Small victory, but I finally caught up on my Anki Deck. Anki has been something that I have had for years but I have never actually got to "review zero" cards before. My Anki deck is around 2500 cards at this time. Mostly computer stuff, a few interest, and some study materials. It is a milestone that only matters to me, but it feels good to finally achieve this.
Letterboxd
Evidently based on a novel. If I had to guess what went wrong here, I would say that it is an adaptation where they took all the characters but then sketched them out so thinly that it was difficult to understand the motivations for any of them.
There were all sorts of lines and scenes that just didn't seem to have a purpose, but that might make sense if you could fill them in by having read the book. Maybe?
Letterboxd
Saw this at the Stanford and it was a pleasure to watch it with a group of people who all seemed to appreciate it. It is a bit campy and a bit too "by the numbers" to really hold me though. It is a slightly annoyed as this could have been a bit more interesting if Zorro had somehow devised a plan that neatly came together in the end. Instead it basically ended up being a "manhandling and skullcracking" resolution. Oh well, still charming.
Letterboxd
Occasionally the word "decent" really summarizes a film.
I have not read the book, but I think it is the story of a bit of a simpleton who gets to act as a "fly on the wall"' narrator to a set of events. By my memory there were only 2 points in the film where 17 actually took a self directed action.
Anyway, even with a dull-normal protagonist, it could have been an interesting movie about individuality, effective immortality, colonialism, theocracies, the-evils-men-do-when-they-regard-someone-as-less-human, just... lots of things.
Instead there was something vague here about "white supremacy", a message about not murdering other sentient species, and I guess ultimately the dismissal of the "Mickey making" tech.
I thought the dismissal of the tech made little sense truthfully. The evil was not that 17 was printed, it was that people were treating him as "less human" because he was. If people would simply treat him with the same respect, a person who could be fabricated would be an incredibly valuable member for any space expedition.
I think a really interesting movie could have been made about the questions of who should be allowed to be the reprinted one. You would want someone who is deeply needy of others, slightly servile in demeanor, and not very ambitious. It would have been an interesting movie to watch 17 reprinted over thousands of generations as the planet was colonized. It raises questions about whether death is part of humanities ability to adapt to change. Is reprinting the same person over and over ultimately stagnating society? Or perhaps the continuation of a single person through all time would act as a stabilizing force? Lots of interesting stories here, not explored in this film.
Anyway, I'm giving it a fairly decent score as at least it made me think of many interesting things, but was disappointment that it failed to explore any of the things I thought were interesting.
Letterboxd
I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this film. I have a core memory of being 13 or so and reading a book called "The Hollow Man" by Dan Simmons. Our protagonist in this book is telepathic and can always hear the surface thoughts of those around him. I particularly random encounter with a mobster where he is forced to listen to his thoughts.
Fucci was a thief. Bremen caught enough images and shreds of images to glean the difference. In what seemed to be a long career as a thief—Bremen caught an image of Fucci in a mirror with long sideburns and the polyester leisure suit of the seventies—Vanni Fucci had never fired his gun at a person except for that time when Donni Capaletto, his so-called partner, had tried to rip him off after the Glendale Jeweler job and Fucci had taken away the punk’s .45 automatic and shot him in the kneecap with it. His own gun. But Fucci had been angry. That wasn’t a professional thing to do. And Vanni Fucci prided himself on being a professional.Bremen blinked, fought back nausea at trying to read these flittering shards on the sea of Fucci’s turbulent thoughts, and closed his eyes again.
Bremen learned more than he wanted to know about being a gangster in this last decade of the century. He glimpsed Vanni Fucci’s deep and burning desire to be made, gleaned what “to be made” meant to a petty Italian gangster, and then Bremen shook his head at the mean lowness of it all. The teenage years running messages for Hesso and selling cigarettes out of the back of Big Ernie’s hijacked trucks; the first job—that liquor mart on the south side of Newark—and the slow acceptance into the circle of tough, shrewd, but poorly educated men. Bremen caught glimpses of Fucci’s deep satisfaction at that acceptance by these men, these stupid, mean, violent, selfish, and arrogant men, and Bremen caught deeper glimpses of Vanni Fucci’s ultimate loyalty to himself. In the end, Bremen saw, Fucci was loyal only to himself. All the others—Hesso, Carpezzi, Tutti, Schwarz, Don Leoni, Sal, even Fucci’s live-in girlfriend Cheryl—they all were expendable. As expendable in Fucci’s mind as Chico Tartugian, a Miami nightclub owner and petty thug whom Fucci had met only once at Don Leoni’s supper club in Brooklyn. It had been a favor to Don Leoni that had brought Fucci south; he hated Miami and hated to fly.
Anyway, this movie to me felt like that passage. It is an internal study of the sort of person who would actually be attracted to being a gangster. What would drive them? How might it happen?
In this case it is a bit of a combination of pride, envy, and (maybe) a bit of homosexual desire. I enjoy film that seeks to establish mindsets that is completely alien to me, and this film I think succeeds at that.
