Letterboxd 4v3r4n Ruth Scouller https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/ Letterboxd - Ruth Scouller How to Blow Up a Pipeline 334i5e 2022 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline/ letterboxd-watch-913480988 Thu, 12 Jun 2025 00:03:52 +1200 2025-06-11 No How to Blow Up a Pipeline 2022 3.5 1008048 <![CDATA[

6u532b

Watched on Wednesday June 11, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Backs to the Blast 5n5e2k An Australian Nuclear Story, 1981 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/backs-to-the-blast-an-australian-nuclear-story/ letterboxd-watch-913382269 Wed, 11 Jun 2025 19:31:34 +1200 2025-06-11 No Backs to the Blast: An Australian Nuclear Story 1981 3.5 1135551 <![CDATA[

Watched on Wednesday June 11, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Look 4a5v64 Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman, 2006 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/look-up-in-the-sky-the-amazing-story-of-superman/ letterboxd-watch-913260115 Wed, 11 Jun 2025 15:37:44 +1200 2025-06-11 No Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman 2006 3.5 24479 <![CDATA[

Watched on Wednesday June 11, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Superman IV 4x4z2d The Quest for Peace, 1987 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/superman-iv-the-quest-for-peace/ letterboxd-review-912650236 Wed, 11 Jun 2025 11:23:12 +1200 2025-06-10 No Superman IV: The Quest for Peace 1987 3.0 11411 <![CDATA[

It's fine guys. Just another entry in a consistent quadrilogy. The Golan-Globus factor seemingly hasn't helped its reputation and made it an easy target for those with an axe to grind. If your notion of a Supe film is that it must be a studio flagship big screen bonanza of record expense shot in real locations with Hollywood crews and maybe with an intermission thrown in there, then you might be really peeved with this. But from a small screen series watch in 2025, I don’t much care for any of that prestige and cultural symbolism, an entry like The Quest for Peace will do the trick.

I when I was five or six my best friend had seen the film and explained to me his cherished figurine of Nuclear Man, and whenever we pretended to be TMNT or Power Rangers or Captain Planet or whatever Nuclear Man got a run as well. I often played the part of Nuclear Man against his Supe. Took thirty years to see it but I got there in the end.

We are shifting into the (pre-pre-)modern era of superhero films here, just on the cusp of a wave of them, yet still very eighties (there's the latter stages of the Cold War with a plea for disarmament peace, a Murdoch media mogul, a Rocky IV-esque rumble, solar power, shoulder pads fashion, etc.) as well as the usual screwballing, and a more pronounced reflection on Supe's role, forbidden to dictate and intervene into world affairs as a supreme being. Some more modern faces showing up like Cryer and Broadbent.

Ends the series on a very evil note, dropping someone into quarry labour prison and saying see you in twenty years. No one deserves that fate.

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Ruth Scouller
Superman III 5i1l1r 1983 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/superman-iii/ letterboxd-review-912423826 Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:57:48 +1200 2025-06-10 No Superman III 1983 3.5 9531 <![CDATA[

Looooved the first two acts, was ready to declare this the best in the franchise, unfortunately the finale with the rockets and missile and supercomputer and acid tipped over into the too cartoony for a picture that otherwise had just the right balance of goof. Would've also liked just a fraction more fleshing out of Webster, Vera & Lorelai who leave you wanting more. But just a joy to see a hilarious Superman film, a Lester-Pryor showcase. Not every moment executes, few scenes you'd change a tad, but it's a hoot, and as megafan LBer robyn so eloquently describes, it understands what it essentially is.

I'm a fan of 1983's Octopussy, Never Say Never Again and Superman III, something about making a big silly film at this particular point of time just works and speaks to me. That they are all oft-derided explains why we can't have nice things.

Smallville's Martha used to be Lana? Neat!

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Ruth Scouller
Superman II g2o6c 1980 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/superman-ii/ letterboxd-review-911713536 Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:44:30 +1200 2025-06-09 No Superman II 1980 3.5 8536 <![CDATA[

A superior sequel, partly shot back-to-back with the original but you can feel the difference. Has some actual character depth, weighty choices, weighty stakes, camp aplenty. This is the Kidder's Lois Supe film, she gets a lot more to work with and is the beating heart. Terence Stamp a lot of fun. Enjoyed the Niagara stuff, the Diner stuff. I have a big soft spot for Lex Luthor, always have, always will. A little patchy in certain areas (by virtue of the production), the recap is a bit long (with awkward cutting around Brando) and the detonation portal release in space is a bit chancey, but overall the best Superman film to date.

Also, villains in the White House (who seem to think they command the planet by default) suddenly announcing they want to rule Australia *eek* too relevant.

Also note there is a Michael Shannon here in the cast of a Zod film

And Lester>>>>Donner. Lester is a superior and funnier filmmaker (with Salkinds runs on the board), I have zero interest in seeing the Donner Cut.

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Ruth Scouller
Daft Punk Unchained 2b1s3l 2015 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/daft-punk-unchained/ letterboxd-watch-911623125 Mon, 9 Jun 2025 19:37:54 +1200 2025-06-09 No Daft Punk Unchained 2015 3.5 346401 <![CDATA[

Watched on Monday June 9, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Superman 666j4u 1978 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/superman/1/ letterboxd-review-910637427 Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:35:04 +1200 2025-06-08 Yes Superman 1978 3.5 1924 <![CDATA[

Going to do some short'n'quick ones on this films series. Note, I'm a cinema enthusiast (rather than the comics/Star Wars/graphics geek type) so adjust accordingly in case of perceived blasphemy with overhate lore. Also note I find that these films reflect the filmmaking eras they were released in, which might influence preferences.

Less enthused on this revisit than last time. Mostly set-up, not as deep with character, more humourless, drags. Coasts on the Brando presence (who relative to the rest of the picture almost earns the paycheque). The various opening credits indicate they are throwing money towards clout more than anything. Late 70s as the Sci-Fi blockbuster takes off, so looooooong distended tediously dated opening credits which continue to plague the series. We don't even arrive at Earth until 22 minutes in (not necessarily a bad thing). The sudden timejump to Daily Planet. The supervillain scheme is dealt with quickly. The only feeling that comes through strongly is the Kal-El orphan finding his calling (largely thanks to Brando), the rest treads water.

Certainly a good superhero film, a proof of concept, but dropped in my estimation.

Truth, Justice and the American Way...2025 would like a word.

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Ruth Scouller
The General 463q4s 1926 - ★★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-general/ letterboxd-review-910426295 Mon, 9 Jun 2025 11:07:51 +1200 2025-06-08 No The General 1926 4.5 961 <![CDATA[

Was quibbling whether to give this 4 or 4.5, right on that line, but as an enthusiast of train cinema I can't help but put it over the top. It isn't quite as brilliant and cherished as something like Sherlock Jr. can be, but it's tackling a different kind of mode anyway (people flock to these masters of silent comedies from diverse angles afterall), and like many a modern viewer had me going *point* Fury Road! The commitment to the great chase there and back again and the period setting capture is irably complete, you can feel the bigger budget and onus of historical adaptation and it achieves all it envisions doing.

