6u532b

This review may contain spoilers.

obviously and incredibly beautiful, though at times very gut-wrenching, depiction of a young gay black man's coming-of-age in miami, with moving themes of community, care and responsibility (especially wrt addiction), black masculinity, and the need to survive in even the most dire condition. yet even with such heavy plot beats, moonlight is anchored by a surprisingly sweet love story at the heart of it all

gorgeous and resonant cinematography, awe-inspiring performances from the cast, insightful handling of theme and character

the ending shot of chiron and kevin sharing the same intimacy they had held only once before the injustice of toxic masculinity and carceral racism tore them apart 😭

yet another solid portrayal of the consequences of late stage capitalism from bong joon ho, this time tackling dehumanization and colonialism, while still being thoroughly entertaining and often funny

This review may contain spoilers.

showed this to a friend who had never seen it and it was the fresh-eyes-adjacent experience i really needed to reassess this movie haha

things i like include the intricacies of the mystery and the well-placed clues and hints scattered throughout the story, the way the unfurling of the tale echoes the slow leaky release of true crime details in real life, the murkiness of certain details and exploration of audience bias 

things i dislike include the reactionary twinge (the story feels like a response to not just missing white woman syndrome but the me too and believe victims movements), the very bizarre portrayal of what is framed as a serious cluster b personality disorder, and the overall sort of salacious twist on emotional abuse and intimate partner violence 

my friend was successfully shocked by the twist so it was cool to witness someone completely changing ships from "this man def killed her" to "she couldn't just get a divorce" for the first time in ten years, but even my friend was annoyed by the end at the way the story was so quickly wrapped up into a long term toxic marriage and the depiction of amy as a complete sociopath

could've really gone there a little more w the critique of patriarchy (more than just his little "i'm a nice guy" schtick), but a thoroughly entertaining and somewhat thought-provoking sexbot revenge movie 

the themes of personhood and autonomy are certainly very timely, the plot is well-paced, and the cast does a great job, but nothing that groundbreaking happens here in spite of its potential

it's weird how society uses "ugly duckling" to mean awkward person who hasn't evolved/been give a makeover yet and not what it's supposed to mean, an othered person who just hasn't found their community yet 

when we saw the duck family again at the end-
my wife, through tears: fuck u all, choke on bread

this was so beautiful, had me and my fam tearing up... even out of such decay of the farm's old mill and chaos of the storm, life is born, life returns, life persists, and u just have to get through the night and deal w the wreckage tomorrow. a very relevant message rn as it was in 1937, and gorgeously animated to boot! could have been a vignette in fantasia imo

this is one of those movies that my family was obsessed w as a kid and made a disinterested child me watch like at least five times a year, which drove me to hate it on principle/resentment, so i wanted to reassess it fairly as an adult... and, no surprise, it's actually pretty good! (i mean it's a classic for a reason) 

i felt the somewhat contained plot of this first movie was really beneficial to its world and themes, while still inviting the viewer to be excited for more. this microcosm of the rebellion's fight against a rapidly growing empire really works for the film, keeping it from becoming too ambitious for its own good. both luke and han solo have satisfying character arcs that hint at the possibility for more growth and excitement to come. there is an overarching evil imperialist rise in their galaxy, but one successful battle is satisfying enough stakes for this antifascist tale. altogether the movie does a great job of standing alone and yet building a universe that could and did become so much more

the practical effects were my favorite part (although the musical score ranks highly as well), giving the whole movie a hard-worked beloved atmosphere, and really making the world feel lived in and exciting. also the cinematography has some beautiful moments in there 

i do feel really weird about the treatment of the droids, as they are enslaved and given fewer rights, but also are clearly sentient w personalities and feelings. i imagine that we are supposed to empathize w them given the story's focus on the droids especially as our primary introductory characters, but it feels so unresolved and disappointing at the end of the film. why should the droids fight for a rebel faction that still wants them to be second-class citizens whose purpose is to serve the many galactic peoples who are given personhood? a rebel faction that does not award them the same commendations as the people (and wookie) they fought alongside?

