Willing to forgive the airport security guy who yelled at me for picking up my parents AT PASSENGER PICKUP because maybe Jason Bateman was in his ear telling him to rush the cars out of there

The ideal stand up comedy hour

This one's got Hulk Hogan

Wanted my own Gizmo so badly as a kid but so many years later I sorta just wanna hang with the Gremlins

Imperfect I think because Nolan is trying to balance his love for the science of it all (and particularly his desire to get us interested in it by explaining it in depth) with how sincere all of the high emotion moments are. You can’t have one without the other, so it succeeds for the same reason it fails. If it were more focused on the idea of love transcending time and space, our characters would be more than just stand ins to deliver the themes and information regarding space travel to us. Were it more focused on the information, we wouldn’t really care about the love. So it kind of strikes that perfect balance, but as a result you’ve gotta be both interested in the science and moved by the weight of the love, and not everybody will be. Luckily, I really like the sincere shit, so I cry and I cry when McConaughey is watching those recordings from his children. Ultimately, a movie about how we only survive because of each other, and I think that’s sorta cool!

Just guys being dudes (naming the days of the week in Spanish)

Watched on Monday December 9, 2024.

It’s cool that 2024 was being talked about as a potential down year for movies and Luca and Mukdeeprom really pulled a “fine, I’ll do it myself.”

You’re kind of on easy mode for me when your movie is about your desires existing only in a world of your own creation, but taking that above and beyond is more than I deserve. From the aforementioned Guadagnino and Mukdeeprom, to Craig and Starkey (and let’s not forget Schwartzman who is maybe just one of the best, period), to Reznor and Ross and Kuritzkes and so on. Really loved it all, a movie that wants to communicate without speaking and succeeds every single time for me.

Also knew it was gonna be great as soon as the come as you are needle drop hit

They're trying to start Harry isn't attractive discourse. A man this funny with fits like that. Don't listen to them!!!

Beggin' them to release this in theaters in 4DX so Moose could splash me during the water dance scene

At least 5 jokes in here that are up there for best of the past decade

"I twisted the bag too many times"

Watched on Saturday November 30, 2024.

"Don't you think one of the charms of marriage is that it makes deception a necessity for both parties?"

Filmed in several locations in Northern New Jersey including a scene in my hometown! I guess you could say I'm super charmed by the hometown bias but I honestly can't decide if I was more surprised by that appearance or the Stavros cameo lol. I welcome both! It's cute and more importantly, it's just pretty funny. There's probably a few too many setups for jokes that don't get paid off, though I knew Nico as Danny Zuko would crush in the credits as soon as I heard it mentioned.

It’s still so hard to get over how long this one feels, but rewatching it this time around was so lovely. I don’t know if it was just seeing it so soon after Wicked that made it feel so rich and lived-in but it deserves at least a good deal of credit, even if it’s a bottom tier HP film.

Watched on Sunday November 24, 2024.

"There's nothing there"

Watched on Thursday November 21, 2024.

Watched on Thursday November 21, 2024.

4 hours long and ugly as shit but its got a few moments and Grande is not just “surprisingly” good she’s absolutely terrific. Jon M. Chu I’ll always be indebted to you for Step Up 3 but this is a really poor effort :/

We've known for a while now that loneliness in the internet age, our obsession with true crime, and a glorification of violence are subjects that we'll see examined on screen endlessly in our present moment. And yet, Red Rooms feels different from your average even if I don't think it adds as much to the conversation as so many claim. I mean, the true crime obsession here might go to much greater lengths than you're used to, but we've already had many of the conversations we need to about how dehumanizing this all is. The one place it really gets below the surface of something interesting is in examining the cause-and-effect relationship between capitalism and a collective apathy toward violence. I shouldn't have to explain why wealthy and comfortable individuals being unfazed by videos of horrific violence toward teenagers is relevant. Plante is even smart enough to include a character who is struggling financially and does not have anywhere near as emotionless a response to the violence.

