Good but maybe not quite the hidden masterpiece I was hoping for.

Looks great and has some great music from Nick Cave who also wrote it. It’s always nice to be in Australia. Was hyped for Pearce at the start but he’s just pretty good here, the movie belongs to Winstone and Huston to my shock. Danny Huston really blew me away here.

Some extremely shocking visuals here that are gonna stick with me. I jumped in my seat at the head explosion. And the wringing of the whip? Foul stuff. Excellent work.

I can think of few more cases where it feels like a director was put on Earth to make a movie than Tim Burton with Ed Wood. Beetlejuice is a perfect thesis statement movie, Batman Returns is a perfect "inmates running the asylum" movie, Ed Wood is a perfect movie.

Burton captures the endless pursuit of greatness in art so touchingly and passionately, you can tell he had so much love for Wood but he's also not above pointing out that, yes, the guy sucked at making movies. But then, does that really matter? He made the movies he wanted to make, he had a freedom all too few artists have, even if he was working with one one-thousandth what most indie movies today cost.

I teared up multiple times, especially the later scenes between Lugosi and Ed, Landau is unbelievable in this and I doubt I'll ever see Depp better. The entire supporting cast so perfectly bring these people to life, you can't help but feel a bit warm seeing the various scenes of them all together. Somehow, for sometime, these people found each other and they managed to make something great... well, maybe not great but they made something and that counts for everything.

Shore is bananas good here. That opening track is so good, and the way Swan Lake is woven in never failed to give me chills. Maybe the best Burton score and it isn't even Elfman funny enough.

Love everything about this movie, every frame of this movie. Been a while since a movie has so immediately broken into my all time faves but this one has done it. If I had any criticism at all, I maybe could've lived without the "Where Are They Now" type ending but only because the ending is so triumphant and sweet that its the kind of moment you want to live in forever.

Burton's best, bar none.

Hell fucking yeah dude. This thing looks like a billion fucking dollars, I’m kind of in shock at HOW good it looks. There’s a scene where Picard, Worf and new guy are walking along the top of the Enterprise and it zooms out and it looks real. This thing rules. Stewart is also phenomenal in it.

Watched on Saturday March 1, 2025.

Love it. Two totally unproblematic leads giving great performances. Depp was so beautiful in the 90s, it’s insane what happened lol. At first I was a little worried we were kinda just doing a Hairspray rehash but it manages to turn stuff around to become its own thing while still being undeniably Waters.

Easily his most polished movie yet, the studio backing is benefiting him a lot but something tells that wasn’t a two way street lol. So many fantastic scenes but the last twenty minutes is just so delightful and fun and shamelessly itself. The image of Allison flying through the air into Cry Baby’s arms is so fucking funny and so fucking stupid and somehow really touching too. Also loved the courtroom scene, the fuck joke was awesome and it was good to see Mink Stole in an iron lung lol.

And we’re starting to see kind of like a second generation of Dreamlanders here. Ricki Lake returns, as do a few other faces from Hairspray (I noticed the guy who ran the clothes shop particularly) but we also have Traci Lords and of course Patty Hearst - what a life she’s had.

Special shoutout to Polly Bergen too who is so funny as the most stereotypical old lady ever, was always getting laughs out of me. Oh also the “and Willem Dafoe” credit that hit like crack.

It’s distinctly Waters but in the shadow of the late great Divine it also feels like a new era has begun and I’m eager to see how the second half of his career unfolds.

Kind of great if you can believe that. Masterful editing, love how the whole thing is shot but the crowd stuff at the beginning is especially amazing as well as the hotel scene towards the end and the ending itself. The last shot is soooo good, the way it oscillates like a security camera is perfect.

The score is also incredible, it’s so good at making you start to freak out as much as Harry and it’s utilised with unparalleled efficiency. The whole thing is a masterwork of pacing, so slow and methodical and contributing to this growing sense of dread and unending surveillance.

Never quite seen anything like how the movie keeps returning to the titular conversation. It could so easily get dull or boring but Coppola knows what to repeat and when to give new information. The way it’s recontextualised is actually genius and makes the movie something above just great.

We have John Cazale doing great, didn’t recognise him at first but love his role here. Young Harrison Ford being hot and menacing which isn’t quite what you’d expect but I love seeing it. And proper to Allen Garfield who plays Bernie perfectly - his snivelling desperation and jealousy are so palpable, you don’t believe a word this guy says.

But there’s one that stands above and that is of course Gene Hackman. So fully formed as Harry that he really vanishes into his paranoia. You want to root for him and see him make things work but you know this guy is too fucked up to ever fully do it. It’s a shock he can function as is. His religion is a slightly understated (although still heavily featured) aspect that I loved. The confessional and the scene with the statue of Mary are so powerful, but there’s no scene where he’s screaming to god for help or something absurd. It’s played perfectly.

Speaking of played perfectly, I know what that pic of him with the sax is from now. Cool shit.

Rest in peace to Mr. Hackman, nothing but respect to a juggernaut of the screen.

This movie happened at me, will be frank and say it didn't do much of anything. It's totally fine and competent. Norton is genuinely great though and Holbrook is fun as Johnny Cash. I didn't have subtitles so I missed like a third of everything that came out of Chalamet's mouth but y'know, I got the gist.

Waters fully crossing the bridge from disturbed outsider to someone a studio will trust with a proper production. Maybe the only John Waters movie you could show a kid lol.