I also want to simply give it credit for doing an "internal monologue" character study. Feel like I am not seeing a lot of films that take risk like this lately. It was refreshing.
Letterboxd
This was a bit tangled. I've heard that this movie was extensively re-shot as original test audiences found it confusing and a bit boring. Honestly, I don't think it is that much better or worse than other Marvel movies at this point. Solid popcorn flick, but nothing to think about the moment you walk out of the theater.
Evidently Bucky has become a senator, but that is confusing because then I saw him in a preview before the film and he still seems to be fighting crime. Evidently I would know he is a senator if I watched some show.
I have to appreciate the pair on Disney for actually making an reference to anything relating to the Eternals film. My understanding was that that film was widely panned.
Had to have it explained to me that adamantium is technically new in the MCU universe as Wolverine is evidently not in this universe. Ok. Fair enough.
Anywho, probably pretty easy pass on the next few of these. Solid tentpole entertainment, but too much of these films is callbacks to previous things and advertisements for upcoming things.
Letterboxd
I probably first heard about the walled city 10 years ago, decades after it had been torn down. Obviously, living in that level of density is pretty awful, but I can't deny that the concept holds a certain appeal to me.
Just the idea of packing human beings that closely. Of having a city that basically contains everything (doctors, dentist, butchers, brothels, markets, shops, craftsman, unskilled labor... everything). In such a densely connected region. It is just interesting to think about. You have no real possibility of privacy. You don't even have a choice of being social or not, you are required by proximity to involve yourself with other human beings.
It is one of those "unconscionable experiments" that you would never purposely perform, and yet it is still fascinating.
Anyway, this movie barely touches on that. It is a HK action flick that is pretty great. A lot of big manly emotions. Some cool fights (though I wouldn't say that is the focus). Totally enjoyable simple fun.
Letterboxd
Probably one of the better examples of a "shift of perspective" type film. Takes you through multiple viewpoints of the same event and substantially changes your sympathies through each revisit.
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What a strange film. I genuinely wonder what they were trying to accomplish with this. Was there a strong market for films about Catherine the Great in 1930?
The most positive aspect of it was probably the setting. I especially enjoyed seeing the (russian?) eastern orthodox setpieces. Also, the palace had these weird sort of gargoyle looking men throughout.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty lousy movie. Way way too many scenes of crowds, extended shots of the same scene, and shots of bells ringing.
Letterboxd
I think you would be hard pressed not to find this silly film at least a little charming. I did find the "talking but not quite singing" aspect of it a little distracting. The three old spinsters were a hoot, I really enjoyed them as characters.
Not particularly emotionally gripping, but I watched this after https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Empress at a double feature at the Stanford Theater. Compared to that this film is high art.
Letterboxd
Lives up to the rest of the Paddington films, though this one has a different director. I've always appreciated the editing and cinematography in these films. They are a little bit Wes Anderson in some of their shots. I think they do a really great job of capturing the essence of the paddington books. Fidelity wise I think it is clear the people associated with these films appreciate the source material.
I especially want to call out the interplay between the editor and Olivia Colman. Colman could often get a laugh from the audience by using her skill at timing/delivery of her expressions, but that requires a good editor (and director) that can actually capture those sort of pauses correctly.
Minor thing, but I saw it at a theater that also provided subtitles (those seem to be becoming increasingly common). I think they may have also normalized the audio, except for the spoken word, which was always clear and discernible. It isn't bad to always be able to hear the words easily, but it sometimes feels slightly off when the "overpowering hero's journey" music is at a lower level than the characters conversations.
Anyway, good movie.
Letterboxd
It feels almost obscene to talk about this film, as part of the message seems to be that we should focus on the moment's beauty without trying to catalogue (or worse promote) it.
I mostly write with the intent to record my own thoughts for my future self. A sort of letter to the future. But I can't deny that some ape part of my brain hopes that others appreciate the things I write. Even in writing notes to myself, I can't fully shake the desire to be recognized by others.
I wish I had the strength of character/will/enlightenment/connectedness that this cleaner has. I think it may be aspirational in my case, but it hits you hard.
Good cinema.
Letterboxd
Watched this over 2 separate days. I was just in the mood for a Hong Kong comedy. It's fun to see the different cinematic tones and styles that other countries have.
Letterboxd
I thought the central character's synesthesia (had to look up the spelling) was an interesting twist. The art style was gorgeous. I also think I noticed that there were many surprisingly quiet scenes, where you are meant to hear what the character hears from their point of view. I liked that.
There is no real plot to speak of, just a group of high school students finding each other, starting a band, and revealing themselves to the people who love them.
I enjoyed the Christian setting simply because it is novel in film at this time. I enjoyed the pace of life that these characters lived and the setting they grew up in.
Humorous: Also, almost certain that a version of "Born Slippy" plays in a montage scene. I'm old, but I was kinda floored by it's inclusion as it associates so strongly with Trainspotting, heroin, et all. I guess realistically it means nothing to most people these days, but threw me a for a loop when I heard it.
