4v291o

the capitalist on trial by god

not the best wes anderson film, but possibly the best at being a wes anderson film, if that makes sense. his schtick -- or, more aptly, his impulses -- are not distancing here (e.g asteroid city), yet its sentimentality is not twee and mawkish.

by far his most explicitly political film. as his oeuvre progresses, anderson becomes increasingly brechtian -- a tendency often mistaken for coldness. here, he literalizes this to tackle the soulless machinery of capitalism.

quite baffled that reviews neglect to mention the film's politics -- hell, richard ayoade’s character is literally a marxist revolutionary! very unlike anderson’s other works like the french dispatch, where he co-opts may ‘68 as aesthetic ornamentation rather than text

as a side note, it is funny that anderson has obviously studied epic theatre yet usually employs the “alienation effect” emotionally rather than for political critique (its original purpose). 

very modern movie in its concerns! many dialectical relationships to consider -- the dissonance between religion and exploitation, excess vs poverty, absence vs abundance. 

really, really liked this one :)

Watched on Wednesday May 28, 2025.

thought someone was gooning in the theatre but they were having a medical episode lol. a very different type of moaning!

Watched on Saturday May 24, 2025.

was wine drunk and high, so obviously not in the best viewing mindset, but didn’t like this one! everything feels way too mapped out and precise to be truly transgressive or even confrontational in the way ducournau intends

Watched on Thursday May 22, 2025.

this movie has it all: women holding candelabras in a dark mansion… lesbianism… beautiful norwegian twinks… 

the ambiguous epoch of the ugly stepsister (i assume 18th or 19th century) lends itself wonderfully to mutilation in service of the male gaze. barbara creed would have a lot to say about this film in its historical liaisons between contemporary cosmetic procedures and brutal, bygone traditions. after all, what is plastic surgery if not an extension of the footbinding, rib-breaking corsets, and archaic rhinoplasties forced upon women to satiate mens fetishism? all of these lived histories are, tragically, well suited for a body horror picture.

starts brilliantly as a lanthimos-ian comedy, but unfortunately falls into the stereotypes it endeavors to critique. consider how director emilie kristine blichfeldtapplication applies zoomorphism -- women are rendered “obedient” and compared to canines, which would be biting if the film didn't collapse its satire with outright depiction and schadenfreude. even the ending betrays the film's thesis -- if you try to change, you'll just become even more grotesque.

my spoiler free review of this remarkable achievement:

when the entity began disseminating negative reviews of mission: impossible - the final reckoning, i did not falter. us unwavering cruisers do not quiver in the face of criticism, we stand staunchly, ready to defend lord and savior thomas mapother iv at all costs. 

but alas, there is no need to make “a case” for this picture…no need to don the mask of the vulgar auteur, armed with context to situate this piece into cruise’s broader oeuvre... the work speaks for itself.

to stare into tom cruise’s eyes on screen is to gaze into the past, present, and future of cinema. who else has the commitment to hang precariously off a biplane? who else has the tenacity to outright depict israel holding nuclear weapons? who else has the influence to single handedly save an industry with one movie alone?

known to some as m:i8, or even dead reckoning part ii, every line in this film is delivered with the solemn, utmost sincerity of a deathbed confession. referencing the mathematical properties of existence itself, luther reminds us that “our lives are the sum of our choices”; while the conniving a.i sycophant gabriel erroneously labels valiant ethan hunt as someone who “gambled millions of lives” for each “he tries to save”. these rich snippets of dialogue are a simulacrum of the final reckoning’s colloquies in general -- performed with the verve and vigour of a group determined to rescue humanity; cut and scored with the dramatic importance of a movie trailer voiceover (complimentary).

thomas’ partner in crime -- and, as us true cruisers understand, partner in bed -- christopher mcquarrie, is not the best director of the franchise, but he has certainly mastered the mission: impossible formula: digital, stylish and sleek, but never so ostentatious as to distract from the globetrotting plot and, of course, thomas cruise’s gorgeous complexion, running, and hairography. mcquarrie is also not the most poetic imagemaker -- his talents lie in efficiency and story -- but this film in particular holds some stunning compositions where ethan is rendered small in comparison to gargantuan set pieces, mirroring humanities scale against this godlike, domineering, and otherworldly a.i entity. 

if one complaint were to be made about this iconic and history-making motion picture, it is that luther, unfortunately, did not wear a hat. we see the consequences of this choice early on.

the only franchise which gives audiences the agency to hoot and holler when a child is grotesquely crushed by a falling piano (he deserved it, for the record). 

