Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Stagecoach 1939

  ★★★★ Watched 04 Feb 2025

  Astonished by how intimate and honest John Ford presents characters like Dallas and Ringo, but without demonising the upper class with Hatfield. The Stagecoach is such a great framing device to showcase these characters philosophies and attitudes, while also being the literal vehicle for the plot. 

  Dallas is such a progressive character for the time, and the themes of right, wrong, honour and compassion come through so strong with her. I found these themes are abandoned after the climax, in lieu for another climax with Ringo’s story which is a shame.

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  Better Man 2024

  ★★★½ Watched 11 Jan 2025

  Quite honest, and at points a scathing portrayal of a singer who I only knew about from a previous generation’s love for. The gimmick of the film really earns its place by adding to the central theme of ‘Robbie Williams’ being a mask and a performance. 

  Biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocket Man suffer from deifying the subject matter; cogs in the entertainment machine, that are twisted by its workings. Better Man shows the trappings of fame well, however, it…

Popular reviews

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  Civil War 2024

  ★★★★ Watched 20 Apr 2024

  The idea of a civilised western world is a fallacy; it can be easy to be a passive observer to war like Joel. Civil War made me uneasy right from the get-go, reminiscent of a monster movie like The Mist or a journey like Apocalypse Now. 

  While its premise is taken to extreme, I thought the central beats remained relatively grounded. The pure brutality of war and what civilisation, and a lack thereof, can amount to. Each characters’ arc remain…

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  Perfect Days 2023

  ★★★★ Watched 05 Mar 2024

  Being content with just being alive is a luxury most aren’t satisfied with. Hirayama is someone the world takes for granted; on the outside it is easy to pity him, however, Wenders wants us to envy him. Hirayama has found a level of peace and tranquility, with a lack of ego, that truly allows him to appreciate life. 

  Wender’s recent documentary career seems to have gelled into his fiction efforts, with a lot of sequences requiring trust in the audience…