Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Captain Nemo and the Underwater City 1969

  ★★ Watched 16 Aug 2023

  The gravest sin for an adventure movie isn't to be BAD, but to be dull. This movie's an unrepentant sinner.

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  1941 1979

  ★★ Watched 23 Aug 2023

  On the one hand, this movie doesn't work. On the other, the many ways in which it doesn't work are kind of fascinating. We begin with Spielberg (aided by the musical talents of John Williams) goofily riffing on the opening scene of his own movie, Jaws, and 1941 doesn't get less strange from there.

  It's loud. It's obnoxious. It's only occasionally funny and there were times when I wasn't sure if I was laughing with the movie or at the…

Popular reviews

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  The Birch 2016

  ★★★½ Watched 15 Jun 2016

  A stylish horror short that feels a bit disjointed in its storytelling, almost like a CliffsNotes version of the actual tale. That said, I was impressed by the amount of mythology the filmmakers were able to cram into the scant runtime and by the solid creature effects.

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  The Big Combo 1955

  ★★★★ Watched 20 Apr 2016

  The Big Combo is a stylish crime film with an appropriately twistng plot and a cast of (mostly) compelling characters. While the lead character, portrayed by Cornell Wild, can be a touch bland, we're treated to a great scenery-chewing turn from Richard Conte as the villainous Mr. Brown. A pair of (gay?) henchmen, a nightclub singer and an antique store dealer with a secret are all welcome and colorful additions

  As far as negatives (other than a dull lead), the…