Hard not to like this movie. It’s all of Waters’ best tendencies - the overacting, the absurd dialogue, the weird fantasy world - but without the rape or feces or murder. It’s just so damn sweet and joyful, returning to be upbeat even in the sadder moments, it’s just so fun. Waters loves people, his movies are usually about outsiders finding their places in the world and Hairspray is no exception to that.

Great cast, love just seeing the four actors playing the main sets of parents: Jerry Stiller, Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono and of course Divine. Unfortunately this is also goodbye to Divine who leaves us with two fantastic performances playing up the two things they were able to do best, that being the biggest cartoon piece of shit ever and a surprisingly sweet, caring maternal figure. Divine defines so much of what Waters is good at, he should and has rightfully gone down as one of the great muses in film, and the world is a worse place without him in it.

The Dreamlanders in general are really taking backseats at this point, Divine and Mink Stole being pretty much the only ones with major roles here. It’s a bit sad to see them kind of put on the backburner but also Waters had to evolve if his career was going to grow. Reminds me of when Sam Raimi tried so hard to cast Bruce Campbell as Darkman until Campbell basically said “you’re gonna tank your career if you keep using me”. They’ll always be there but a director has to grow.

Don’t have too much to say about this one really. It’s just a very nice delightful time, perfect for anyone who wants to dip their toes into the Waters without diving into the deep end right away.

This thing goes places. I was a bit worried at the start when it goes from a genuinely harrowing recollection of assault to a ghost throwing a table around and Danny Glover trying to fight said ghost but thankfully the supernatural elements are fairly… maybe not ground per se but definitely never that broad again.

Admittedly scoffed a bit when I first saw the lineup here. Oprah is in a horror movie, yeah I bet. But no this is genuinely unnerving and downright harrowing at times. Obviously anything touching on the abominable blight on our history that is slavery is going to be depraved but even past that the events that occur in this are frankly insane. Beloved as a character also manages to be kind of super fucking scary. 

The four leads all do amazing work. I knew Sethe was Oprah but I couldn’t even force myself to see it. Newton is giving a genuinely amazing horror performance, the physicality and the voice are so uncomfortable, it’s great. She’s playing a big grown up ghost baby thing and it could totally fail but it doesn’t. That said it’s hard to deny Kimberly Elise as the MVP of this, she really takes the reins in the second half and impresses with a true lead performance that I wish lead to really big things for her. She is able to do a lot with just looks in this.

On the Demme front, not quite about fighting a system which has been my attempted hypothesis for this back half of his career (although y’know, a slave escaping does fit that) but it does come with the curiosity and real empathy you expect from him. Was he the best choice for a movie so rich in the black experience as this? Not for me to say really. But I do know that he is putting effort in to depict the trauma inflicted without being scandalous or manipulative, in my eyes at least. 

I’m not totally head over heels with this one but I admire it. Did it need to be three hours long? Ehh, probably not. But I can’t help but love that Disney gave one of our greater directors 80 million dollars to make a fucking insane movie where a baby gets their throat slit. I know it’s an adaptation so I’ve no doubt I’d love the book if I read it but I am unfortunately illiterate.

Every bit the fun, gossipy time I was expecting. Takes itself seriously but never to the movie's detriment, it's a bit ridiculous but it never feels unimportant or trivial.

Obviously the four big names all do great work, but Fiennes especially is great and really lifts the movie up with every scene. I was also loving Carlos Diehz who has the most important scene in the movie on his back and Lucian Msamati who shares a really effective moment with Fiennes that's probably my favorite part of the entire thing.

This ain't high art but it is a fun movie for grown-ups and sometimes you really need that lol. Great performances, really engaging twists and turns and has a few nice shots too.

History will remember us as an okay movie

Wish I was more on board with the first person stuff. I think it’s extremely inventive and bold, and there’s a few scenes where it’s very effective (the whipping scene is honestly one of the more terrifying scenes in recent memory) but I found myself struggling a bit with it. Hard to tell who’s perspective it was at times (although that could be very much intentional) and I feel like it might’ve affected some of the performances a little - it’s completely different than almost any other film has ever been shot, that’ll happen.

All that said though it’s hard to say this movie doesn’t nail its point home hard and does portray the disgusting truth of the reality of this situation extremely well. The ending montage especially is pretty heartstopping and masterfully edited. Ellis-Taylor is unbelievable and the actors playing Turner and Elwood do very well, although as I said I think they’d have been better served in a more traditional telling.

All that said, it’s an important movie you should watch for both cultural and technical reasons. I may not have been totally head over heels for it but y’know, my opinion shouldn’t mean shit when it comes to a movie like this. Be sure to watch it when it comes to… MGM+

The two greatest captains in science fiction meet and it’s okay I guess!!!

An American Horror Story isn’t just a clever tagline. Various moments in which this movie does feel genuinely horrific, there’s a shot towards the end of an upside down dinner table that felt satanic or something, it unnerves you. It’s scary! The world is scary!

Stan slowly vanishes into the character and Bakalova is very sympathetic but I don’t think it’s too surprising that Strong is the star of this thing. He is unbelievably good and he makes the movie infinitely better whenever he’s on screen. He deserves that Oscar, but that’s a whole other thing.

