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This review may contain spoilers.

Easily one of the best shot, best choreographed musicals i've seen! I was blown away watching this now, had i seen this in 1961 my head probably would've exploded. However, while the musical numbers succeed completely, i do think the wider narrative lets it down.

The pacing is very weird - there's very little movement in the story up to, and even past, the intermission, but once bernardo dies everything happens so quickly it prevented me from being able to really absorb what was happening; it feels like it's just going through the motions to get to tony's death. Speaking of, i had almost no emotional reaction to the ending, which has not been a problem for me with other romeo + juliet adaptions! I know that a lot of people struggle to buy into the relationship between tony and maria due to the timeline of the story, but that wasn't an issue for me (which i mainly attribute to the chemistry between and charm of natalie wood + richard beymer). For me, the issue isn't that the relationship's unbelievable, it's that i didn't get to see enough of them together! They almost feel like secondary characters in their own love story lol. I was invested when i got to see them together, but i hardly got to see that.

Obviously romeo + juliet don't spend a huge amount of time together either, but the more consistently dramatic tone in their story meant the ending still felt impactful - in West Side Story, the musical numbers, while brilliant, do undercut the tragic tone of the story, and i think we needed to see more of tony and maria together to compensate for that. I also do wish maria died at the end, which would've helped make the ending more emotional for me. I get the argument that it's a greater tragedy for her to go on living without her lover, but i personally think it would've been more tragic for her to just kill herself !

However West Side Story is, despite its flaws, great. It's so well acted (rita moreno and natalie wood especially are exceptional), i think it's one of my favourite ensemble cast performances ever. It's definitely a lot stronger during the musical numbers than in-between, but there are a lot of musical numbers, so i didn't mind too much. Not every aspect of this works, but when it works it really works.

This review may contain spoilers.

I've always enjoyed titus andronicus a lot more than i feel other people do, but i'm still able to recognise that it's one of shakespeare's weakest plays - maybe even his definitive weakest, if you had to assign that label to a play. But Titus is, somehow, great! Usually film adaptations of shakespeare's works fall short, but in this case, i think the film actually gives the play more than it deserves.

Titus andronicus is, in my opinion, most interesting when read as a parody of other revenge plays (i think if you read it straight there's nothing particularly interesting about it). I'm not sure what taymor intended, but every choice she makes in her direction backs up my preferred reading of the play. The surrealist fantasy setting, the numerous anachronisms, the costuming, they all make the film seem borderline camp, despite the fact you're watching brutal act after brutal act. It's well acted enough to feel grounded, but so ridiculous that you don't ever take it as seriously as you'd take something like othello.

Titus isn't perfect - the length could probably have been shortened, i'm personally not a huge fan of the way young lucius is used as a framing device, and certain moments (eg. saturninus' death) feel so melodramatic and tonally jarring that it takes you out of it. But it's easily the most interesting shakespeare adaptation i've ever seen, and if titus andronicus never gets adapted again i'd be more than okay with that.

Watched on Sunday June 1, 2025.

Watched on Sunday June 1, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

In an ideal world this would've ended with val being buried alive + albert dancing on his grave, but still good

Mind-blowing from a technical standpoint, but i was expecting that from nolan. What i wasn't expecting was to connect with this film on a more emotional level. I've always respected and appreciated nolan's films, but i've never felt any sort of real connection to them until this. As far as i'm concerned, Inception is far + away his best film, not because of the special effects or cinematography or score (which are all incredible), but mainly because of how great the character work was in this one.

Just terrible... obviously awards don't mean anything, but rami malek being nominated for an oscar for this was crazy, yet alone WINNING. Every look and movement and line delivery from him (+ the rest of the cast) felt so forced and mechanical, his performance stifled any hope Bohemian Rhapsody had of being even somewhat watchable.

Malek and the rest of the cast's performances aren't the only problems in this: the narrative never properly develops, the cinematography is pretty weak, and the dialogue is beyond atrocious - but the lackluster performances are definitely what caught my attention the most. Being realistic, the probably isn't THE worst film i've ever seen, but it's easily one of the most soulless.

