Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Erin Brockovich 2000

  ★★★★½ Watched 27 Mar 2025

  I was ready to dismiss Robert’s Oscar win for this, but I was proven wrong. She earned it. 

  A woman in a lawyer’s office exposes a chemical plant that poisoned an entire town. It starts out like a standard Hollywood depiction of David vs Goliath lawyer movie but doesn’t get bogged down by legal jargon or a typical courtroom scene. It sticks to its emotional core, the people affected, a very well written script. Julia Roberts is great, as is Albert Finney. Peppered in are a few other brief, but great performances.

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  My Brilliant Career 1979

  ★★★★½ Watched 27 Mar 2025

  Like an Australian Jane Austin story. 

  A young woman defies gender roles and expectations by pining for a career of her own. Direction is very well coordinated, active and well-composed framing. Gorgeous scenery and costumes. Period dramas don’t do much for me, but this wasn’t a standard romance. Set in a time when “independent woman” was a contradictory phrase, this broke conventions and set new ones we still see today. It’s reminiscent of Rocky in how it transcends its own genre by subverting audience expectations to tell its own story.

Popular reviews

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  Pottersville 2017

  ★★½ Watched 28 Dec 2024

  This feels like a movie someone made for giggles and filmmakers called in favors with famous actors, which I discovered is partially true. In a small quiet town, a man gets mistaken for Bigfoot and the excitement spins out of control. Not the best dialogue, it’s clear the actors known for drama aren’t taking this seriously. Might have been better to cast more comedic actors that know how to play to the campy tone. It doesn’t try too hard, it’s silly and self-aware. These kind of movies are more fun with a-list actors goofing around, and I love that it exists.

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  Babes in the Goods 1934

  ★★★ Watched 10 Jun 2024

  Thelma and Patsy get into trouble demonstrating home cleaning equipment at a store window. This one has more for both actresses to do, which better demonstrates their chemistry. Patsy’s take on the comedic foil and physical humor comes from her vaudeville training, so she resembles Chaplin and even flash-forwards to Jerry Lewis and Chris Farley.  Her spin is that she’s a woman sometimes making jokes at men, or a woman making it as men make jokes at her.  It was subtle, but she sometimes challenged the norm.

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