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Ruth Scouller
The Way of the Gun 3hq3j 2000 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-way-of-the-gun/ letterboxd-watch-909595805 Sun, 8 Jun 2025 00:11:19 +1200 2025-06-07 No The Way of the Gun 2000 3.0 1619 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday June 7, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Birdeater 3v6x69 2023 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/birdeater/ letterboxd-watch-909495934 Sat, 7 Jun 2025 20:10:46 +1200 2025-06-07 No Birdeater 2023 3.5 1114137 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday June 7, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Seriously Red 633e1f 2022 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/seriously-red/ letterboxd-watch-909370145 Sat, 7 Jun 2025 16:09:59 +1200 2025-06-07 No Seriously Red 2022 3.0 819504 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday June 7, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Odds Against Tomorrow l3326 1959 - ★★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/odds-against-tomorrow/1/ letterboxd-watch-908581295 Fri, 6 Jun 2025 17:28:03 +1200 2025-06-06 Yes Odds Against Tomorrow 1959 4.0 26983 <![CDATA[

Watched on Friday June 6, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
The Essence of the Game 143114 2009 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-essence-of-the-game-2009/ letterboxd-watch-908404180 Fri, 6 Jun 2025 12:33:30 +1200 2025-06-06 No The Essence of the Game 2009 3.5 41458 <![CDATA[

Watched on Friday June 6, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Force of Evil 482820 1948 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/force-of-evil/ letterboxd-watch-907923445 Thu, 5 Jun 2025 23:07:03 +1200 2025-06-05 No Force of Evil 1948 3.5 26744 <![CDATA[

Watched on Thursday June 5, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Million Dollar Mermaid 38255z 1952 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/million-dollar-mermaid/ letterboxd-watch-907858905 Thu, 5 Jun 2025 19:59:36 +1200 2025-06-05 No Million Dollar Mermaid 1952 3.0 43189 <![CDATA[

Watched on Thursday June 5, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Venus of the South Seas 3q715t 1924 - ★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/venus-of-the-south-seas/ letterboxd-review-907142769 Thu, 5 Jun 2025 14:19:24 +1200 2025-06-04 No Venus of the South Seas 1924 2.5 314104 <![CDATA[

Truthfully just a two star effort (not enough swimming content, and mediocre even by pearl lugger B pic standards), but nudge it up that extra half star given this is tragically the only one of Annette Kellerman's five features to have largely survived the vagaries of time intact (a few being casualties of the 1937 Fox vault fire), so it does come with some considerable priceless value in seeing her do her thing ('Perfect Woman' in her signature one-piece, aqua ballet fantasy, action hero stuntwoman, etc.), plus the novelties of an early example of a feature location shoot in New Zealand and one of the last films to include some Prizma. One can assume the more renowned previous four (when she was younger), particularly the Brenons, were more notable cinematic productions and (despite this proto-Aquacade mermaid kitsch being a visionary but dated box office fad) bigger losses to modern audiences, but there are enchanting moments here between her underwater grace and the underwater cinematography (both in Picton Sound and the Nelson Reservoir). It was low budget with mostly local actors, and her husband is listed as the director of the film (he was indeed present but haven't found any confirmation of who actually directed it, seems like they were just sent a partial crew of professionals and otherwise made-do). A decade later in 1933 when they were filming for months on the Great Barrier Reef, and despite their having been closely associated since the Chicago White City days of 1906, he himself still hadn't bothered to learn to swim then and still relied on filming her via diving bell, underwater viewing pane and tank. So yeah, Venus of the South Seas isn't great, but it's sadly virtually all we have left of the silent film star phase of Annette Kellerman save scattered other reel snippets, and derives a little preciousness from that.

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Ruth Scouller
Odds Against Tomorrow l3326 1959 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/odds-against-tomorrow/ letterboxd-watch-907116710 Wed, 4 Jun 2025 22:34:42 +1200 2025-06-04 No Odds Against Tomorrow 1959 3.5 26983 <![CDATA[

Watched on Wednesday June 4, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Baseball 2vx73 The Tenth Inning, 2010 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/baseball-the-tenth-inning-2010/ letterboxd-watch-906820593 Wed, 4 Jun 2025 12:48:14 +1200 2025-06-04 No Baseball: The Tenth Inning 2010 3.5 42595 <![CDATA[

Watched on Wednesday June 4, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Drugstore Cowboy 4h1b40 1989 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/drugstore-cowboy/ letterboxd-review-906312411 Wed, 4 Jun 2025 11:19:13 +1200 2025-06-03 No Drugstore Cowboy 1989 3.0 476 <![CDATA[

One of those cases where this feels like a film that would've felt much more special at the time. What seems more familiar nowadays was more rarefied then, especially when this fully formed. ire how they pulled off the natural story flow they were going for, adored Yeoman's photography throughout, and a lot of the cast are evidently enjoying themselves immensely, like that first shot of Remar as the bleary cop with the styrofoam coffee, it just takes one glance at him to see how much fun he is going to have with it. If I was a Gen X who saw this at a formative time in 1989, it would mean a lot more, but from 2025 the influential aspects here have been diluted, and the lesser elements harder to overlook. Gave it much the same rating as Jesus' Son. GVS's subsequent My Own Private Idaho just has that little bit more going for it. Still, it's a novelty to see an eighties film starring Heather Graham and Max Perlich.

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Ruth Scouller
The Ox 3mx2b Bow Incident, 1943 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-ox-bow-incident/ letterboxd-review-906147689 Sun, 8 Jun 2025 11:00:34 +1200 2025-06-03 No The Ox-Bow Incident 1943 3.5 980 <![CDATA[

I like Wellman's cinematic idea of being dropped into the excitement of a live posse formation where details are scattered and emotions are running high, and at crucial moments of deepening measures he uses camera movement for a sense of immersive observance set in train. It's a great people watch film as a gallery of genre types are each etched a little different, the sheer witness of faces (including bad actors and the sincerely vengeful), and in the present climate where a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes the breakneck gallop to outpace the gaps of evidence and a more sober adjudication in order to apply peer pressure and enact a righteous rite-of-age definitely resonates something fierce. Has both a bitter aftertaste and a cyclical presentation, and universal enough so that you can imagine this call to arms scenario playing out on any old day in your own community.

Ultimately though, it felt a bit like a good example of that insists upon itself phrase (which I've never used until this moment). It's fine, hits the intended target, a worthy member of the Fonda preachy court-related pictures, very 12 Angry Men. It proceeds and ends much as expected. Wellman has made many better, but it's a good film. Might be a more significant film to American audiences who you'd think would have slotted this somewhere in their curriculum.

There must be ghost stories of posses who were baited to dash headlong into the forsaken hills or plains right into a trap and mysteriously never returned, and are said to haunt the conscience of a guilty traveler.

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Ruth Scouller
The 13th Floor 4157x 1988 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-13th-floor/ letterboxd-watch-905462856 Tue, 3 Jun 2025 01:01:25 +1200 2025-06-02 No The 13th Floor 1988 3.0 128896 <![CDATA[

Watched on Monday June 2, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Way Down East 1t4m3w 1920 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/way-down-east/ letterboxd-watch-905335649 Mon, 2 Jun 2025 19:31:19 +1200 2025-06-02 No Way Down East 1920 3.5 31509 <![CDATA[

Watched on Monday June 2, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Taras Bulba 36576q 1962 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/taras-bulba/ letterboxd-watch-903328598 Sat, 31 May 2025 23:48:17 +1200 2025-05-31 No Taras Bulba 1962 3.5 43012 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday May 31, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
The Field 344o1k 1990 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-field/ letterboxd-review-903327692 Sun, 8 Jun 2025 10:18:11 +1200 2025-05-31 No The Field 1990 3.5 31651 <![CDATA[

Finely acted and thematically robust Irish rural drama with a couple powerful scenes, but ultimately the stage origins become too conspicuously contrived in cinematic translation, the latter stages failing to convince, scenes that might possibly be merely referred to on page and stage (?) are instead depicted to less poetic and detrimental effect.

