I'm not sure how many times I've seen "The Godfather" since its release in 1972 (which I remember vividly, having stood in line longer than I ever had to for a film up until that time), but it seems like every time I rewatch it's still an amazing and singular experience. It's simultaneously an impeccably-written and beautifully-scored drama, a superb character study in which even the smallest characters ring true, a breathtaking schooling in color cinematography, and overall a remarkable…
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My Neighbor Totoro 1988
"My Neighbor Totoro" is probably my favorite Miyazaki film. It's not a complex story, nor is it his best or most detailed animation, but that doesn't matter ... this film is pure magic. I'm not just referring to Totoro, Catbus or the soot sprites ... the real magic is in the way it recreates the nostalgic atmosphere of childhood summers, those long and beautiful days of wonder when the world was all ours.
Set in rural Japan during the mid…
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The Zone of Interest 2023
Rudolf Hoss, his wife Hedwig and their five children seem to be enjoying an idyllic life in their lovely villa with its servants and garden and greenhouse and pool. Something's a bit off though, and it doesn't take long for us to realize that on the other side of that wall in the backyard is the Auschwitz concentration camp. Jonathan Glazer's first non-English language film is loosely based on the book of the same name by Martin Amis, and while…
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Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine 2023
A nice glossy overview of the the Webb telescope, covering its construction, launch and deployment. Focusing more on the human side of things (like the stressed-out folks who are building it and the giddy scientists who can't wait for it to come online) the film went a bit light on the science for my tastes... for example, there's no mention of the Doppler effect or red-shift, except in the most peripheral way (one scientist states only that the light coming from distant objects is mostly infrared, but doesn't explain why). Still, it's an enjoyable documentary that does convey some of the significance of this ground-breaking project.