Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band 2019

  ★ Watched 06 Sep 2020

  Robertson's name in the title is an indication of whose perspective on The Band we'll be getting. Robertson's version of events benefits greatly from the fact that most of his bandmates are dead, allowing him to spin away. That's his right, I suppose, and his autobiography gives him, one would think, a sufficient platform to do it. That the director of this film does not see fit to challenge or correct Robertson's perspective is where the fault lies. The interview…

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  Posse 1975

  ★★★½ Watched 17 Aug 2020

  This late-period low-budget Western from first-time director Douglas is solidly entertaining, mostly for the interaction between Douglas' politically ambitious marshal and Bruce Dern's anti-authoritarian villain. The underlying political analogy can be seen as an indictment of the American voter--who will side with anyone who ensures their temporary economic stability--and the inherent duplicitousness of politicians, a gratifying theme, perhaps, for post-Watergate audiences.

  The film is never heavy-handed, however, and is full of standard Western tropes, but also playful. The climactic highlight of an exploding train is one example. Not a great film, but fun.

Popular reviews

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  Mysterious Skin 2004

  ★★★★½ Watched 22 May 2014

  This film does at least two things which very few other films would even dare attempt, let alone pull off successfully: it presents a pedophile as a human being who, in almost every other respect, seems likable and pleasant, and it shows, without sentimentality or pity, the effects of child abuse on the teenagers those children have become. For these reasons alone, this is a groundbreaking film.

  It is also, not surprisingly, a very difficult film to watch. The shot…

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  Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work 1998

  ★★★ Watched 08 Jul 2013

  Included as a bonus feature on the Criterion edition of "Wild Strawberries," this film provides a rather detailed and, at times, intensely personal look at Bergman's career. For the most part, this is just two dudes talking to one another with a few illustrative clips thrown in, but the conversation is highly engaging, and the interviewer, Jorn Donner, does not shy away from hard questions, but also comes across as one who has followed Bergman's career closely. Perhaps not surprisingly,…