Not sure, but now the idea of George Costanza getting really worked up and doing Come Up and Get Me is killing me.
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I still think Night of the Hunter is a little uneven, but this scene, namely the bit with the candle, is fucking incredible. Genuinely made me gasp the first time I watched it.
Also what’s really stuck with me is how it treats religion. Both their villain and savior of the movie are fervently religious and totally driven by their faith, but despite ostensibly having the same beliefs, they’ve interpreted them so differently that they land completely opposite morally. That kind of rings true IRL I’ve found; for every decent religious person, there’s also those who use it as a way to justify their own phobias and biases. Considering the conservative time and climate it was made in (the heyday of the Catholic League) it’s a really unique and piercing take on religion and belief.
Black Narcissus is another recent watch with interesting religious themes actually. It’s really grown on me since I watched it the first time, those matte paintings are insane.
Also have to give it points for having the crazy murderous nun be played by an all-time baddie. 10/10 would let Sister Ruth push me off a cliff.
local theatre (as in one that shows plays and whatnot) shows films every once in a blue moon. over the next week, they’re showing 2001 AND Stop Making Sense.
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Very nice! Going to be able to attend?
I went to 2001 tonight actually. I’ve already seen it in the cinema before, and it fucking slaps, it really does need to be seen on the big screen for the full effect. I have the 4K disc but there’s no substitute for the real thing.
ended up being kinda awkward tho: I ran into a girl I went out with briefly a few months ago at the screening, and it just was agonizingly awkward. I swear to god, the vibe was identical to that Nardwuar interview with Lil Uzi after he mentions Guns Garcia.
it really does need to be seen on the big screen for the full effect
Yep, I’d never actually seen it all the way through in one go until the 50th anniversary ultra-wide cut in a cinema, classic art deco place projecting on film too.
Easily overtook Gravity on Imax as my top movie experience ever.
My wife and I started watching Deadloch, a murder mystery with some comedy mixed in. The show is set in Tasmania while the main characters are opposing detectives from Sydney and Darwin. It’s a good show that is satisfying my cravings for more media from Antipodeans.
We’re four episodes in and definitely enjoying it. We found it on Amazon Prime.
currently stuck at home with a bout of tonsillitis, and I’m definitely going back into one of my Adam Curtis phases again. His latest series for the BBC, Traumazone, was phenomenal but it was so dense I feel like I barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. Will likely go back and watch it again over the next few days.
Funnily enough, I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen anything on film; I was born in '99, so right around the time film projectors were getting phased out. They do show film in a few boutique theaters in Dublin, but that’s about it.
People forget this, but 2001 was made specifically for Cinerama screens, which were these massive curved behemoths. In other words, to get the full effect, 2001 is meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible, which is a lot harder to do with a smaller screen, not to mention a TV. I can honestly say it’s only ever hit me 100% on the big screen; on a TV the Stargate sequence is cool, but on a massive theatre screen it’s genuinely overwhelming and almost uncomfortably intense. I considered dropping acid before the first time I saw it in theatres and I’m glad I didn’t because I’m pretty sure it would have scarred me for life.
Also, fun fact: Barry Lyndon was partially shot (almost everything in the first half hour iirc) near where I live, and a few months ago, they screened it, preceded by a talk with some locals who were crew on the film.
Also, I could be wrong, but I think this famous photo of Kubrick was shot here.
letterboxd reviews are 99% trash, but this is a wonderful, insightful review of my favorite movie.
this was only ok, but still one of the better horror films in recent memory. heavily reminiscent of older slashers, but could also see it becoming a bit of a cult classic in it’s own right; it has just the right amount of camp without making a show of it. a lot of people who make intentionally campy throwbacks like this mistake self-awareness/being meta for intelligent writing (let’s call it the Rick and Morty effect) and Thanksgiving does an admirable job of avoiding that. restraint is not something I associate with Eli Roth, but everything here is surprisingly measured, even the social commentary stops just short of being cringe, albeit barely.
that said I also get the feeling the praise for this one is due in part to the quality (or lack thereof) of horror films that are getting theatrical releases nowadays; the only one in recent memory that I really enjoyed was Beau is Afraid and even then I think calling that just a horror movie is a bit of a stretch.
God no, we already have so many fucking clubs, we may as well be a college at this point. Here’s everything I’ve given a 4 or over on Letterboxd tho, descending from highest rated, in case anyone is stuck for something to watch.