Watched on Friday May 30, 2025.

Really enlightened me to just how bad the lana del rey cover is !

Part of me wishes this leaned more into the crime/thriller aspects of the story as opposed to the romance, but then i worry the character's would've felt too flat.. not mad at the end result by any means, i just wish it had a longer run-time to explore those aspects further. Excellent performances from dennis hopper + laura dern !!

There is no reason i shouldn't be absolutely in love with this film - it stars three of my favourite actors giving incredible performances, it's about a topic i'm interested in, it's well shot and well scored - this should be one of my all time favourites, and i'm a little annoyed with myself for not liking it more!! I definitely APPRECIATE this film (i don't know how you couldn't), i just didn't end up connecting with it as much as i was hoping to.

Maybe i went in with expectations too high and it damped the experience for me a little bit. Maybe it's something i'll need to watch more than once to fall in love with. Maybe i'm bitter about amy adams not having more screen time! I was just hoping to take more away from this. At least i now know how to get rid of crabs i guess.

Watched on Wednesday May 28, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday May 28, 2025.

Just abysmal, almost comically bad. So rare to see a film fail on absolutely every level, but The Blind Side does just that.

As a biopic, it's irresponsible to misrepresent the events of michael oher's life the way it does. As a commentary on race, it's horribly misguided. As a drama, it's saccharine, cringeworthy, and completely emotionally devoid. The acting performances range from mediocre (sandra bullock) to awful (everyone else), the comedic moments fall flat, it's visually drab, the characters feel clichéd and underwritten, even the way this film is scored manages to undermine every dramatic moment in this! Absolutely horrible in every way, i want to take a scouring brush to my brain in hopes i'll forget this.

Could have easily been unwatchable if the lead was played by a less capable actor, but susan sarandon is so good in this i can't bring myself to rate it any lower.

Definitely some questionable choices in this... the use of excessive flashbacks in the final act + a lot of the cinematography both felt a little heavy handed. Obviously films should aim to make you feel something, it just feels like Dead Man Walking sometimes prioritises getting an intense emotional response out of viewers, over making a film with substance.. like it wants too badly to be sad. For me, it's at its best when it's focusing less on trying to get you to bawl, and more when it's exploring the ethics of the death penalty - something it did tactfully + in a surprisingly nonpreachy way. I've always been (and still am) very anti-capital punishment, and while i don't ever see that changing, i'll always appreciate a film that makes me question my own beliefs, even if only for a second.

Watched on Tuesday May 27, 2025.

Watched on Monday May 26, 2025.

Watched on Sunday May 25, 2025.

This film deserves to become lost media

Watched on Saturday May 24, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

There is a scene in this where a group of girls burst into a choreographed dance routine as a form of psychological warefare against another girl, and like ten minutes later two of those girls have a dance battle, and due to those two scenes i DO believe everyone involved in the creation of this film should face legal repurcussions. Matt palmer i WILL be seeing you in court.

Have any two actors ever had less chemistry in a rom-com than helen hunt and jack nicholson in this? Probably yes, somewhere out there, but their acting in this was pretty abysmal, especially considering it got them both an oscar.

Bonus star for verdell.

This review may contain spoilers.

Pros:
- edward norton's bare ass
- edward norton getting a boner on stage
- edward norton in a speedo

Cons:
- wastes several opportunities to show edward norton full frontal

Watched on Friday May 23, 2025.

Watched on Thursday May 22, 2025.

Acab includes the g-force

Watched on Thursday May 22, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday May 21, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

Still some of my favourite sequences in any musical ever, i've thought about cell block tango at least once a week since i first saw this. If you were to put a GUN to my HEAD and FORCE me to criticise this film i love so so much, i wish it lingered on the dramatic moments more (hunyak's death, roxie's acquittal, etc), just to add a little bit more depth to the film + its characters.