overall, my experience rewatching w fresh eyes was a pleasant one and i def understand the success of star wars. i think both pop culture and my family have chosen iconic moments that are vastly different from the details and scenes i would choose as iconic, and my family and other nerds (said positively) have often overly focused on the canon's historical details and sci-fi developments, which left young me disinterested. but the themes and plot of the story actually do a great job of holding up on their own! because lucas modeled this on the ideas of the hero's journey, it's almost a little too referential to classical literature, a little too well-plotted and precise, a little too conventional (creating new homogeneity in the sci fi world, while fitting into the existing homogeneity of the western canon) - yet i believe this is exactly the root of its massive success. star wars had an immense impact, which was neither an accident nor a fluke. this is an excellent science fiction movie, and as an adult i must now it that i grew up resenting it probably for that precise reason.

this one had some really cute animation moments, but i was not stoked for the return of the hare's weird pedo showboating behavior 

fucking loved that mae west cardinal tho "i love a man who takes his time"

the choice to make the evil wolves german in the 30s 👌

when the dragged-up wolf lured them into the cavern and the pigs turned bright red and swooned "bo peep" - ?????

also the wolf pacifier is an amazing invention

i love how her child labor doesn't count as "help" planting her corn

"she should've known that she alone would plant her corn" and then we see all her baby chicks tilling the land and helping plant corn

"she should've known that she alone would harvest all her corn" and then we see baby chicks bringing the cobs of corn in to the pile

leave those bunny children alone, CREEP!!!!

tortoise wins bc he's not a pedophilic, arrogant misogynist

all these reviews that say the hare is just "stupid" are completely missing the point, it's his hubris/cockiness in feeing the need to show off that leads to his loss, while the tortoise is consistent and focused enough to steal the lead... if u really can't take away this very simple message from a kids' cartoon due to ur patriarchy goggles that's a little sad tbh

a high-caliber antifascist comedy made in an underrated act of bravery: engaging, funny, smart yet silly, polished (no pun intended), and with a heart of gold

the mel brooks remake is dear to my heart, but lubitsch's work is rather uniquely brilliant 

also i'm def on team "this must have inspired ingluorious basterds" - and i totally understand watching that nazi theater scene and wanting to see it all burn down

got to show my wife annie bc they'd never seen it!! - (we needed something fluffy after a couple rough documentaries) - and this is my fave version personally! (mainly due to the top tier trio of carol burnett, tim curry, and bernadette peters)

so obviously a big capitalist message and some weird racial/orientalist gags in there, but i think this is an overall super sweet and wholesome story that manages to balance the many faces of a family musical well

some of the best songs in a kid-oriented musical from my childhood at least

i love that annie is all about getting warbucks on the fdr new deal train btw

had some obvious big problems w ableism and weird sex stuff both in the name of its edgy humor, but an overall funny and irreverent time exploring the cutthroat world of beauty pageants

felt weirdly personal and a woman's fresh take on the y2k edgy comedy imho, and tons of great acting performances and dry humor abound. i def get why it's a cult classic

silly and fun to watch w a group when high but honestly suffers from feeling too high budget and yet too low budget at the same time 

tbh tho it's such a patriarchal trope to have the way the dad redeems himself in the end be by protecting his family rather than stepping up emotionally or providing stability over time

very cool expressionist stop-motion style, love the hours of thoughtful labor that went into the creation of these characters and sets, the sound design is truly haunting, the overall craftsmanship is beautifully impressive, and i do like how the czechoslovakian variation on this tale stresses the excesses of capitalism allowing the rat infestation to fester 

that being said i am feeling a little insane by how no one else seems to comment on the weird antisemitic baggage of this particular telling

barbie mean girls (w a side of read it and weep)

this movie needed about ten/fifteen more minutes to make it work but a cute lil crack at a barbie high school 00s movie 

having grown up w the barbie website this ties in to it was more nostalgic for me than the other barbie movies but i also think its plot is a touch more coherent than the others i'm sorry

don't get me wrong vinnie-pukh goes visiting is also super cute but this is now def my favorite rendition of this particular tale, i love eeyore so fucking much and the whole gang is so wholesome

so fucking cute and delightful! i love vinnie-pukh's little songs so much and he's such a silly little bear

vinnie-pukh: do u have a rifle at home?
piglet: yes! *runs to fetch it*

so. many. questions. 

but i'll leave it at this one: why and how did any of that work? 