| @phreakbrain classics | |
|---|---|
| Magnolia | 1999 |
| Licorice Pizza | 2021 |
| The Wind Rises | 2013 |
| My Neighbor Totoro | 1988 |
| GoodFellas | 1990 |
| Toy Story 2 | 1999 |
| Boogie Nights | 1997 |
| Mulholland Drive | 2001 |
| No Country for Old Men | 2007 |
| The Iron Giant | 1999 |
| The King of Comedy | 1982 |
| The Social Network | 2010 |
| Rear Window | 1954 |
| JFK | 1991 |
| Snatch | 2000 |
| The Matrix | 1999 |
| The French Connection | 1971 |
| Bowling for Columbine | 2002 |
| The Thin Blue Line | 1988 |
| HyperNormalisation | 2016 |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion | 1997 |
| Exit Through the Gift Shop | 2010 |
| Toy Story | 1995 |
| Monsters, Inc. | 2001 |
| The Big Lebowski | 1998 |
| The Shining | 1980 |
| Django Unchained | 2012 |
| Kill Bill: Vol. 1 | 2003 |
| Pulp Fiction | 1994 |
| Aliens | 1986 |
| Synecdoche, New York | 2008 |
| Back to the Future | 1985 |
| La Haine | 1995 |
| The Conversation | 1974 |
| It’s a Wonderful Life | 1946 |
| Casino Royale | 2006 |
| Die Hard | 1988 |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1968 |
| Home Alone | 1990 |
| Singin’ in the Rain | 1952 |
| A Goofy Movie | 1995 |
| The Nice Guys | 2016 |
| Oppenheimer | 2023 |
| In the Bedroom | 2001 |
| Everything Everywhere All at Once | 2022 |
| Phantom Thread | 2017 |
| The Dark Knight | 2008 |
| Kiki’s Delivery Service | 1989 |
| Ponyo | 2008 |
| Castle in the Sky | 1986 |
| Sorry to Bother You | 2018 |
| BlacKkKlansman | 2018 |
| The Color of Money | 1986 |
| Silence | 2016 |
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | 2018 |
| The Grand Budapest Hotel | 2014 |
| Avatar: The Way of Water | 2022 |
| Touch of Evil | 1958 |
| Z | 1969 |
| Cache | 2005 |
| TÃR | 2022 |
| The Fabelmans | 2022 |
| Suspiria | 1977 |
| Children of Men | 2006 |
| F for Fake | 1973 |
| WALL·E | 2008 |
| John Wick | 2014 |
| John Wick: Chapter 4 | 2023 |
| The Wild Bunch | 1969 |
| Bambi | 1942 |
| I Am Cuba | 1964 |
| Schindler’s List | 1993 |
| Stop Making Sense | 1984 |
| Spider-Man | 2002 |
| Clerks | 1994 |
| The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst | 2015 |
| Inglourious Basterds | 2009 |
| Jackie Brown | 1997 |
| School of Rock | 2003 |
| Star Wars | 1977 |
| Knives Out | 2019 |
| Manhunter | 1986 |
| Phish: Bittersweet Motel | 2000 |
| Classic Albums: Steely Dan - Aja | 1999 |
| Reservoir Dogs | 1992 |
| Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan | 2006 |
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day | 1991 |
| Lilo & Stitch | 2002 |
| Frozen | 2013 |
| Shrek | 2001 |
| Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone | 2022 |
| The Worst Person in the World | 2021 |
| Blow Out | 1981 |
| Casino | 1995 |
| Killers of the Flower Moon | 2023 |
| The Hangover | 2009 |
| The Empire Strikes Back | 1980 |
| A Hard Day’s Night | 1964 |
| Skyfall | 2012 |
| The Royal Tenenbaums | 2001 |
| Fantastic Mr. Fox | 2009 |
| Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | 1998 |
| The Goonies | 1985 |
| Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | 2007 |
| Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | 1992 |
| Mean Streets | 1973 |
| The Killer | 1989 |
Just got out of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. Straight up one of the worst movies I’ve seen this year. Awful pacing, razor thin characters, so little insight even into what made Napoleon great or interesting as either a figure, leader or tactician and it was just all around dull.
The only part that really stuck out is the Battle of Austerlitz, the clear centrepiece, but even that falters from the complete lack of context or stakes, which is a recurring issue; this is a weird movie that simultaneously has too much and too little faith in the audience’s intelligence and knowledge.
When it comes to Napoleon’s personal life and relationships, the treatment of it is just so broad and obvious, with lots of very obvious exposition and narration, but when it comes to the history, you’re given almost no background with regards to the geopolitics at play; at one point, he loses Russia as an ally, but you’re given literally zero context into why that happens.
There’s apparently going to be a 4-hour cut of this in a few months. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes; Scott’s reworkings have a history of soaking up acclaim, but if it merely doubles down on the theatrical cut’s worst elements instead of filling in the gaps, it’ll probably be agonizing.
looks like it isn’t getting a theatrical release over here. bummer, alexander payne is a treasure.
Honestly don’t know why I didn’t make a Letterboxd account before, it’s really interesting being able to look at your own tastes from a bird’s eye view. I’m surprised there isn’t really any drop-off in the average decade-to-decade; the average remains fairly consistent.
Speaking of, here’s my highest rated movies from each decade (1950s onward) on there.
1950’s: Rear Window
1960’s: 2001 A Space Odyssey
1970’s: The Conversation
1980: My Neighbor Totoro
1990’s: Goodfellas
2000’s: Mulholland Drive
2010’s: The Wind Rises
2020’s (so far): Licorice Pizza
Mulholland drive is one of my personal favorites. Peep the profile pic. I would love to pick David Lynch’s brain
tw : mentions of suicide