Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966

  ★★★★½ Watched 27 Mar 2025

  Boy was I surprised when they got to the graveyard and the Modelo beer theme started playing...

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  Seven Samurai 1954

  ★★★★ Watched 26 Mar 2025

  I knew Zach Snyder's "rebel moon" was based on this but I hadn't realized how it really was a "seven samurai but make it space" ChatGPT prompt, right down to the harvesting of grains. How did they not figure out how to take this excellent story, add modern FX, and if not surpass it, at least get it into the same ballpark?

  Interesting watch as so many modern action tropes were established here, including who was going to die, who gets the girl, etc. I was a bit surprised there wasn't really any high-level swordplay, but the overall production is legendary.

Popular reviews

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  Roma 2018

  ½ Added

  Breathlessly over-hyped, this is one of the worst films I've ever sat through. If I hadn't watched this in my living room, I'd have gotten up and walked out. Listless and unengaging, this is the sort of movie that earns critics the label, "pretentious" for their fawning. No question, this is beautifully shot, and the performances are fine, but this is a case where the sum of the parts is far less than then whole. The drama of an unwanted…

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  The Brutalist 2024

  ★★★★½ Watched 22 Jan 2025

  That a 3 1/2 hour movie about an architect and his patron's battle of wills over the design of a community center is this compelling is incredible. Any Oscar acting discussion that excludes Brody and Pierce is suspect.

  Tense and engaging from the moment the opening credits begin, this is classic Oscar bait that lives up to the challenge. The first half is propelled by the vague yet pervasive sense of dread hanging over the proceedings, but it felt a…