Also, almost all the music sounds like new retro wave to me, which I find somewhat surprising for 17 year olds to be creating. What is old is new again.
Letterboxd
The ideas just seemed kind of childish. Reminded me a bit of the book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathem, with the cloister of people who are living apart from mankind, protecting and gathering knowledge. Except this time it is a bunch of people who are sitting around waiting for the fall of humanity in order to rebuild, which I consider to be a bit of a cowardly position.
I think the most that I can say of this film is that it is interesting to think about what people were feeling at this time in history. And the sort of hopes they had about the future because of the past they had experienced and the present they were living.
I should re-read Anathem, that was a good book.
Letterboxd
I read the short story https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truth_of_Fact,_the_Truth_of_Feeling and figured I would try to find a few movies that are similar. So I watched "Strange Days" (about being able to share memories) last week and "Eternal Sunshine" this week (about being able to delete memories).
It was alright as a story. It seemed kind of obvious that pairing up with a functioning alcoholic would probably lead to tragedy considering his own character. I could see the need for deleting memories for PTSD, but the idea that adults would choose to actually delete a memory rather than face it seems... I don't know, really weird to me. That feels like a form of self harm, a sort of mini suicide.
I did really like some of the scene transitions as he wanders through his own mind. It also did quite a good job of repeatedly catching the sense of realization that "this is a dream". That was artful.
Letterboxd
I actually thought this would be closer to Friday as a film. Opening "cartoon violence" scene where a guy gets thrown into a wall and is completely fine kinda threw me off (I said to my movie buddy "Is this more like 'Blazzing Saddles'?" at that point). In the end I guess it was more like "Dude, where's my car?".
Anyway, a pretty funny movie, with 3 large weaknesses:
Still, I'm a sucker for these sort of journey based (Odysseal?) type of films. It was funny enough, the characters where both good charming people, the story was compactly told.
Letterboxd
Not a perfect film, but damn if it does not have some interesting ideas and just a great sense of place.
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Idiotic fun.
Really elevated by three great scenes.
Campy fun.
Great (terrible) one liners relating to beekeeping, America, et all.
Letterboxd
Based on the preview, I thought this was a complete gimmick and would likely not have seen this film. I saw it as part of Cinemark's Secret Cinema series and am actually glad I did.
Context: I do not know who Robbie Williams is. The songs (this is a very light musical) playing throughout I am assuming are old hits? I am ambivalent about musicals. I generally avoid movies about celebrities.
With all that out of the way, I actually enjoyed this quite a bit. It is the same story you have heard a hundred times. A talented young performer, with a great deal of grit and luck, rises to the top. In doing so they become extremely dependent on alcohol, anti-anxiety drugs, cocaine, and eventually heroin. They either burn out or have some sort of come to Jesus moment and clean their life up. The story is so well trod that it isn't even interesting.
However, 2 choices really elevate this.
Anyway, this is getting too long for my style of review, which are mostly just notes to my future self. Just wanted to say that I was impressed by the use of computer graphics here as well as the pacing and visuals of this film. I feel confident that the team that did this could have probably elevated any story and look forward to future work.
P.S. I told my movie buddy that I think I have resolved to never look up anything about Robbie Williams, as I am content to think of him as a broad chested 6 foot tall chimpanzee who can sing.
You should start a blog. Having your own little corner of the internet is good for the soul!
Inspired by Simon Wilson. I decided to try to resurect my long discarded blog. I wrote 2 things that I think are somewhat interesting.
Here is the capture template
* %^{Title}
:PROPERTIES:
:CREATED: %T
:ATTRIBUTION: %^{Who should I attribute this to?}
:QUOTE: %^{Quote for this entry | nil}
:END:
%?
Here is the code in my .spacemacs that adds the template
(defun dotspacemacs/user-config ()
;; 2025-01-06 - Trying to setup a easier way to do quick blogs
(setq org-capture-templates
'(("f" "Found Blog Entry" entry (file+headline "~/blog/found.org" "Found")
(file "~/orgs/capture_templates/found.org")))))
Now I can simply type org-capture Enter f to fill in this template and have it added to ~/blog/found.org under the Found root heading.
I then had Claude help me write a small script that basically parses every entry in ~/blog/found.org and adds it as a markdown entry to my static blog. The code is as follows.
import sys
import os
from datetime import datetime
import orgparse
def create_markdown(node):
"""Convert an org node to markdown blog post content."""
