends that unfortunately can’t anyone and possibly will never see again, I managed to gain a group of friends from 3rd Grade all the way to 8th grade that I still talk to this day. I lost my habit of being a gigantic picky eater, I was going good at school, and I guess what also came when I then went to Junior High was being a “popular student”. I did get to know a lot of people but I think people like my personality and how “great” I was at rapping. (I wasn't to be honest), but even if I don't see all of them in person again, I feel happy that I go out on a high note at the very end. I performed one last time at the talent show by you guessed it rapping and everyone loved it and that was definitely a good farewell from me to them. And yet there were so many things that happened in my life back then that require their own chapters.

• Dream Island Girl

  Now with everything that happened in Michigan there was probably one thing that inspired me a lot during his time that got me where I am today. If Baby Einstein and several other shows afterwards defined my toddler and early childhood years, this YouTube show has definitely defined not only my years in Michigan but my pre teens in general. The name of this series is “Battle for Dream Island”, a Total Drama Island esque show but inanimate objects with stick figure limbs. I vividly when I first discovered it. It was when I started to become accustomed to YouTube. I have basically used it since 2009 to watch Thomas videos and other children's things, but then one day in December 2012, I got a recommendation of the first episode. The thumbnail immediately intrigued me and the moment I watched it, I found myself watching all 25 episodes of the first season in less than a couple days, and rewatched it over and over again, until I discovered there was a season 2 and watched that over and over again. But what I have to ask myself now is why? What made me fall in love with this show and honestly why do I still do almost 9 nine years later? Well I think this is because of how it really was nothing like I had seen before. The animation style, the fun challenges, the small references to internet slang, and just the overall zany energy where it feels literally anything can happen. But as I keep watching I discovered who made this show when I looked more into the videos of the channel jacknjellify. What I thought was just made by some company like in the vein of Pixar was just made solely by two 12 year old brothers that were only 4 years older than me when the show came out on January 1, 2010. In many ways Micheal and Cary Huang become the first people I knew that created the media I watched. My mind couldn't comprehend much logic at the time so the idea that people around my age could create something that inspired me was mind blowing. I can honestly say that my creativity and imagination and drive to tell stories would be where it is if I hadn't grown up loving this series. And after all this time I still will say this. To this day, “Battle for Dream Island” remains as one of my favorite piece of media I have ever seen. A show I can watch forever and still never feel bored and be inspired by its imagination. No matter what flaws, I will love and respect this series for the rest of my life.

  If you want to see Season 1 and the series afterwards, I have the link right here:
  www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_49oVhJEpM&list=PL24C8378F296DB656&index=70
  www.youtube.com/channel/UCeKLuqGciqZZ5RFYk5CbqXg

• Star Wars

  But there was another series that came close. That would become my obsession. George Lucas’ epic space opera Star Wars. Of course it would be my father, who saw this series before me, who would introduce it to me. I pretty much have no little to no nostalgia for major blockbusters and mainstream stuff that many people grew up with, like obviously I have had new interests for most of my childhood, but Star Wars was always an exception and I think that is because of its distinct universe that I resonated with. The way this series relies so much on perfect music muhc like in the operas of Mozart, its philosophy with the Jedi and Sith, and the imagination of worlds, creatures, and so much more felt like nothing I have seen. And I wanted to know it all. Not just historically wise but what Lucas and many other creators were trying to express through this story. I seeing tv shows and reading comics and books galore. Yeah I don't a lot of what I learned but it was a time that I would look fondly on and ultimately, Star Wars would be where I had my interest on epic saga stories spanning multiple parts, and have always wanted to tell my own story like saga for a long time. I am not the avid fan I was back then but it always has a special place in my heart as I transitioned into embracing my unconventional side when it comes to specific interests.

• Marching Band

  Ultimately once I left Michigan in Summer of 2016, and went on my way to High School back in the state of California, this would begin my final transformation. (For Now) This would be related to my experience in being a musician. I have played in particular the Euphonium instrument between 2013 - 2020. And during those seven years I went from amateur musician, to more competent concert player, to then evolving into a professional marching band player being a part of the marching band where we spent hours a day of brutal practice and resulted in us winning most competitions we enter. How I got there was simply because I have never heard of the euphonium prior and thought it was interesting to me because of its uniqueness. This drive to be better as I grew older became more critical and honestly my slightly cynical nature was definitely caused especially by the marching band and have never really been the same. Of course I made dozens upon dozens of new friends because of this opportunity and have gotten to play music that genuinely made me excited but something changed in me. But I don't know exactly what. However there was one moment before all of this I vividly back in 2015. In band summer camp for junior high, I was in a cabin for 2 weeks with 11 other people. When I met them, the first day was fine with them besides them getting annoyed when I started making noise because I couldn't help it. Then everything changed the next day. For the next brutal 13 days, I would be bullied, harassed and made fun of by every single one of them whenever I was with them, causing me to try and be alone for a long time. Before this I have never been bullied in a traditional sense but this experience left me scared but had more impact, it was like an awakening, because I felt like I had changed since those days. I no longer wanted that to happen again, I no longer wanted to try and fit in, I no longer repressed my idiosyncrasies. I was and am Esteban Rodriguez where I would embrace being me and would try to improve for the better. First with music and then what was lying beyond.

