How much does Lars von Trier dislike women? The answer is a lot. In fact, it may be even more than Quentin Tarantino. The House That Jack Built stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer, recounting 5 murders he’s committed to a person named Verge. There’s so much to unpack here. Visually, the film is beautiful. But, that’s to be expected of a Lars von … Continue reading The House That Jack Built (2018)
A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal ape who takes a shine to their female blonde star. He is then captured and brought back to New York City for public exhibition. Believe it or not, I’ve never actually watched the original King Kong. I love monster movies, but I think the countless remakes and sequels … Continue reading 41. King Kong (1933)
I am absolutely baffled that this was passed up on during award season. There are very few times in my life that I have watched a film where I wouldn’t change a single thing, but this is one of those films. Directed by Marielle Heller, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood is based on a true … Continue reading A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
People are constantly getting (500) Days of Summer wrong and villainizing the wrong person. Neither is really the villain. Both are just misunderstood. However, our main character, Tom Hansen, never learns his goddamn lesson. Summer is upfront with Tom, right away, about what she wants. There are some mixed signals, but overall, she’s very clear. Once they break up, yes, she does get engaged and … Continue reading A Brief Defense of Summer Finn
A spoiled heiress running away from her family is helped by a man who is actually a reporter in need of a story. Out of 100 films on the AFI list, only 8 of them are pre-code films. And, out of those 8 films, only one of them is a romantic comedy that greatly alludes to sex throughout the film: It Happened One Night. Honestly, … Continue reading 46. It Happened One Night (1934)
The Wachowski’s had a very specific vision for their science fiction action film The Matrix. It’s a look that has inspired the look of sci-fi action films that followed. It’s also a look that has been parodied countless times. Which does, at times, make it hard to take the film completely seriously when watching it now. But, once you get past that, you are left … Continue reading 90s Flashback: The Matrix (1999)
Most reviews that I have seen of this film has been from a male perspective, and that’s fine. But, I think that it’s important to look at it from a female perspective and realize the importance of films like this one. Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is an overall solid film with an awesome title. I had some issues … Continue reading Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is the mother of all suspense films, in my opinion. It has everything you could ever need in a suspense film. It has drama, murder, and great chemistry between the two leads. Rear Window stars Jimmy Stewart as wheelchair bound photographer … Continue reading 48. Rear Window (1954)
I was interested in seeing the film Hustlers after hearing a lot of award buzz about Jennifer Lopez’s performance. Otherwise, not too much attracted me to it. Regardless of the film being good or bad, it’s just not really my kind of film. But I went to see it and, although Lopez’s performance is the best of her career, that’s not saying much when you … Continue reading Hustlers (2019)
To put it simply, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood was made so Quentin Tarantino could rewrite the Manson murders. At least, that’s what I took from it. The film, for lack of a better description, felt like Tarantino was jacking himself off for the too long run time of two hours and forty one minutes. It’s a completely self-indulgent film. It’s also one that thrusts … Continue reading Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019)
