Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  UHF 1989

  ★★★ Watched 19 Mar 2025

  Good-natured insanity.

  UHF's commitment to nonsense is actually pretty impressive. More often than not, a bit will start to drag, but when the gag hits, it lands perfectly.

  Lots of Kramer; maybe too much Kramer?

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  Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night 1988

  ★★★★½ Rewatched 12 Mar 2025

  And what a night it was.

  Take a gander at the supporting line-up: Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, James Burton, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits amongst others. Musical royalty.

  Roy Orbison continues to sound incredible, and the decision to go completely monochrome really helped capture those layers of smoky mystery that would define the icon in his later years. The camerawork is snappy on account of there being so many points of interest, including the star-studded audience; looks like…

Popular reviews

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  Stop Making Sense 1984

  ★★★★★ Watched 07 Jul 2023

  Genius.

  I don't know how he did it, but Byrne has somehow crafted a markedly self-assured musical experience that incrementally amps us the dynamism (visually and audibly) with each successive number. Awesome energy and what a setlist; the band is at its peak here, so the sound is pretty much flawless. Demme's pinpoint direction adds a cinematic flair to the project's already-sizable scope; plus it's all cut together to perfection. I haven't even mentioned the big suit.

  Stop Making Sense…

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  Brighton Rock 1948

  ★★★★ Watched 02 Mar 2023

  An excellent post-war thriller that plays around with generic convention.

  Here, the abundant on-location crowd scenes flush with natural light and provide a startling juxtaposition to the oppressive melancholia associated with noir movies in their more traditional sense (Detour springs to mind). This ironically makes the criminal element that much more grim; beneath the lively and jovial atmosphere of a seaside resort lurks a brutal underworld which is made disturbing simply by how commonplace it is. Another (possibly unintended) positive…