Favorite films

Pinned reviews

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  Barton Fink 1991

  ★★★★★ Rewatched 26 May 2021 1

  Coen Brothers Filmography Rewatch #4

  *I recently acquired Adam Nayman's book The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together, wherein he examines each of their films from 1984 to 2016. As they are my favorite filmmakers, I will be reading a chapter at a time and watching the accompanying film. Whenever possible, I'll try and recount my first viewing.

  "Look upon me! I'll show you the life of the mind!"

  Wow, what a masterpiece! This was only my…

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  The Iron Claw 2023

  ★★★★½ Watched 23 Dec 2023 2

  I saw this four days ago and just haven't been able to find the right words. It can be hard for me to check my bias at the door for a wrestling film, and I've been eagerly awaiting this ever since it was announced. I went in thinking I would likely love this and I did, as it wound up being one of my favorite films of the year. Being such a die hard, lifelong wrestling fan, sometimes I think…

Recent reviews

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  To Be or Not to Be 1983

  ★★★★ Watched 16 Mar 2025

  Mock Nazis. Always and fucking forever.

  I've never seen the original and didn't even know this existed until picking up a Mel Brooks collection on blu ray recently. I wondered how I would connect with it, not being written and directed by Mel (someone whose works I've loved since childhood with very few exceptions). Well, not only did this positively tickle my funny bone and have me cracking up more than a few times (despite some jokes falling flat), but it also worked really well on the flip side, carrying more dramatic weight than I expected. This was so much fun.

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  Nashville 1975

  ★★★ Watched 15 Mar 2025

  This is one that I admired more than I liked watching, but also really struck me as something that will grow on me over time. In the moment, it felt too sprawling and unfocused, not letting me invest in many of its great many characters. There were some fantastic scenes and individual moments that would draw me in when I felt myself drifting away, but that overall connection wasn't entirely there for me. That said, the way the final scene played out and washed over me, I started to connect more with what Altman was conveying.

Popular reviews

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  The Fabelmans 2022

  ★★★★½ Watched 08 Jan 2023 8

  I've waited months for this, but in my city it's only playing at one theater and the times haven't lined up for me until yesterday. And as a bonus treat, my son wanted to go with me so we got to have another good time at the movies together.

  But this isn't the kind of film I typically take him to. He loves Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark and read a book about Spielberg a few years…

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  Oppenheimer 2023

  ★★★★½ Watched 23 Jul 2023

  Part two of the Barbenheimer double feature weekend spectacular!

  I won't be able to properly review this without seeing it again, which I hope to do soon. It's just so much to digest that I need more time with it.

  That said, I was massively impressed by Nolan's work, once again. The sheer scale of his films is without peer in today's blockbuster landscape. There is nobody else making the kinds of films he makes. In my mind, he is…