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Ruth Scouller
Miami Blues 5k6b5n 1990 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/miami-blues/ letterboxd-watch-903327491 Sat, 31 May 2025 23:45:47 +1200 2025-05-31 No Miami Blues 1990 3.5 14931 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday May 31, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Under Fire 6v2n48 1983 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/under-fire/ letterboxd-watch-903033321 Sat, 31 May 2025 14:31:50 +1200 2025-05-31 No Under Fire 1983 3.5 12503 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday May 31, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Trapeze e604h 1956 - ★★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/trapeze/ letterboxd-watch-902878378 Sat, 31 May 2025 10:54:39 +1200 2025-05-31 Yes Trapeze 1956 4.5 40494 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday May 31, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Woman of Straw hvk 1964 - ★★★½ (contains spoilers) https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/woman-of-straw/ letterboxd-review-902414936 Tue, 3 Jun 2025 11:10:13 +1200 2025-05-30 No Woman of Straw 1964 3.5 4999 <![CDATA[

This review may contain spoilers.

Very evil example of the homme fatale (and maybe viewer expectations when those gendered tables are turned and the female patsy is treated so pitilessly). The final scene comes off like an ad-hoc studio concession to leaven such a dark end (which makes the film more interesting than it really is), and isn't terribly convincing given the prior finesse of an elaborate plot. Appears to have been filmed directly before Marnie, then Goldfinger, with Connery very much in the JB mold here, charming, servile, poker-faced and icy (ultimately one of his roles with a more menacing aftertaste, think The Offence). Decent piece of casting for Lollobrigida, and Ralph Richardson predictably dominates in the archetype of the rich tyrannical invalid practically pleading to be offed. Dearden and co do a decent job with the rote material, has all the trappings like a country estate murder investigation, a Mallorca yacht holiday with a quick wedding and will change pending, a bit of Weekend at Bernie's, bouts of nasty mistreatment and earned mellowing, and the posterity pairing of two major sex symbols.

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Ruth Scouller
The Gallant Hours 4234d 1960 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-gallant-hours/ letterboxd-watch-902414792 Fri, 30 May 2025 23:16:25 +1200 2025-05-30 No The Gallant Hours 1960 3.5 99345 <![CDATA[

Watched on Friday May 30, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
The Beguiled j441h 1971 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-beguiled/ letterboxd-review-902414655 Wed, 4 Jun 2025 10:45:35 +1200 2025-05-30 No The Beguiled 1971 3.0 31906 <![CDATA[

Yep, prefer the Sofia, an astute selection of a film that could be remade better in the right hands. The difference isn't stark, the Siegel works and has a lot of enjoyable turns and appreciable points of difference, but Sofia has a better read and handle on it, all the changes that Sofia made and her deepening complexity of the scenario were on point, and Farrell & Dunst in particular are just superior castings. Siegel was a good filmmaker but you will get a more intriguing and tighter auteurist work from Sofia.

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Ruth Scouller
Juggernaut 2h464b 1974 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/juggernaut-1974/ letterboxd-watch-902414490 Fri, 30 May 2025 23:15:37 +1200 2025-05-30 No Juggernaut 1974 3.5 29805 <![CDATA[

Watched on Friday May 30, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Alexander the Great o2235 1956 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/alexander-the-great/ letterboxd-watch-902121253 Fri, 30 May 2025 13:19:37 +1200 2025-05-30 No Alexander the Great 1956 3.0 42668 <![CDATA[

Watched on Friday May 30, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Barbershop 5b52b 2002 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/barbershop/ letterboxd-watch-901568335 Thu, 29 May 2025 23:08:28 +1200 2025-05-29 No Barbershop 2002 3.5 10611 <![CDATA[

Watched on Thursday May 29, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
42 6r3c1r 2013 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/42/ letterboxd-watch-901566357 Thu, 29 May 2025 23:06:13 +1200 2025-05-29 No 42 2013 3.0 109410 <![CDATA[

Watched on Thursday May 29, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Pork Chop Hill 4n6h5w 1959 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/pork-chop-hill/ letterboxd-watch-901465976 Thu, 29 May 2025 18:30:39 +1200 2025-05-29 No Pork Chop Hill 1959 3.0 37305 <![CDATA[

Watched on Thursday May 29, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
My Childhood 3b3o3l My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan, 2021 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/my-childhood-my-country-20-years-in-afghanistan/ letterboxd-watch-901341030 Thu, 29 May 2025 14:57:43 +1200 2025-05-29 No My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan 2021 3.5 837383 <![CDATA[

Watched on Thursday May 29, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Snowtown 28i1z 2011 - ★★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/snowtown/1/ letterboxd-review-900749524 Thu, 29 May 2025 12:46:38 +1200 2025-05-28 Yes Snowtown 2011 4.0 67748 <![CDATA[

Last time I watched this it was still Kurzel’s only film. It definitely had more of a disturbing impact on me at the time (maybe knowing less about the details of the case come the rug pull, and I would seem to be a relatively more desensitised viewer nowadays, not fazed as heavily by screen depiction, as well as more acquired towards the distinct Kurzel tone which is in full vibe here), yet it remains very unsettling, the forsaken setting of bleak abandonment, the sudden reveals which speak volumes, the slowly grasping subjectivity, the paranoid offscreen suggestion (that scene with the two bricks is one of the hardest things to watch here).

From the standpoint of 2025 the timeless power achingly comes through. Upon release you could read this as a parallel thematically spanning the recent Dubya era arc, and it applies even more pervasively now to the playbook of the no-masks Trumpian era. This could happen anywhere, anytime, macro or micro, with the creep, escalation, indoctrination and capitulation articulating these contours and closing exits masterfully.

Kurzel’s most impressive work outside of Nitram, and it retrospectively has a clarifying way of bringing his whole career together. The kind of notorious (period) subjects he perennially tackles, bravely penetrating what remote formative winding trails can give rise to bloodbath manifestations and expansively inhabiting them from a grounded social psychological lens of raw understanding, the thoughtful way he authentically illuminates overlooked distorting groomed cycles of violence, the warning signals gone undetected, unshakeable abuses, the attested grievances and manifesto falsities, the enabling silence of the flock. Kurzel is a self-styled cinematic neighborhood watchman, educating us on the limitation gap, negligence, frailty and nurture often accompanying perpetrated evil deeds, that violence is violence, cruelty is cruelty, inhumanity is inhumanity, injustice is injustice. You can seek to understand true-crime snaps of violence if you dignify the various interacting subjects and the societal circumstances in which they reside, rather than resorting to cheap ploys that don’t help and push away solutions like sensationalism, glamorisation, populist overreaction, tragedy exploitation, demonisation, exclusion and excess. The unresolved traumas of recent history haunt the sculpted misshapen form of the present, with various complacent forms of culturally condoned violence still generationally recent enough to give one pause.