Love the look, matched with the soundtrack, really sells shithole New York very well. The actual score is great too, very dramatic and horror which suits it very well. I think it would’ve all been better served if it was more from Cohn’s perspective but I guess you don’t wanna step on Angels in America’s toes too much maybe.

Okay so we’ve got great songs, we’ve got unbelievable sets and costumes and makeup, we’ve got two phenomenal lead performances and most importantly we’re gonna make it look like a Target commercial. Also it’s four hours long.

It’s a good movie that should be great. If everything wasn’t so overly lit and Chu allowed some color into these beautiful sets and sequences the thing goes up a full letter grade. I’m not even upset about the cinematography which never quite rises above good, although if they wanted to take another crack at that too I wouldn’t complain. It’s the complaint everyone has but it’s so valid, why doesn’t this movie look amazing. It’s such a massive production and everything is somehow coming together until you get to lighting and it’s a disaster. It’s not the ugliest blockbuster of last year or anything but visually it must be the most disappointing. If the whole thing looked like Popular we’d be in a better world.

It’s a testament to how good everything else is though that even looking like shit I like the movie this much. Oh also it’s too long. Way too long, why is this almost three hours??? I haven’t seen the original play but there’s surely something you could cut down on lol. Also some rough CG at points, it’s mostly fine but I couldn’t stop thinking how prequels-coded Emerald City looked.

But yes, length and lighting aside this movie is kind of awesome. Erivo and Grande are both so good it makes up for no one else really being on their level - love Yeoh and Goldblum but they could’ve been anyone. They are the heart and soul of the movie and the insane production design around them is the veins pumping blood to them. You truly believe this is another world despite the camera’s attempts to sabotage anything beautiful, you believe it’s a world where they fucking hate green people so much.

Unbelievably pretty, kinda felt like a video game that’s constantly about to transition from cutscene to gameplay. Love the dog.

Well, where do you start with this bad boy lol. It's a big beefy slice of film that I would say I am almost grossly unqualified to talk about. I'm still trying to think how much of the later third or so of the film is meant to be ironic. The depiction of Israel as a place to strive towards, the flowery speech at the end of the film, the immediate dissolution of the Van Buren family, the credits song especially. Is it meant to be satisfying? Or the exact opposite?

Brody and Pearce are beyond phenomenal as expected and play off each other expertly well especially in the first half. I thought Felicity Jones was pretty good here too although I do think I heard that AI adjustments people mentioned that's small stuff that didn't really take away from how much she's able to command the screen despite being unable to move. Wanted to see someone shoot Joe Alwyn with a gun so he did his job perfectly and it's nice to see Stacy Martin in something too.

The movie does feel massive, you don't even think that it's not filmed in the US because of how well Corbet is able to sell it all. In terms of cinematography it's a feast for the eyes, great sense of scale throughout. The Statue of Liberty shot we all know now is pretty much immediately iconic and will probably be the defining film image of 2024.

More than anyone though the star of the movie really is Daniel Blumberg's score, feels undeniably in the same way Ludwig Göransson's Oppenheimer score felt. Manages to completely own the mood and feel of the film and plays the audience along with it perfectly. A24 showed that "Monumental" pull quote down our throats in the marketing and yes, haha, monument, but it is genuinely an apt description of how the movie feels.

I will echo the seeming consensus that the first half is stronger than the second, at least while you're watching it. It moves quicker, there's more "story" happening, I hesitate to say it has more levity because it's still pretty miserable but comparatively it's definitely lighter. All that said though, the dour second half is gonna be the part that people walk away thinking about. You can't really make a movie like this without it being mostly horrific happenings. It also leaves a lot of it up in the air - although I'm not gonna act like I know why Corbet doesn't explain where Harrison goes or what happens to the family after or what becomes of the Toths in Israel but if I had to guess it's because it doesn't really matter at that point. The damage is all done, there is no American Dream and everyone's figured it out.

Always scared to talk about movies that are y'know, SERIOUS in all caps. Maybe I'm just writing gobbledygook here, I dunno. But those are my thoughts I've more or less spewed out. The movie is pretty good!

I’m just saying if Grant was in this instead of Dempsey it would’ve been easily the second best so far. Like c’mon it should’ve been Daniel and Mark having to come together for Bridget, that must’ve been the original concept.

Feels a lot more focused than Edge of Reason, probably about equally funny but EoR has the Grant power to push it over the edge for me. Dempsey is a solid actor but he never quite feels like he belongs to me, wasn’t in love with a lot of the new characters with the exception probably of Emma Thompson who is doing good funny doctor stuff.

Appreciate the restraint shown to not have Mark and Jack fight, and it did make the teasing build up much funnier than if they did. I’m expecting there to be one in 4, but time will tell.

Overall still very watchable but probably #3 in my BJ rankings.

The first half an hour gave me such a headache I had to stop watching. It’s not his fault but ET is so disgusting and he made sad wet lizard sounds that I hated.

But then I came back the next day and yeah despite ET being disgusting (no fault of his own) it is actually a very magical and lovely film. Maybe the greatest child performances ever between Thomas and Barrymore, Williams going absolutely fucking beast with maybe his best score (how many times have I said that at this point?), the fact ET looks and feels like a real little dude. It’s all very immaculately done and it really does culminate in the flying bikes scene at the end - that’s the money shot, that’s how you become the highest grossing film of all time.

The entire ending really is phenomenal. I don’t care that much for the quarantine stuff but once they escape it gets really good.

