Favorite films

Recent reviews

• 

  Master Gardener 2022

  ★★½ Watched 23 May 2023 3

  41/100

  "Sometimes what most needs tending is the human heart"—not Master Gardener's tagline, but it easily could be.

  (Rest of the review, along with everything else I write, available via ultra-cheap subscription. Seriously, it’s as little as $1 a month and for now that pays my rent.)

• 

  The Line 2022

  ★½ Watched 23 May 2023

  30/100

  I'm sorry, this is just an incredibly dumb "metaphor"—scare quotes because it's too thuddingly literal even to qualify as rhetorical representation.

  (Rest of the review, along with everything else I write, available via ultra-cheap subscription. Seriously, it’s as little as $1 a month and for now that pays my rent.)

Popular reviews

• 

  Moonlight 2016

  ★★½ Rewatched 08 Dec 2016 88

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  49/100

  Okay, here we go: Why I think the year's most universally acclaimed film is sorta kinda not really very good. Took a second look to be sure, both because I'm always open to the possibility that I'm wrong and because I served on a festival jury with Jenkins a couple of years ago and liked him enormously, so take no pleasure in being a contrarian here. Had exactly the same reaction, alas. In descending order of importance:

  • I'm generally…

• 

  Sicario 2015

  ★★★★½ Rewatched 10 Sep 2015 35

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  83/100

  Second viewing, no change. Having now professionally reviewed this film four times (for The Dissolve from Cannes, and then for the A.V. Club, the Nashville Scene, and the Las Vegas Weekly), I thought I had nothing left to say, especially since I made a point of addressing the most common criticisms. But since a bunch of folks are praising Adam Nayman's takedown for Reverse Shot, let me quickly address a few of his points.

  “I have to know,” Kate…