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Very engaging and appealing comedy drama has terrific performances, especially from William Hurt and Geena Davis, in her Oscar-winning role.

Watch my new video all about her ing Actress victory!

youtu.be/vKL-X60yCzU?si=2ZDguPWLbLblgXAR

Very dull Depression-era drama has a few good things in it—lovely costumes and production design, solid performances—but the narrative is so lifeless that it never manages to engage, especially on an emotional level.

Bright and colorful animation that pops off the screen is paired with a story so endlessly chaotic and fast-paced honestly I had a headache by the end. It’s obviously a good pick for little kids who need a time-filler for 90 minutes, but for adults this is a hard one to care about.

The first movie to have their name in the title, this one has a promising concept but unfortunately goes nowhere pretty quickly, with only an amusing ending with Costello atop an out-of-control rollercoaster offering any laughs.

Very entertaining, fast-paced comedy is filled with well drawn characters, increasingly outrageous situations, and wonderful performances by the two charismatic leads.

Amusing if overlong comedy marked Janet Leigh’s other 1960 movie besides Psycho and her final project with then-husband Tony Curtis. It’s kind of a flipped True Lies, obviously starring their daughter Jamie Lee Curtis, where Janet believes her husband Tony is an FBI agent when he’s really not. More interesting for trivia buffs, as you can guess by now, than for being a film of any consequence.

I read The Hobbit for the first time since high school and so I’m going through the three Peter Jackson movies, parts two and three for the first time. At least An Unexpected Journey kind of felt like the book! This second installment is chaotic but rarely thrilling, only Smaug at the end giving the film some much-needed life and dramatic stakes. It’s hard to even see much of an adaptation here. There’s clearly only enough in Tolkien’s novel for maybe two films and so Jackson pads the running time with endless action and wall-to-wall CGI effects, not to mention characters that aren’t even in the book. This whole endeavor just feels like a three-movie money grab than it does a genuine attempt to pay Tolkien and The Hobbit justice.

What a fantastic discovery! It’s a little slow at times, and the ending doesn’t entirely stick the landing, but this 1967 drama develops a cool, hypnotic spell with its engaging story, characters, and cinematography.

A great watch. Slow and experimental, not entirely successful, but spooky and powerful at moments, with a particularly harrowing, unexpectedly emotional final scene.

Wes Anderson’s best feature film since The Grand Budapest Hotel! Very funny and creative, and the main trio is a blast to watch.

Check out my video review on The Awards Contender!

youtu.be/YQPDQDNk_Cs?si=VbIkYCSp1Ocva-Yw

A terrific discovery that re-teamed Robert Redford with his Butch Cassidy and Sting director George Roy Hill. The aerial sequences are beautifully shot and truly stunning for 1975, and the film has two disturbing moments involving airplane stunts gone wrong I wasn’t prepared for. There are some lulls in the second half of the film that keep it from being amazing, but overall this one’s well worth watching.

Another step in the right direction for Abbott & Costello. This one in some ways feels like their first true film in that it’s a period costume narrative with solid production value. I liked this one a lot for about thirty minutes, but then it gets bogged down with too much singing and too few jokes. But decent overall.

The first hour of this film is so lovely and funny and surprising that it’s a shame the second half gets bogged down in too much plot and some baffling narrative turns at the end. But there’s so much to love here, especially Robin Williams in his first dramatic role, and Glenn Close, who is spellbinding in her feature film debut. She’s so natural as the mother it’s as if she’d been acting in movies for years.

Pretty lackluster chiller from 1975 has an unhinged early performance from John Hurt and two good violent moments, but for the most part it’s all mood and atmosphere with little tension and substance.

The Wes Anderson ranking video is coming, and sadly this one is (likely) going at the bottom. I hoped I’d like it better on this rewatch, but such was not the case. This seems to be the movie where he becomes a parody of himself, telling a needlessly complicated and sprawling story with dozens of quirky characters that never engages you on an emotional level. The movie is expectedly beautiful to look at—the cinematography and production design are stellar—but the narrative never comes to life, so busy telling you things rather than just playing out organically, this film for me all sound and fury signifying nothing.