# Extract link and title from heading
title = node.get_heading().split(']')[1].strip() if '][' in node.get_heading() else node.get_heading()
link = node.get_heading().split(']')[0].strip() if '][' in node.get_heading() else node.get_heading()
# Get properties
created = node.properties.get('CREATED', '').strip('<>')
quote = node.properties.get('QUOTE', '')
categories = node.properties.get('CATEGORIES', '')
# Format date for filename and frontmatter
date_obj = datetime.strptime(created, '%Y-%m-%d %a %H:%M')
formatted_date = date_obj.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:00')
filename = date_obj.strftime('%Y-%m-%d') + '-' + title.lower().replace(' ', '-') + '.md'
categories_formated = [s for s in categories.split(",") if s]
if link and 'link' not in categories:
categories_formated.append('link')
categories_formated = [f'"{s}"' for s in categories_formated]
# Create frontmatter
md_content = (
'{\n'
':layout :post\n'
f':title "{title}"\n'
f':date "{formatted_date}"\n'
f':categories [{",".join(categories_formated)}]\n'
'}\n\n'
)
# Add quote if exists
if quote and quote != 'nil':
md_content += f'<blockquote>{quote}</blockquote>\n\n'
# Add main content
md_content += node.get_body()
return filename, md_content
def process_org_file(org_path, output_dir):
"""Process org file and create markdown files."""
if not os.path.exists(org_path):
print(f"Error: Input file '{org_path}' not found.")
return False
os.makedirs(output_dir, exist_ok=True)
try:
root = orgparse.load(org_path)
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error parsing org file: {e}")
return False
# Process each node that has the right depth (2 in your case, for ++)
for node in root[1:]: # Skip the root node
if node.level == 2: # Only process ++ entries
try:
filename, md_content = create_markdown(node)
output_path = os.path.join(output_dir, filename)
with open(output_path, 'w') as f:
f.write(md_content)
print(f"Created: {output_path}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Error processing entry {node.get_heading()}: {e}")
continue
return True
def main():
if len(sys.argv) != 3:
print("Usage: ./write_found_to_md.py <org_file> <output_directory>")
sys.exit(1)
org_path = sys.argv[1]
output_dir = sys.argv[2]
if process_org_file(org_path, output_dir):
print("Conversion completed successfully.")
else:
print("Conversion failed.")
sys.exit(1)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
Letterboxd
About an hour after getting my Covid and Flu shots, I saw this on a whim because "boosters" made me think of Sonic as I was driving by the theater. Pretty decent, enough chuckle worthy moments to keep me going. Jim Carrey was easily the best thing in this film.
Letterboxd
A little disappointed. I wanted something weird like https://letterboxd.com/film/bram-stokers-dracula/ . This, was not that.
I've read the book, but have never seen the original https://letterboxd.com/film/nosferatu/.
As I said, I wanted something weird, frightening, sensually disturbing, maybe even something casually violent that really shocked me. I'm not really clear on what I didn't like about this film, but it just didn't catch me at any of the easy hooks that can get me engaged in a vampire flick.
An honest effort, but just not my thing.
Letterboxd
I enjoyed this despite not being much of a sports movie type of person. The film captured that this is a teenager who has drive but was not "on a path". Her home environment was awful, she was not being molded from a young age by a controlling influence, she was obviously completely out of her depth in terms of navigating "the game" of being an Olympic athlete. And yet she makes it happen anyway. The movie argues that she would not be where she was were it not for her coach, who was instrumental in helping her train. However, beyond that, he also seems to have been the "keeper of the flame" of her own internal fire. At many points she likely lacked the discipline or drive to keep going on her own, but her coach consistently reignited her passion to win. A good example in film that a coach not only imparts skills, but also mindset.
Letterboxd
A frequent thought of mine after watching a film is "this should have been an animation." I believe this was the first film I have seen where I thought "this should have been a audio program." The pleasures of this film are conveyed principally through voice and dialog; hearing Lynn Belvedere insult the suburban household he nannies.
I think it might have been interesting to release the entire thing as an audio program (this would require a narrator in parts), and then create a film afterwards that exactly superimposes on top of that.
Letterboxd
I was surprised to be somewhat underwhelmed by this film. I was particularly tired that evening and wonder if maybe I wasn't cogent enough to get it?
Stream of thoughts as I watched this:
I eventually just got a little tired of trying to make sense of it. I still enjoyed the animation and the music, but I found the actual journey a little dull.
I suppose the end message was that a solitary animal (cat) chose to form a pack with a bunch of social animals, and by doing so let go of some of their natural fear and anxiety? I'm not sure.
Letterboxd
I think this is one of those films that probably sounded good in concept, but lacked tension in its actual implementation. Some of the plots points seemed fairly thin as well.
Letterboxd
Too much of a "ending is open to interpretation" film for my taste. Still, fun throughout and even a little bit scary.
I am not much of a horror buff, but I thought it might be fun to see this Christian film 2 days after seeing https://letterboxd.com/samedhi/film/the-best-christmas-pageant-ever-2024/ . Which was preceeded by https://letterboxd.com/samedhi/film/conclave/ . It was fun to go on a bit of a Christian themed deep dive.
Letterboxd
I have not yet watched a Hallmark or Lifetime movie, though I intend to do so someday. I think this was a good intro to a sort of pro-christian, pro-family genre of film. I felt a sort of cognitive dissonance as I watched it, knowing that life is more complicated than the constraints that this movie allowed. It became fairly obvious fairly quickly that this is the sort of movie that would allow trouble, without allowing genuine problems to rear their ugly head. I think the closest the film may have come to a real problem was the mentioning of the erstwhile mother, who might have been something more dark (addict, prostitute, it is basically left to the imagination).
