Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Foolish Wives 1922

  ★★★★½ Watched 23 Mar 2025

  WHAT.

  Astonishing. Some movies just completely destroy my ideas of when the modern movie had basically already become the modern movie. Like this is three years pre-Potemkin. Tasteful and well distributed use of wides, close-ups, twos, threes, plus the follow the villain narrative. So much fun and games in this era of movies. Can't believe I didn't get to Stroheim sooner because this is maybe one of the five best silents I've ever seen. Saving the five for the rewatch.

  (why are the 'butchered' films always masterpieces even in their butchered forms?)

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  The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum 1939

  ★★★★½ Watched 22 Mar 2025

  I don't recall a single close-up. Mizoguchi maintains the distance and perspective of watching actors on a stage the whole way through. Even in a moment where Kikunosuke runs at the camera, as if to run out of the screen, Mizoguchi dollies away and condemns him to perform. Sort of at the other polarity of Ozu. Never seen a film portray Japanese architecture to such an alienating affect, especially in the opening third. We're not in the space with the characters, but peering at them from the corner of the other room in uncut wides, until we feel like the invasion.

Popular reviews

• 

  Blink Twice 2024

  ★½ Watched 21 Aug 2024

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

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  Evil Dead Rise 2023

  ★★★½ Watched 16 Mar 2023

  Evil Dead fans will love it. Evil Dead newbies will be utterly confused. And that's exactly the way it should be.