Not that there was any question before but this really does solidify Demme in my mind as one of the all time greats. This thing is incredible, I love how it shifts from wacky to genuinely intense gradually over the course of the movie. Liotta is so good, his character literally just sucks the joy out of the movie the longer he's in the story until you get to the climax which is just visceral and scary - also features one of the most effective Demme shots I've ever seen between him and Daniels.

Griffith and Daniels are both wonderful in their roles and instantly buyable both as characters and as a couple, you can tell everything you need to know about either from their first scene. Audrey, or I suppose I should say Lulu, has one of those instantly iconic looks with the necklaces and the bob, it's so damn good and perfect for what she's doing in the first third or so.

Also has some of the best opening and ending credits of all time, both are just so endearing and joyful. Any movie with John Waters playing a scummy cars salesman can't be bad.

Well, I hesitate to say sweet but there is something kinda nice in this movie through its relentless ripping of basically every aspect of American culture. Francine is a good person, you want to see her succeed - it’s Divine at their most reserved, which doesn’t say much considering where the bar is at lol.

You can tell Waters has a true budget for the first time, thanks to the heroes at New Line, and he is just relishing it without going completely overboard and blowing the load. The movie just looks better, more polished than his previous works. There’s starting to be mainstream attention for him and the Dreamlanders, down to Debby Harry writing music for it (at least I’m assuming it’s that Debby Harry lol).

Not my favorite Waters but he really doesn’t pull back THAT much here, it’s still plenty transgressive and insane. Everyone is doing great work, wish we had more Mink but she’s fun in her smaller part. Also sometimes look amazing and I love that.

The one part that really got me was the ending though. Seeing our characters walk off as this beautiful song plays, knowing it was the last time Edith Massey and Divine would share the screen together. It made it all a bit bittersweet. I dunno man, Edith Massey just chips at something in my cold heart. She seemed like a kind soul just trying to live her life and have some fun, may she rest in peace.

How’d this guy make Jaws

Something Evil? How about they make Something Happens next time

Definitely a step down from the first which is a contender for best 2000s comedy, but still extremely watchable and very funny at points. Does the classic sequel issue of going too big (the opening is Bridget skydiving lol come on) and kinda just redoing stuff from the original (the Mark/Daniel rematch IS innocent though) AND it feels a bit less focused and leans into some problematic stuff the first mostly enjoys. They go to Thailand, guess what they make jokes about.

But the trinity of leads is so strong that I can look past a few not great jokes and some trite excuses and even the fairly underwhelming amount of Grant in this because I like these characters. If this is the worst one, I’m excited to see the next two.

Da movies

I’ve been saying it a lot lately but only because it’s been true: one of the best looking movies ever. The transitions, the way it uses screens and reflections and flashbacks and locations. It is a triumph of cinematography and editing and flawless masterpiece technically.

It’s Park doing a Hitchcock, I felt very smart when I realised that early on. I just kept thinking of Vertigo more and more as the movie went on. Manages to be thrilling and funny and shattering all at once without even stepping on its own toes. One of the more unexpected endings I’ve seen - reminded me of Toad Road which is a comparison only I will understand.

Fantastic performances across the board but especially from the leads - Tang Wei was like 41 filming this but she looks 20, I couldn’t believe it. I think the first half or two-thirds are a lot stronger than the stuff later but it’s not enough of a drop off that it’s too detrimental. Loved Hae-joon’s assistant lady, she was just having a good time.

I was actually kinda into it for the first half-ish but good lord this thing drags in the back hard. The penis-to-vagina scene is like the best part, which I heard people say but I figured they were joking. It's the one place the movie actually goes fully crazy and bombastic, which is what this thing should've been instead of boring and reserved. It really stands out like a sore thumb in context, they never do that kinda really hyper editing again.

Also feel bad for Zoe Saldana cause she is genuinely quite good in this but she's been screwed over by everything surrounding it, and also the fact that she's in Supporting Actress when she is literally first billed in the end credits lmao.

Needed a lot more juice unfortunately but also this isn't the outright monstrous "worst movie ever" disaster I've seen people call it. It's just a pretty bad movie.

American Hero

THIS FUCKING RULES!!!!!! Waiter, waiter, four million more please!! I didn’t know it would be RUDE but the Brits have shocked me again. It’s kinda raunchy and mean and everyone says fuck so much, it speaks to me on multiple levels.

There is no glory, it’s all a facade, a lie you’re told or tell yourself.

Absolutely one of the most gorgeous films ever made, the blues and greens in this thing are undeniable. A few shots of trees that made me kinda throw my hands up cause like how did they do all that now, really.

A pretty infamously insanely stacked cast but the standouts for me are Penn, Nolte and surprisingly Elias Koteas. A lot more Koteas than I expected but he’s kinda my favorite performance. Clooney also has a very good like two minutes of screen time but he’s Clooney so he makes it work.

Never been a big Zimmer head but this is one of his better scores absolutely, really sucks you in and works with the movie. The whole thing felt a little hypnotic for me. It’s long and it feels long but that’s completely intentional I feel.

Actually very boring and bad and not good, four thousand years long

Home Again, the world is too cruel for you. This insane, out of touch romcom is a glimpse at a better world, where you can bond with your two daughters and ex-husband and your mother Candice Bergen and your three friendly twinks at a beautiful dinner. God bless you Hallie Meyers-Shyer, I hope you never stop making movies.