It is hard to really grade something when the majority of problems that most of humanity has are simply not present here. With that said, it is a cute movie that got me a little teary eyed at the nativity scene and what can I say about that?
It is enjoyable and pleasant to sit through. You will likely feel better walking out of the film than you felt walking into it. It has a few moral messages within it.
Letterboxd
Cute film, does not overstay its welcome. I feel might have been better as an animation than live action. Some of the dynamism of the situation might have been better captured by a skilled animator. Never quite made the jump to being touching for me, but I did enjoy the ending.
I do like how sometimes these Japanese films are ok with having a certain level of unexplained whimsy to them. Like not everything needs a perfectly defined and constrained universe. Internal consistency can sometimes be a bit overdone.
Letterboxd
The ending threw me a little, but the acting is just so spectacular. I also knew basically nothing about how a pope is selected and found the details of the process interesting.
I have worked at large companies that have a oddly similar atmosphere to the cardinal's politics. Echoes of "what is best for the church" often sound rather similar to "what is best for the company". I found it an interesting contrast.
Letterboxd
This is a little better than Black Adam, but is on the same scale of screw ups in terms of completely failing to capitalize on the source material. Venom is a 2 man act, with Eddie playing the straight man and the Symbiote as his counterpart. Could have had great scenes with the hippy family as they wax on what they have given up. Could have had great scenes as they go through their own "Fear and Loathing" ark in Vegas. Instead, we got this... noise.
Letterboxd
Pretty interesting interpersonal story within a larger political story. Casting and acting was also perfect. However, like the Dune (modern) movies, for me it is more about the set pieces and characters and settings. I thought it was pretty good at skating the edge between making you sympathetic to a life of loyalty vs. feeling that the characters are overly constrained by their sense of honor.
Letterboxd
Noir isn't usually my thing, but this was a genuinely good film. It was a little too much to really make sense of the clues through my first viewing, I think I might enjoy it more on a second pass when I can collect the clues.
Letterboxd
Enjoyable, but honestly didn't give me enough time at each beat to connect emotionally with the characters.
I did however enjoy the after the film section that let me watch more about the movie. I wish more films did those post credit things (even if it was just a QR code that I could scan and watch on my own).
Letterboxd
Golly there was some amazing camerawork during this film. I think the thing I enjoyed the most was matching the archetypes of these characters to people I know in my own life.
Letterboxd
I really like the art style and really appreciated the capture of motion in the wildlife. I think this got me teary eyed 4 or 5 times to be honest. Felt that the scenes off the island could have largely been cut, but other than that a basically perfect film.
Letterboxd
Still a great film.
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Enjoyable, but it just didn't quite catch me.
Letterboxd
I feel like it was genuine enough that I enjoyed it more than it's actual material warrants. Never heard of the creator before, though I suddenly recognized him in the closing credits as the "notice me sempai" guy. It's cool that he is doing his thing.
Letterboxd
This was unexpectedly good. I say this because the animation style I saw in the previews made me think "low budget cash grab". This is easily a tier above any Michael Bay directed film and acts as a solid intro to the Transformer franchise.
I'm curious what their test screenings and research department said about the previews? I had basically dismissed this film as it looked like the sort of cheap aughts animation that 2nd tier shows would get (that didn't have budget for more intensive animation). I would have skipped this entirely were it not for a friend of mine who is a real fan and wanted to see it. I'm just curious how many people are like me and might skip this based entirely on the lackluster preview?
Anywho, don't judge a book by its cover.
Letterboxd
Thoroughly enjoyable Poirot film. There seemed to be a lot of barbs/jabs/inuendos in this one that I don't recognize from other Poirot films. I assume those were added, but I think they actually added to the film.
Letterboxd
This film knew exactly what it wanted to be an executed on that. Can't say I didn't enjoy it.
Letterboxd
It had a lot heart, but honestly I was just a little tired of it by the end. Not "I don't like you" tired, but more "I enjoyed your company, but it is time for everyone to go home" type of tired.
Letterboxd
It was frustrating because I almost felt that this could have been a good film. It was really the way they dolled out information about what was going on that made it frustrating. Felt like 80% of it was just random noise with some very small reveals, and then everything is just connected at the last moment.
This might have been enjoyable if it had been one of those films where at the end you see that all the pieces were in place and you could have pieced it together except you were being misdirected.
Sadly, it was not.
Letterboxd
Acting was decent, I felt like it took a while getting the story rolling. Good, but just didn't connect with me.
Also, I can't help remembering that he specifically mentioned removing bad genes from the gene pool as a potential reason that we have a "dark genetic" (something like that) inclination to murder. Is... Is this movie a defense of eugenics?
