Michael Bates

Michael Bates

Favorite films

  • Memories of Matsuko
  • The Ritz
  • The Skin I Live In
  • I Saw the Devil

Recent activity

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  • Godzilla Minus One

    ★★★★★

  • Monster

    ★★★★★

  • The Zone of Interest

    ★★★★★

  • Killers of the Flower Moon

    ★★★½

Recent reviews

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  • Monster

    Monster

    ★★★★★

    As a mother's pleas for her bullied son's tormentor to face some sort of punishment to the elderly and emotionally stunted principal of her son's school go unheard , we are taken into the world of Minato and his protective and loving mother Saori. This is all told through a masterful and beautiful Pandora's box by the phenomenal Kore- eda Hirokazu the brilliant director of two of my favorite films the devastating Nobody Knows and the powerful family drama Like…

  • The Zone of Interest

    The Zone of Interest

    ★★★★★

    Watching this film now in 2024 in a divided America, I am left with a very disturbing outlook for tomorrow and beyond 11/05/24. Watching this film and realizing half of the US lies within that beautiful and bountiful garden, while beyond our ignorance and just plain not caring what tomorrow brings we sip the lemonade which blinds us to what is just over that lush vine and rose covered wall.

    In Glazer's lush and beautiful opening scene we see the…

Popular reviews

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  • The Chorus

    The Chorus

    ★★★★★

    It has been a film I have been wanting to watch for the past decade, and finally I have watched this marvelous film. THE CHORUS tells the tale of a nondescript man who takes an ornery group of young boys and preteens and makes marvelous music for all to hear in their Dickensian boarding school. It is a film that will leave you feeling uplifted, and yet it will leave a little sadness with you at the way the world…

  • Unforgiven

    Unforgiven

    ★★★★½

    It is a good thing to see an American classic remade with such artistry and love for the original. In Sang-il Lee's remake of the Clint Eastwood classic film we are transported to 1880 Japan and the remote village of Hakkaido a hamlet full of vermin and whores. The film is very faithful to the original in story and with Ken Watanabe in the Eastwood role we have a great film to relish in.
    The film has some of the…