Favorite films

Pinned reviews

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  The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine 2018

  ★★★★★ Watched 18 Dec 2019

  Thrilling, and only 3 hours long! Could have reveled in the images of this film for hours more. Pretty convinced that the film purposely shows the anarchists as buffoonish amateurs so that they might step up and rise to a level of accomplishments of the women sumos. They may have failed in their dream, but Tetsu and Dai had heart and courage, and were inspired to find strength after witnessing the outsider life of the sumo wrestlers. Many reviews I've…

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  Microhabitat 2017

  ★★★★★ Watched 21 Apr 2019 2

  I read an interview with the director, Jeon Go-woon, and she described this film as a satire. I'm not sure I found it funny per se, though their are moments of levity and cringe. Instead, I found it rather heartbreaking. I definitely empathized with Miso and the former bandmates she visits, the things they give up to live the lives they think they want, or rather think they should live. They sacrificed so much for a certain kind of living,…

Recent reviews

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  Black Bag 2025

  ★★★★ Watched 18 Mar 2025

  Two formally exciting Soderberghs in two months is pretty incredible. Though I liked Presence more, this is just an incredibly well made spy thriller, with some really excellent focus on procedures and also human interactions. It feels like a fresh focus, especially the games played. Classic Soderbergh in that it kind of resembles some of his past work, but in other ways is excitingly different.

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  Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn 2021

  ★★★★½ Watched 18 Mar 2025

  Provactively political, but also deeply invested in the absurd joke of it all: they Clued the ending, for one thing, and it feels like a pretty inspired choice. Even though it's probably quite focused in it's examination of current Romanian realities, I still can't help but feel that whatever this film reveals about Romania also feels very true of my own Canadian context, just different semiotics but similar concluding finales. Perseus' mirror indeed.

Popular reviews

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  More Than Two Hours 2013

  ★★★★★ Watched 11 Mar 2019

  This movie made me want to scream. I'm not sure what else to say.

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  Strange Says the Angel 2017

  ★★★★★ Watched 01 Aug 2017

  As a child, much of the world seems mysterious and magical. We may get glimpses of real life on our peripheries but understanding stays out of reach. Those adults around us, who care for us, try to protect us for as long as possible: "Don't let them bathe," says the father; the aunt responds, "Quiet, you don't want to scare them." But the at some point are eyes are opened, we drink the water, and we too change. How wonderful…