Favorite films

Pinned reviews

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  E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982

  ★★★★½ Rewatched 18 May 2024

  My Film Comment birthday cover. John Williams’ Academy Award‐winning score performed live to picture by the New York Philharmonic. Heavenly harp. Orchestral bass drum. Terrifying. Constantine Kitsopoulos conducts. An early birthday present to myself.

Recent reviews

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  Challengers 2024

  ★★ Watched 30 Apr 2024

  Three (2010) is the better picture, I believe. The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey was once recommended to me by a screenwriting teacher. This picture reminded me that I still haven't read the book. Can't help but see Amy Pascal's fingerprints all over this movie.

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  Love Lies Bleeding 2024

  ★★★★ Watched 10 Apr 2024

  My first Rose Glass movie. Coincidentally, I caught this at Village East like the day after Kristen Stewart's birthday. She has an artist's loft across the street from where I work. The lobster tank and the use of music is great. More David Cronenberg than David Lynch.

Popular reviews

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  When They See Us 2019

  ★ Watched 20 Nov 2020

  Pure rhetoric and outright lies. Where is the moral lens of Sidney Lumet? A.C.A.B. Ava Duvernay manages to make laughable caricatures of both cops and criminals. Wilding conveniently portrayed as innocent horse play. A complicated court case becomes even more clouded. Enjoy having your emotional intelligence insulted.

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  Shelf Life 1993

  ★★★★½ Watched 02 May 2020

  COVID-19 Cinema. My first time joining a virtual platform. Seattle's NWFF sliding scale screenings streaming the final film from legendary director Paul Bartel. Made in 1993 but never released. The dark comedy portrays bomb shelter life. A Grand Illusion (1937) of transgressive cult films. Criterion worthy!