Notes:

Extremely stylish right off the bat, seems like the filmmakers involved definitely have a future. I get vibes directly pull from Brick [film] and Morning Glories [comic] (heck a character even says "for the greater good" at some point). The drama verges on the extreme. The style and editing involved is quite engaging mostly but at times disorienting and jarring which takes me out. Beautiful unique scenery throughout. Selah and Maxine have a great platonic relationship (the whole runtime)…

Notes:

In addition to beauty the kids are just so delicate almost porcelain-like. I like that Eli has a quiet wisdom about her (Rubiks cube, tips on dealing with bullies) but at the same time contrasted with a fallibility in that she befriends Oskar after saying they can’t be friends. This time around I definitely got this strong palpable sense of longing for friendship from the kids. Even the bullies have some sense of humanity as they cringe during the…

Notes:
Truly as great as I remember. I get an Italian family mob noir element to everything this time around... but set in Appalachia. Really quite original even this long after it came out. Ensemble goes all-in on the contemplative stoic attitude. Stark and interesting to look at all the time. It's all about protocol, loyalty, living by "the code" ("Aren't you going to invite me in", going through the underlings to talk to the big dog). Series of escalating…