To-Watch List (2018 Edition) Film 29 of 115
I don’t like going to Church. Sure, as a kid it was mainly due to the inconvenience of it, having to remove myself for an hour out of a precious weekend to go to Mass. Later, I felt like I didn’t believe in God—at least I didn’t want to believe in the omnipotent Father figure for whom “mercurial” was an understatement. Later, though, my beliefs changed into something less reactionary. It’s not…
STRANGE JOURNEY: THE STORY OF ROCKY HORROR isn’t just looking at the past with rose-tinted glasses. It’s an earnest look at how art evolves beyond its creators, and becomes a Rosetta Stone for people to understand themselves and one another. Self-reflection tons of us need right now!
“While I had high expectations for Andrew Patterson’s sophomore feature, I never imagined it would deliver the impactful joy that this film provides. The Rivals of Amziah King harkens back to the verbose, unabashedly emotional, and briskly paced character studies of Sam Peckinpah and Robert Altman—films largely ignored by modern studios yet deeply craved by audiences eager for quality storytelling and memorable characters. It unfolds as a sprawling, intimate, and entirely unpredictable epic, the kind of movie that sets your heart on fire.”
🐝💛🌟
Full review at Cinapse: cinapse.co/2025/03/sxsw-2025-the-rivals-of-amziah-king/
Jesus, while I was terminally in love with this movie I was not prepared for the roller coaster I’d feel for the last 10 minutes. What a moving depiction of friendship and how we exchange parts for new ones in all sorts of metaphorical ways. Who needs words anyway?
It's crazy how the biggest social systems–from religion to relationships–are usually founded on/are a reaction to all-too-human things like pettiness or fear. Florence Pugh is an absolute powerhouse–with the opening phone call, she conveys the wild range of emotions she'll show over the course of the whole film in one scene. Also, I'm all for Ari Aster's continued love of practical cranium-abuse effects.
