Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Romeo + Juliet 1996

  ★★ Added

  Shakespeare's tragedy of young love is given a ridiculous yet energetic makeover in this gaudy interpretation by Baz Luhrmann. The difficulty with adapting Shakespeare for modern times I find stems from how do you relate the characters Shakespeare wrote to people who exist today. The poetic dialogue and borderline melodramatic amount of emotion can be a pitfall for even the most experienced of directors. The problem I have with Luhrmanns interpretation is the disconnect between what characters say, and how…

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  The Grandmaster 2013

  ★★★½ Watched 28 Jul 2020

  A perfectly average Kung fu quest film with some well choreographed action (if not a touch over the top). Beautiful composition, lighting, and some nice performances by our leading actors, but overall I was left with a hazy picture of what I had seen. A meandering plot, questionable editing choices, plus an ill advised reliance on manipulating frame rate, left me wanting more.

Popular reviews

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  A Ghost Story 2017

  ★★ Watched 08 Jan 2020

  This movie is E M P T Y. I don’t know whether it was an intentional decision by the production but regardless, I feel as though this barely passes for a feature film. Despite some gorgeous framing and use of color, the films overuse of lingering camera and long shots seems only to pad the length of an already short movie. There was some fine performances but as a whole the film felt like it was saying something, but didn’t…

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  Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro 1979

  ★★★★★ Watched 12 Jan 2020

  Simple, whimsical, beautiful. Lupin III soars and leaps into one of my favorite films of all time. Even in his first feature film, Miyazaki’s distinctive style shines, and you can see him experimenting with his creative use of framing, movement, and pace. The action is thrilling; fun and inventive, the villain simplistic but despicable, and all of the characters vivid and identifiable. The characterization of Lupin’s cast through movement and blocking is something I particularly was inspired by in watching…

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