Watched on Wednesday May 21, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

Still great! I think near almost every one of the musical numbers in this is perfect, that's definitely when it's at its best - i haven't seen the stage adaptation, but i can't imagine it not working in that format.

At the risk of recieving death threats for publicly speaking ill of a film as beloved as La La Land, i do think it would've really benefited from being a good bit longer - the relationship between mia + sebastian felt a little underwritten to me. The multiple time jumps prevented me from getting too invested in either one of them, yet alone them as a couple. I adore the ending, it's one of my favourite endings in any film ever, and it made me emotional despite not really caring about the characters up until that point - had the rest of the film given them more depth, it would've hit even harder.

Watched on Tuesday May 20, 2025.

Watched on Monday May 19, 2025.

This review may contain spoilers.

Obviously have to be impressed by the scale of what this tried to accomplish but like ... what was the point of this. I feel bad saying this film relies too heavily on a gimmick (+ tbf 'gimmick' really undersells how impressive what this film does is lol), but without it there's nothing really memorable about Boyhood. In some ways, i almost feel like it's hindered by its gimmick, as the acting gets significantly worse over time.

I really enjoyed the first hour or so, when the story revolved around olivia + bill's relationship - maybe i just found those scenes more nostaglic/relatable/etc, but that was the only part of the film that felt compelling, or like it had something to say. Wish it had felt that way throughout the entire run-time!

This review may contain spoilers.

Very solid! At its best moments, i would have no problem calling Mystic River one of the best crime thrillers ever made - it's tense and gripping, and incredibly well acted. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite stick the landing, and i'm left feeling underwhelmed - not because the ending itself is narratively unsatisfying (it is, but i actually appreciate how bleak it is), but because it feels like the most interesting parts of the narrative weren't properly explored.

The whole premise of the film is that the three central characters were childhood best friends, but that dynamic is never explored in the way it should be! It's brought up how dave's kidnapping impacted jimmy and sean, but only ever in ing - something that feels like it should've been the main focus of the narrative is relegated to one of the most minor plot points in the story. Jimmy, sean and dave all worked for me as characters individually, but their dynamic felt disappointingly two-dimensional. It didn't feel like they were three characters with history, they felt like three total strangers.

I almost feel like the film should've been told from the point of view of celeste, as the relationship between her and her husband was one of the few to relationships that felt fully realised (+ marcia gay harding gives far and away the strongest performance). More time spent on her wouldn't have impacted the plot in any major way, but would've allowed for more suspenseful, bordeline horrifying scenes to be featured, which is when i think it was at its best. Still a very good film! I just feel like so much more could've been done with the material!

Watched on Friday May 16, 2025.

Watched on Thursday May 15, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday May 14, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday May 13, 2025.

Absolutely shocking to see dakota johnson give a not abysmal performance! I'm floored.

Very good overall! Don't think i'll ever be too mad at a film that stars olivia colman, who managed to keep me captivated the whole time despite the slow moving plot.

I do think the film would've benefited more from a more climactic third act - this film's half psychological thriller and half character study and, while it's good as both of these, it's not quite great. Had there been a meatier final act, it would've felt like more progress had been made in the narrative, instead of stagnating towards the end. I definitely had a good time watching this, but i ultimately feel like not much ground has been covered, which is unfortunate! I enjoyed the ride, but i'm walking away feeling like i haven't taken anything away from watching this.

One more bad hinge date away from doing this not joking

"A plant? I thought men like you were usually called a fruit!"

Totally get being ashamed of hanging out with socialists ... full fledged commies ONLY in my circle ‼️

Watched on Sunday May 11, 2025.

"I think i could turn into you. If i really tried"

Will probably rewatch this film a thousand times before i die, partially because it's really really good, and partially because that's probably how many viewings it'll take for me to get everything i can from this film. So weird and layered and horrifying. Definitely something meant to be felt more than understood. Think double-featuring this with Eraserhead would finish me off.

Watched on Friday May 9, 2025.

