i don't get how ben wheatley makes both this and the masterful IN THE EARTH in such rapid succession. is his secret sauce a collaborator that i'm overlooking, who he only gets to work with on every third film? am i expecting too much from a director whose work i mostly at least like? i saw A FIELD IN ENGLAND three times in the theater, something i haven't done for any other film since junior high school. but the best…
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An Enemy of the People 1989
my first ray in color; i admit that i missed the black & white. can this ibsen adaptation please stop being so damn relevant? i'm glad i watched this but it's somewhat lifeless and stilted.
home, hbomax
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Charulata 1964
accomplished picture but didn't really move me in any way, except for the excellent formal choice made for the ending. very nice beach scene as well. slept through this entirely on the first watch, so revisited the next night. i think i like my melodrama to be much weirder than this. i'm happy for you though, or sorry that happened.
home, hbomax
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Kajillionaire 2020
m says the luggage insurance scam was very popular with the portland punks in the 90s; when she herself was supposed to do it, true to form, she couldn’t go through with the lie, and her accomplice (literally left holding the bag) got really upset with her. miranda july puts so much of herself into her films it’s impossible for me to see them solely as quirk-fests — they’re far too brave.
home, hbomax
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Margaret 2011
watched the theatrical cut because i didn't realize the extended cut was an option. having read about the differences between them i think i'm actually ok with that choice, not that i didn't enjoy this, but because i think i enjoyed this just about as much as i could have already in this version. this is a somewhat odd mix of high concept and realism -- every single character feels like the entire back story of their lives was written…
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Inside Daisy Clover 1965
a hollywood expose that shows only the darkest moments, the film essentially begins with a series of attempted sexual assaults and never lets up from there. yes, it's extremely difficult to accept natalie wood as a 15 year old santa monica pier native in this film, and there is a lot of forced early 1960s humor that doesn't work at all. but when it's dark and weird it works really well, and essentially any part of the film that could…
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Reflections in a Golden Eye 1967
these people are all completely insufferable, so it was kind of hard to care about this. robert forster's character is delightfully weird but unfortunately that's not enough to carry the film, though it is definitely noteworthy, as is the fantastically strange final shot.
home, hbomax
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Pandorum 2009
playing as a pastiche of many classic science fiction and horror films, this one is somehow able to use that to its advantage. we've seen it all before, and we like it, allowing us to enjoy the frenetic pace and an editing style that would simply be disorienting if it weren't grounded by the greats of the genre that are sampled here.
home, hulu
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Pale Rider 1985
beautiful snow-bound western cinematography and eastwood is in classic eastwood mode, but the filmmaking is middling. i liked it just fine; was hoping to love it.
home, hbomax
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as of yet 2021
having two young children in the house, i didn't get to experience the pandemic in this way, for better or for worse -- the very few friend group zoom calls i have been able to participate in, i have had to stay on mute and often had video turned off too due to the kids screaming and destroying our apartment at all times. so watching this film was kind of like the same amount of participation i've had in anything…