because all horror movies have to be serious now, final destination: bloodlines frames the central curse allegory as a double for generational trauma. the film is mostly uninteresting in these moments, but it's a rare instance where strained familial bonds feel relevant to the textual diegesis.

i did cringe at some of stefani’s neglected child dialogue to her mom, which felt plucked out of those instagram infographics which ask gripping questions such as “did you know ingrown toenails are a ptsd response” and claims “liking the smell of paint is a symptom of adhd”

works very well at establishing a set piece, and hitchcock -- judging from his interviews with francois truffaut -- would smile at chekhov's gun cleverly coupled with death-defying red herrings. wish the filmmakers had more interest in images outside of kills, though!

ijboled at the opening scene having the same digital textures as megalopolis

watched with oomf after chicken tendies and a few glasses of pinot noir from tgifridays

Watched on Saturday May 10, 2025.

Watched on Thursday May 8, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday May 7, 2025.

a 35 year old film that feels politically prescient and aesthetically fresh as ever. reminds us that violence is often a climax of tension and not, as an outsider would believe, a random, spontaneous act. ijboled at sport t-shirts signifying racial dynamics with the disparity between (jackie) “robinson” and (larry) “bird”.

i cant believe i picked up on a sport reference; my mother must be so proud of me for once.

stupid and way too on-the-nose but i still gagged. very much a 2017 best picture winner; very much a film in the shadow of trump’s first election (i say this regarding the film both pejoratively and exultingly)

a movie about codes substituting for speaking -- the other forms of communication which allow solidarity for/among the marginalized. del toro trusts his audience enough to convey taciturnity visually rather than expository dialogue, while still allowing the spectator to swoon in its melodrama

Watched on Wednesday April 30, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 25, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 24, 2025.

bridget jones lowkey a british carrie bradshaw with less fashion sense. loved the positive representations of my community within this film (chain smokers)

“the kkk” and “vampires” are labels which sound incongruous, but when collided, seem ripped directly from a 70s blaxploitation picture. 

i was sold on sinners as this type of genre bash -- trashy, bloody, and most importantly, direct in its ideas. not that i should judge a movie based on marketing -- it is, after all, integral to the mechanism of capitalist filmmaking and not art itself -- but i am undoubtedly more interested in my perception of sinners before watching it than by the film after credits began to roll.

and its flirtation with genre is when it's most interesting. in that much talked about sequence, music acts as catharsis; a long shot swirling around the cabin as musical cultures enter the frame, enter the diegesis of sound, and enter the lineage of blues. yes, it's totally corny. and yes, it was included only to be labelled as “transcendent” rather than actually being so. but still, it represents coogler’s only attempt to do something interesting with the form -- a moment that arrives out of left field, not the ultra-realistic cotton field surrounding said cabin.

on this point, many seem to confuse “shot on imax” with “well shot”, because coogler couldn't compose an interesting image if held at gunpoint; even with esteemed 70mm cameras and carte blanche from warner brothers. in oppenheimer, a film i’m mixed on, nolan’s close ups leverage the shallow focus of 15/70 to thematically isolate his subjects in the frame, while wide shots evoke genuine spectacle through scale. contrastingly, coogler’s vision of a plantation is not the revisionist technicolor of gone with the wind, the justifiable vengeance of django: unchained, or even a frank depiction of southern brutality like 12 years a slave – its a reality that feels flattened and glossed over in a film which, ironically, needed to depart from reality more often. 

this is a movie made for film twitter s whose letterboxd one-liners often involve phrases like “levitating from seats” and “reaffirming [their] love for cinema” – the type of hyperbole which eschews discussion about a filmmakers intentions in favour of eulogizing the very act of just attending the movies in general. 

proponents believe coogler has “a lot to say” without analyzing what the movie actually says. and that, in part, is valid: coogler has many -- probably too many -- ideas, but even with 2.5 hours that move like molasses, he still can't find the time, or perhaps the artistic gumption, to articulate them

the longer sinners goes on, the messier its central metaphor becomes. if this had been a low-budget picture made 50 years ago, the movie would ask, simply, “what if the kkk were vampires?”, and the racist-white-out-of-tune-daughters-of-the-confederacy-lite singing troupe would slowly but surely expand to attack the cabin. that concept which catalyzes the drama of sinners (an hour in, lol) is not enough for coogler though, who becomes determined to elevate this inherently pulpy b-movie plot into “prestigious” auteur fare. 

so then, we get the black characters becoming vampires. it's disorderly, but fine. one can still extrapolate implications from that -- its internalization of prejudice… its racism as an internal and external force… whatever. but coogler still doesn't stop there. as the film continues, its metaphoric scope widens (and I'm not referring to the ugly cinemascope), while its meaning gets increasingly diluted. and with every added layer, coogler's commitment to realism and coded speech prevents discussion of the theoretical and symbolic. he treats “vampires” as vampires, thus de-politicizing and stripping a fruitful concept from worthwhile comment.

also, if you want to tout your movie as “real cinema” in comparison to “low-culture” slop of the mcu, maybe integral text shouldnt be relegated to post credits scenes!