A slight step in the right direction, this Abbott & Costello comedy has more plot and funnier comic hijinks than usual, but there’s still too many song-and-dance numbers to pad the running time.

It’s messy and bizarre and too long and wildly irreverent and you know what, sometimes all of that and more make a pretty mesmerizing movie experience. I saw this once in high school and couldn’t really make sense of it. Now I see it for the huge swing of an artistic achievement it is, Julie Taymor unwilling to play it safe and instead go for broke with an amazing ensemble cast, impressive Oscar-nominated costumes, gorgeous cinematography and production design, and often gripping storytelling.

It’s not quite at the level of many of James Cameron’s best films, but there’s a lot to love about The Abyss, especially in the longer Special Edition I recently watched for the first time. Great performances, incredible tension, some amazing Oscar-winning special effects. It’s imperfect to be sure, but The Abyss is overall a fantastic watch.

Check out my new video all about the top ten craziest production stories from the film!

youtu.be/71K_Cm7mHwk?si=4sUn-3Sx5aH9_i9t

What a strikingly gorgeous movie to look at all the way through, with great voice acting especially by Bryan Cranston. As a narrative, however, this film rarely manages to engage, so many characters and plot threads crammed into a running time that seems to go on too long. But I still give credit to Wes Anderson for taking a giant swing with this one and doing something I’m sure nobody expected from him!

I saw this film when I was too young to appreciate it, and now on this second watch (after finally reading the novel for the first time), I am gobsmacked by its brilliance. What a superb adaptation this is, exquisitely shot, scored, edited, and directed. And what an incredible all-star cast led by a never-better Kiera Knightley in her Oscar-nominated role. Judi Dench chews the scenery so magnificently, and the late, great Donald Sutherland brought me to tears at the end. What a lovely, blissfully entertaining work of art.

Janet Leigh’s final film of the 1950s is another mixed bag, one that teams her again with her real life husband at the time Tony Curtis. Leigh has plenty of scenes in this one, but the comic farce of a plot offers few laughs and the narrative never builds any kind of stakes or romantic tension. Leigh’s best film of 1958 by far is Touch of Evil.

Colorful adventure story has some gorgeous cinematography but feels repetitive after awhile and rarely brings any of its many characters to life. It’s fun to see real life couple Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh together again, although Leigh gets very little to do in this one.

Kurosawa apparently needed to make a hit by the end of the 1950s, so he made the more lightweight and entertaining The Hidden Fortress, which famously became a loose inspiration for Star Wars. This is a solid film, well shot and acted throughout (and you definitely feel a little Star Wars from time to time), but I don’t think this one’s quite at the level of most of Kurosawa’s other masterworks of the decade.

I keep searching for a great Abbott & Costello that had to come before Frankenstein (their 22nd movie together), but I still haven’t found it yet. This one has a little more plot than usual, but very few laughs and pretty forced comic hijinks.

A whirlwind creative vision with a marvelous lead performance by Ralph Fiennes. I forgot on this second watch just how stacked the cast was, holy shit, just wall-to-wall talent working together to make this ambitious project come to life. Wes Anderson certainly evolves from movie to movie, and this is one of his crowning achievements.

It’s no wonder there’s not a real Universal monster movie for another eight years after this turkey (unless you count the Abbott & Costello movies). Little tension, no thrills, just a chore to get through.

James Whitmore gives an impressive performance as Harry S. Truman, but this has to be one of the weirdest acting Oscar nominations of all time. I do not consider this a film at all. It is a recorded live theater production with very few cuts and almost no visual flourishes. Whitmore is amazing, talking breathlessly for more than ninety minutes, but because there’s nothing cinematic about the experience, it’s very hard to get through.

