Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  The Batman 2022

  ★★★★ Rewatched 16 Mar 2025

  I really admire how ambitious The Batman is. It feels like Matt Reeves was trying to cram every Batman idea he'd ever had into this thing. It makes the film feel almost like a Batman tasting menu--full of Reeves's various flavors of Batman. Ultimately, because there are just so many ideas in play, some things feel overcooked (the Riddler/Penguin stuff), and some things feel undercooked (the Falcone/Catwoman stuff). The movie is at its best when it embraces its siller, more…

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  Brazil 1985

  ★★★★★ Rewatched 15 Mar 2025

  The relationship that I've had with this movie over the course of my lifetime is one of my favorite things about it. The first time I watched it in middle school the visual style and themes of Brazil left a deep impression on me, even if the movie and its obtuseness left me confused and annoyed more than anything else. But just like Sam Lowry, the more time I've had to peel back the layers of Terry Gilliam's bizarre, impossible…

Popular reviews

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  Dead Poets Society 1989

  ★★★★½ Rewatched 09 Mar 2025

  I'm a teacher. Of course I fucking love Dead Poets Society. The movie immediately transports you back to your favorite teacher's classroom. Dead Poets Society isn't the thing that made me want to be a teacher, but it definitely informed the type of teacher I wanted to eventually be. Robin Williams is magnetic and basically is the entire movie, but I've always found Neil's heartbreaking story to be the real backbone of the movie--the look on his face as the…

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  Good Will Hunting 1997

  ★★★★½ Rewatched 05 Mar 2025

  I've seen Good Will Hunting numerous times, and while some parts of the movie don't work for me as well as they did when I was closer to Will's age than Sean's age (the romance subplot ain't it, and Skarsgard's role didn't need to be so prominent), the movie is still infinitely charming, smart, and authentic. The Will-Sean character dynamic reminds me so much of my own work with students, and both Damon and (especially) Williams absolutely kill it. Every…