Letterboxd
"This is nothing like Buffalo Wild Wings"
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Somehow based on the preview I was convinced that the gimmick was that she was deaf. A solidly fun monster film with a predictable but well executed plot. I saw this in a theater with some sort of "thumper" (or maybe just a really really low bass) that was actually really good for this movie. Really added a bit to the film to be able to feel the vibrations as a giant 4 ton monster careens your way. It was an interesting experience as it actually added a third (tactile) sense to the film.
Letterboxd
This felt like a sequence of 3 panel strips compiled into a film. With a single story threaded through the whole. I really enjoyed some of the attention to detail of some of the animation, some small moments were masterfully captured.
Letterboxd
The most Bruckheimer of Jerry Bruckheimer films. I mean, it ain't a thinking man's movie, but damned if I didn't have a pretty good time along its entire run length. You wouldn't watch it twice, but still a petty entertaining tent pole film.
Letterboxd
Cottage-core taken to the max.
Saw it in theaters today and enjoyed it more the second time than the first. It is definitely one of the more subdued Ghibli films, with quieter emotions, but it is still enjoyable.
Letterboxd
I don't usually watch the double features at the Stanford Theater, but I did this time. I can't say why, but I this just didn't connect with me that much.
With that said, I really liked the character of the Captain. I loved his mannerisms and I liked the squat shape of his body as he moved about. I liked how he narrated things to himself.
Letterboxd
80 minutes, tense, fun. I thought Stewart was almost supernaturally perceptive, and Brandon practically wanted to be caught it seemed like.
Letterboxd
This is one of those films that I have thought about every once in a while but never seen. Well today I finally saw it (free on youtube right now, fyi). It is a rather mediocre film with a still somewhat cute cast. There are so many interesting/fun scenes that could have occurred with this fish out of water setup. Just didn't connect on anything really.
Letterboxd
Rough call. It really was not for me. I could tell that this was not my thing in the first 10 minutes. But I ended up watching the whole thing due to how visually arresting the scenes were. This makes you wish there was a "This wasn't for me, but..." category for film. I strongly respect the work and mastery that must have gone into something this detailed, but it just isn't something I enjoy.
Letterboxd
I wish Hitchcock did more of these type of films. The story in and of itself is actually comparatively low stakes, but Hitchcock's mastery of scene, blocking, etc really get you into how terrifying the situation is on a personal level. Few directors would have the skill to take such a simple story and humanize it enough that it connect with an audience. Not his most exciting film, but sometimes it is interesting to see how much a master can draw out from even the most simple of materials.
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This is a good summer movie. A great deal of well done CG. A little action. Some social questions about whether it is the nature of all organized power structures to subdue/subsume "others". Good times.
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Messy. Too energized. You rarely get a moment to connect with any of the characters. Also, minor quibble, but the Nazi's in this film must have been prescribed Valium or something. They just stand around and stare as they are shot at! Over and over! It is hard to bill yourself as an action movie when your opponents seem to be barely conscious NPCs?
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I really enjoyed this. So many ideas. So much cool tech. It kind of made me want to watch Aeon Flux.
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That was a pretty damn good movie. I was charmed by Joan Fontaine at the beginning, there were some shots of her that really captured her beauty. Only real complaint was that it was more of a "uncover the truth" type movie than a "take agency" type of film. So many genuinely great scenes (so Hitchcock), was genuinely surprised after walking out of the theater to realize it was a 130 minute movie.
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Honestly, I enjoyed it more than you would expect. I think it started quite strong and I liked the idea a lot, but it overstayed it's runtime a little and lost the thread towards the last 1/3 of the film.
This movie definitely played towards the more comedic elements, and I think that was the right call for the cast and skill they had. But it would have been interesting to watch if Abigail was more defined as an actual 300 year old vampire, rather than sort of the caricature of one.
Tonally, I would say this one was actually orbiting around "Cabin in the Woods", another movie I quite enjoyed.
Lots of dumb scenes where people split up for seemingly no reason at all, but whatever, it is a horror film.
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Another immaculate Wes Anderson movie. I probably didn't necessarily get it, but just watching the interaction and set pieces was enough for me. I really liked the camera work where they seemed to have the ability to pane across the entire "lot" of the film, providing a sort of parallax effect as they did so.
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I saw this at the theater but walked in about 5 minutes late because the popcorn line was running slow. I am wondering if I missed certain queues at the beginning that this is basically a comedy? Until I sort of figured this out I felt that the film was tonally off.
Once I realized that it was supposed to be more funny than serious I began enjoying it a good deal more. The idea of having two romantic leads handcuffed together seems kind of lazy by modern standards, but this was 1935 and I wonder if it was one of the first to do this bit?
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The most notable thing is how bad Matthew Mcconaughey's character is. Both in terms of the writing and the acting. I really liked him in later films so this comes as a bit of a surprise.
I recently watched a few episodes of "True Detective" and had Jodie Foster on my mind. She was still a great actress even this long ago. I also like her character, just completely consumed by this one goal.
I felt it's heart was in the right place, and I guess I am behind the idea of doing science purely for the purposes of discovery... But I'm not sure this movie made a very good case for that.