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Ruth Scouller
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes 2p3t71 1970 - ★★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/the-private-life-of-sherlock-holmes/ letterboxd-watch-900595981 Wed, 28 May 2025 18:13:51 +1200 2025-05-28 No The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes 1970 4.0 5185 <![CDATA[

Watched on Wednesday May 28, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Out of It wv51 1969 - ★★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/out-of-it-1969/ letterboxd-watch-900390243 Wed, 28 May 2025 13:07:22 +1200 2025-05-28 No Out of It 1969 4.0 149619 <![CDATA[

Watched on Wednesday May 28, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Baseball 2vx73 1994 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/baseball/ letterboxd-review-899817933 Sun, 1 Jun 2025 10:52:48 +1200 2025-05-27 No Baseball 1994 3.5 19215 <![CDATA[

The greatest strength/failing of this Burns on Baseball is that about 90-95% of the romantic sentiments from the talking heads towards this so-called 'national pastime' could seamlessly apply to any national pastime of similar standing around the world. You don't have to be specifically conversant in baseball (I recognise maybe a dozen names and clubs and a few hoodoos and scandals and anthems but had no linear grasp before watching this, which I found educative and colourful). To me, softball with a sprinkling of baseball was just a fun occasional option for the pre-teen (middle school) cohort in a country where it barely exists and only a creative few could potentially derive a living off it minus a port. I've never in my life seen an MLB game in full, possibly once or twice in the Olympics. Like most bat'n'ball sports (save more leisurely lawn games like golf & croquet), the ball is served up and will likely be coming back after you hit it, and there is some running involved. As per title, it is the plethora of bases that sets it apart from other professional sports of similar stature (a disarming feature rooted in various schoolyard games, or roll'n'move circular board games). I spent this eighteen hours with half my brain soaking up the history of baseball, and the other half conferring with the applicable for me (Australia has several contenders, including the comparable cricket, and more personally there is the alike fandom of Aussie Rules and tennis, but over this parallel timeline you would have to point to swimming as the best answer for 'national pastime', given the coastline population, the cultural popularity of various water activities, the useful skill that can save lives and keep healthy, the relative glorified status some swimmers have enjoyed, the influence overseas of various exponents dating back to the colonial nineteenth century, etc.; learning to swim is a cultural mandate and the finest answer). This universality and redolence in pitch helps Baseball to find more international appeal than that other epic Civil War (as does the recency, living talking heads breaking forth from their documented archival come the fifth episode). But it is also the failing, so unspecific and complacent (that naive hyper-inwardness of perspective that marks all Burns documentaries) that it becomes vaporous, super-casual, more about the vibe this sport has provided than the nitty gritty of the sport itself. But in doing so with such transportable accessibility it achieves something noble, gushing of the cultural function this vehicle provides, filtered in a pastoral writerly manner that feels true to the notion of baseball itself. Also can't help but think that if gridiron was any of the other more attractive variants of football, then baseball would be long forgotten to niche status by now, rather than this steady attrition, a lucky stroke baseball can be thankful for.

Yet, the development of this game from humble beginnings to the then present is richly absorbing, and throughout it is a shining (parody-ripe) example of the use of talking heads, that side was expertly done. Given the feeling and jockeying involved in crafting such a history it won't please all comers (being a noob I enjoyed the presence of the likes of Billy Crystal, Doris Kearns Goodwin & Mario Cuomo, people who aren't primarily known for baseball but represent the life-shaping ion of millions, and reflect the often multi-faceted journeys of many players depicted). Something disarming about the Ken Burns works is that they feel like a Cinematic Universe. His future subjects were likely guest stars (underexplored tangents) in a previous work, you can readily predict them and won't be surprised (arguably already the case when this was released three decades ago). It is very comic book, the big name pillars, the assembled teams, the publishers, the spinoffs, etc. Burns favours the big legends of yore that you can't swerve out of the way of, and Baseball interweaves across various of his other projects, in the locations, the players, the epochs, the racism, the innovations, the national character. If you like a sport as much as these folk love baseball, can relate, experience life through it, ride their highs and lows, then you'll be good here and won't find it too exotic and perplexing and longwinded.

This log regards the 1994 E1-9, working through the 2010 addition now which I'll regard separately.

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Ruth Scouller
Caravaggio 31970 1986 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/caravaggio/ letterboxd-watch-899726532 Tue, 27 May 2025 19:01:45 +1200 2025-05-27 No Caravaggio 1986 3.5 20537 <![CDATA[

Watched on Tuesday May 27, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Hostile Witness 1z391e 1968 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/hostile-witness/ letterboxd-watch-899408356 Tue, 27 May 2025 11:34:04 +1200 2025-05-27 No Hostile Witness 1968 3.5 89092 <![CDATA[

Watched on Tuesday May 27, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Bronson 2u301h 2008 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/bronson/ letterboxd-review-898812484 Tue, 27 May 2025 12:27:30 +1200 2025-05-26 Yes Bronson 2008 3.5 18533 <![CDATA[

Refn's most impressive by some distance. Ultimately a bit lacking in certain areas (typical director preoccupations and characterisations), but an invigorating Dostoevsky Carnivalesque of Chopper via A Clockwork Orange, where the brawler gravitates towards calling prison home, reshaping, painting and mirroring cramped surroundings into a one-man stage (everyone has a vaudeville act within them). Gets its various points and conflicts across purposefully enough, although could've taken it a bit deeper and further. Risen in my esteem since last viewing, stands up.

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Ruth Scouller
Black Orpheus 1q3822 1959 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/black-orpheus/ letterboxd-watch-898621366 Mon, 26 May 2025 16:18:41 +1200 2025-05-26 No Black Orpheus 1959 3.0 40423 <![CDATA[

Watched on Monday May 26, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Claire's Camera 5f6o6f 2017 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/claires-camera/ letterboxd-review-898481778 Mon, 26 May 2025 13:50:22 +1200 2025-05-26 No Claire's Camera 2017 3.5 432507 <![CDATA[

Is the Cannes Diary a recognised subgenre yet? Because I feel like there are hundreds of these by now (usually finding myself well-disposed to them). HSS clearly knows this particular terrain well, with many winks throughout, whereas much of his cinema of slight variations (think a chronology of live performances) tends towards the middling almost-cinema, here he slots in seamlessly upon very fertile ground, understandably so as someone living festival to festival. From the opening moments I got the immediate impression this was a top-gear outlier for HSS, the interactions are bangers throughout, shot-for-shot very stimulating, the titular function very conducive to interpretation, nods aplenty, nary a detail callback inflection wasted, no cutting room floor filler. Refreshing to see a HSS film actually worthy of some festival adulation and masterful notices, the accompanying celebratory burst of colour (and language) no happy accident. Of the fourteen I've seen to date this was by far the most impressive.

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Ruth Scouller
A Perfect Murder 3m6u69 1998 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/a-perfect-murder/ letterboxd-review-897695157 Sun, 25 May 2025 23:33:19 +1200 2025-05-25 Yes A Perfect Murder 1998 3.5 1965 <![CDATA[

Enjoyed this one a couple times in the years following release and glad to see it still works a fun treat. Different enough from Dial M to feel its own separate thing (as well as a stylish 90s thriller of its day). Douglas and Paltrow (and Suchet) doing exactly the kind of roles you wanted from them then, plus a slippery lover part from Mortensen (this was the 'that guy' role he was most broadly identifiable with in the recent mainstream when career-changer FotR came along). The three characters are all palpably under the pump in one way or another (even if they don't readily let it on), lives at critical junctures navigating slim margins and presenting falsehoods that could come crashing down on them. Their interrelations quietly linger with you more than anything else here. A negative is the generic final confrontation, which felt very rushed and could've been executed a lot better, too reliant on cracking open a safe and physical scuffle, was craving something more warily open-ended or abrupt. Whilst it succumbs to a disposable finish, the selling points here carry it through.

