Favorite films

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Recent reviews

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  Dune 2021

  ★★★½ Watched by Handman 30 Oct 2021 2

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

  As I was watching this, I couldn't help but think of two wildly different things... Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments from 1956, and the Star Wars Prequels.

  With regard to the prequels, this feels more like what George Lucas thought he was making, with a background of space politics and an angsty, conflicted hero surrounded by people thinking he's some kind of chosen one. It also suffers from being unable to give us any emotional connections to anything that…

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  Spider-Man 2002

  ★★★★½ Rewatched by Handman 04 Oct 2021 2

  Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker is probably the closest we'll ever get to a superhero lead with Aspergers. Certainly the best realization of the awkward, working class origins of the character, and the most heroic, overcoming any selfish motivations to ensure those he loves are safe.

  This movie has received a reputation for being campy, but after over a decade of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, I'm relieved to find just how genuine and heartfelt the characters are, particularly Peter, Uncle Ben, Aunt…

Popular reviews

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  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966

  ★★★★★ Rewatched by Handman 08 Mar 2017 10

  This is the third or fourth time I've seen The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and it only keeps getting better. This time was unique for two reasons: I was with an audience who laughed at all the right parts, and I was watching the original international cut that hasn't seen a home video release since 1998. There really isn't any reason the original cut couldn't have been included on the current Blu-ray with seamless branching, but I digress.…

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  Rope 1948

  ★★★★ Watched by Handman 18 Mar 2017 2

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

  Shooting a film in one continuous shot is an interesting concept, one so momentous that every time it's done it seems to draw attention, as it did for 2014's Birdman. In 1948, it must have seemed impossible. In fact, it was; a single film reel could only capture a little over ten minutes, so most cuts are hidden. A concept like this could make or break a film, but for Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, it seems like an experiment that elevates…