Favorites: my most recent 5 star (re)watches.
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The Exorcist 1973
“The horror movie is innately conservative, even reactionary.” - Stephen King
I was raised a-religious by two parents who grew up extremely Christian, exhausted by and fed up with their upbringing in the church and wanting something different for their son. They had me baptized, and other than weddings that was the last time I went to any church with my parents. Thinking about it now, I wonder if this movie had any influence on them baptizing me. Perhaps as…
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Gremlins 1984
Summer, 1984.
57 minutes.A family of three entered a movie theater in North Syracuse, New York. Mother, father, and an eight-and-a-half year old boy. They got popcorn and drinks. The boy had a Dr. Pepper. He was already quite sophisticated for his age. They walked into the large screening room through the door on the left side and picked seats midway down, on the aisle. The theater was packed. The boy had seen commercials for this film on television,…
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To Die For 1995
You’re not anything in America unless you’re on TV.
To Die For is a remarkably prescient satire that anticipated America's deadly obsession with fame and notoriety decades before the rise of social media influencers and reality TV stars. Nicole Kidman delivers one of her career-best performances as Suzanne Stone, a small-town weather girl whose ruthless ambition and pathological narcissism drive her to orchestrate her husband's murder. What makes the film so eerily prophetic is how it captures the psychology of…
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Waiting for Guffman 1996
I’ll always have a place at the Dairy Queen.
Parker Posey’s delivery while fanning that single sad little chicken wing is peak cinema. It's a tableau familiar to those of us raised in the south, one of myriad colorful details that enable Waiting for Guffman to brilliantly render small town life in Anywhere, USA circa 1996. The film's genius lies in its balance of satire, sympathy, creative planning, and improv, as the ensemble cast create characters whose theatrical ambitions and…
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Mickey 17 2025
Mickey 17 won't be for everyone. It's bonkers, aligned with Brazil and Bong Joon Ho's own Snowpiercer as socio-economic science fiction that criticizes capitalism and fascism with a wry and dark sense of humor. The comedic beats will play better on a rewatch, as it takes more than a little bit of time to adjust to the unmoored quirky world presented in the film. Robert Pattinson is incredible in his role(s), and Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette embody on-the-nose caricatures…
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Thief 1981
The rain. The fire escapes and alleys. The synths. Is this Blade Runner? No, it's the freakishly fantastic debut from Michael Mann. A movie about obsession, professionalism, and precision. A sly metaphor for filmmaking? Sure. But this is about a professional Thief with plans to retire after one last score. Practice for Heat, at times. With a bit less kinetic momentum, but absolutely overflowing with VIBES. And one of the better Tangerine Dream scores, with perhaps James Caan's best performance ever. Although I own a 16mm print of this film, last night I screened the new Criterion 4K release and it looked and sounded spectacular.
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