also i feel like the royal family is raising these 12 princesses to be their own little cult bc this was abnormal af

i expected more from it bc of my wife's hyping and its relentless internet presence but this was still cute... i'm not super fond of the straight propaganda in the barbie movies tho...

they did NOT have to make that mink so gay ... also i have many questions about this plot, but overall a cute movie w barbie giving a solid performance in the lead role

lmao if i had watched this at 11 i would be a diff person for sure

i like this movie a lot! classic hijinx comedy that very effectively makes the nazis look like blubbering, pathetic idiots

mel brooks gets up to some truly bugs bunny shit in this one

This review may contain spoilers.

three lines from lotso, some weird dialogue moments in the middle, and the final scene really ruined this for me...

the whole idea of the "system being rigged" in that new and strong toys (like andy's toys) are being given to the toddlers unlike the more beaten up, used-and-abused toys whom it would be more "fair" to leave for the toddlers... lotso using a cane and a toy truck wheelchair and having big baby as his implied-mentally-disabled sibling... maybe i'm just reaching but this movie read as an expression of anger at the welfare/social security system benefiting disabled and elderly ppl, especially given lasseter's very next project, cars 2, and its own weird ableist conspiracy-of-disabled-cars plot 

even within the world of toy story, no one is suggesting the caterpillar room be filled with pillows and art supplies only, everyone acknowledges there must be toys subjected to that environment - and yet the central premise is that lotso has turned the daycare into a prison in order to enforce an "unnatural" sort of hierarchy (as opposed to the "natural" one?) treating the more privileged and whole toys as disposable caterpillar room fodder

no solution ever comes of the idea that many toys will be destructively played with by the youngest children - instead the happy ending of the movie is that andy's toys particularly get to go to a nice special loving home; the trash compactor used for a terrifyingly tense climax scene is still a viable fate for many toys in the world and we are not meant to care about those more broadly, bc andy's toys are the only ones that truly matter in the narrative; we don't even get to see how the happy ending version of sunnyside resolves which toys go to the caterpillar room! 

ultimately this is a more coherent movie than toy story 2 in my opinion, with a more interesting narrative, but its themes really got me heated while watching and i can't stand the supposed "resolution"

suitably campily wacky, feels like an extended drag race maxi challenge (as it should)

standard hays code bogart theater-ticket fare

devo doing uncontrollable urge... brandi carlile's iconicism... lauryn hill and wyclef jean reunited... david byrne and robyn doing this must be the place... even, i hate to it, post malone with nirvana... cher, the b-52s, bonnie raitt, bad bunny, snoop, the lonely island with lady gaga, the little skits inbetweeners... the roots holding it all down with their incredible talent... so many amazing moments, this was an homage of cultural genius, and the audience shots were an added level of entertainment

well-made, scorsese honed his postmodern comedy skills here with the dichotomy of visual and verbal storytelling and the ultimate paternity-cuck gag, right off the bat puncturing a hole in the unreliable narrator of this big shot who's not really calling the shots

obvious misogyny aside, a genuinely enjoyable watch that is so ridiculously 80s camp it's nearly unbelievable

ooh i forgot how creepy gene wilder makes this wonka, rewatching sent me right back to my step-grandma's basement on a snowy night when i first was exposed to this bizarre little world

a proto-tiktok surrealist comedy montage classic

utada i love you 💕

chaplin as he often is, a poor buffoon pretending to be aristocracy, at the skating rink in 1917 - i just can't stop looking at the roller skating society ladies mainly

people act like fat existence is new (and wholly unattractive), but mr and mrs stout (and mrs stout's paramour) show that fat people have always been around, if only as often featured as the butt of body-related jokes and tomfoolery

remarkable

the way this man robs women of their agency, from violation to their own, even internal, narrative of what happened to them... chilling 

the clues to the twist are planted very cleverly and the cinematography helps the viewer to experience the same unease, fear, and discomfort of frida and the other female partygoers 

the ending was a bit unsatisfying for me, but overall a great watch w a truly horrifying channing tatum and well-rounded cast performances

i'm loathe to it this.... but hamilton was not bad! it did what it was trying to do, everyone's performances (except miranda) were incredible, and i think it worked thematically; leslie odom jr in particular fucking killed his performance!!

