Author: Michael Thomas

Ranking the Humphrey Bogart/John Huston Collaborations

Of all the legendary director/lead pairings, it seems to me that John Huston’s work with Humphrey Bogart is a bit unheralded all things considered. I suppose author Danny Ledger thought the same thing and wrote a book about their work together: ‘A Reasonable Amount of Trouble…’ – The Films of John Huston & Humphrey Bogart. This article only discusses and ranks the films Huston directed. Huston also wrote a couple of films that Bogart was in.

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Ranking the Wong Kar-wai Films

Wong Kar-wai seems to hold an infamous status with many fans of film. I am here to report that I mostly think – after diving through every feature film of his – I think he’s mostly way too much bark and not nearly enough bite. He has got a great visual sense, but its impact is dulled over time. Many of his films feel like they are less than sum of its parts. It has been interesting and rewarding to go through all of his films, but I do doubt I will rewatch many of them. So it goes.

 

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Ranking the House of the Dragon Seasons

I was NOT going to watch this show. The final four seasons of Game of Thrones ended up being such a failed gamble that I had decided I had had my fill of HBO adapting these stories, and I would just stick to the books. Whoops. I got sucked back in.

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Ranking A Song of Ice & Fire Television Seasons

Game of Thrones was a genuine cultural phenomenon. Given how badly it ended, you might forget there was a point when it was perfectly fun genre television. I would even say it’s worth going back and watching some of it. And shockingly enough, the spinoff shows are intriguing so far. Find out which seasons were worth the time.

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Ranking the Brian De Palma Films

Brian De Palma is one of the greatest directors ever. After years of dismissing him out of hand due to a bad early impression his films made on me, I have thankfully and finally re-visited him and seen the light. He has made some of the most sincerely fascinating and compelling films that I have ever seen.

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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