Films Still Need to Watch (But will I bother? Unlikely): Piranha II: The Spawning
James Cameron mostly makes big spectacle films that I find compelling if not wholly satisfying. Here is how I rank them. Continue reading Ranking the James Cameron Films
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.
Films to Rewatch: Intolerable Cruelty
I have gone on a journey with the Coen Brothers throughout almost my entire life. I was introduced to (some of) their films at a very early (probably too early) age, and I have been watching them ever since. At one point though, I grew rather cold on them. I am not sure exactly, but I consistently found myself feeling “over” them when I attempted to watch anything by them. Then Adam Nayman’s book rekindled my interest in them, and I realized what elements of them I adore and which don’t hit.
Noah Baumbach has evolved over the last three decades into one of the best modern writer/directors in the United States. He knows his voice. He knows his lane. He knows what he knows. And he does it all very well.
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
ONGOING FLUID PROJECT (ie: to be updated continuously yet sporadically)
Unwatched: It’s Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books, Blue Moon
Let the great Willow Maclay explain Lynne Ramsay to you:
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.
Ranking Kelly Reichardt films is an absolutely fool’s errand. Every time I watch one of them I think, “That has got to be one of her better ones.” Anyway, I am a fool, so…
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.
Continue reading Ranking the James Gunn DCU (Live-Action) Projects
The Reel World 