Errol Morris, near the height of his powers, knocks the softest of softballs out of the park. I hope this metaphor makes sense, as I've never played or observed a baseball in my life and am just putting words that sound correct together.
-
-
-
The Office 1966
• The reveal, around four minutes in, of the sheer scale of the paperwork contained within is crushing.
-
Claire's Camera 2017
• Perfectly-timed Mark Peranson cameo. No notes.
• This might be a high-water mark (in my viewings so far) of Hong's nighttime cityscapes. Just lovely, inviting stillness.
• The best thing about Huppert when she's in her rare "lovable chaotic lady" roles is that she knows how to sprinkle in just enough of her usual "terrifying sociopath who might murder you in your sleep" tics that you never quite feel at ease with this benign teacher-tourist. She's a great foil for Min-hee, who is similarly great at modulating the darkness.
-
The Road to Magnasanti 2017
• After two seasons of the basically-flawless HOW TO it's almost startling to see this, a gestational version that has nearly all of the inspiration and personality but lacks the swiss watch stream-of-consciousness perfection.
-
Blonde 2022
• As much as I'm loathe to admit it, I've got a contrarian streak in me. I'm also, probably to a fault, an enthusiast for formal experimentation, even to the detriment of a wider work. And yet this didn't work one bit for me and, to make matters worse, I find myself at least partially in agreement with the pearl-clutching going on. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with "psychological horror built atop the myth of the single most…
-
-
-
Everything Everywhere All at Once 2022
• I'm not gonna bury the lede here: they used the Home Run Bat / Luigi taunt / Jigglypuff rest sound in this. Why is nobody talking about this.
• Really, this finally feels like the "Internet culture of the 2000s" bonanza we've been overdue for. It's like they put Stephen Chow*, Edgar Wright, Kaufman/Gondry/Jonze, the Wachowskis, and that one Clouzot lighting effect in a blender** and out popped this. It's a lot.
• It's kind of a shame that…
-
Confess, Fletch 2022
• The way that all the takes about this have the desperate air of dehydrated wanderers finding two drops of water in the desert with regards this this film's status as just about the only breezy studio comedy in recent memory to be worth a damn at all is... well, completely justified. This is the exact type of goofy nonsense noir in the vein of THE BIG SLEEP, THE LONG GOODBYE, and THE BIG LEBOWSKI that has essentially disappeared from…
-
Death Jump off the Eiffel Tower: Paris, France 1912
Is it bad form to say that this feels cut and staged for comedy
-
Birthday Girl 2001
• Kidman, Cassel, and Kassovitz are fine enough, but why cast an Australian and two Frenchmen to play Russians? I mean, yeah, if Kidman signs on you're running with her, but the other two dudes?
• Deeply odd film in terms of pacing and structure.
• Listless lighting
• I'm so tired
• why is this in scope