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Ruth Scouller
Tin Cup 2i5xm 1996 - ★★★ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/tin-cup/ letterboxd-watch-897170360 Sun, 25 May 2025 11:14:33 +1200 2025-05-25 No Tin Cup 1996 3.0 10478 <![CDATA[

Watched on Sunday May 25, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Don't Say a Word 1a6o3w 2001 - ★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/dont-say-a-word/ letterboxd-watch-896584867 Sat, 24 May 2025 23:01:27 +1200 2025-05-24 No Don't Say a Word 2001 2.5 12103 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday May 24, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
Gulpilil 6f1n3j One Red Blood, 2002 - ★★★½ https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/film/gulpilil-one-red-blood/ letterboxd-watch-896367447 Sat, 24 May 2025 15:50:58 +1200 2025-05-24 No Gulpilil: One Red Blood 2002 3.5 270709 <![CDATA[

Watched on Saturday May 24, 2025.

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Ruth Scouller
1987 3l156l https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/1987/ letterboxd-list-348790 Sat, 21 Jun 2014 01:35:48 +1200 <![CDATA[

5 most want to see: Street Smart, Swimming to Cambodia, Rita, Sue & Bob Too, Walker, Matewan

tend to refer to this as my personal fave year of cinema, hence the full ranking treatment

  1. High Tide
  2. Full Metal Jacket
  3. The Year My Voice Broke
  4. Withnail & I
  5. The Last Emperor
  6. Dirty Dancing
  7. The Dead
  8. Travelling North
  9. Empire of the Sun
  10. Wings of Desire

...plus 93 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Superhero (I wish I was) 4xa4c https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/superhero-i-wish-i-was/ letterboxd-list-4294866 Mon, 6 May 2019 14:21:41 +1200 <![CDATA[

My favourite superhero films.

Cloned from my larger list of comic/GN/manga adaptations, this offshoot is a more American-centric list focused upon the cultural phenomenon of the superhero subgenre. This list affords original film properties, but needs a scope mention here or similar.

  1. Watchmen
  2. Batman Begins
  3. The Dark Knight Rises
  4. Blade
  5. Kick-Ass
  6. Chronicle
  7. Ant-Man
  8. Big Hero 6
  9. Captain Marvel
  10. Spider-Man

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
2025 95c70 Best First Viewings https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/2025-best-first-viewings/ letterboxd-list-60094755 Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:50:47 +1300 <![CDATA[

My fave films seen for the first time in 2025 (so far). i.e. the nu2me discoveries

  1. Memoir of a Snail
  2. Harvey
  3. Beau Is Afraid
  4. We're All Going to the World's Fair
  5. Dead Calm
  6. The General
  7. Threads
  8. Saltburn
  9. For All Mankind
  10. Jude

...plus 53 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 10 Ned Beatty Films 1q5v https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-ned-beatty-films/ letterboxd-list-7870417 Wed, 22 Apr 2020 17:40:37 +1200 <![CDATA[

Special mention to his Stan "the Big Man" Bolander original cast stint on Homicide: Life on the Street.

  1. All the President's Men
  2. Network
  3. Toy Story 3
  4. Deliverance
  5. Nashville
  6. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
  7. The Affair
  8. Hopscotch
  9. Superman II
  10. 1941
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Ruth Scouller
Top 500 films 3p4b2 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-500-films/ letterboxd-list-32325714 Wed, 31 May 2023 00:14:24 +1200 <![CDATA[

submitted for the latest edition of the HelenWelonMelon poll (newly tagged!)

Unranked, specially ordered from my earliest to most recent first viewings (I attempted to rank but tapped out before 350).

pre-Letterboxd era: #1-226 (roughly ordered from memory)
Letterboxd era: #227-500 (exact viewing order)

You may filter list by alphabet, release, popularity, etc. as it pleases, also see: Top 100 | Top 1%

Restricted myself to features.

Director:
9: Kubrick, Mike Leigh, Ridley Scott, Fincher
8: Coens, Cronenberg
7: Tarkovsky, Ozu, Hitchcock

Year with the most: 1997 (15)

...plus 490 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 20 Marlon Brando Films 3f515x https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-20-marlon-brando-films/ letterboxd-list-316684 Wed, 16 Apr 2014 17:47:31 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: Julius Caesar, Reflections in a Golden Eye, Viva Zapata!

  1. Apocalypse Now
  2. The Godfather
  3. On the Waterfront
  4. A Streetcar Named Desire
  5. Last Tango in Paris
  6. Burn!
  7. One-Eyed Jacks
  8. Listen to Me Marlon
  9. Sayonara
  10. Morituri

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Showdown r731a Graphic Motion https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/showdown-graphic-motion/ letterboxd-list-2297476 Sat, 17 Feb 2018 15:52:39 +1300 <![CDATA[

My top 25 films based upon comics/graphic novels, as part of the Letterboxd Showdown on comic books.

Special mention to the French-Canadian The Adventures of Tintin television series, part of my personal canon.

  1. Akira
  2. A History of Violence
  3. My Neighbors the Yamadas
  4. Blue Is the Warmest Color
  5. Sin City
  6. Only Yesterday
  7. Watchmen
  8. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro
  9. Batman Begins
  10. The Dark Knight Rises

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
As Time Goes By 1ds6m Film of the Year https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/as-time-goes-by-film-of-the-year/ letterboxd-list-317727 Fri, 18 Apr 2014 19:01:14 +1200 <![CDATA[

My favourite feature of each year rewinding the century of 2024 through 1925.

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Viewing Gaps by Decade 6is1m https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/viewing-gaps-by-decade/ letterboxd-list-223451 Thu, 19 Dec 2013 12:25:43 +1300 <![CDATA[

The 5 films per decade that I shamefully still haven't seen and most desire to see. I will continue replenishing this list as films are seen.