Feels exactly like you'd expect the debut movie from Nancy Meyers' daughter to be like, like one of her fever dream movies but without the polish. This movie isn't great, or good really, but y'know just like Goodrich I kinda liked it. It was nice, it's nice to be nice.

Also the More American Sniper joke is genuinely hilarious and I was thinking about it the entire movie.

Unfortunately extremely dull, first miss from Demme and it’s a fairly big one. Moves at a snail’s pace and doesn’t have the decency of having an engaging plot past that. Love Scheider but he’s given and gives nothing, waste of Walken, Napier is cool though.

Do start to see a few Demme trademarks though, I perked up when Napier and Scheider were staring own the lense and hey, it’s someone fighting the system. Wish it was much better though

There's something very good in here but unfortunately some genuinely great effects and cinematography plus a fantastic performance from Naomi Scott can't help this movie from feeling bloated and way too long. Slice this down to 100 minutes and you'd be cooking with gas.

As is though it does still work alright, it's an improvement on the first in basically every way. There are a lot of great set pieces - love the bit where there's too many people in the apartment, that's scary! The ending is also fantastic, looks like a million bucks. Like I said, the whole thing is beautiful but there's just too much stuffing about between the great bits.

Depp and Rickman are great, and Burton is doing solid work here even if it isn't up to snuff with his 90s run. But man, what the fuck was anybody saying here lmao, even with subtitles I kinda had trouble keeping up with it all. So many accents and singing and what not, tended to get messy.

Mostly looks good but there's a few exterior shots that look very CGI-y which I can't say I loved. Solid but not great on the whole.

Big fan of later Demme so I figured it was about time to dip my toe into early Demme. And this was alright! Doing its best American Graffiti impression but exists very much in its shadow, doesn’t have the same comedic highs or dramatic lows, even if its borrowing two of Graffiti’s stars (Candy Clark is unbelievably stunning here by the way) along with some guys you’d just expected to see in a movie like this - Bruce McGill, Ed Begley Jr, Charles Napier. It’s not quite an all star cast but it’s not quite anonymous.

Can’t say I saw a lot of Demme traits in this one but I do like the overwhelming optimism he has in humanity. Hard not to miss him!

Hell yeah man. Sexy and twisty and violent and a bit weird, what more could you ever need.

Always astounding to me that Douglas was a big movie star when he mostly played huge cunts. Stone feels truly undeniable here in the 90s, obviously helps being like the most beautiful woman ever but she’s just great generally. Love the supporting cast too which is mostly just dudes who all kinda look the same.

Said out loud “he’s eating her pussy” which is a testament to how much Michael Douglas ate her pussy. Just don’t get that these days, not with that passion

Verhoeven really was the dude, his Hollywood run is so fucking crazy. Love how this thing is shot and how it sounds, it’s good. It’s good!!!!!

You will not guess how this movie ends.

Kinda doesn’t make sense but it’s a fun twist and concept. Melissa George is good in it.

Fucking scary! Spielberg charms his way out of it a bit but this is a movie about a guy who goes fucking insane and pushes his family away. The mothership scene is freaky, there’s no music, it feels like you’re going to die. Like I said it gets a bit better once you realise they’re chill but it’s still freaky.

Every shot of the mountain is so sick, especially the reveal shot with Williams going insane on the score. It might be his best work here honestly, at least of what I’ve seen so far. Obviously the effects are crazy even by today standards, even if people didn’t quite know where to look lol. What was with the really long alien, hate looking at that.

I wish Dreyfuss wasn’t the ultimate boomer cause I always find him so compelling, really love his 70s movies.

Technical masterpiece. Flawless anyway you look at it: costuming, production design, lighting, cinematography. It is a feast for the eyes and undeniably one of the best looking movies of the year. 

I’m in a weird place with this one. Throughout the movie there were a lot of times where I was thinking “this isn’t working” especially in regards to Skarsgard’s performance but I can’t pretend I wasn’t fully engaged everytime he was on screen. Even if I don’t like that voice or the moustache, too narmy, kinda drained a lot of the scariness because I kept thinking about how he’s got a moustache. That said the makeup does look great, I can’t say I recognized Skarsgard much outside of the eyes.

I kinda think Nicholas Hoult is running circles around everyone else in this. I think he is doing fantastic work here, especially in the first half. Depp is getting a lot of praise rightfully, it’s a tough performance. Dafoe is doing Dafoe, I was actually a little whelmed by his performance here, a little paint by numbers for me. I love Ralph Ineson, I love how he just shows up and adds immediate verisimilitude, he can say anything and you believe it. Ineson and Hoult are my standouts, everyone I didn’t mention was probably fine too lol.

Like I said it’s technically perfect but there’s something I just can’t click with all the way. It’s very entertaining, maybe a bit more jumpscares than I was hoping but appropriately atmospheric, but I don’t think I ever clicked on a full emotional level so my like for the movie never ticked over all the way to love. Still good, still worth a watch.

Still a bit of fun to squeeze out of the stupid, macho world of Sin City but it's clear why there was never a follow-up.

Nami Matsushima is one of cinema’s biggest badasses and we’d be right to acknowledge that more.

I was reminded of Riki-Oh a few times, mostly because of the prison setting and the fact insane shit is happening - not as insane as Ricky but still these events are abnormal.

