Novelist, unpaid spokesperson for Diet Coke.
Favorite films
Recent activity
AllRecent reviews
More-
Ichi the Killer 2001
At first I thought to myself, “this is like the Piña Colada Song for incels.” Then I realized someone must have written the Piña Colada song. Indeed, it was a man named Rupert Holmes. A song, a movie, a TV show, is like a universe. In writing “Escape (the Piña Colada Song),” Holmes is, in a way, responsible for the couple’s infidelity, as the architect of their will. Even moreso true of Takashi Miike, who is the man behind the man behind the curtain behind the killer.
The masochist says to the sadist, “hurt me!”
The sadist replies, “no.”Translated from by -
Black Bag 2025
On one hand, monogamy perhaps goes against the fundamentals of human nature, like a lot of societal constructs, more meant for appearances than a truthful summation of human experience. On the other hand, unlike most societal constructs, monogamy can be built on love, and love can make even the wildest things real. To be truly monogamous, truly in love with a single person…that’s the absolute freakiest anyone can be (though, I acknowledge my biases here). Is there any substance, any…
Translated from by
Popular reviews
More-
Collateral 2004
Now here’s how you do a character-driven thriller. Foxx wins you over within minutes of the opening, and his evolution throughout the movie feels like a direct interrogation of the kind of masculinity narratives that dominate crime thrillers. Vincent feels almost like a projection of the id, something waiting to emerge, a boogeyman. Cruise essentially reprising DeNiro’s character from Heat but feels (whether intentionally or unintentionally) much more in on the joke of the character’s absurdity. There is something greater…
Translated from by -
Mickey 17 2025
There’s room to nitpick items like pacing and tone, especially early Act 3. But the thing I always appreciate about Bong Joon Ho is that he understands what it feels like to be an actual person in the actual world. So many filmmakers, even ones looking to extol the “common person,” romanticize and commodify that experience in some way. They almost can’t help it. The average person’s struggles are like sci-fi to most who have the resources to make movies,…
Translated from by