But, even if you think this interpretation is a bit of a reach, the film's real success doesn't rest on some unique examination of true crime. It comes in the form of me watching in a pitch-black room, only the light of my computer on my face, feeling physically ill by the end of it. The level of discomfort I felt during the courtroom scene near the end, and more specifically the following bedroom scene, hasn't been reached in who knows how long. The sound design and Juliette Gariépy's performance are just the cherry on top. I grew up on stories about the dangers of the internet and the depths the dark web can reach, any movie that taps into that in a way that hooks me from start to finish is more than enough as far as I'm concerned.

Watched on Monday November 18, 2024.

Watched on Sunday November 17, 2024.

I'd seen bits and pieces of Million Dollar Baby on TV growing up, but mostly all I can remember is that I knew how it ended. And sure, that third act will mess up even the toughest of us, but what moved me finally watching this the whole way through was everything before it. Maggie's determination to fight for a dream, that's all we've got. Dreams. It's inspiring to watch, I guess because of my recent struggles and doubts about what the future holds, and what this life could mean. There's some real comfort, though, in seeing the journey be worth it for her in the end.

I can't believe I'm saying it but Jesse Eisenberg, your writing has charmed me.

Not totally convinced that the third act works but the rest is a very welcome surprise (if you want to welcome a gut punch). Beckinsale and Rockwell are both terrific but what really steals the show is the subplot between the two young lovers, Arthur and Lila. Somehow balances the magic of their blossoming teen romance with the tragedy that befalls the other characters. A real gem!

Watched on Wednesday November 13, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday November 13, 2024.

Paul Mescal movie star
Paul Mescal dirty sweaty smelly shirtless
Paul Mescal gladiator shorts flexing arms
Paul Mescal two swords swinging angry sweat dripping nice legs

Complaints about bad plotting, sequel bullshit, and a total lack of bite in battle sequences or otherwise are all valid and correct but I will firmly push back against Paul Mescal haters. In fact, all other criticisms are rendered meaningless because of the power of our glorious Paul Mescal.

Love the first hour and a half or so of this that just feels like going through the tutorial of a new game as you discover the world and how it all works

"Holy shit, you got him!"

Perhaps I was a bit too harsh the first time around. Some critiques might have even been misguided, but mostly it’s just too fun to give any negative thought to. Cardinal gossip and vapes and Stanley Tucci and all.

Jason Bateman operating on a different level

Watched on Saturday November 9, 2024.

3 stars for Bob Ross and Lana Del Rey mentioned in the same movie, truly singular.

Otherwise, half-fun in the moment and then you feel totally deflated the second you leave the theater. I’m a huge fan of a talky chamber piece, but the talking here achieves very little. Early on you convince yourself that you’ll be questioning your own beliefs and then as metaphors you’ve seen on every corner of the internet roll in you realize this is actually just the first week of your intro to philosophy class. And, as a result, none of your beliefs are actually challenged. I’ll give it credit on a meta textual level for bringing up the idea of repeated iterations and marketing itself as “religious horror like you’ve never seen before” just to leave thinking “hmm, I’ve actually seen all of these ideas before.” But Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, and Chloe East are the ones really deserving of the credit, elevating this from semi-disappointment (my expectations weren’t very high) to decent time at the movies!

Watched on Thursday November 7, 2024.

"I do worry sometimes I might just be entertaining myself while staving off the inevitable"

"You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country's never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a shit."

Would get banned if I shared my thoughts on David Zaslav overseeing this movies release in less than 50 theaters nationwide

I’ll say my one issue upfront- the characterizations sometimes lean toward total stereotypes and it comes off a bit goofy. That’s it. Otherwise, a perfect courtroom movie. Totally reflects our never ending moral dilemma and doubt in the systems that hold up our country. But, specifically won me over because of how its main investigation is into the guilt a “good person” faces when being good comes at an inconvenience to them (in this case, to the extreme). Top to bottom great performances, but can’t believe just how good Hoult is. Was super excited to see one of my favorites, Chris Messina, because I had no idea he was in it. And of course, the screenplay (minus those characterizations I mentioned) is just awesome awesome stuff. Gripping from start to finish and then it fucking smacks the shit out of you. Timeless, classic material.

Watched on Sunday November 3, 2024.

Watched on Saturday November 2, 2024.

