Author: Michael Thomas

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 Pedro Almodóvar Films

In my head, I had seen a lot of Pedro Almodóvar films. When I actually went and tried to figure out which ones I had seen, I realized I had only watched 1-2 in college and then went to the theater a few years back to watch the very good Pain & Glory. The lasting impressions of my apparently brief dive into his work over the years were mostly that Carmen Maura was very good, Antonio Banderas was very good, and lots and lots of colors. Little did I know what I was getting myself into by diving deep into his work with the knowledge that HBOMax was removing all of his stuff after October 31, 2021. [This list will be updated as more films get watched over the years.]

Films to Watch Still: Labyrinth of Passion, What Have I Done to Deserve This?, Law of Desire, High Heels, Kika, The Flower of My Secret, Live Flesh, Talk to Her, Julieta

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Ranking the Lynne Ramsay Films

Let the great Willow Maclay explain Lynne Ramsay to you:

“In the cinema of Lynne Ramsay, everyday life turns unfamiliar through the shockwaves of horror, grief, and death. Ramsay, with her astute inclination toward expressive visual detail, emphasizes the fallibility of human nature by reckoning with one of its core concerns: mortality. For her, there is no way to escape its looming rot. In her movies, the lead characters, often women, deal with catastrophic events — the death of a loved one, the drowning of a best friend, the aftermath of a school shooting — in their own strange, complicated ways. These people don’t have the answers to life’s greatest challenges, and Ramsay doesn’t expect them to unravel, by her movies’ ends, the profound mysteries of existence. Instead, she focuses on the internal processes required of those trying to move forward in the wake of horror. In her work, the scars from our past continually influence who we are today.”

 

Continue reading Ranking the Lynne Ramsay Films

Ranking the Spike Lee Films

Films Still to Watch: Miracle at St. Anna

Films Still to Rewatch: Jungle Fever

With Spike Lee, there is the style and there is the politics.  That is not to say these things should (or even can) be not discussed together because they are interwoven. You need to discuss the what of Lee films along with the how. The what of Spike’s films are often what draw me to him. The politics cannot be separated, ignored, or coddled because in many ways Spike Lee films feel like essay films. They have a very specific point they are making – regardless of whether or not that this is the point Lee is trying to make.

Continue reading Ranking the Spike Lee Films

Ranking The Shield Seasons

It took me a long time to finally watch The Shield in full. A decade-plus ago I had dipped my toe in the waters but did not get in. I heard all the praise from all the credible sources. I knew I had to get to it. And I finally did this year. I am delighted to report that the show is as good as people say.

 

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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.

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Ranking the James Gunn DCU (Live-Action) Projects

I am not committing to watching all the animated slop coming down the pike. But I am pretty fascinated by what James Gunn is cooking up right now even if it’s not exactly been tailored to my tastes.

 

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