Films ticked off this list;
2014: (34) The Piano, The 39 Steps, The Bicycle Thieves, Cries and Whispers, Mulholland Drive, The Gold Rush, Nashville, The ion of Joan of Arc, L'Atalante, Fanny & Alexander, Nostalghia, No, La Dolce Vita, In the Bedroom, 2046, The Last Temptation of Christ, Modern Times, The Descendants, Early Summer, Like Father, Like Son, Blue Velvet, Double Indemnity, Rififi, Stalag 17, Hugo, Bloody Sunday, Lost in Translation, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, All Quiet on the Western Front, Mean Streets, A Touch of Sin, The Vertical Ray of the Sun, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Code Unknown
2015: (12) Camera Buff, The Music Room, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, After Hours, Winter's Bone, Where is the Friend's Home?, Through the Olive Trees, City Lights, The Conformist, Do The Right Thing, Seven Samurai, McCabe & Mrs. Miller
2016: (8) Yi Yi, Castle in the Sky, Koyaanisqatsi, The Sweet Smell of Success, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxells, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Meek's Cutoff, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
2017: (16) Sense and Sensibility, Distant Voices, Still Lives, Sweetie, The Wind Rises, Traffic, Come and See, Newsfront, Lone Star, It's a Wonderful Life, Incendies, Moonrise Kingdom, Hiroshima, Mon Amour, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Heiress, Mommy, Satantango
2018: (2) Manchester by the Sea, Suspiria
2019: (12) Tyrannosaur, Au Hasard Balthazar, Empire of ion, Mary and Max, Gods and Monsters, One From the Heart, Stagecoach, Platform, A Matter of Life and Death, Pygmalion, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Oliver Twist (1948)
2020: (7) Sorcerer, Umberto D., Cameraperson, L'Avventura, The Battle of Algiers, Song of the Sea, Straight Time
2021: (6) Sunday Bloody Sunday, The Contender, Morocco, Lifeboat, Henry V (1944), The Exorcist
2022: (4) A City of Sadness, The Great White Silence, Nosferatu, Grand Illusion
2023: (5) Nights of Cabiria, Out of the Past, True Romance, ...And Justice for All, Gaslight
2024: (2) Le Samourai, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
2025: (3) Sólo con tu pareja, Dead Calm, The General

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
2024 ranked 181k54 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/2024-ranked/ letterboxd-list-46412222 Tue, 14 May 2024 15:24:23 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Memoir of a Snail
  2. Blitz
  3. Late Night with the Devil
  4. Hit Man
  5. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
  6. Disclaimer
  7. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
  8. Boy Swallows Universe
  9. Nemesis
  10. The Order

...plus 53 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
1988 5p6g64 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/1988/ letterboxd-list-259655 Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:07:34 +1300 <![CDATA[

5 most want to see: High Hopes, Drowning By Numbers, The Moderns, Landscapes in the Mist, Damnation

  1. My Neighbor Totoro
  2. Akira
  3. Cinema Paradiso
  4. Dead Ringers
  5. Grave of the Fireflies
  6. Shame
  7. Ariel
  8. A Short Film About Love
  9. Distant Voices, Still Lives
  10. Another Woman

...plus 134 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 50 of 1998 3362q https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-50-of-1998/ letterboxd-list-296137 Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:37:10 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. Pi
  2. The Big Lebowski
  3. Mulan
  4. The Truman Show
  5. The Thin Red Line
  6. Out of Sight
  7. Eternity and a Day
  8. American History X
  9. Ronin
  10. The Last Days of Disco

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 25 Russell Crowe Films 2w1923 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-25-russell-crowe-films/ letterboxd-list-316674 Wed, 16 Apr 2014 17:28:19 +1200 <![CDATA[

Not including narrations, but Bra Boys and Red Obsession are worth checking out.

  1. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
  2. L.A. Confidential
  3. Brides of Christ
  4. The Sum of Us
  5. The Insider
  6. Gladiator
  7. The Silver Brumby
  8. Les Misérables
  9. Cinderella Man
  10. Proof

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 20 Brendan Gleeson Films 315p40 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-20-brendan-gleeson-films/ letterboxd-list-6045543 Sat, 19 Oct 2019 13:01:25 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. Kingdom of Heaven
  2. 28 Days Later
  3. Calvary
  4. In Bruges
  5. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
  6. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  7. Braveheart
  8. The Secret of Kells
  9. Edge of Tomorrow
  10. In the Heart of the Sea

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
My Film of the Month 3g2h6a Hall of Fame https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/my-film-of-the-month-hall-of-fame/ letterboxd-list-424179 Mon, 3 Nov 2014 04:05:11 +1300 <![CDATA[

Since ing LB in January 2013, I've been keeping up the habit of doing monthly lists of my first viewings ranked (mostly for personal reference). Then in Oct 2014 I started compiling the month standouts together in this list.

Twelve years on, I've racked up quite a cool bunch of 149 films. May it continue. A positive reminder that, whether rain, hail or shine, I don't go a month without happening upon at least one really great film for the first time. That's every 30-ish days! I wonder what will come along next?!?!

...plus 138 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 20 John Hurt Films 2fw53 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-20-john-hurt-films/ letterboxd-list-549200 Wed, 25 Mar 2015 15:18:06 +1300 <![CDATA[

Including voice work.

  1. Alien
  2. The Proposition
  3. Midnight Express
  4. A Man for All Seasons
  5. Dogville
  6. Watership Down
  7. Only Lovers Left Alive
  8. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
  9. The Naked Civil Servant
  10. Dead Man

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 10 Ed Harris Films 33155e https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-ed-harris-films/ letterboxd-list-8122321 Tue, 12 May 2020 12:36:07 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: Walker, Sweet Dreams, Copying Beethoven

  1. Glengarry Glen Ross
  2. A History of Violence
  3. The Truman Show
  4. The Abyss
  5. Gone Baby Gone
  6. The Hours
  7. The Lost Daughter
  8. The Right Stuff
  9. Nixon
  10. Creepshow
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Ruth Scouller
Top 10 of 1956 5z542a https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-of-1956/ letterboxd-list-43576947 Fri, 1 Mar 2024 12:00:14 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. A Man Escaped
  2. High Society
  3. Aparajito
  4. The Killing
  5. Trapeze
  6. Street of Shame
  7. Smiley
  8. Written on the Wind
  9. Lust for Life
  10. The Battle of the River Plate
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Ruth Scouller
50 from the Fifties 6a5j16 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/50-from-the-fifties/ letterboxd-list-319261 Mon, 21 Apr 2014 13:58:47 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Vertigo
  2. On the Waterfront
  3. Imitation of Life
  4. Sleeping Beauty
  5. A Man Escaped
  6. Johnny Guitar
  7. Harvey
  8. Ugetsu
  9. Sweet Smell of Success
  10. Rashomon

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
1% Challenge 6t1p1c https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/1-challenge/ letterboxd-list-17366288 Sun, 11 Apr 2021 13:37:31 +1200 <![CDATA[

I hope this formula proves a useful option for people’s all time faves lists.

Step 1: Restrict your fave films to 1% of your total films viewed
e.g. if you have marked 4800 films (of all types) as seen, subtract those last two digits and list 48 features. Then add a 49th once you reach 4900 films seen. And so on...

Step 2: Then rank the decade appearances by quantity.
e.g. 70s (24%) > 80s > 90s > 00s > 60s > 50s > 40s/2020s > 10s > 1920s > 30s (0%)
This step could flexibly focus on something different, like genre or country, up to you, but choose the one all-in angle, keep it simple.

Step 3: Finally, individually note the years first seen, and then list your earliest & latest seen. e.g.
Ancient: Sleeping Beauty ('92), FernGully ('93), Titanic ('98), Alien, Aliens, Alien3 ('99), Planet of the Apes ('00)
Freshest: Memoir of a Snail ('25), The Killer ('23), Promising Young Woman (‘21), The Duellists ('19), The Graduate ('16)


You could rearrange the list alphabetically or chronologically (release or viewing) if you so please (as I have done), but as a list that is designed to be added to over time you might find it more convenient to maintain ranking order. If you wish to share & compare your list with that of other s, apply the tag 1% challenge. Wouldn't recommend as useful for s who have seen <800 films total with selections over a <5 year period.