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I think this is a good movie, it just isn't entirely my thing. I wish the romance between Fred & Ginger was a little more... something. Felt like two people who honestly wanted to dance more than romance. I know these movies are really more about dance numbers somewhat linked by plot, but I still kinda want more in terms of substance.
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I should preface this by saying that I play a board game called Dune: Imperium (and now Uprising). So I was primed to like this film. Truthfully I have twice failed to finish this book a long time ago as a teenager. Like the book, I am medium warm on the characters and medium on the plot.
With that said, I love the world of Dune. I like the set pieces, I like the scenery, I like the scenes as people come and go. The camerawork is fantastic. I love the ships and the buildings. I'm trying to communicate that the plot may be
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I think I last watched this like 25+ years ago. I think a lot of people have a vague memory of how weird this movie was, it is a core memory for a lot of childhoods.
This movie plays a bit like a fever dream. Sometimes transitions between scenes occur without there being a clear transition between one and the next. Sometimes characters seem to change without it being entirely clear what the cause was.
The buddy I saw it with fell asleep in the last battle (in the goblin town) and I have to admit that that part drags on a bit.
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The dance number at the end was pretty fun. I was especially impressed when the gents were (acrobatically) throwing the girls down the stairs.
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Watching this film, what I really found myself wishing was that the internet had been active 20 years earlier so I could read 1989 man on the street opinions on this film. I'd love to contrast what I thought of the film to what others thought of it at the time.
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The most interesting thing I can say is that, due to technical issues, I watched this through my sound system but without 5.1 sound or bass (just stereo). So basically I just had the dialog and very very light music. It's interesting to see how odd the pacing on films is when you take out the the music and parts of the audio. Like watching a sitcom without the laugh track.
Anyway, movie was fine.
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Why PG-13 violence?
Also, the editing, scene transitions, lighting, green screens, cg... Not the greatest work here guys.
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It felt kind of odd to watch everyone be competent at their job. I'm not sure what the point of the film really was, but it was interesting to watch them get wherever they were going with it. Was it a study of character, processes, society? Was it just a story, with no moral purpose at all really? Like I said, odd, but strangely intriguing.
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I was thinking it was enjoyable if not great right until the scene of him "handyman'ing" the fence. I don't know what it was about the shot of him holding the bottle of Elmer's, but it just immediately captured the humor of the movie. Just made the whole thing click for me. From that point onward everything was quite funny. It is such a good natured stupid kind of humor, like some of the better Steve Martin films but with dryer punchlines.
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Honestly, I had way to big a meal (+ dessert) while watching this film. I think I may have dozed off in the center. Still, from what I saw it was pretty good.
I think it falls in that line of being pretty funny but of limited romantic appeal. I think the real pleasure is in having a gradually sillier and sillier plot that rises to a crescendo at the end. Kinda reminds me a little of midsummer nights dream.
Also, I did like the Aunt a whole lot. She was a hoot.
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The film itself is not particularly interesting. However, I have a real soft spot for films that capture the ethos of a time or the mannerism of a people. I would love to know how accurate this one was at either of these? I was particularly struck how casual they were about sexuality whilst being much more serious about domestic violence. I also simultaneously felt very bad for the girls environment while also recognizing the mechanisms they had for dealing with it.
The whole thing seems weird, but then I start thinking that maybe I am the weird on for thinking that it is weird.
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I think I watched half of this film before. I don't quite remember why, but I just wasn't in the mood for it last time. I think my dropping it had to do with relying on the premise of souls being real being somewhat of the reason that life makes sense.
This time through I enjoyed for some reason. There were some genuinely touching moments and great scenes. I loved the flashback of the people in his life as he is playing the piano. Sitting at the piano stool with his father listening to him play.
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Solidly enjoyable if unchallenging film. SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEONK.
I was genuinely annoyed that the mechanic told our pilot that he could pull the handle to live (told as a flashback after the event in question). I kind of think it would have made better thematic sense to tell him "you need to pull this handle one second before collision in order to arm the bomb." Unbeknownst to the pilot, it is not to "set" the bomb, but instead will cause his seat to eject. Pilot thinks he is finally Kamikaziing, breaking his curse of cowardice. Mechanic can now respect the pilot, knowing that he would sacrificed (atoned) himself. Mechanic and pilot end film in outrage > anger > warm manly hug. Pilot then finds reason to live when he discovers his live in girlfriend is still alive.
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A solidly warm film. Kind of a combination of "Catcher in the Rye" meets "Dead Poet's Society".
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A little more fun than Frankenstein, but still basically pretty dull.
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I get that this is a classic, but I didn't enjoy it that much.
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The amount of plot armor and or fortuitous circumstances our protagonist gets is just absurd. I enjoyed certain aspects of the film, but I was just continuously distracted by the above.
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This film is mostly a character study. You simultaneously sympathize and shake your head as he works through life.
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I quite enjoyed it until the last act. There were enough plot holes to leave me questioning my own sanity. Masterful scenes and camera work. I did enjoy the idea of a genial and almost good natured murderer.
