Watched

Monday, October 7, 2024 →

The 1999 movie Sleepy Hollow is, to my mind, the film to watch during the transition from early autumn to the Halloween season.

It captures the dreary, de-saturated feeling you get, on the east coast of the U.S., anyway, when you realize there won’t be another day without a chill in the air for a few months.

It’s full of weirdness and dark humor, but one of my favorite exchanges in the movie is this:

Ichabod Crane: You have moved the body.
Dr. Thomas Lancaster: I did.
Crane: You must never move the body!
Lancaster: Why not?
Crane: … Because…

A stylized poster for the film Sleepy Hollow features a shadowy figure on horseback against a moonlit, eerie forest backdrop

The Princess Bride, 1987 - ★★★★★ (contains spoilers)

Sunday, August 25, 2024

This review may contain spoilers. This is the first time watching it with the kids. They were enthralled from the initial sword fight on, though we did skip the fire swamp, the “Booooo!” lady, some torture, and much of the burning-giant-in-a-trenchcoat scene. To me, it’s still true that the idea …

Bilby, 2018 - ★★★★

Sunday, March 31, 2024

This short is, indeed, extremely cute. But it's also impressively executed in terms of the writing and the animation. Parenting pro-tip: Shorts like this one are good to keep handy for when you need to extinguish a tantrum without starting a longer watching session.

Top Gun: Maverick, 2022 - ★★★★ (contains spoilers)

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

This review may contain spoilers. Sure, it’s a couple hours of Tom Cruise being paid millions of dollars to do stunts literally everyone else in the world would have to pay millions of dollars to do. But nails the fan service, the tech, and the physics. And it’s fun. Also, it includes an appearance …

🍿 Prey, 2022 - ★★★★ (contains spoilers)

Friday, July 21, 2023

This review may contain spoilers. A Predator movie is only as good as its protagonist. The dialogue can mostly suck, as it does here. The CG effects can look like trash, as they too often do here. The plot can be an early colonial-American choose-your-own-adventure story, as it (mostly) is here. But …

Moon, 2009 - ★★★★★

Monday, May 22, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 out of 5 stars) This is the last one for today, I promise. Another rewatch, Sam Rockwell’s performance puts this movie on a level with The Martian.  I know they’re very different movies, but, for my money, Moon does at just as much with fewer/older VFX and a much lower budget. How much …

Annihilation, 2018 - ★★★★

Sunday, May 21, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5 stars) I can confirm in watching this movie again that it is ambitious, original and has a fully committed cast. If you like sci-fi and somehow haven’t seen Annihilation yet, do yourself a favor and watch it.

The Menu, 2022 - ★★★

Sunday, May 21, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars out of 5) I don’t regret watching this and I would certainly recommend it to certain people, but I’m not sure I’ll ever need to watch it again.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, 2023 - ★

Saturday, May 20, 2023

⭐️ (1 star out of 5 Wouldn’t watch again, wouldn’t recommend The story was incoherent except as a forced setup of Kang and of passing of the Ant-Man-tle to Lang’s daughter.

Riders of Justice, 2020 - ★★★★

Monday, September 27, 2021

It both is and is not the movie you think it is, and both in the best way.

FUMC Ideas

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Sunshine Pieces Daniel Isn’t Real Near Dark Don’t Look Now Next Door Enter the Void High Tension Gaia The Greasy Strangler …plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness, 1986 - ★★

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Awful… awfully wonderful

CODA, 2021 - ★★★

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Awful family places burden of their livelihood on daughter for her entire life and finally decides to let her be her own kid as she leaves for college. It was good but it was kind of missing that one show stopping, jaw dropping song that the third act of any movie in this vein kind of demands.

Black Widow, 2021 - ★★★

Friday, August 13, 2021

It’s worth a watch for the chemistry between the sisters - you don’t see a lot of effective portrayals of sisterhood in action movies - and David Harbour is a lot of fun. Edit: the pig scene was totally unnecessary and gross.

The Suicide Squad, 2021 - ★★★★

Friday, August 6, 2021

A lot of people love this movie for the same reasons a lot of people hate this movie. It simultaneously shamelessly indulges in the same clichés and tropes that it’s constantly subverting. A lot of people just want it to pick whether it’s going to shamelessly indulge or it’s going to subvert but I …

Don't Look Now, 1973 - ★★★★½

Saturday, July 31, 2021

The non sequitur implementation of the ending cost half a star but the film is visually stunning and narratively bold. I can’t say what movies clearly took inspiration from it without giving it away, but you’ll probably know right away after you watch it.

Starry Eyes, 2014 - ★★★

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Watched on Tuesday July 20, 2021.

The Peanut Butter Solution, 1985 - ★★★

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

You will not know where it’s going until it gets there.

FUMC History

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

The films watched by the FUMC, in order. Martyrs The Peanut Butter Solution Starry Eyes Cigarette Burns Hereditary

Cigarette Burns, 2005 - ★★★

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Watched for the FUMC.

House, 1977 - ★★★

Monday, July 26, 2021

Well you should all watch it once. Watching it alone was disorientating and left me wishing I had someone to share the experience with but it was a hell of ride. Go in blind and don’t ask of it any more than it is.

A Quiet Place Part II, 2020 - ★★★★★

Saturday, July 24, 2021

I try to be stingy with 5 stars but this movie deserves it. The writing, direction, acting and SOUND DESIGN are as good as the first and in some areas even better. The main flaw that bugged me was SPOILER ALERT: The day one flashback was really only there to remind us who JK was on the first one …

C'est la Vie, 2016 - ★★★★

Friday, July 23, 2021

I watched a few of his shorts tonight but this was my favorite.

Beau, 2011 - ★★★

Friday, July 23, 2021

There’s so much more to be told here.

The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, 2011 - ★★★

Friday, July 23, 2021

Yes it’s disturbing but there’s nothing supernatural about it.

Martyrs, 2008 - ★★★★

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Watched on Wednesday July 21, 2021.

Come and See, 1985 - ★★★★

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Brutal and unrelenting, once is enough, but it’s also necessary.

Near Dark, 1987 - ★★★★

Monday, July 19, 2021

It’s worth a watch despite the lame performance of the male lead. Henricksen and Paxton are wonderful, and Bigelow’s makes the thing a visually classic and novel experience at the same time.

The Amusement Park, 1975 - ★★

Saturday, July 17, 2021

These are all things I have seen happening to Oder folks. It’s a sad sad movie whose true horror is the inevitability that we may all face one or more of these deep indignities if we are lucky enough to grow old.

Sunshine, 2007 - ★★

Thursday, July 15, 2021

The star power is impressive, with Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans and Cillian Murphy and Rose Byrne. The story is Event Horizon light and not one of Boyle’s best by a long short but it’s a beautifully shot film.