...plus 69 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 20 Ian Holm Films 2g636i https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-20-ian-holm-films/ letterboxd-list-375022 Mon, 11 Aug 2014 02:14:58 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: A Life Less Ordinary, Henry V, Dance With a Stranger, From Hell

  1. Alien
  2. Brazil
  3. The Aviator
  4. Naked Lunch
  5. Young Winston
  6. The Sweet Hereafter
  7. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  8. Another Woman
  9. The Madness of King George
  10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
Top 25 of 2011 5425j https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-25-of-2011/ letterboxd-list-294322 Fri, 7 Mar 2014 20:31:06 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. The Tree of Life
  2. Shame
  3. The Deep Blue Sea
  4. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
  5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  6. Sleeping Beauty
  7. A Separation
  8. Insidious
  9. The Story of Film: An Odyssey
  10. Carnage

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
World Cinema 322z41 Australia https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/world-cinema-australia-1/ letterboxd-list-6040305 Mon, 21 Oct 2019 15:19:34 +1300 <![CDATA[

Australia's 100 greatest films, arranged chronologically by year (then alphabetically). Cloned from my ranked list of the same films.

Films with no relevance to Australian life or setting do not qualify (e.g. Tanna, The Rocket, Hacksaw Ridge, The King, Bright Star, Judy & Punch, etc.). Miniseries have also been omitted.

Pre-70s: 4% | 70s: 14% | 80s: 21% | 90s: 16% | 00s: 18% | 10s: 20% | 20s: 8%

Greatest directorial contributions to local excellence: de Heer (5%), Beresford, Miller, Noyce, Schepisi, Weir (3%)

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

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Ruth Scouller
World Cinema 322z41 Australia https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/world-cinema-australia/ letterboxd-list-92050 Sun, 3 Feb 2013 11:33:11 +1300 <![CDATA[

My 100 favourite Australian feature films.

Films with no relevance to Australian life/setting are not eligible (e.g. Tanna, The Rocket, Hacksaw Ridge, The King, Bright Star, Lore, etc.). Miniseries have been omitted.

  1. Memoir of a Snail
  2. Wake in Fright
  3. The Proposition
  4. The Last Wave
  5. Picnic at Hanging Rock
  6. High Tide
  7. Gallipoli
  8. The Year My Voice Broke
  9. Candy
  10. My Survival as an Aboriginal

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 10 of 1970 334c44 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-of-1970/ letterboxd-list-5401191 Sun, 30 Jun 2019 21:35:27 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. The Conformist
  2. Ryan's Daughter
  3. Five Easy Pieces
  4. The Boys in the Band
  5. M*A*S*H
  6. Patton
  7. Kes
  8. Bed and Board
  9. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
  10. The Set
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Director Top 10 512s2n Billy Wilder https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/director-top-10-billy-wilder/ letterboxd-list-403156 Mon, 29 Sep 2014 14:54:13 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. The Apartment
  2. Double Indemnity
  3. Sunset Boulevard
  4. Ace in the Hole
  5. Some Like It Hot
  6. The Lost Weekend
  7. Sabrina
  8. Witness for the Prosecution
  9. Irma la Douce
  10. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 10 Jon Voight Films 2q6u5v https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-jon-voight-films/ letterboxd-list-2635052 Thu, 24 May 2018 11:03:11 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: The Odessa File, The General, Conrack, Megalopolis

  1. Runaway Train
  2. Heat
  3. Deliverance
  4. Mission: Impossible
  5. Out of It
  6. Midnight Cowboy
  7. Zoolander
  8. Ali
  9. Rosewood
  10. The Rainmaker
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 10 of 1969 2cf3x https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-of-1969/ letterboxd-list-5658878 Wed, 14 Aug 2019 04:50:57 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Boy
  2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
  3. Army of Shadows
  4. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
  5. Burn!
  6. Out of It
  7. The Secret of Santa Vittoria
  8. Sweet Charity
  9. Cactus Flower
  10. Katzelmacher
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 50 of 1986 4eul https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-50-of-1986/ letterboxd-list-348792 Sat, 21 Jun 2014 01:46:46 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Salvador
  2. Aliens
  3. 9½ Weeks
  4. The Fly
  5. The Mission
  6. The Sacrifice
  7. Castle in the Sky
  8. Manhunter
  9. Top Gun
  10. Shadows in Paradise

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 50 of 2009 3z4it https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-50-of-2009/ letterboxd-list-294245 Fri, 7 Mar 2014 16:56:20 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. Bright Star
  2. A Single Man
  3. Antichrist
  4. A Serious Man
  5. Crazy Heart
  6. George Michael: Live in London
  7. Coraline
  8. The Road
  9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
  10. Watchmen

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Palme d’Or m731e https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/palme-dor/ letterboxd-list-331744 Sat, 17 May 2014 14:11:17 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Brief Encounter
  2. Apocalypse Now
  3. The Tree of Life
  4. The Conversation
  5. Taxi Driver
  6. Secrets & Lies
  7. Paris, Texas
  8. The Mission
  9. Dancer in the Dark
  10. Pulp Fiction

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 50 of 2018 2g2923 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-50-of-2018/ letterboxd-list-5651696 Tue, 13 Aug 2019 04:53:08 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Isle of Dogs
  2. The Favourite
  3. At Eternity's Gate
  4. Peterloo
  5. The House That Jack Built
  6. Lean on Pete
  7. Widows
  8. Leave No Trace
  9. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
  10. The Haunting of Hill House

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Most Popular Unseen Film From Each of the Past Fifty Years 3tp6w https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/most-popular-unseen-film-from-each-of-the/ letterboxd-list-25559010 Sun, 14 Apr 2024 11:44:45 +1200 <![CDATA[

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Unseen 3a6u66 20th Century https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/unseen-20th-century/ letterboxd-list-27006177 Sun, 18 Dec 2022 17:59:39 +1300 <![CDATA[

The fifty most popular 20th century films which I haven't managed to see yet. Have I been living under a rock? Feel free to have a laugh or gasp at my expense in how this overlooked cuisine reveals -to-base peculiarities. Results filtered from the Letterboxd all-time popularity* setting (as of last update).

*popularity seems to equate to 'volume of activity' rather than simply 'most watched' (e.g. hyped releases a few months from premiere can generate significant activity).

  1. House
  2. Hocus Pocus
  3. Harakiri
  4. Buffalo '66
  5. Cure
  6. Tarzan
  7. The Karate Kid
  8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
  9. Stop Making Sense
  10. Kids

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Disney Animation q4b4q https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/disney-animation/ letterboxd-list-4192830 Sat, 13 Apr 2019 13:56:28 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still plenty left to see, and at least a third of these are very hazy childhood memories in need of revisit.

Most in need of rewatch: The Great Mouse Detective, Cinderella, Dinosaur, therefore treat those positions loosely for now.