Love the music, weird alien cat sounds or something, I’m not good with instruments but it rules. That’s my main review of the movie: it rules, hard. I think the DoP was actually God himself, basically every shot looks unbelievable. I adore the part where the blood soaks through the fabric to create the Japanese flag, which is called back later in the ending. Some of the great reveals in film history happen here, when the camera zooms in on Meiko Kaji you know some cold shit has or is about to go down.

Also the lighting is insane. There’s a scene where a character dies and it goes from this big orange Lion King sunset to this stormy blue immediately and it is such a dick on the table moment. It’s daring you not to be impressed and it’s winning.

I kinda wish the last fifteen minutes or so were their own movie but I also love the efficiency of them. Wherever Matsu goes next, I’m beyond excited to see it.

Also how the fuck is this a debut film?

Very honest, very sincere and touching examination of the inability to deal with guilt, grief and pain. Feels like it comes from a very personal place for Eisenberg and I think it’ll affect just about anyone who’s ever wished they were someone else.

Manages to balance being extremely funny, extremely hard to watch and extremely sad all on a dime. Doesn’t give you any easy answers or resolutions and the final shot is honestly very upsetting to me but never feels like it’s wallowing too much in itself - closest it gets is probably the dinner scene but Eisenberg plays it extremely well.

Obviously the one to talk about here is Culkin who does wonders but I think Eisenberg is able to match his performance very well and the two have a chemistry that immediately tells you the history between these two. There’s sometimes that tension when you’re reconnecting with someone you used to be joined at the hip with but have fallen out of touch with for one reason or another - Yeast (2008) is a great mumblecore movie exploring that same feeling. Also loved to see Jennifer Grey, every one of the tour members play their parts perfectly.

Not gonna find any crazy shots or anything here but the movie looks great and makes great use of Poland as a location both in the story and visually. Love the music choices too, it could be hackney to use a score of just classical music but it never felt on the nose or out of place.

And no, I do not sound like Jesse Eisenberg no matter how many people tell me I do.

Some unbelievably strong stuff in here but definitely in need of refinement.

Hard to talk about this movie without talking about the giant dark cloud looming over it - that being the lead actress’ death by overdose right as the film was premiering. It makes the back third of the movie so much eerier, and it makes the ending downright horrifying, you can’t tell if you’re seeing visions of the past or of Hell and either answer is horrific. The fact both the actress and the character share the same name makes the ending so much more powerful and a true gut punch. Not to trivialise Sara Anne Jones’ passing, it’s just become so impossibly linked to this film it’s hard not to draw parallels and comparisons.

The titular Toad Road scene is genuinely fantastic and does some extremely novel (at least in terms of film) stuff with the camera distortion. The film clearly has a micro budget if that so it’s using a consumer grade camera and that’s really to the movie’s favor in some scenes, it adds a lot to the kinda hang-out partying scenes, it makes it feel like a genuine home movie from the late 2000s. But in other scenes it can take me a bit out of things, although I think it’s a net positive for the film and its visual aesthetic.

I do think I’ve talked myself into giving this a higher rating than I thought I was going to with this review. It’s very ambitious and at 1hr16 it’s very much worth a watch.

I’m of two minds because a lot of this movie makes me wanna say it’s the weakest Waters movie I’ve seen so far but then anytime Mink Stole or Edith Massey are on screen it’s maybe his funniest movie. The first fifteen minutes is kind of peak Waters, even if some of it might be a little much for me lol.

I just can’t get over Stole in this movie. She is going super saiyan. After going toe to toe with funniest person in the world Divine in Female Trouble, here she’s coming for the title. The way she’s screaming at everyone in the opening, the way she’s just dressed as an evil queen for no reason, the way she says “you are now infected with rabies”. I was losing my shit everytime she opened her mouth.

So probably my least favorite Waters so far but still a total banger.

Watched on Sunday January 19, 2025.

You know about death, that it’s just a change, not the end.

The greatest to ever do it. Thank you, David Lynch.

Idea for movie: get multiple of the greatest actors of all time and then give them nothing interesting to say or do, and also the movie is bad. Don't hate the Garfield/Redford stuff but that's not an endorsement.

Really thought this was a musical for the longest time.

Supremely special film, undeniably moving and a testament to the importance and necessity art holds, especially in a broken fucking system. Very powerful and if the credits don't make you at least a bit misty eyed, check your pulse. Nothing more to say really: Domingo and Maclin are phenomenal, and the rest of the ensemble is right there with them at the top. Helps the movie looks beautiful too.

I understand their reasoning but A24's treatment of this movie has been pretty shameful. Absolutely deserving of a proper release and not this stop-start butcher job they're doing. I know it's the Oscar play but it ain't working. Release the fucking movie wide.