• A Clockwork Orange

  Then in late 2016, my ion for cinema slowly began. I went through many films. It wasn't by category but rather what I found interesting, mostly mainstream but some a bit less known like City of God and Cinema Paradiso, that even almost 5 years later are still two of my favorites. But of course the one artist that was like a big bang in my perspective on art in general was the filmography of Stanley Kubrick. The first movie I saw from him was actually “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 2012. Of course, the first viewing went about as well as you would expect for a 10 year old kid. I was conflicted but knew it was special all that time ago. It has become a cliche at this point to have your answer of a movie you disliked to then liked be 2001, but I think why those who managed to love this movie overtime is because you connected to what it was trying to do and you find yourself constantly thinking about it for a very long time. As far as I know Criswell aka Cinema Cartography, probably summed him up best when he said “your first experience with a Kurbick film will be a somewhat perplexing one”. It still kind of is honestly. But that didn't stop me from falling in love with his perspective on life. I soon watched The Shining for the time and rewatched 2001 in very early 2017, and they were both amazing experiences but something even greater would come in Summer of 2017, when I would watch A Clockwork Orange for the first time. And then I finally got it. At least I finally got three things. Number One, I understood that Cinema could be High Art. Number Two, I wanted to see more movies that gave me an unexplainable experience. Finally Number Three, I wanted to be a filmmaker. Of course then I watched the rest of his entire filmography. One of the few filmmakers I have managed to do that with. Kubrick would become the first of many artists that I would discover and would find myself going down a long, deep, and unimaginable rabbit hole that I never would have expected.

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

• Morbius
• Minions: The Rise of Gru
• Black Adam

I love watching movies for class on our big University Theater screen in the morning.

• Eisenstein in Guanajuato

  Lecture 1 - August 22th

• Man with a Movie Camera

  Lecture 2 - August 29th

• Get Out

  Lecture 3 - September 12th

• The Battle of Algiers

  Lecture 4 - September 19th

• Ritual

  Lecture 5 - September 26th

• Shiri

  Lecture 6 - October 3rd

• The Stepford Wives

  Lecture 7 - October 10th

• Helter Skelter

  Lecture 8 - October 17th

• Black Swan

  Lecture 9 - October 24th

• Diva

  Lecture 10 - October 31st

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

Might as well get on the bandwagon. You can list as many films as want in the comments.

• I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK

  Nadia

• Ichi the Killer

  Nadia

• La Haine

  ogsu

• Naked

  Grayson

• In the Mood for Love

  Grayson

• Burning

  Grayson

• The Great Beauty

  Grayson

• Let the Right One In

  Grayson

• Perfect Blue

  Grayson

• Audition

  Grayson

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

aka Andrey Zvyagintsev

1. The Return
2. Loveless
3. Leviathan
4. The Banishment
5. Elena

Pretty much all three in the trilogy are masterworks of filmmaking.

1. Oldboy
2. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
3. Lady Vengeance

Why is no one talking about this???????....

• The House That Jack Built
• A Hidden Life

I had to. 
Disclaimer: this list is not meant to offend anyone.
Edit: Feel free to put boomer movies in the comments

• Persona
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Barry Lyndon
• The Godfather
• GoodFellas
• Citizen Kane
• Eraserhead
• Goldfinger
• Amadeus
• Jaws

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

Feel free to leave other suggestions in the comments below.

• Love Exposure
• Birth
• The Holy Mountain
• Little Forest: Summer/Autumn
• Little Forest: Winter/Spring
• All About Lily Chou-Chou
• City of God
• Innocent Voices
• The Dance of Reality
• Endless Poetry

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

1. 2046
2. In the Mood for Love
3. Chungking Express
4. Happy Together
5. Fallen Angels
6. Ashes of Time
7. As Tears Go By
8. Days of Being Wild
9. My Blueberry Nights