I've had conflicting thoughts since seeing this a month ago at NYFF, but now rewatching it I was surprised to be even more swept up in it while simultaneously understanding everything I take issue with. It's so funny until it's not, and both sides of that affected me more this time, laughing harder and being left even more speechless. It's also probably Baker at his best as a filmmaker, and I had even more of an appreciation for the performances this time (the first time around I was so focused on Mikey Madison because of all the talk that I hadn't noticed just how much I love Yura Borisov).

But, I think it's also Baker at his least human. I'm almost certain there'd be some tough conversations happening about Anora as a character if Mikey Madison wasn't so terrific, and it's no fault of who Anora is (or could be) but more of Baker possibly not understanding her, actually. Or, maybe he doesn't entirely want to/have to because avoiding the nuance of his smaller movies gives this a path to being met with much more universal praise and in turn his Palme (and eventually several Oscar nominations). One detail I thought about a lot during this viewing was how little of a role Anora's coworker and seemingly only friend plays. I think showing that kind of community among these women would elevate this a lot for me, and instead, it's just shown in such brief glimpses. It's so different when you compare it to something like the relationship at the center of Baker's Tangerine. And I don't want to make it seem like I don't like the movie, I think it's great, but these little details that I'll spend more and more time thinking about are the ones that make the difference between it being a great movie and one I truly love.

Watched with the commentary from Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson

Can watch it every Halloween forever, favorite horror movie ever :)

Watched on Wednesday October 30, 2024.

Watched on Monday October 28, 2024.

Can only exist in a post-Twilight world

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

Dumb as shit lol

I can't express how grateful I am that something like this exists. Were it not for the friends I made online and in gaming communities as a child I wouldn't be alive today. I won't share all of the details, nor do I ever really speak about stuff like this in any form publicly, but I often think about a friend I had online as a young teenager who was suicidal. One night, we stayed up until 6 am crying together and he told me that only two people in the world were keeping him alive- his father, and me. That night I talked him away from doing the worst, and while we don't exactly keep in touch anymore, years ago I did my best to discover that he was okay and in a much better space than he was back when all of this happened. It's still, to this day, the most proud I've ever been of myself. The fact that all of that was a result of Minecraft, of all things, is incredible. And this documentary similarly captures something so beautiful about our online worlds and lives.

It could've been more nuanced at times, but even then I appreciate that it doesn't entirely gloss over the limitations of being so isolated that your entire life is online while still showing how it can benefit someone like Mats. I found the World of Warcraft animation incredibly charming and a great point of access. Cried uncontrollably. Not a documentary, or even just any movie I'd recommend more right now. I can only imagine it'll mean a lot to so many, just as Mats did.

Watched on Friday October 25, 2024.

It confuses me that so many people are let down by this and that it's become the casual moviegoers' prime example of a horror movie that hasn't aged well. Everything works, honestly. Mostly, it's right there in the title. Halloween. As the credits roll and I turn to look out my window the first thing I see is a tree covered in yellow and orange leaves. There's not a better movie to be watching as the holiday approaches.

Ranking all the 2024 movies I watch

1. Challengers
2. Trap
3. La Chimera
4. Dune: Part Two
5. Evil Does Not Exist
6. Queer
7. Juror #2
8. The Seed of the Sacred Fig
9. The Brutalist
10. Nickel Boys

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

To minimize the length and clutter of the watchlist, I'm putting a running list of directors whose filmographies I am currently exploring/want to get into in the description rather than adding their movies to the list.

Directors in alphabetical order:
Chantal Akerman, Catherine Breillat, Pedro Costa, Asghar Farhadi, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John Ford, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, David Lynch, Lynne Ramsey, Nicholas Ray, Hong Sang-soo, Lars von Trier, Apichatpong Weerasethakul

• They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
• Starman
• My Own Private Idaho
• Uptown Girls
• Mandabi
• Grizzly Man
• The Mangler
• Withnail & I
• Dekalog
• Fail Safe

...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Release Order - All of my 5 stars (excluding releases in the current year)

10 Things I Hate About You is still my #1

• Notorious
• It's a Wonderful Life
• In a Lonely Place
• Singin' in the Rain
• Rebel Without a Cause
• The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
• The Godfather
• The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• Jaws