1. Brokeback Mountain
2. Caché
3. Red Eye
4. Hard Candy
5. The Proposition
6. Batman Begins
7. Hoodwinked!
8. The Descent
9. Sin City
10. Noroi: The Curse

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Ed Wood
2. Chungking Express
3. The Hudsucker Proxy
4. Pulp Fiction
5. The Mask
6. In the Mouth of Madness
7. New Nightmare
8. Forrest Gump
9. True Lies
10. The Lion King

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Scream
2. Bound
3. Fargo
4. Jerry Maguire
5. Trainspotting
6. Star Trek: First Contact
7. Mission: Impossible
8. Mars Attacks!
9. The Cable Guy
10. The Mirror Has Two Faces

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2. Red Rooms
3. Love Lies Bleeding
4. Sing Sing
5. His Three Daughters
6. I Saw the TV Glow
7. Trap
8. A Different Man
9. Challengers
10. Dìdi (弟弟)

...plus 53 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. GoodFellas
2. Wild at Heart
3. Darkman
4. Edward Scissorhands
5. The Hunt for Red October
6. Miller's Crossing
7. Cry-Baby
8. Home Alone
9. Misery
10. I Love You to Death

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Conversation
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
3. Female Trouble
4. Phantom of the Paradise
5. The Sugarland Express
6. Dark Star

1. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
2. Beetlejuice
3. Hellbound: Hellraiser II
4. Die Hard
5. My Neighbor Totoro
6. The Vanishing
7. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
8. They Live
9. Akira
10. Hairspray

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Truman Show
2. The Big Lebowski
3. The Thin Red Line
4. A Simple Plan
5. Meet Joe Black
6. Ring
7. Mulan
8. Beloved
9. Fallen
10. Vampires

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

Every film covered on the Blank Check podcast

• Praying with Anger

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  (Shared episode with Wide Awake)

• Wide Awake

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  (Shared episode with Praying with Anger)

• The Sixth Sense

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with Katey Rich

• Unbreakable

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with Matt Patches

• Signs

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with Murf Meyer and Diana Kolsky

• The Village

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with David Ehrlich

• Lady in the Water

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with Richard Lawson

• The Happening

  Pod Night Shyamacast

• The Last Airbender

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with Seaton Smith

• After Earth

  Pod Night Shyamacast

  with James III

...plus 462 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Arrival
2. Train to Busan
3. Silence
4. La La Land
5. 10 Cloverfield Lane
6. Tickled
7. Moana
8. Bridget Jones's Baby
9. Operation Avalanche
10. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The King of Comedy
2. Koyaanisqatsi
3. The Thing
4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
6. Cat People
7. Basket Case
8. Friday the 13th Part III

• What Men Want

  Something's Podda Cast

  with Angela Ferraguto

• Corpse Bride

  Podward Scissorcast

  with J.D. Amato

• Frankenweenie

  Podward Scissorcast

  with Jordan Fish

• The Jericho Mile

  Cast of the Podhicans

  (Also a Mailbag episode)

• Whisper of the Heart

  Howl's Moving Podcastle

  with Ramona Head

• Swimming to Cambodia

  Stop Making Podcasts

  with Peter Newman

• THX 1138

  Standalone

  (Shared episode with American Graffiti)

• American Graffiti

  Standalone

  (Shared episode with THX 1138)

• Babe

  Mad Pod: Fury Cast

  with Emily Yoshida

• Toy Story of Terror!

  Toy Story Commentaries

  (Part of Toy Story Toons)

...plus 57 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Iron Man

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• The Incredible Hulk

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Iron Man 2

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Thor

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Captain America: The First Avenger

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• The Avengers

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Iron Man 3

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Thor: The Dark World

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Guardians of the Galaxy

  Marvel Cinematic Universe

  with Sam Rogal

...plus 144 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Blue Velvet
2. Something Wild
3. The Fly
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
5. The Great Mouse Detective
6. Two Friends
7. Big Trouble in Little China
8. Aliens
9. Castle in the Sky
10. Labyrinth

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

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Escape from New York
3. The Evil Dead
4. Possession
5. Mad Max 2
6. Polyester
7. Thief
8. Friday the 13th Part 2
9. Scanners
10. Quest for Fire

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

• Mondo Trasho
• Multiple Maniacs
• Pink Flamingos
• Female Trouble
• Desperate Living
• Polyester
• Hairspray
• Cry-Baby
• Serial Mom
• Pecker

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

1. The Exorcist
2. American Graffiti
3. F for Fake
4. Battle for the Planet of the Apes
5. Savage

1. Female Prisoner Scorpion: #701
2. Bone
3. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
4. Something Evil

1. The Incredibles
2. Spider-Man 2
3. The Manchurian Candidate
4. Collateral
5. Saw
6. Godzilla: Final Wars
7. Shaun of the Dead
8. Birth
9. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
10. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

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

1. TÁR
2. Pearl
3. We're All Going to the World's Fair
4. The Banshees of Inisherin
5. Avatar: The Way of Water
6. Decision to Leave
7. Nope
8. Three Thousand Years of Longing
9. The Batman
10. Babylon

...plus 19 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Terminator
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Stop Making Sense
4. Ghostbusters
5. Romancing the Stone
6. Blood Simple
7. Beverly Hills Cop
8. Starman
9. The Toxic Avenger
10. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

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

1. Mulholland Drive
2. Millennium Actress
3. Pulse
4. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
5. Donnie Darko
6. Bridget Jones's Diary
7. Training Day
8. Ali
9. The Piano Teacher
10. In the Bedroom

...plus 17 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Alien
2. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
3. Going in Style
4. Apocalypse Now
5. Hardcore
6. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
7. The Muppet Movie
8. Mad Max
9. Elvis
10. Phantasm

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

1. Good Time
2. First Reformed
3. Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
5. Dunkirk
6. Thor: Ragnarok
7. John Wick: Chapter 2
8. Coco
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming
10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Captain America: The First Avenger

