Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  The Order 2024

  ★★★★ Watched 11 Mar 2025

  Before we jump into the merits of this film, let’s get one thing out of the way: this movie hits close to home right now, with the rise of white nationalism and racist rhetoric pervasive in society, that it’s impossible to watch without getting extremely terrified that there are pockets of white nationalists out there right now plotting the same kind of destruction. And I guess that’s what makes The Order so compelling: it feels like it could be happening…

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  Challengers 2024

  ★★★★ Watched 08 Feb 2025

  L asked me why I liked this movie so much and I wasn’t quite able to articulate why. Yes, the story is gripping and I haven’t been this invested in a sports movie in a long time. Yes, the acting is superb — Zendaya is truly a gift to all of us — and the cinematography and directing is sublime. (That under-the-court POV? Mesmerizing.) Yes, the music is percussive and pervasive and perfect. (How was this score not more widely…

Popular reviews

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  Black Panther 2018

  ★★★★½ Watched 15 Feb 2018

  In color and in chrome
  (Originally posted on inthemargins.ca)

  When people I don’t know very well (inevitably) ask about “where I’m from,” I receive the same three reactions when I tell them I was born in Tanzania:

  1. “Where in the world is that again?” (“East Africa, right next to Kenya,” is my usual response.)

  2. “Oh, you don’t look like you’re from Africa.” (If I have time, this is when I usually tell them about the movement of goods…

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  Call Me by Your Name 2017

  ★★★★½ Watched 03 Feb 2018

  Staring into the fireplace as the credits roll by
  (Originally posted on inthemargins.ca)

  Here’s what I will remember most after watching Call Me By Your Name: the face of Elio Perlman, staring into the fireplace, as the credits roll by before he gets called to dinner.

  The scene is indelible for many reasons—one of them being that Timothée Chalamet performs it marvellously, with nuance and emotion—but is resonant mainly because it is relatable: how many of us have gone through…

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