First-rate Clint Eastwood thriller of the ‘90s has a ridiculously stacked cast including Gene Hackman, Judy Davis, Ed Harris, and Laura Linney. It’s gripping from the get-go, has an excellent pace, a few surprises. The ending is a little rushed, but otherwise this is a terrific, pretty underrated Eastwood film you should definitely see!

I can be a little cold on many of Wes Anderson’s movies, but not this one. Moonrise Kingdom is one of his very best, a beautiful coming-of-age story filled with humor and heart and an extraordinary sense of place. The third act gets a little too needlessly chaotic, but there’s so much to love here, especially the amazing ensemble cast that includes one of the final great Bruce Willis performances, Lucas Hedges in an early role, and wonderful chemistry between the two talented leads.

The first hour is a poorly edited, never-ending slog of exposition and very little tension, but thankfully the extremely exciting second half of the potentially final Mission: Impossible movie is definitely worth the wait. 

Watch my new video ranking all 8 films in the MI franchise!

youtu.be/bnRyN_Us9Lo?si=KG-nw_-Q_iY5bJHg

Chaplin’s films are such treasures, and such is the case with The Gold Rush, celebrating its 100th anniversary. I tried watching the 1942 “definitive” version with dialogue and sound effects for the first time and just didn’t connect with it, and I decided to re-watch the 1925 silent. This to me is the best version of the movie, with great storytelling, humor, romance, and scope. It’s not City Lights and Modern Times, but The Gold Rush, one of the most popular films of the silent era, remains sublime a century later.

Grand entertainment. Wes Anderson’s magnificent 2009 stop-motion animated feature Fantastic Mr. Fox teamed Meryl Streep with George Clooney, as well as Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Bill Murray. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, Fantastic Mr. Fox is based on Roald Dahl’s beloved 1970 children’s novel about a fox—aptly named Mr. Fox—who every night steals food from three grotesque and mean-spirited farmers: Walter Boggis, Nathaniel Bunce, and Franklin Bean. The men become fed up with Mr. Fox’s shenanigans, so they set out to destroy him, with no idea the fight they’re about to face. Clooney voices the protagonist Mr. Fox, and Streep voices his wife Felicity, mother to little Ash and aunt to Kristofferson, a stern but loving character who wants only the best for her family, especially when it comes to her husband’s questionable safety.

Cate Blanchett was the first choice for Felicity, but she dropped out for undisclosed reasons, and Streep took over the character. She proved to be an inspired choice. Her calm, breathy voice is perfect for Felicity, who has that desirable mix of truth-telling and sweetness, of no-nonsense and stability. A quick stare from her can put any other creature in its place, and so, while Felicity doesn’t get as much screen-time as Mr. Fox, her character leaves an indelible impression on the viewer. It’s unclear how many days Streep worked on this film—with so much time dedicated to her 2008 and 2009 live-action features, it’s likely she completed her work on Fantastic Mr. Fox, which she reportedly did in Paris, in a week or two at most—but no matter her limited involvement, her casting was a masterstroke to this production, which offers similarly great voice work from Clooney, Murray, and especially Michael Gambon as the appalling Franklin Bean.

Fantastic Mr. Fox marked Anderson’s sixth feature as a director, and the umpteenth movie to be made from Dahl’s books. While the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory remains the all-time best (with The Witches and Mathilda close behind), Fantastic Mr. Fox is one of the most entertaining and innovative takes on a Dahl story. Anderson itted in the behind-the-scenes documentary on the DVD that Dahl is one of his favorites of all time and that it was a dream come true to translate one of his books into a movie. Of course, live action would’ve been weird for this story, and stop-motion was ultimately the perfect choice because it gives a tangible quality to the characters and a bright, cheery setting that can only be achieved in camera. The book itself is short at 96 illustrated pages, so Anderson and his co-writer Noah Baumbach had to expand the story, effectively adding a first act and a third act that give more backstory to the central characters. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a lovely, funny, captivating film!