Watched on Friday May 9, 2025.

I can appreciate this for what it is, and i'm definitely glad that i've seen this, but it played more like a comedy than a horror film lol.

Bonus half-star for how good the score was.

Did not work for me at all! Fell so flat, this was such a chore to get through. So many characters with so many interesting relationships are introduced, only for none of them to be explored in an interesting way. Either needed to be twice the length, or to pick one relationship to explore + do it well.

The ONLY saving grace of this film is amy adams, who is perfect. This would be unwatchable without her, and the only good thing about this film's existence is that it led to her getting her first oscar nomination. She brings such charisma to a role that is criminally underwritten, how she managed to give such depth to her character is beyond me. I didn't think i could like her anymore as an actor, but the way she elevated this script has given me even more respect for her. She absolutely DOGWALKS her costars, she runs laps around them (especially davidtz, who is beyond dull in this film). I'm sure they all considered quitting acting after being upstaged by her so significantly.

Pretty terrible, but always good to see someone from glee employed. Dianna agron take notes!

Virginia sheep, probably

Rewatching star wars on the 4th of may... what a brilliant idea. Can't believe i was the first one to think to do this. If this idea (watching star wars on may the 4th) catches on, please to give me credit, as i am the one who definitely started this trend

Best shakespeare film adaptations

1. Titus

   Adapted from The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus

2. Ex Machina

   Inspired by The Tempest

3. 10 Things I Hate About You

   Retelling of The Taming of the Shrew

4. Romeo + Juliet

   Adapted from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

5. West Side Story

   Retelling of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

6. The Lion King

   Retelling of The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

7. She's the Man

   Retelling of Twelfth Night, or What You Will

Based on uk release date

1. The Holdovers
2. All of Us Strangers
3. Dune: Part Two
4. Dìdi (弟弟)
5. I Saw the TV Glow
6. Poor Things
7. Anora
8. The Substance
9. Kinds of Kindness
10. Kneecap

...plus 72 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

According to uk wide release date

1. The Seed of the Sacred Fig
2. Flow
3. Sinners
4. A Complete Unknown
5. I'm Still Here
6. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
7. Nickel Boys
8. Mickey 17
9. The Brutalist
10. We Live in Time

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

1. Bottoms
2. Infinity Pool
3. May December
4. Anatomy of a Fall
5. Killers of the Flower Moon
6. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
7. Oppenheimer
8. Society of the Snow
9. Past Lives
10. Rye Lane

...plus 56 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Best films about male friendship

1. The Holdovers
2. In Bruges
3. Up
4. Some Like It Hot
5. The Talented Mr. Ripley
6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
7. Kneecap
8. Rope
9. Stand by Me
10. Sing Sing

Best sci-fi/fantasy films released before 1980

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
3. The Wizard of Oz
4. It's a Wonderful Life
5. The Empire Strikes Back
6. Alien
7. Eraserhead
8. House
9. Fantastic Planet
10. Sleeper

Best films with location names

1. Mulholland Drive
2. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
3. Chicago
4. Paddington
5. La La Land
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street
7. The Wolf of Wall Street
8. The Witches of Eastwick
9. Sing Sing
10. Monte Carlo

Best dark comedies

1. Parasite
2. Heathers
3. Chicago
4. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
5. Submarine
6. Drop Dead Gorgeous
7. May December
8. Eraserhead
9. Poor Things
10. The Substance

Best films nominated for Outstanding Debut by a British or Irish writer, director, or producer at the BAFTAs.

• Submarine
• Kneecap
• Billy Elliot
• Aftersun
• The Muppets
• His House
• Monkey Man
• Shaun of the Dead
• Mamma Mia!
• Gosford Park

Best dual performances. Ranked by quality of performance(s), not films.

