Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers isn’t really a tennis film, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say it’s a tennis film in the way a hurricane is technically just wind, because what Guadagnino is doing here—and doing with this sort of audacious, hyper-confident, commitment to style over clarity, plot even—is using tennis not as an end in itself but as this capital-S Symbol that stands in for everything from the loneliness of competition to the complicated, tender, destructive dynamics of love, all…
Favorite films
Recent activity
AllPinned reviews
More-
-
Into the Wild 2007
Into the Wild—both Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction bestseller and Sean Penn’s adaptation—is one of the more consequential pieces of media for yours truly (unsurprisingly so, for those who know me best), meaning it’s difficult to take an objective view of what’s on-screen. But I’ll try.
It lionises Christopher Johnson McCandless, a controversial figure—foolish, troubled, ill-equipped—who himself romanticised the Alaskan wilderness’ unforgiving nature in hopes of some transcendental deliverance.
It’s awash with strange directorial flourishes—the PowerPoint-esque superimposed title; the frames-with-frame montages;…Translated from by
Recent reviews
More-
Unforgiven 1992
Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven holds the Western genre up to the dying light, exposing every scar, every myth we once mistook for truth. The film doesn’t mince words; it’s a harsh, unforgiving (sorry!) reckoning with the violence the genre long glamorised. When Munny tells Little Bill, “Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it,” it lands like a slow bullet—not just as a death sentence for the character, but for the romanticised West itself. After decades lost in its myths, we are forced to bid adieu, whether we want to or not. RIP G. Hackman.
Translated from by -
Mickey 17 2025
Mickey 17 wants to be heady sci-fi, tragic romance, and class satire all at once but never locks onto a single wavelength. Pattinson gives it life; Ruffalo and Collette suck the air right back out. The metaphors are obvious, the world half-baked, the tone all over the place. The delays make sense: sadly, dead on arrival.
Translated from by
Popular reviews
More-
Reservoir Dogs 1992
Maybe the real Reservoir Dogs were the friends we killed along the way.
Translated from by -
Boogie Nights 1997
Much has been made of Inglourious Basterds’ closing line—“You know something, Utivich? I think this just might be my masterpiece.”—serving as Tarantino’s elucidation of his own mastery by smash-cutting to his signature “Written & Directed by…” calling card; on my umpteenth viewing, I realised the same could be said of Boogie Nights’ final quote—“I am a big, bright, shining star.”—which comes just before Paul Thomas Anderson flashes on-screen, recontextualising Dirk’s affirmation as PTA himself proclaiming wunderkind status (and rightfully so, mind you, as sometimes this is my favourite film ever, while on every other day, it’s merely one of my all-time favourites).
Translated from by
