Caleb

Following Follow Follows you

I’m open to pretty much anything as long as it’s good. I prefer character studies over everything else though.

Favorite films

All

Taxi Driver 1976

★★★★★ Watched 23 Oct 2023

There’s hardly a man in the western world that can’t relate to Travis Bickle on at least some level. Even at his most pathetic and detestable, he feels so painfully human. The film sympathizes with him but never makes his behavior seem any better than it is, and even when he does good things his motives are questionable. Combine this with a fantastic cool jazz score from Bernard Herrmann, seductive cinematography that emphasizes both the beauty and filth of NYC…
Hard Candy 2005

★★★★½ Added

A film that tends to get lumped in with exploitation shlock or torture porn films, but unfairly so. Very little violence occurs, and what violence you do see isn't very graphic. Instead we get a film that relies on smart dialogue, layered characters and unnerving moral ambiguity. The latter of the three is what makes this film uncomfortable. It raises hard questions about justice and violence without spoon-feeding the viewer any easy answers. On paper, this could easily be a…

Happiness 1998

★★★★½ Added

“I’d jerk off instead” is probably the most darkly comedic line in film history.
Aside from stuff like that, it’s really moving and relatable. People who think it’s just an exercise in nihilism are missing the point.
Good Will Hunting 1997

★★★½ Added

I actually thought they’d avoid the “he gets the girl back” bullshit at the end of the movie, but they just couldn’t fucking help themselves. Apart from that, this is a good film. Robin Williams gives one of his best performances and the chemistry between him and his patient is fantastic.