hamilton's life is a perfect fit for the dramatic tragedy format, it's only a pity that the musical runs into some similar hubristic legacy-obsessed pitfalls on the behalf of its creator 

there were also a fair bit more bangers on the soundtrack than i expected, and the choreography, staging, and knockout vocals really help to continue stoking the exciting overall mood of a story that had the potential to drag, especially for viewers not interested in early american history 

lin-manuel miranda's egoistic performance and complete bone-deep irony deficiency spoil this from being all it could be, but i was pleasantly surprised

i went into this with the full baggage of internet-stoked, overly-culturally-exposed cringe at the very concept and execution in the back of my mind, but once i strapped in for the ride and committed to living in its world, i had a great time. this got me reflecting on legacy and reputation, you could even say, "who lives who dies who tells our stories". because of this, even miranda's failings serve the show and its ethos, which means i must give props

while the bulk of the movie was pretty well done as a film, (the performances of linda blair and ellen burstyn as stand outs particularly), that opening scene w the iranian archaeological site and the demonic talisman was wholly unnecessary, could've just been a ouija board gone wrong story and still communicated the intended (socially conservative, catholics-as-heroes) message

though i'm not crazy about its portrayal of lesbianism, this movie was fun as hell w a signature coen kooky style and a goofy crime plot and i really value the existence of a lesbian road trip movie featuring some of my favorite music

audaciously silly and fiercely imaginative, a foolhardy foray into a cartoon world where early american film meets frontier/pioneer mythos meets video game logic meets american moral reckoning

the most on-the-nose girlboss feminist address of cinderella's lack of agency lmao

gorgeous and cute! i loved the message about community and family and love, and the ice cream tasting was done in such a silly manner 

(but tía fria looked like she was speaking through an ipad at the shrine)

my fam and i ugly crying at this short all the way through - such a sweet little tale of childhood grief and learning how to live forward

i personally loved the surreal touch - the cute outfits and sets and possibly communal living situation?, the campy production value and devil-may-care attitude toward anything resembling "actual science" 

grief and coping and love and loneliness from a child (genius) perspective

i too would be pissed if i was a unicorn and a man killed a dragon to try and get with me 

the simple fact all little girls know to be true: it is far easier to be a unicorn, even a lonely unicorn, than to be a woman

choosing to interpret the ending as showing that amalthea only believed she ever loved lír bc of comphet and this weird human idea that to be a woman is to love the man who loves you - that's why her happy ending is returning to her true unicorn self and freeing her ppl in spite of "giving up love" or w/e bs she was implied to be regretting

also that scene with schmedrick motorboating that tree was a lot

silly romp w a star studded cast

the physical effects really add a lot of comedic value (but won't lie, at a certain point, i got to wondering about the climatic effect of all those explosions)

stunning, beautifully told close look at a family rediscovering their culture and traditions together, a child learning themself by learning their ancestry, the shared experiences of indigenous children in boarding schools across history, and the joy of coming of age in a community that loves and s you despite any fears

really excellent example of a myopic focus working for a musical... love the overall theme that each individual's unique background is a critical part of a chorus line, which eventually effaced individualism in favor of an effective blended unit

love all the songs in this and the choreo and costumes are exceptionally 1980s 

surprise, dance ten looks three, i can do that, and nothing all deserve special shoutouts

had me in the first half/two-thirds ngl but i ultimately just didn't really like what this movie had to say or how it chose to say it, intriguing early moments felt unused to their potential, and it devolved into mentally-ill-outcast-goes-off-the-rails content with nothing particularly fresh to add

much like kellogg's products, competent but bland

droll amalgam of chronicle and godzilla that successfully if underwhelmingly depicts the "colossal" consequences of toxic masculinity and of the harm one can do during destructive cycles 

that being said not sure how i feel about the imperial politics of the two white americans' interpersonal struggle resulting in thousands of korean deaths

basically if i couldn't stop pointing out places i've been, grew up around, or the super familiar vibes of a setting, it belongs on this list

yes i grew up in central florida then transplanted to south florida

• The Florida Project
• Moonlight
• Hoot
• The Beach Bum
• The Birdcage
• Zola
• Do Revenge
• Edward Scissorhands
• Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar

