Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Being John Malkovich 1999

  ★★★★ Rewatched 14 Mar 2025

  this movie is so wacky, both in terms of cinematography & plot, that it's easy to overlook the deep philosophical questions that underlie it. the premise - that you can become someone else, literally inhabit their body & take over their life - reminded me of frankheimer's seconds. while seconds approaches its subject matter with feverish intensity, being john malkovich treats it in a playful, tongue-in-cheek style. still, the ending of this movie is pretty terrifying, as it suggests that lotte & maxine will never be rid of craig's infiltrating presence.

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  The Earrings of Madame de... 1953

  ★★★★ Watched 12 Mar 2025

  a pathetic love story that flows seamlessly, aided by a soundtrack of lilting waltzes & impressively extended tracking shots. i'm tempted to call the romance ill-fated, but madame & donati are not quite star-crossed lovers; the true tragedy of the film perhaps lies in madame's inability to be honest with herself & others. no matter how vain or dishonest she was, i couldn't help but sympathize with madame & the loveless marriage she had to endure. the way the earrings took on new meanings throughout the film cleverly revealed madame's sentimental materialism & her husband's jealous possessiveness.

Popular reviews

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  Fallen Angels 1995

  ★★★½ Watched 10 Mar 2025

  unfortunately, this felt like a case of style over substance to me. that being said, wkw's style is so uniquely his - so vibrant, intoxicating & sultry - that i'm almost willing to forgive the lackluster plot. despite having just seen leon lai ming in "comrades, almost a love story," i didn't recognize him at all in "fallen angels"; i'm enthralled by neither his acting nor his character in this film. takeshi kaneshiro, however, is wonderful & infuses such unabashed strangeness & playfulness into his role. i appreciated all the little nods to chungking express, but i still think that movie is better.

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  Nashville 1975

  ★★★★½ Watched 06 Mar 2025

  a sprawling, satirical look at the country music industry, nashville feels almost ethnographic in its attentive depiction of american life in the south. the narrative flows freely from one character to the next; it's hard to keep up with the sheer number of them, but, together, their interweaving storylines create a naturalistic sense of community. while i found many of the characters annoying - haven hamilton & opal in particular -, i sympathized with barbara jean & sueleen & the trials they faced…