Watched on Wednesday April 16, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday April 15, 2025.

Watched on Sunday April 13, 2025.

Watched on Saturday April 12, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 10, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday April 8, 2025.

celluloid soaked in piss, sweat, and beer. accurately captures the alienation i once felt walking into an aussie country town bar

Watched on Saturday April 5, 2025.

headache inducing and politically toothless. felt like i was overdosing on ketamine. the “utopia” presented in moulin rouge is a hedonistic, decadent culture built on excess and exploitation.

there’s a fine line between gauche and camp, but unfortunately, luhrmann snorted that line

Watched on Wednesday April 2, 2025.

Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.

Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday March 19, 2025.

“A dirty word to me is coverage... two-shot, over-the-shoulder. You know, stuff you see all the time drives me crazy because this to me is not directing”
- Brian de Palma

black bag seeks to deglamorize “the spy” -- less bond, more bureaucrat. if you’re expecting a globetrotting adventure, let me disabuse you. now i have no problem watching espionage confined to meetings, paperwork and efficiency… it’s just upsetting that soderbergh internalized this ethos. 

his (in)famous work ethic has, to a degree, overshadowed the way i think about his movies. yes, his expeditious workhorse pace has some upsides -- fast production allows for inclusion of immediate issues such as “a.i lip reading” -- but effectiveness is not always the most artistic option, especially at this scale. unlike his brilliant single-location film presence, this more expansive production renders soderbergh in “productivity” and “proficiency” mode -- more interested in lighting scenes quickly than communicating information, ideas and emotion through images.

really just 90 minutes of people talking in rooms, albeit with occasionally interesting angles.

Watched on Monday March 17, 2025.

Watched on Saturday March 15, 2025.

the capitalist desire for production continuously teeters on the edge of progression vs immorality.

even in death we cannot escape screens. how is artificial intelligence any different to a digital corpse? both of them fundamentally lack life.

Watched on Thursday March 13, 2025.

Watched on Sunday March 9, 2025.

works much better as an antonioni-esque mood piece than a conventional period drama

Watched on Friday March 7, 2025.

Watched on Thursday March 6, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday March 5, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday March 4, 2025.

horses in motion 

hollywood as the ultimate western fantasy. no, not “western” in the sense of cowboys and john ford; but western civilizations which chew up, fetishize and appropriate eastern cultures. it's no coincidence that the main storyteller (lee pace) works as a cog within the american film industry -- he’s integral in the colonial project of changing “plot lines” to fit one’s own needs and centring the white man as the ultimate hero of history.

a film which understands stories are both necessary and dangerous -- they can edify, misinform, entertain, deceive, yet also palliate pain. while roy desires morphine as a distraction from suffering, alexandria’s anodyne is the oral tradition of narrative.

who has the right to tell this story and why?

an ingenious formal conceit working with/against middling material. in aligning a fictional gaze so specifically to moving images, soderbergh dares to wonder whether a camera itself can feel; holding personal history and emotion in each omniscient glance. a presence which lives and dies through the filmmaker -- sporadically peering into vignettes of a life before disappearing with a cut.

Watched on Sunday February 23, 2025.

Watched on Sunday February 23, 2025.

Watched on Sunday February 23, 2025.