Another lame Abbott & Costello comedy with plenty of hijinks performed against phony projection. It’s their shortest movie to date at just 73 minutes and there are STILL three long singing moments to pad out the running time!

This quiet character drama is a bit too low-key for my liking, but the cinematography is lovely, it’s got a nice sense of place, and Cillian Murphy once again delivers a terrific performance.

This isn’t great cinema, but oh my God did I enjoy nearly every minute of this one. It reminded me of the kind of pulpy adult thrillers we used to get more often in the ‘90s. The ending is a touch unsatisfying and too obvious, but everything until then has a deliciously propulsive quality, the chaotic chemistry between Chastain and Hathaway absolutely fantastic.

One of Richard Burton’s final films is an interesting little curio, with murder and paranoia set at a boarding school. Burton is predictably commanding in the lead role of a priest, but the ending is so anticlimactic that it’s hard to give this one a strong recommendation.

Finally caught up with this one, which premiered at Cannes two years ago and got a limited release in the U.S. in early 2024. Was really taken with the mood of this one, the lovely cinematography and sense of place that gave me vibes of Call Me By Your Name. It’s a little long and meandering, but Josh O’Connor gives a captivating performance, and Isabella Rossellini is much more impressive here than in her Oscar-nominated role in Conclave.

It’s not the first one, of course, which is a masterpiece of ‘70s cinema, but I was really taken with this entertaining sequel which features more compelling and gritty storytelling, another terrific Gene Hackman performance, and a powerfully definitive ending that the original doesn’t deliver.

Super silly live-action Disney film of the early ‘60s has an infectious charm to it, even if it wears out its welcome a bit in the second half. Fred MacMurray is a lot of fun in the lead role.

I liked it a little better this time, but I still think beyond those three incredible action sequences this movie is way too bloated and convoluted, at least a half hour too long and with a cliffhanger non-ending that leaves you unsatisfied. I’m a little nervous about what the nearly three-hour Final Reckoning has in store, but I’m seeing it in just a few hours, fingers crossed I enjoy it more than Dead Reckoning!

Another lackluster Abbott & Costello movie limps along with a razor-thin plot and needless singing, only the finale involving skiing hijinks offering a few chuckles.

Such a stunning achievement of the late 1950s, a rare American film of that era that feels ahead of its time with its dark subject matter and raw energy. I just watched the 1998 restored version for the first time, which was a huge thrill. The plot is convoluted enough that I’ve never been able to love this movie with a capital L, but there’s so much to enjoy about it, especially the gorgeous cinematography and such an exciting ensemble cast, including Dennis Weaver, Marlene Dietrich, and the director Orson Welles himself. And then there’s Janet Leigh, so radiant in this just two years before Psycho. This might not be her best role in a movie to date, but it’s absolutely the best movie she had made up until that time.

What a disappointment. Paul Newman + Sally Field + Sydney Pollack should = greatness, but this turgid drama mostly just limps along to a forgettable ending. It’s part high-stakes journalism drama, part love story, and the movie just never really takes flight. Newman is fine, but he does nothing notable to deserve that Best Actor Oscar nomination. Melinda Dillon, however, is amazing in basically one crucial dramatic scene halfway through the movie, and her ing Actress Oscar nomination is inspired!

I like that after The Life Aquatic, Wes Anderson scaled things down a little for this 90-minute tale with only three major characters instead of his typical giant ensemble. The train also is a significant character too of course, but no matter this movie’s occasional pleasures, it all just feels rather slight and forgettable.

Definitely rivals What Planet Are You From as Mike Nichols’ worst film. Some nice period detail with the sets and costumes, but Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Stockard Channing are all wasted in a pointless story that goes nowhere quickly and is never funny even though I think this is supposed to be a comedy. Shockingly bad.

