Favorite films

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Pinned reviews

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  The Power of the Dog 2021

  ★★★★★ Rewatched by Scott Shelton 04 Dec 2021

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

  "He's only a man."

  Man something about this really hit extra on a second watch.

  Not that it's not apparent on the first watch of The Power of the Dog, but Phil is just such an emphatically realized character. He's a compelling and interesting portrayal of a form of (toxic) masculinity, predictably fragile and conflicted, in the form of a man who is so obsessed with a particular part of his past - of his mentor, Bronco Henry, who was…

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  Dune 2021

  ★★★★★ Watched by Scott Shelton 07 Oct 2021

  NYFF 59 #11

  Not even intended this way, but Dune as my last screening in Alice Tully for the festival year was a true climax for my first NYFF. Since the day after I saw Tenet last year, it’s been my most anticipated, not just for its source material, but also those involved, from Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, et al., to Denis Villeneuve behind the camera, to Hans Zimmer composing. It checks all my boxes, with all the riches of talent…

Recent reviews

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  Men 2022

  Watched by Scott Shelton 20 May 2022

  Jessie Buckley good. Men bad.

  
  Can’t say I was particularly in the mood for this

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  The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 2004

  ★★★★ Watched by Scott Shelton 15 May 2022

  I was pretty shocked to look this up after and see it had a rotten tomato score and middling critical consensus, only to then feel redeemed when it appeared more recent reevaluations have put this in a more favorable light. As with Wes’s previous outing, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, it seems like he’s really found his groove in the balance of his style in this, and in many ways he has an equally up-to-the-task ensemble here to execute his typically whimsy…

Popular reviews

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  When the Streetlights Go On 2020

  ★★ Watched by Scott Shelton 20 Apr 2020

  Quite possibly the worst ending to a movie / show ever made. It was mostly pretty good before that though!

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  Try Harder! 2021

  ★★★★½ Watched by Scott Shelton 01 Feb 2021 4

  2021 Sundance Film Festival #23
  
  Try Harder! is full of really striking moments. One that really stood out to me early on was when Alvan, an aspiring surgeon (like several of his classmates), talked about how getting one question wrong on a test was the difference between a full letter grade, which will change your GPA, which will change where you get in to college, which in turn will change your whole life. The downward spiral, not to mention the…