Ranking the Ang Lee Films

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 Christopher Nolan Films

“Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.”

Christopher Nolan is a fascinating director. He is perhaps best understood by comparing his first film (Following) and his most recent film, at the time of original publication (Tenet). Both films best capture what he seems to value most in movies: mood & atmosphere. He is not a plot-detailed oriented director. At least, there is little to no evidence to suggest he values that. He cares about the feeling watching a movie gives you. The story of his films is the pull between that desire to pursue focusing on a film’s vibes and Hollywood conventions that focus more on plot and traditional means of characterization. The results have been mixed to say the least but rarely boring. Continue reading Ranking the Christopher Nolan Films

Ranking the Boots Riley Film & Television Projects

Boots Riley is an unapologetically communist artist who is making art attacking United States capitalism and imperialism. That makes him worthy of admiration automatically. I will be tracking his films and television shows here.

 

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Ranking The Mummy Films

With the inevitable Mummy legacy-sequel in the works, I felt it was best to establish what the franchise has produced thus far. You basically have a great first film, a sequel that is essentially a remake and better in many ways (but missing the feeling of “new”), and then a disastrous follow-up years later.  Continue reading Ranking The Mummy Films

Ranking the Seasons of The Comeback

Lisa Kudrow defeated the Friends curse creatively very quickly after Friends ended. The show was initially skewered for the most part, but it developed a good reputation over time and eventually came back for two more seasons about a decade apart.

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Ranking the Abbott Elementary Seasons

Abbott Elementary is a very critically successful show and is winning lots of awards. I was hesitant to check out the show due to the fact that a show about teaching in a United States city is something I have been doing for a long time, and I just assumed the show would annoy me more than entertain me.

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Ranking the Werner Herzog Fiction Films

Herzog Articles
Ranking the Werner Herzog Documentaries
Ranking the Werner Herzog Fiction Films
Review of Werner Herzog’s The Twilight World
Ranking the Nosferatu Films

Still Need to Watch: Signs of Life, Scream of Stone, Invincible, The Wild Blue Yonder, Salt and Fire

Werner Herzog is one the greatest filmmakers ever. He has made some of the most astounding films of all time. I love (much of) his work dearly.

Continue reading Ranking the Werner Herzog Fiction Films