Watched on Saturday February 22, 2025.

degradation vs comion. the history of mankind is the history of exploitation -- creating cruel spectacle out of a life for profit. 

continues lynch’s ouvre-defining empathy for the “othered”, revealing deep humanity in those who society carelessly perceive as outcasts. the polar opposite to blue velvet in of theme -- beauty under a disfigured facade and moral rot nestled under “respectable” suburban gardens

• The Boy Friend
• Dancer in the Dark
• Cabaret
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
• Phantom of the Paradise
• Moulin Rouge!
• Gypsy
• Joker: Folie à Deux
• One from the Heart
• New York, New York

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

• Sans Soleil
• Grey Gardens
• Nanook of the North
• Night and Fog
• The Queen
• Paris Is Burning
• The September Issue
• The Queen of Versailles
• Portrait of Jason
• My Winnipeg

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

• Mission: Impossible
• Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• Mission: Impossible – Fallout
• Mission: Impossible II
• Mission: Impossible III

listed from release date

• It's a Wonderful Life
• Sunset Boulevard
• Singin' in the Rain
• Vertigo
• The Apartment
• Psycho
• La Notte
• The Ladies Man
• The Innocents
• Bunny Lake Is Missing

...plus 45 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
2. Mulholland Drive
3. Blue Velvet
4. Twin Peaks: The Return
5. The Elephant Man
6. Lost Highway
7. Inland Empire
8. Twin Peaks
9. Eraserhead
10. Wild at Heart

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

1. Body Double
2. Blow Out
3. Phantom of the Paradise
4. Dressed to Kill
5. Carrie
6. Mission: Impossible
7. ion
8. Raising Cain
9. The Untouchables
10. Snake Eyes

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

• Crash
• A History of Violence
• Maps to the Stars
• Videodrome
• The Brood
• Dead Ringers
• The Fly
• Eastern Promises
• Crimes of the Future
• eXistenZ

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

• Manhattan
• Love and Death
• Annie Hall
• Mighty Aphrodite
• Crimes and Misdemeanors
• Zelig
• Bullets Over Broadway
• Manhattan Murder Mystery
• Coup de Chance
• To Rome with Love

1. Psycho
2. Vertigo
3. Rear Window
4. Strangers on a Train
5. The Birds
6. The Lady Vanishes
7. Rope
8. Spellbound
9. Dial M for Murder
10. North by Northwest

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

Screening every Wednesday night at ACMI
Check notes for weekly program name, format and time

• Four Nights of a Dreamer

  OPENING NIGHT 2025
  Wednesday 5 February
  7:00pm
  4K D

• A Couch in New York

  OPENING NIGHT 2025
  Wednesday 5 February
  8:45pm
  35mm

• Dragon Inn

  BALLETIC SWORDFIGHTS, FLYING HEROINES AND BAMBOO FORESTS: KING HU, MASTER OF WUXIA
  Wednesday 12 February
  7:00pm
  4K D

• Raining in the Mountain

  BALLETIC SWORDFIGHTS, FLYING HEROINES AND BAMBOO FORESTS: KING HU, MASTER OF WUXIA
  Wednesday 12 February
  9:10pm
  D

• A Touch of Zen

  BALLETIC SWORDFIGHTS, FLYING HEROINES AND BAMBOO FORESTS: KING HU, MASTER OF WUXIA
  Wednesday 19 February
  7:00pm
  4K D

• Come Drink with Me

  BALLETIC SWORDFIGHTS, FLYING HEROINES AND BAMBOO FORESTS: KING HU, MASTER OF WUXIA
  Wednesday 26 February
  7:00pm
  D

• The Fate of Lee Khan

  BALLETIC SWORDFIGHTS, FLYING HEROINES AND BAMBOO FORESTS: KING HU, MASTER OF WUXIA
  Wednesday 26 February
  8:50pm
  D

• Rome, Open City

  THE PAST IS ALWAYS PRESENT: THE EVOLUTIONARY CAREER OF ROBERTO ROSSELLINI
  Wednesday 5 March
  7:00pm
  35mm

• A Pilot Returns

  THE PAST IS ALWAYS PRESENT: THE EVOLUTIONARY CAREER OF ROBERTO ROSSELLINI
  Wednesday 5 March
  9:00pm
  D

• Joan of Arc at the Stake

  THE PAST IS ALWAYS PRESENT: THE EVOLUTIONARY CAREER OF ROBERTO ROSSELLINI
  Wednesday 12 March
  7:00pm
  35mm

...plus 89 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2. The Substance
3. Last Summer
4. Trap
5. Challengers
6. Gladiator II
7. The First Omen
8. Chime
9. Megalopolis
10. SPERMWORLD

...plus 18 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
• May December
• Master Gardener
• Titane
• The Invisible Man
• HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé
• The House That Jack Built
• First Reformed
• Elle
• Mad Max: Fury Road

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

1. Body Double
2. One from the Heart
3. Showgirls
4. Cruising
5. Master Gardener
6. Crash
7. The Innocents
8. The Village
9. Vertigo
10. Alphaville

