Phil

Phil Pro

I love films. I love physical media.

Favorite films

  • Notorious
  • All About Eve
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • Interstellar

Recent activity

All
  • Insidious

    ★★★½

  • New Life

    ★★★½

  • Anora

    ★★★★½

  • Shortcut

    ★★

Recent reviews

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  • Insidious

    Insidious

    ★★★½

    I liked it a lot, but there were so many direct “Poltergeist” references that it felt derivative too much of the time.

    The setup was pretty good and the acting was solid. 

    The third act was sort of a mess but the entire film was redeemed by the ending. In fact I added half a star for the last 30 seconds.

  • New Life

    New Life

    ★★★½

    I was going to give it 3 stars, but the ending earned it another half star. Solid acting, some beautiful cinematography, and tight editing make it a good watch

Popular reviews

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  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    ★★★★

    A more open-minded second viewing of this film brought so many rewards that I don't know how I missed them the first time around. My only defense is that I was so taken (and still am) by the first film (1956) that nothing could equal it.

    The thing is, this remake does not attempt to equal it. It stands on its own, while giving so many homages to the original that it's almost a love letter. We even get to…

  • Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    ★★★★½

    This is the first time I’ve seen it, and it is so much better than its tabloid headline title would suggest. It reminded me of “I Married A Monster From Outer Space” as far as title style goes, and of course there’s the same theme of humans being taken over by alien life forms. 

    But this has such a powerful noir atmosphere that it elevates the fear level well beyond the norm. The night shots, dramatic camera angles, use of…