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Uncle Charlie is a great character. His infatuated/disillusioned niece was also masterfully done, though I wish there had been more agency for some of these characters.
Feel like this story is more about having a backdrop for these characters to interact, and less about anything in particularly happening.
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It's fun. It's funny. It's charming.
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Two things really stuck out to me in this film.
Anyway, I think the most credit I could give it was that it was a different type of film. The subject matter was actually pretty serious (unwanted pregnancy & murder), but the humor was consistent. I felt it missed opportunities to let us connect more deeply with the characters, but it was still by and large unique and pleasant to watch.
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There is a lot to recommend this film. I had a few complaints. I felt it really pulled it together with the ending.
Things I liked:
Things I was mixed on:
I was solidly enjoying the film throughout, but I felt the ending was what actually brought it home for me. I am not 100% on this, but my personal reading was that perhaps Barbie chose to become human because she wanted to have children (the ultimate act of creation). I thought that was interesting as the film started off with little girls rejecting their baby dolls in favor of Barbie. Barbie being a sort of rejection of the maternal role, and our own Barbie perhaps interested in pursuing it? A bit of a full circle thing? I don't know. Maybe an admission that for most human beings, the act of creating more life is the most significant thing they do? That perhaps we should celebrate that in the same ways we celebrate wealth, success, power, and fame? I thought it was a great dismount for the film.
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This was not good. Strange film. It almost felt like a film made by a theater director. There were quite a few plot holes. The male lead that Sylvia falls for is kind of just an ass. The characters were not all that interesting. This is a pretty easy pass if you haven't seen it.
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I don't think there is anything particular to recommend this film. This is Grand And Hepburn as you know them from their flirty comedic days.
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This was great cinema. Every scene has detail to read into. The camerawork and framing masterful. I distinctly remember one scene of just a glass of water and a lemon (I think) that I thought "This could be a water painting".
Acting was excellent. So much was communicated through the eyes rather than spoken word.
I'd say my biggest objection was how perfectly setup the trio was. Nora, her husband Arthur, and her childhood love Hae Sung were almost too contrived. Every one of them had an emotional core that made them perfectly balanced in the group dynamics. Nora was pragmatic and loyal, to the point of almost being cruel to Arthur. Arthur was neurotic and maybe a bit cowardly, but came through in his understanding of Nora. Hae Sung was romantic to the point of what could easily have been regarded as "creepy", but his actual feelings were so pure that it was honestly hard to regard them as such.
Anyway, my friend and I spent a solid 2 hours dinner afterwards mostly discussing particulars of the film. It is that level of cinema.
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I expected little, I got little. I have only myself to blame.
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This was genuinely one of the most fun films I have ever seen. The camera work, the change in styles, the framing. Heartful at its core but with a casing of comedy (appropriate to any spider man film). A few of the plot elements are a little contrived, but this is a comic book film so whatever. This is great cinema.
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Better than the last one... I don't think much needs to be said about these films at this point.
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I think it struck pretty true to its form. I've sorta soft boycotted (with no real conviction) most of the Marvel & Star Wars stuff. Not that I think it is bad, just that I think it takes away from the possibility of making new things by putting so much energy into continuing existing things. With that said, I made an exception for this "subplot" series as I did enjoy all the characters quite a bit.
Also, the "single shot" fight scene at the end was pretty cool. Got to give them credit.
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I really enjoyed this. I think there was a bit in the way of editing to make certain scenes flow more quickly. But it still did an excellent job of giving you a sense of being in the audience.
The negatives were small:
The good:
This was great. I really wish fathom would get more plays. Really made me want to see this live!
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It was actually pretty fun but they kept bringing in a romantic interest (awkwafina) and a support group. I think it would have been better if they played aquafina as a straight man to Renfield's nightly shenanigans. It might also be nice if they actually let the support group end up supporting Renfield in his fight to break co-dependance. I'm overthinking it, but it was a pretty fun movie that got a little bogged down in some of its sidequest.
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I enjoyed this as it was more of a focused biopic of a particular deal being made than a drama (looking at you Gucci). There were some awkward parts, for instance when all the characters are sitting around the table and he says "All of use will be forgottten, but you will live forever" to MJ. Maybe it was said, maybe it wasn't, still feels like a really weird thing for a grown man to say to a young rookie.
Good acting, decent pacing, a little bit of deification (MJ)... What's not to like?
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Honestly, it was so much better than the 2000 film of the same name that I can't really complain.
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I wish they had combined this and the third movie into 1 film. That could easily be a 5 star movie. This felt a little too drawn out at this point. Still, some really great camera work. Fun action. Kind of cool world. It could have gone out better, but it still went out pretty well.
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Watched it all. Begins as interesting Jules Vern type story, but episode 23-34 (island & Africa) are awful. Last 5 episodes return you to a great story. Probably the greatest example in drop in quality I have seen to date. Strongly suggest just reading summaries for terrible middle part. You have been warned. Likely 1 to 2 stars higher if it wasn't for the middle.