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Favorite films

  • Redline
  • Midnight Cowboy
  • Sully
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas

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  • The Judge

    ★★½

  • Touch of Evil

    ★★★★★

  • Hamlet

    ★★★★½

  • Elevation

    ★½

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  • Island of Lost Souls

    Island of Lost Souls

    ★★★★½

    Island of Lost Souls, like Moreau himself, is overly concerned with getting a man to unleash his sexual passion on a panther. Or is it... not concerned enough? In the House of Pain, isolated and soaked through with debauched fantasy, you will find the answers you seek... Very much the protoform of Rocky Horror Picture Show and deserving of a watch with that in mind.

  • The Whale God

    The Whale God

    ★★★★½

    In my opinion, Kujira Gami ("The Whale God") rivals Gojira as the greatest kaiju picture of Japan's cinematic golden age. Imagine my absolute delight in discovering Tokuzō Tanaka (a crucial director/collaborator in the Zatoichi franchise, among many other credits) asserting himself as an equal to Ishirō Honda...

    Kujira no doubt has many ways it can be read, but personally I think this remote whaling village and its violent obsession perfectly symbolizes humanity's endless and bloodthirsty vendetta against life itself. The…

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  • The Judge

    The Judge

    ★★½

    Robert Duvall is quite good in this. RDJ is fully formed for the current era of his acting career here, except for the 'wayward son' coding of his performance, which dates him as mid-career. It's clear that 10 years before his role in Oppenheimer he was ready for something more. D'Onofrio provides an understated, almost silent supporting performance also worthy of note, but the story itself is less than thrilling.

  • Touch of Evil

    Touch of Evil

    ★★★★★

    Tenacious, opulent, and brutal. Watch the crushing power of prejudice and vice destroy the lives of those living beyond the borders of nations, yes, and other borders besides. Watch them do as they promised, as they promised they'd never do, or never do again. Touch of Evil represents and respectfully surpasses Fritz Lang's M in its depiction of police misconduct and moral decay. Every character in Touch feels alive and afraid, utterly tragic, but loved just the same by the film itself. Every crane shot, every pan, every set and scene, is in love with itself. It's such a joy to watch something like that.

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  • Hundreds of Beavers

    Hundreds of Beavers

    ★★★★★

    A gargantuan comedic work deserving of the highest possible endorsement.

  • Princess Mononoke

    Princess Mononoke

    ★★★★★

    For whatever reason, I've started looking at movies with environmentalist messaging through a Jungian lens.

    It's a pretty common experience for kids to be traumatized by the shock of guilt when they learn humans are responsible for incalculable ecological destruction. As her psyche develops, she might welcome, sanctify and support aspects of the world she judges to be beautiful, loving and protective to compensate for that guilty feeling. He might attack, other and distrust aspects of the world he judges…