1. Black Swan

   Natalie portman as nina sayers/the swan queen

2. Us

   Lupita nyong'o as adelaide wilson/red
   Winston duke as gabe wilson/abraham
   Shahadi wright joseph as zora wilson/umbrae
   Evan alex as jason wilson/pluto
   Elisabeth moss as kitty tyler/dahlia

3. Everything Everywhere All at Once

   Stephanie hsu as joy wang/jobu tupaki

4. X

   Mia goth as maxine minx/pearl

5. Kinds of Kindness

   Emma stone as rita/liz/emily
   Jesse plemons as robert/daniel/andrew
   Willem dafoe as raymond/george/omi

6. The Wizard of Oz

   Frank morgan as professor marvel/the wizard of oz
   Ray bolger as hunk/scarecrow
   Bert lahr as zeke/cowardly lion
   Jack haley as hickory/tin man
   Margaret hamilton as miss gulch/the wicked witch of the west

7. Mickey 17

   Robert pattinson as mickey barnes 1-18

8. Evil Dead

   Jane levy as mia allen/deadite

9. The Parent Trap

   Lindsay lohan as hallie parker/annie james

10. Vertigo

    Kim novak as madeleine elster/judy barton

Best films featuring primates in some capacity

1. Flow
2. The Wizard of Oz
3. Nope
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
5. Toy Story 3
6. The Elephant Man
7. Wicked
8. Better Man
9. Life of Pi
10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Based on uk release date

1. The Holdovers
2. Dìdi (弟弟)
3. Anora
4. I Saw the TV Glow
5. All of Us Strangers
6. The Substance
7. Poor Things
8. Dune: Part Two
9. Kinds of Kindness
10. Kneecap

Best films nominated for the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film

1. Bridget Jones's Diary
2. Paddington
3. All of Us Strangers
4. Poor Things
5. Paddington 2
6. Kneecap
7. An Education
8. The Outrun
9. Skyfall
10. Billy Elliot

Best films with 150+ minute runtimes

1. The Godfather
2. Jackie Brown
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Anatomy of a Fall
5. The Wolf of Wall Street
6. Killers of the Flower Moon
7. Kinds of Kindness
8. Oppenheimer
9. Wicked
10. Gladiator

best films with first name titles

• Carrie
• Coraline
• Juno
• WALL·E
• Paddington
• Pearl
• Rango
• Scooby-Doo
• Priscilla
• Luca

best battle royale scenes

list order done by ranking of battle royale scenes, not the films themselves

• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Scream VI
• The Hunger Games
• Scream
• Sky High
• Scream 2
• You're Next
• Scream 4
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

chamber pieces

• Clue
• Stage Fright
• The Shining
• 12 Angry Men
• You're Next
• Alien
• Get Out
• Saw
• Evil Dead
• The Strangers

films about tv

1. I Saw the TV Glow
2. The Truman Show
3. The Substance
4. Woman of the Hour
5. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
6. Sinister
7. Hairspray
8. Quiz Lady
9. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
10. Bolt

best 80s horror films

1. Stage Fright
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street
3. Aliens
4. Hellraiser
5. The Thing
6. Friday the 13th Part 2
7. Halloween II
8. Prom Night
9. Silent Night, Deadly Night
10. Friday the 13th

sweatiest films

• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
• 12 Angry Men
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• Challengers
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• Call Me by Your Name
• Romeo + Juliet
• Jaws
• The Graduate
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off

films about siblings

1. Nope
2. You're Next
3. Knives Out
4. Scream VI
5. Big Hero 6
6. Halloween II
7. The Clique
8. Prom Night
9. The Parent Trap
10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

best ing performances in horror

• Hereditary

  alex wolff as peter graham

• The Sixth Sense

  haley joel osment as cole sear

• Scream

  matthew lillard as stu macher

• Carrie

  piper laurie as margaret white

• Bones and All

  mark rylance as sully

• I Know What You Did Last Summer

  sarah michelle gellar as helen shivers

• The Substance

  margaret qualley as sue

• Scream 4

  emma robberts as jill roberts

• Talk to Me

  joe bird as riley

• Nope

  brandon perea as angel torres