Reading The Hobbit for the first time since middle school and so I decided to start watching the Peter Jackson films again. There’s a lot to like about the first installment, basically anytime the narrative slows down to have compelling and quiet dialogue scenes between characters we love—the Gollum scene is particularly effective. But the movie is so filled to the brim with CGI effects and large-scale action that the nearly three hours becomes more exhausting than engaging, and it’s wild to reach the end knowing there’s still two more movies to go.

Easily the best of the more recent M:I movies, Fallout is the one they really got right, with breathless action, good humor, and high narrative stakes all the way to the end. The final thirty minutes are truly amazing!

A bad adaptation, poorly written and directed, with a lead actor lacking presence and ugly special effects.

Watch my new Movie Fiasco video about this one on YouTube!

youtu.be/HEMcL-y17HM?si=ayb8BVMS4PhpsJvW

Richard Curtis is a crown jewel of a writer/director, and About Time is another of his gems. The time travel element is handled just right, and the chemistry between Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson is off the charts. I’m always sad this wonderful movie got lost in the shuffle that awards season.

The worst Abbott & Costello movie so far has a very stale plot to sift through that offers few laughs or engaging performances. There’s more singing and dancing too to pad the running time, which is always annoying. Only an amusing scene of horse racing at the end is worth a damn.

Films I’ve watched released in 1975

• Rooster Cogburn
• A Boy and His Dog
• The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
• The Adventures of the Wilderness Family
• At Long Last Love
• Bite the Bullet
• Breakout
• Bug
• Cooley High
• The Day of the Locust

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 2025

• Back in Action
• Wolf Man
• Jimpa
• Omaha
• Bubble & Squeak
• Rabbit Trap
• Atropia
• The Ballad of Wallis Island
• The Thing with Feathers
• Oh, Hi!

...plus 33 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1945

• Brief Encounter
• Dead of Night
• The Lost Weekend
• Mildred Pierce
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Spellbound
• Sanshiro Sugata Part Two
• The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
• House of Dracula
• Here Come the Co-Eds

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1960

• The Mountain Road
• Who Was That Lady?

Films I’ve watched released in 2013

• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Films I’ve watched released in 1967

• Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
• Accident

Films I've watched released in 1982.

• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Poltergeist
• Blade Runner
• Creepshow
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• The Thing
• Tootsie
• 48 Hrs.
• Amityville II: The Possession

...plus 31 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 2021

• The French Dispatch

Films I’ve watched released in 1999

• Titus

Movies i’ve watched released in 2018

• Isle of Dogs

Movies I’ve watched released in 2005

• Pride & Prejudice

Films I’ve watched released in 1958

• Vertigo
• Bell, Book and Candle
• Touch of Evil
• The Hidden Fortress
• The Vikings
• The Perfect Furlough

Films I’ve watched released in 1944.

• Double Indemnity
• Gaslight
• Laura
• Lifeboat
• Meet Me in St. Louis
• None But the Lonely Heart
• To Have and Have Not
• The Uninvited
• The Most Beautiful
• The Mummy's Ghost

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Movies I’ve watched released in 2014

• The Grand Budapest Hotel

Films I’ve watched released in 1946

• It's a Wonderful Life
• No Regrets for Our Youth
• She-Wolf of London

Movies I’ve watched released in 1997

• Absolute Power

Movies I’ve watched released in 2012

• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• Moonrise Kingdom

Movies I’ve watched released in 2009

• Fantastic Mr. Fox

Films I’ve watched released in 2024.

• Power
• Veni Vidi Vici
• Stress Positions
• Between the Temples
• The Outrun
• Sasquatch Sunset
• Exhibiting Forgiveness
• Hit Man
• A Real Pain
• Love Lies Bleeding

...plus 145 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1978

• The Big Sleep
• Holocaust
• The Magic of Lassie
• The Deer Hunter
• Absolution

Films I’ve watched released in 1961

• Two Rode Together
• The Absent-Minded Professor

Films I’ve watched released in 1943.

• Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
• Old Acquaintance
• Phantom of the Opera
• Shadow of a Doubt
• Son of Dracula
• Sanshiro Sugata
• Lassie Come Home
• It Ain't Hay
• Hit the Ice

Movies I’ve watched released in 2007

• The Darjeeling Limited

Movies I’ve watched released in 2018

• Mission: Impossible – Fallout

Films I’ve watched released in 2013

• About Time

Films I’ve watched released in 2002

• Abandon
• About a Boy
• About Schmidt

Films I’ve watched released in 2004

• Birth
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Films I’ve watched released in 2015

• Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Films I’ve watched released in 1957

• The Spirit of St. Louis
• Night age
• The Lower Depths
• Throne of Blood
• Jet Pilot

Films I’ve watched released in 1963

• Take Her, She's Mine
• Twilight of Honor

Films I’ve watched released in 2001

• The Royal Tenenbaums

Films I’ve watched released in 1942.

• Bambi
• Casablanca
• Cat People
• The Magnificent Ambersons
• Now, Voyager
• Saboteur
• Saludos Amigos
• Woman of the Year
• The Ghost of Frankenstein
• Invisible Agent

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 2011

• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Films I’ve watched released in 2005

• Kingdom of Heaven

Films I’ve watched released in 1998

• Rushmore

Films I’ve watched released in 2006

• Mission: Impossible III

Films I’ve watched released in 1971

• Fools' Parade
• The Abominable Dr. Phibes

Films I’ve watched released in 1940.

• Fantasia
• Foreign Correspondent
• The Grapes of Wrath
• His Girl Friday
• Pinocchio
• The Shop Around the Corner
• The Mortal Storm
• No Time for Comedy
• The Philadelphia Story
• The Invisible Man Returns

...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1996

• Two If by Sea
• Before and After
• The Birdcage
• Twister
• Independence Day
• A Time to Kill
• Matilda
• The First Wives Club
• The Long Kiss Goodnight
• Marvin's Room

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1956

• The Man Who Knew Too Much
• Safari

Films I've watched released in 1930.

• All Quiet on the Western Front
• Animal Crackers
• Juno and the Paycock
• Murder!
• The Blue Angel
• Night Owls
• Blotto
• Brats
• Below Zero
• Hog Wild

...plus 3 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 2000

• Mission: Impossible II

Films I've watched released in 1929 or earlier.

• Un Chien Andalou
• Blackmail
• The Broadway Melody
• The Manxman
• The ion of Joan of Arc
• The Circus
• Champagne
• Easy Virtue
• The Farmer's Wife
• Sadie Thompson

...plus 59 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1955

• Strategic Air Command
• The Man from Laramie
• Richard III
• Pete Kelly's Blues
• I Live in Fear
• My Sister Eileen

Movies I’ve watched released in 1949

• The Stratton Story
• Malaya
• Little Women
• The Quiet Duel
• The Red Danube
• The Doctor and the Girl
• Stray Dog
• That Forsyte Woman
• Holiday Affair
• Abandoned

Films I’ve watched released in 1954

• The Glenn Miller Story
• The Far Country
• Rear Window
• Prince Valiant
• Living It Up
• Seven Samurai
• The Black Shield of Falworth
• Rogue Cop

Films I’ve watched released in 1941.

• Citizen Kane
• Dumbo
• High Sierra
• The Maltese Falcon
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith
• Penny Serenade
• Suspicion
• The Wolf Man
• Come Live with Me
• Pot o' Gold

...plus 5 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1995

• Before Sunrise
• In the Mouth of Madness
• Muriel's Wedding
• While You Were Sleeping
• Die Hard With a Vengeance
• The Bridges of Madison County
• Batman Forever
• Apollo 13
• The Net
• Mortal Kombat

...plus 7 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Films I’ve watched released in 1952

• The Greatest Show on Earth
• Bend of the River
• Carbine Williams
• Just This Once
• Scaramouche
• Ikiru
• Fearless Fagan
• Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick

Films I’ve watched released in 1976

• The Shootist
• Carrie