• Alien
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• A Trip to the Moon
• Star Wars
• The Wiz
• Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
• The Little Prince
• The Stepford Wives
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Barbarella

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

• But I'm a Cheerleader
• Love Lies Bleeding
• Paris Is Burning
• Cabaret
• I Saw the TV Glow
• Black Mirror: San Junipero
• A Chorus Line
• Pride
• The Roof
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show

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

• The Menu
• Sorry to Bother You
• Parasite
• But I'm a Cheerleader
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
• Clue
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Death Becomes Her
• I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
• Bodies Bodies Bodies

...plus 100 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Last Night in Soho
• Paris Is Burning
• Chicago
• The Florida Project
• Sunset Boulevard
• West Side Story
• Palm Springs
• Selma
• Fire Island
• Moulin Rouge!

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

• Heathers
• A Chorus Line
• Alien
• Chicago
• Sleeping Beauty
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Alice in Wonderland
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

...plus 28 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

these movies make me feel warm inside or make me cringe or both but i always have a good time rewatching

• Little Shop of Horrors
• Into the Woods
• Bring It On
• Cats
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
• The Princess and the Frog
• Mean Girls
• Heathers
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• The Shining

...plus 46 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Cabaret
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Into the Woods
• A Chorus Line
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
• Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• Sleeping Beauty
• Jesus Christ Superstar

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

• But I'm a Cheerleader
• Wendell & Wild
• Sorry to Bother You
• Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show
• The Wizard of Oz
• The Shining
• Sleeping Beauty
• Midsommar
• Down with Love

...plus 49 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Love Lies Bleeding
• Little Shop of Horrors
• Clue
• Wendell & Wild
• Into the Woods
• I Saw the TV Glow
• A Chorus Line
• Barbie
• Jesus Christ Superstar
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

...plus 26 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• But I'm a Cheerleader
• I Saw the TV Glow
• Bring It On
• Society of the Snow
• Hot Fuzz
• Pretty in Pink
• To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
• Midsommar
• Hot Rod
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

...plus 23 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Love Lies Bleeding
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
• Last Night in Soho
• Pride
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Shaun of the Dead
• Mamma Mia!
• Bend It Like Beckham
• Skyfall
• Les Misérables

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

• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
• Into the Woods
• The Sound of Music
• Pulp Fiction
• Fiddler on the Roof
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• West Side Story
• Inglourious Basterds
• Oliver!
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

...plus 22 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Project CC
• The Roof
• Raya and the Last Dragon
• Inside Out
• Beautiful, FL
• Coco
• Onward
• Turning Red
• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
• Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

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

• Rat Race
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
• Colossal
• Chronicle
• Cars
• Doc Hollywood
• Do Revenge
• Mean Girls
• Arrival

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

showdown

• Barbie
• Heathers
• Pearl
• Victor/Victoria
• Cinderella
• Marie Antoinette
• Amadeus
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
• Carrie
• Sissy

...plus 25 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

movies where rich people friend groups, families, and relationships are destroyed, rotted, proven false at the core, facsimiles of their former selves, going to shit, just generally having a bad time due in some part to their richness, cruelty, vapidity, greed, etc

• Glass Onion
• Bodies Bodies Bodies
• Triangle of Sadness
• The Menu
• Sissy
• Clue
• Knives Out
• Titanic
• Parasite
• The Bling Ring

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

• I Saw the TV Glow

• The Cabin in the Woods
• The Faculty
• The Craft
• Bodies Bodies Bodies
• Black Swan
• Shaun of the Dead
• Poltergeist
• Little Shop of Horrors
• The Shining
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show

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

• Love Lies Bleeding
• Predator
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
• Fight Club
• Gold
• The Mill
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Holes
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Alien

...plus 41 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• Ingrid Goes West
• Another Cinderella Story
• All About Eve
• Black Swan
• Turning Red
• Galaxy Quest
• Empire Records
• A Hard Day's Night
• The Truman Show
• Chicago

...plus 9 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

"the cops aren't working fast enough so i must do something/everything myself!!! time to violate miranda rights, privacy rights, and commit some crimes myself in the process (perhaps without even finding the right perpetrator"

in progress af, open to suggestions !!

• Missing
• I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore

  this one does go hard tho ngl