...plus 55 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

A separate list from my priority watchlist specifically for movies I want to get around to re-watching. Simply because I find myself saying "I have to rewatch that one" so so often

• The Godfather Part II
• Malcolm X
• Aftersun
• The Passion of Joan of Arc
• Casablanca
• 12 Angry Men
• High and Low
• The Battle of Algiers
• Dog Day Afternoon
• The Conformist

...plus 47 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Magic Mike
2. Out of Sight
3. Ocean's Eleven
4. Logan Lucky
5. Erin Brockovich
6. Magic Mike's Last Dance
7. High Flying Bird
8. No Sudden Move

1. Antichrist
2. Dogville
3. Dancer in the Dark

Saving my 2001: A Space Odyssey re-watch for when I can hopefully see it in theaters. I'm sure it's great but I desperately need to revisit it with how much I've grown since the last time I watched it.

1. Eyes Wide Shut
2. Paths of Glory
3. Barry Lyndon
4. The Shining
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey
6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Full Metal Jacket

1. Dune
2. Dune: Part Two
3. Prisoners
4. Blade Runner 2049
5. Incendies
6. Arrival
7. Sicario
8. Enemy
9. Maelström
10. Polytechnique

1. Juror #2
2. The Bridges of Madison County
3. Million Dollar Baby
4. Mystic River
5. Gran Torino
6. Richard Jewell
7. American Sniper

1. Crash
2. The Shrouds
3. Videodrome
4. A History of Violence
5. Crimes of the Future
6. Cosmopolis
7. Eastern Promises

1. Halloween
2. Halloween II
3. Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
4. Halloween
5. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
6. Halloween Ends
7. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
8. Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
9. Halloween II
10. Halloween

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Cure
2. Pulse
3. Chime

1. Challengers
2. Call Me by Your Name
3. Bones and All

1. Poor Things
2. The Favourite
3. The Lobster
4. Dogtooth
5. Kinds of Kindness

1. The Wrestler
2. Black Swan
3. Requiem for a Dream
4. The Whale

1. Anora
2. The Florida Project
3. Tangerine
4. Red Rocket

1. Alien
2. Blade Runner
3. Gladiator
4. Thelma & Louise
5. Alien: Covenant
6. Prometheus
7. Napoleon
8. The Last Duel
9. House of Gucci

Not including Godfather 2 because it has been so long I need to re-watch and figure out where it goes. Also never seen the third one.

1. The Godfather
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Bram Stoker's Dracula
4. The Outsiders
5. Megalopolis
6. Twixt
7. One from the Heart
8. Peggy Sue Got Married
9. Rumble Fish

• Scream
• Scream 4
• Scream 2
• Scream VI
• Scream 3
• Scream

1. The Green Ray
2. A Summer's Tale
3. A Tale of Winter
4. Claire's Knee
5. Boyfriends and Girlfriends
6. My Night at Maud's
7. A Tale of Autumn
8. La Collectionneuse
9. Love in the Afternoon
10. A Tale of Springtime

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Limiting it to 12 movies so I have room to watch other stuff, but these are the 12 I've landed on for this year :)

• The Wailing
• Audition
• I Walked with a Zombie
• Night of the Living Dead
• Pulse
• Resurrection
• Mandy
• In the Mouth of Madness
• Kotoko
• The Innocents

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Pretty Woman
• Sleepless in Seattle
• You've Got Mail
• There's Something About Mary
• The Princess Diaries
• 13 Going on 30
• Sideways
• Wild Child
• Hitch
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding

...plus 22 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Asteroid City
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. The Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Rushmore
5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
8. The French Dispatch
9. The Swan
10. Fantastic Mr. Fox

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Alien
2. Alien: Covenant
3. Prometheus
4. Alien³
5. Aliens
6. Alien Resurrection
7. Alien: Romulus

1. The Social Network
2. Zodiac
3. Gone Girl
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
5. The Killer
6. Fight Club
7. Se7en
8. Alien³
9. The Game
10. Mank