  1. Sleeping Beauty
  2. Dumbo
  3. Beauty and the Beast
  4. Mulan
  5. Bambi
  6. Lady and the Tramp
  7. Pinocchio
  8. Aladdin
  9. Robin Hood
  10. The Sword in the Stone

...plus 32 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
70 from the Seventies 6y3d3k https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/70-from-the-seventies/ letterboxd-list-314124 Fri, 11 Apr 2014 13:55:27 +1200 <![CDATA[

fave films from the 1970s

  1. Alien
  2. The Godfather Part II
  3. Apocalypse Now
  4. The Duellists
  5. The Godfather
  6. Barry Lyndon
  7. Duck, You Sucker
  8. Chinatown
  9. Mirror
  10. Stalker

...plus 60 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
60 from the Sixties 2m53r https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/60-from-the-sixties/ letterboxd-list-316236 Tue, 15 Apr 2014 19:08:48 +1200 <![CDATA[

fave films of the 1960s

  1. Once Upon a Time in the West
  2. Andrei Rublev
  3. 2001: A Space Odyssey
  4. Planet of the Apes
  5. The Graduate
  6. The Apartment
  7. Days of Wine and Roses
  8. Charulata
  9. The Big City
  10. To Kill a Mockingbird

...plus 50 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 50 of 1996 5c6i1g https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-50-of-1996/ letterboxd-list-300697 Wed, 19 Mar 2014 14:14:08 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. Secrets & Lies
  2. Crash
  3. Fargo
  4. Breaking the Waves
  5. Trainspotting
  6. Crowded House - Farewell to the World
  7. George Michael: MTV Unplugged
  8. The English Patient
  9. Lone Star
  10. Sling Blade

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
40 from the Forties 5b3n66 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/40-from-the-forties/ letterboxd-list-325209 Sat, 3 May 2014 15:51:22 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Brief Encounter
  2. Citizen Kane
  3. Late Spring
  4. Double Indemnity
  5. The Red Shoes
  6. Rebecca
  7. Dumbo
  8. How Green Was My Valley
  9. Great Expectations
  10. The Philadelphia Story

...plus 30 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
My 100 Favourite Films 4k436u https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/my-100-favourite-films/ letterboxd-list-3372497 Sun, 23 Dec 2018 14:00:02 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. Promising Young Woman
  2. Blade Runner

    Final Cut

  3. Alien
  4. Once Upon a Time in the West
  5. The Godfather Part II
  6. The Terminator
  7. FernGully: The Last Rainforest
  8. Brief Encounter
  9. Apocalypse Now

    Original Cut

  10. The Duellists

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 100 Best Pic Noms 5z1c38 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-100-best-pic-noms/ letterboxd-list-18110019 Tue, 1 Jun 2021 02:26:46 +1200 <![CDATA[
  1. Promising Young Woman
  2. The Godfather Part II
  3. Apocalypse Now
  4. The Godfather
  5. Barry Lyndon
  6. Raging Bull
  7. Chinatown
  8. On the Waterfront
  9. Her
  10. Amadeus

...plus 90 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Showdown r731a Directorial Debuts https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/showdown-directorial-debuts/ letterboxd-list-1609105 Sun, 21 May 2017 12:25:37 +1200 <![CDATA[

Simply, my favourite directorial debut features, as per the first edition of the Letterboxd Showdown series.

  1. Promising Young Woman
  2. The Duellists
  3. The Scent of Green Papaya
  4. Thief
  5. Citizen Kane
  6. Hunger
  7. A Single Man
  8. Koyaanisqatsi
  9. Alien³
  10. Pi

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/showdown-bw-motorcycle-boy-vision/ letterboxd-list-6048200 Sun, 20 Oct 2019 01:08:01 +1300 <![CDATA[

As per tagged showdown, my 30 favourite monochromatic, gloriously colourblind films.

  1. Brief Encounter
  2. Andrei Rublev
  3. Raging Bull
  4. On the Waterfront
  5. Man with a Movie Camera
  6. Citizen Kane
  7. Rumble Fish
  8. The Apartment
  9. Late Spring
  10. Days of Wine and Roses

...plus 20 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Director 1e2m15 Malick https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/director-malick/ letterboxd-list-2001274 Fri, 1 Dec 2017 10:55:59 +1300 <![CDATA[
  1. The Tree of Life
  2. Days of Heaven
  3. Badlands
  4. The Thin Red Line
  5. Knight of Cups
  6. The New World
  7. Song to Song
  8. To the Wonder
  9. A Hidden Life
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 25 Cate Blanchett Films 6w453 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-25-cate-blanchett-films/ letterboxd-list-3289996 Sun, 2 Dec 2018 15:43:10 +1300 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: Heaven, Black Bag

  1. The Aviator
  2. Carol
  3. The Talented Mr. Ripley
  4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  5. Babel
  6. Knight of Cups
  7. Blue Jasmine
  8. I'm Not There
  9. Hot Fuzz
  10. Charlotte Gray

...plus 15 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Director Top 10 512s2n William Friedkin https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/director-top-10-william-friedkin/ letterboxd-list-21019468 Wed, 1 Dec 2021 16:04:09 +1300 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: The Brink’s Job, The Night They Raided Minsky’s, Blue Chips

  1. The Boys in the Band
  2. To Live and Die in L.A.
  3. Bug
  4. Killer Joe
  5. The French Connection
  6. Sorcerer
  7. Cruising
  8. The Hunted
  9. The Guardian
  10. Rules of Engagement
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 10 John Turturro Films 5u193e https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-john-turturro-films-1/ letterboxd-list-5965240 Sun, 6 Oct 2019 10:55:20 +1300 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: The Color of Money, Box of Moonlight

  1. Miller's Crossing
  2. The Big Lebowski
  3. Barton Fink
  4. Do the Right Thing
  5. Hannah and Her Sisters

    His centrality to the very small scene makes this a sufficient enough appearance, as opposed to something like Raging Bull.

  6. To Live and Die in L.A.
  7. The Night Of
  8. Rounders
  9. The Plot Against America
  10. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 20 Willem Dafoe Films l5s54 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-20-willem-dafoe-films/ letterboxd-list-316694 Wed, 16 Apr 2014 18:17:41 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: Shadow of the Vampire, Streets of Fire

  1. The Aviator
  2. Antichrist
  3. The English Patient
  4. At Eternity's Gate
  5. Platoon
  6. Affliction
  7. The French Dispatch
  8. Light Sleeper
  9. Wild at Heart
  10. The Card Counter

...plus 10 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller
Top 10 Christian Bale Films 325062 https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/top-10-christian-bale-films/ letterboxd-list-1798108 Sat, 26 Aug 2017 13:41:09 +1200 <![CDATA[

Still need to see: Henry V, Rescue Dawn

  1. The Prestige
  2. Empire of the Sun
  3. American Hustle
  4. Knight of Cups
  5. I'm Not There
  6. Little Women
  7. American Psycho
  8. Batman Begins
  9. The Dark Knight Rises
  10. Velvet Goldmine
]]>
Ruth Scouller
Female Directors 5u115f https://letterboxd.conexionsite.com/ruth/list/female-directors/ letterboxd-list-2243135 Sat, 3 Feb 2018 10:45:56 +1300 <![CDATA[

My 50 favourite feature films by female directors. Films with a male co-credit have been omitted. Hopefully one day this list will be unnecessary. Proud to find that a third are antipodean.

5 entries: Jane Campion
3 entries: Sofia Coppola, Gillian Armstrong, Kelly Reichardt & Kathryn Bigelow

  1. Promising Young Woman
  2. Bright Star
  3. High Tide
  4. Yentl
  5. An Angel at My Table
  6. My Survival as an Aboriginal
  7. The Babadook
  8. Marie Antoinette
  9. The Virgin Suicides
  10. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

...plus 40 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

]]>
Ruth Scouller