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

• Peeping Tom
• The Innocents
• Don't Look Now
• Black Christmas
• Carrie
• Suspiria
• Halloween
• Possession
• Bram Stoker's Dracula
• Antichrist

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

• Showgirls
• Body Double
• Mulholland Drive
• Song to Song

• Side by Side
• A Decade Under the Influence
• Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
• The Battle Over Citizen Kane
• Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
• Altman
• Milius
• Los Angeles Plays Itself
• The Celluloid Closet
• Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained

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

• Ordet
• Sleepers
• Sister Act
• The Nun's Story
• Diary of a Country Priest
• Winter Light
• First Reformed
• The Club
• Going My Way
• The Bells of St. Mary's

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

1. May December
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. Poor Things
4. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
5. Napoleon
6. The Holdovers
7. The Iron Claw
8. Thanksgiving
9. Theater Camp
10. Coup de Chance

...plus 37 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Rope

  Notes while viewing:
  -Hidden in plain sight (Police/Children in beginning_
  -“Nobody feels really safe in the dark.”
  -These hands will bring you great fame.” The camera then pans slowly up to a medium close-up of Philip’s face, as he stares ahead with a mournful, troubled expression
  -“Freud says there's a reason for everything”
  -Dostoevsky, philosophy and psychoanalysis references
  -Murder as art
  -"Privilege of community it should be reserved for those few who are really superior intellectually"
  -Murder because of moral elitism/highground
  -Killed to prove worth to oneself
  -“Above traditional moral concepts”

• Peeping Tom

  Notes while viewing:
  -In the opening scene, the camera is concealed like a gun in pocket
  -Camera and violence being literaly linked
  -Has a directors chair with Mark Lewis on it
  -He thinks he WILL be a director
  -"What paper are you from?" "The Observer"
  -"Dont be shy of me"
  -"He said you neednt photograph my face" "I want to"
  -Transfixed on his expression
  -Zooms out to find its a movie playing- as our movie zooms in

• Fanny and Alexander
• Little Women
• It's a Wonderful Life
• Tangerine
• Meet Me in St. Louis
• Carol
• Black Christmas
• The Nightmare Before Christmas

• Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
• Death on the Nile
• Murder on the Orient Express
• Evil Under the Sun
• Opening Night
• Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
• Flesh for Frankenstein
• My Scientology Movie
• Killer Joe
• Blow Out

1. Taxi Driver
2. Silence
3. GoodFellas
4. After Hours
5. The King of Comedy
6. Cape Fear
7. Raging Bull
8. The Departed
9. The Irishman
10. Casino

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

• Dr. No
• From Russia with Love

going by australian release dates

1. Babylon

   Cinema
   Hoyts Frankston
   January 19

2. Infinity Pool

   Home TV
   R Version
   February 16

3. M3GAN

   Cinema
   January 16 
   Village Cinemas Southland

4. The Whale

   Cinema
   Village Southland
   February 11

5. Shotgun Wedding

   Home TV
   January 29

1. TÁR
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once
3. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
4. Nope
5. Bones and All
6. Glass Onion
7. RRR
8. All Quiet on the Western Front
9. Decision to Leave
10. The Fabelmans

...plus 53 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

i do not care that my taste is objectively wrong

1. Gone Girl
2. Se7en
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
4. Panic Room
5. Zodiac
6. The Game
7. Mank
8. The Social Network
9. Love, Death & Robots: Bad Travelling
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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

• Mamma Mia!
• Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
• Despicable Me
• Minions
• 365 Days
• Twilight
• High School Musical
• After We Collided
• Fifty Shades of Grey

• Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
• Antichrist
• Climax
• Raw
• The Human Centipede (First Sequence)
• Tusk
• I Spit on Your Grave
• A Serbian Film

ranked by my personal enjoyment, not what i think will win
hopping power of the dog wins, however i will still be happy if CODA gets it
tick tick boom or titane should have been nominated over don’t look up

1. The Power of the Dog
2. CODA
3. West Side Story
4. Dune
5. Drive My Car
6. Nightmare Alley
7. Licorice Pizza
8. Belfast
9. King Richard
10. Don't Look Up

1. Blade Runner
2. Aliens
3. Misery
4. Final Destination
5. Final Destination 2
6. Final Destination 3
7. It
8. It
9. The Conjuring
10. The Silence of the Lambs

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

• Addams Family Values
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Alice in Wonderland
• Alien
• American Graffiti
• American Psycho
• An American Werewolf in London
• Another Gay Movie
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
• B.A.P.S

...plus 109 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.