1. Signs
2. Trap
3. The Village
4. The Happening
5. Knock at the Cabin
6. Old
7. The Sixth Sense
8. Unbreakable
9. Glass
10. Lady in the Water

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Certain Women
2. First Cow
3. Showing Up
4. Wendy and Lucy
5. Old Joy
6. Meek's Cutoff
7. Night Moves
8. River of Grass

1. Notorious
2. Vertigo
3. Psycho
4. Rear Window
5. Rope
6. North by Northwest
7. To Catch a Thief

1. Heat
2. Miami Vice
3. The Insider
4. Manhunter
5. Collateral
6. Thief
7. Ferrari

1. The Abyss
2. Avatar: The Way of Water
3. Titanic
4. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
5. Avatar
6. Aliens
7. The Terminator

1. Halloween
2. The Thing
3. Christine

1. In a Lonely Place
2. Rebel Without a Cause
3. Johnny Guitar
4. On Dangerous Ground

1. Toy Story
2. Finding Nemo
3. The Incredibles
4. Toy Story 3
5. Toy Story 2
6. Coco
7. WALL·E
8. Cars
9. Ratatouille
10. A Bug's Life

...plus 11 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Before Trilogy just ranked in release order they’re all tied for #2 :)

1. Dazed and Confused
2. Before Sunrise
3. Before Sunset
4. Before Midnight
5. Where'd You Go, Bernadette
6. Everybody Wants Some!!
7. Hit Man
8. It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books
9. School of Rock
10. A Scanner Darkly

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Manchester by the Sea
2. Margaret
3. You Can Count on Me

1. Mission: Impossible
2. Snake Eyes
3. Blow Out
4. Carrie
5. Phantom of the Paradise
6. Scarface

1. Good Will Hunting
2. Gerry
3. Psycho
4. Paranoid Park
5. Elephant

• Streetwise
• The Murder of Fred Hampton
• Paris Is Burning
• Fidel
• Hoop Dreams
• Tongues Untied
• The Last Dance
• Harlan County U.S.A.
• Free Solo
• All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Basketball movies that I either like or deem essential to the depiction of basketball in cinema/how it bleeds into the culture of basketball as a whole.

• The Last Dance
• Hoop Dreams
• High School Musical
• Hoosiers
• Coach Carter
• Semi-Pro
• High Flying Bird
• Above the Rim
• Love & Basketball
• White Men Can't Jump

...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Will be ranking as I go through my current binge of the Harry Potter movies! - Update: I stopped the binge after 3 movies haha, will get back to it at some point

1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
3. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

1. Transformers
2. Transformers: Age of Extinction
3. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
4. Ambulance
5. Transformers: The Last Knight
6. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
7. Pearl Harbor

1. Spider-Man 2
2. Evil Dead II
3. Army of Darkness
4. Spider-Man
5. The Evil Dead
6. Spider-Man 3
7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

1. Cinderella
2. A Haunting in Venice
3. Murder on the Orient Express
4. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
5. Belfast
6. Thor
7. Death on the Nile

1. The Matrix
2. Speed Racer
3. Bound

All the 2023 movies I've watched ranked. - NO LONGER UPDATING

1. Oppenheimer
2. May December
3. The Taste of Things
4. Past Lives
5. The Iron Claw
6. Killers of the Flower Moon
7. Showing Up
8. Pacifiction
9. Asteroid City
10. The Holdovers

...plus 123 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Creed
2. Fruitvale Station
3. Black Panther
4. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

1. No Country for Old Men
2. Inside Llewyn Davis
3. The Tragedy of Macbeth
4. Burn After Reading
5. Fargo
6. The Big Lebowski
7. Drive-Away Dolls

1. 28 Days Later
2. Sunshine
3. Trainspotting
4. Steve Jobs
5. Slumdog Millionaire
6. Yesterday

1. Jurassic Park
2. Jaws
3. Schindler's List
4. Ready Player One
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
7. War of the Worlds
8. The Fabelmans
9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
10. West Side Story

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Oppenheimer
2. The Dark Knight
3. Tenet
4. Interstellar
5. Inception
6. The Prestige
7. Batman Begins
8. Memento
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Dunkirk

...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.