I watched the show week to week while it was on the air, but I never rewatched it once. There was just so much going on with this show, and it was so rich. They truly do not make things like this anymore. And they probably never will again.
Ranking the 28 Days Later Films
The 28 Days/Weeks/Years Later film series is fairly odd as far as franchises go. The first film was from a clearly an attempt at artistry despite being in a classic genre that COULD just be lowest common denominator genre fodder. They established an Alien-like quality where the films are gonna be different in regards to cast and tone and director with the sequel.
But then the franchise seemingly just died after two films due to rights issues. And then it became oddly hard to legally watch the first film unless you had the DVD? Now, all these years later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland have a three-film plan with the first two films shot back to back?? In an age where all studies are desperate to mine IP, it was inevitable they would land back at this franchise. But its path to get there has been odd to say the least.
Ranking the Kogonada Films
Kogonada seems like a true artist whose work can be neatly divided between the work he wrote and the work he was hired to direct. You do not need to guess which avenue has made for interesting art. I look forward to following their career in the years to come.
Ranking the Ang Lee Films
Need to Watch: Ride with the Devil, Lust/Caution, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,
Ang Lee is a pretty interesting filmmaker for a few reasons. He followed the classic late eighties/early nineties path of making small indie movies before increasingly being able to make bigger and bigger movies. On the surface, many of his films seem very different, but they are almost always very thematically connected. He has won multiple Best Director Oscars. And perhaps most importantly, his films show that he is one of the very few filmmakers in the world who can consistently make stories outside his comfort zone and manage to capture truth. Continue reading Ranking the Ang Lee Films
Ranking the Michael Roemer Films
Still Need to Watch: Children of Fate: Life and Death in a Sicilian Family
I had a chance to see Michael Roemer live in 2025, but I could not pull it off and then he died a short while later. That’s gonna be a lifelong regret. What a beautiful filmmaker that deserved to be far more prolific than he ended up being.
There Will Be Movies – Ep. 115: Nickel Boys
We close out another volume of the podcast with a divisive look at the harrowing ‘niche indie movie’/Oscar nominee, Nickel Boys.
We have a spirited debate about the effectiveness of the First Person POV filmmaking and a not-so-spirited look ahead at what we might be podcasting about next.
Continue reading There Will Be Movies – Ep. 115: Nickel BoysRanking the Charles Burnett Films
Still Need to Watch: Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation (if you have access to this film in any way, please let me know! mcthomas216@gmail.com)
Charles Burnett is one of the greatest American directors ever. It is a crime that he has not received funding to make whatever films he wants as often as he wants. You owe it to yourself to watch his films if you have not already.
Ranking the Safdie Brothers Projects
Still Need to Watch: The Pleasure of Being Robbed
The Safdie Brothers have split up, and your boyfriends are very upset about it. Anyway, this living, breathing column will track all the nonsense they get up to as best as possible in the years to come. There appears to be a lot of mystery behind their split and speculation runs rampant. I am not entirely sure of what to make of the split, but I hope there is plenty of work from both of them to explore in the years to come.
Ranking the Todd Haynes Films
Todd Haynes is one of the great living American directors. Few people out there have as consistently captured the tragedy of the United States of America as well as he has done on the big screen.
Ranking the Park Chan-wook Films & Projects
Still to Watch: The Moon Is…the Sun’s Dream, Trio, I’m a Cyborg But That’s Ok, Stoker, The Little Drummer Girl.
Park Chan-wook mostly makes protest novels that vary in effectiveness and quality. His works explicitly take down the the systems that control the world by showing the impact it has on the people. While I rarely love his work, I am never bored by it.
Continue reading Ranking the Park Chan-wook Films & Projects
The Reel World 