  Watched

• The Amazing Spider-Man
• X-Men: First Class

  Watched

• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Watchmen

  Watched

• The Avengers

  Watched

• Jurassic Park
• Star Wars

  Watched X2

• The Empire Strikes Back

  Watched X2

• Return of the Jedi

  Watched X2

...plus 79 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Zodiac
2. No Country for Old Men
3. There Will Be Blood
4. Timecrimes
5. Halloween
6. Superbad
7. [REC]
8. Ratatouille
9. The Man from Earth
10. Trick 'r Treat

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Star Wars
2. Eraserhead
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. Rabid
5. Desperate Living
6. Citizens Band
7. Hot Tomorrows

1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
2. Malcolm X
3. A Few Good Men
4. Batman Returns
5. My Cousin Vinny
6. Wayne's World
7. Porco Rosso
8. Basic Instinct
9. Army of Darkness
10. Light Sleeper

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. The Shining
2. The Elephant Man
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. Airplane!
5. Encounters of the Spooky Kind
6. The Blues Brothers
7. The Changeling
8. Popeye
9. Caddyshack
10. Cruising

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

1. Inglourious Basterds
2. Coraline
3. Halloween II
4. A Serious Man
5. Daddy Longlegs
6. Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
7. Avatar
8. Black Dynamite
9. The Informant!
10. [REC]²

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Gone Girl
2. Nightcrawler
3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
4. John Wick
5. Creep
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
7. Big Hero 6
8. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
9. Lupin the Third: Jigen's Gravestone
10. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

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

1. Prometheus
2. Cloud Atlas
3. Django Unchained
4. Lincoln
5. Frances Ha
6. Excision
7. Flight
8. Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo
9. Toad Road
10. Seven Psychopaths

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Lenny Cooke
2. Snowpiercer
3. Under the Skin
4. Evil Dead
5. Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu
6. Fast & Furious 6
7. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
8. Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
9. V/H/S/2
10. Out of the Furnace

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Caged Heat
• Crazy Mama
• Fighting Mad
• Citizens Band
• Last Embrace
• Melvin and Howard
• Swing Shift
• Stop Making Sense
• Something Wild
• Swimming to Cambodia

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Bone
• Black Caesar
• Hell Up In Harlem
• It's Alive
• God Told Me To
• The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
• It Lives Again
• Full Moon High
• Q
• Perfect Strangers

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Business Is Business
• Turkish Delight
• Katie Tippel
• Soldier of Orange
• Spetters
• All Things Pass
• The 4th Man
• Flesh + Blood
• RoboCop
• Total Recall

...plus 7 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Pushing Hands
• The Wedding Banquet
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• Sense and Sensibility
• The Ice Storm
• Ride with the Devil
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
• Hulk
• Brokeback Mountain
• Lust, Caution

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

1. Open Range
2. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
3. Dances with Wolves
4. The Postman

1. The Blackcoat's Daughter
2. Longlegs
3. Gretel & Hansel
4. I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House

1. Escape from New York
2. Halloween
3. The Thing
4. Christine
5. In the Mouth of Madness
6. Assault on Precinct 13
7. They Live
8. Vampires
9. Starman
10. Big Trouble in Little China

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

1. Philadelphia
2. The Fugitive
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas
4. Wayne's World 2
5. Last Action Hero
6. Ocean Waves
7. So I Married an Axe Murderer
8. Fire in the Sky
9. Body Bags
10. Sailor Moon R: The Movie - The Promise of the Rose

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

1. Evil Dead II
2. RoboCop
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
4. Raising Arizona
5. Full Metal Jacket
6. Hellraiser
7. China Girl
8. The Untouchables
9. The Witches of Eastwick
10. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Spider-Man
2. Panic Room
3. Auto Focus
4. Catch Me If You Can
5. Signs
6. Chicago
7. The Ring
8. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
9. One Hour Photo
10. Treasure Planet

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. A Clockwork Orange
2. Escape from the Planet of the Apes
3. Wake in Fright
4. Duel

1. Inland Empire
2. Paprika
3. The Departed
4. The Prestige
5. Little Children
6. Déjà Vu
7. Happy Feet
8. Inside Man
9. Find Me Guilty
10. Crank

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
2. Steve Jobs
3. Furious 7
4. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
5. The Blackcoat's Daughter
6. The Lobster
7. The Hateful Eight
8. The Walk
9. Bone Tomahawk
10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Se7en
2. Heat
3. La Haine
4. Clueless
5. Casino
6. To Die For
7. Fallen Angels
8. Ghost in the Shell
9. Die Hard With a Vengeance
10. Toy Story

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Titanic
2. Perfect Blue
3. Jackie Brown
4. Boogie Nights
5. Princess Mononoke
6. Lost Highway
7. The Game
8. Insomnia
9. Cure
10. Scream 2

...plus 12 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Magnolia
2. The Matrix
3. The Insider
4. The Straight Story
5. My Neighbors the Yamadas
6. The Sixth Sense
7. Bringing Out the Dead
8. Eyes Wide Shut
9. Toy Story 2
10. Fight Club

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
2. Twin Peaks: The Return
3. Inland Empire
4. The Straight Story
5. Mulholland Drive
6. The Elephant Man
7. Twin Peaks
8. Blue Velvet
9. Eraserhead
10. Wild at Heart

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