Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Children of Men 2006

  ★★★★★ Rewatched 25 Jul 2022

  Shanti Shanti Shanti.

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  The Empty Man 2020

  Watched 25 Apr 2022

  The past decade or so of Hollywood cinema has been exclusively produced under the guiding hands of The New Generation of directors-for-hire. Your Matt Reeves', your Jon Watts', your [Insert Netflix Exclusive Director Here]s'. They don't so much make movies as they mainly seem to create elaborate, expensive demo portfolio reels. Movies driven purely by callback, tribute, or franchise reverence. Little in the way of distinct personal investment. It's no surprise that many critically lambasted "hack" directors (your Bays', your…

Popular reviews

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  Manhunter 1986

  Rewatched 05 Dec 2021

  William Petersen gives a dry performance, needle drops are super corny (worst in Mann's career), and Graham's internal/family conflict is a hollow drag. The rest? Some of Mann's most eerie, most beautifully lit compositions. Still, not close to being his best.

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  Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021

  Added

  *state-mandated spoiler warning*

  Who is Jon Watts?

  I can confidently assume that to the sizeable audience surrounding me, he was just another name their eyes glazed over, as they sat waiting for whatever post-credits teaser was in store for them.

  In 2014, Jon Watts was an Eli Roth wannabe, one decent enough to get a Roth producer cosign. His debut film Clown was a back-to-basics invocation of the sleek but sleazy 2000s era horror that guys like Roth and James…