Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Jérusalem, le saint sépulcre 1897

  Watched 26 Mar 2023

  Nice framing and cross-section of the public.

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  Bethléem, une place 1897

  Watched 25 Mar 2023

  Camera grants a sense of unearned moral superiority to the audience, which is an uncomfortable place to be.

Popular reviews

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  The Pickaninny Dance from the “Passing Show” 1894

  Watched 16 Mar 2021

  My biggest takeaway from the dozens of early pre-1900 shorts I've watched is how closely cinema is intertwined with the so-called white gaze, as a means of documenting and fetishizing whatever "other" was at hand. I thought the process began with Griffith, but it's much older than that, apparently.

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  The Velvet Vampire 1971

  ★★★½ Watched 20 Mar 2023

  I have a huge soft spot for horror films directed by women, especially when they make the counterintuitive choice to lean into the exploitation angle, as here. This one played like a soft-core porno inflected through the prism of late-60s counterculture, oozing with sumptuous visuals and erotic sensuality. I was a bit frustrated that the characters' choices weren't recognizable through any moral or logical framework, but I'm not sure that they need to be, since vampirism on its own is such a fertile ground for political commentary.