Licorice Pizza – Paul Thomas Anderson

Much more colorful and bubbly than PTA’s previous works, but still distinctly his style. The HAIM family definitely killed it, especially Alana. Kind of weirded out by the age gap romance and its conclusion. Will definitely watch again someday.

Alien – Ridley Scott

Visually stunning and has aged incredibly well. It was a much slower burn than I was expecting, but it worked well in the context of the story. Ripley was a cool protagonist. Looking forward to watching Aliens.

Tom at the Farm – Xavier Dolan

It’s hard not to compare this movie to Mommy due to the effect that film had on me; I do think that Mommy is ultimately the better movie and pulls off many of the same moves (changing aspect ratio, for instance) better than Tom at the Farm. Still, it was very thought-provoking, tense, and unique. I will probably have to watch it again sometime soon.

Don’t Look Up – Adam McKay

Really entertaining, scary, and surprisingly funny. Star-studded cast pulled off their roles extremely well, and it was cool to see DiCaprio play such a meek, dorky character. Pretty depressing at the end of the day, but the comedy helps the medicine go down a lot smoother compared to something like First Reformed. Not sure why so many people (other than climate change deniers) have an issue with this movie.

Two Days, One Night – Luc Dardenne & Jean Pierre Dardenne

So good. It was such a simple premise yet it was presented in a genuinely tense, relatable, heartbreaking way. I was surprised when I got choked up at the end– the simple act of her coworkers standing up for her, although ultimately futile, was very moving. Cotillard killed it as usual.

The Kid with a Bike -Luc Dardenne & Jean Pierre Dardenne

Totally incidental that I watched this so shortly after Two Days, One Night. Unsurprisingly, this one was really great as well. I still prefer Two Days, One Night at this point, but I really enjoyed seeing this director duo take on a different subject matter. This retrospect on childhood was heartbreaking and relatable, even if the specific circumstances were a bit specific. Child actor was fantastic.

Fantastic Fungi – Louie Schwartzberg

Very interesting and informative– I do want to take the time to look into some of their claims (particularly on mushrooms as a supplemental cancer treatment) to be able to apply more scrutiny. It was also visually stunning and I was constantly getting surprised by how diverse mushrooms are. The documentary devolves a bit too much into the agenda of psilocybin as an antidepressant towards the end. I agree with the agenda, but it definitely made for a less interesting viewing experience as it was preachy>educational.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story – Jake Kasdan

Not much to say about this one. It was super funny, very meta. The best jokes were loaded into the first hour of the movie. Parody stuff was good.

Paterson – Jim Jarmusch

Beautiful. The main character of this film has a passion for William Carlos Williams poetry, and it seems like Jarmusch does as well; the feeling Paterson gave me was similar to the feeling I get when reading WCW poems. This movie was deeply intimate, perceptive, smart, and likable. Very glad I finally watched it.

The French Dispatch – Wes Anderson

Unsurprisingly, it was very good. Anderson’s style is on full display here, and much of this movie was essentially eye candy. Having said that, it definitely didn’t disappoint when it came to heart and charm, which were both pouring out of it.

The Batman – Matt Reeves

Surprised by how much I liked this one. Almost all the characters, but especially Jim Gordon, Catwoman, and Falcone, are essentially now my definitive on-screen versions of them. Joker at the end was kind of dumb but I’m starting to accept that he is just a reality of any Batman franchise.

The Skin I Live In – Pedro Almovar

Holy shit this movie. I have not been disturbed by a film this much in a very long time. The entire twist surrounding Vincente and the sex change was so abhorrent, so abominable, that I literally stayed up thinking about it the night I saw it. Really good.

Threads – Mick Jackson

Hard to put this one into words. This short, concise format doesn’t seem right for a movie like this, one that deals with with the complete annihilation of the human race in such a hopeless way. I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like this again. Bleak doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once – Daniels

One of the best movies I have ever seen. Absolutely lived up to the hype. This movie had so much panache and passion, and it was one of those experiences where I felt like I was at an amusement park; every moment was filled with excitement, emotion, and creativity. I might save my full thoughts for a longer piece someday, probably after I’ve revisited the movie. But it was really special.

Doubt – John Patrick Stanley

Very thought provoking. I’m very unsure how to feel about the whole conflict, as I’m obviously primed to believe that a priest would molest a child, but there is no evidence in this case and many of his excuses seemed plausible. Acting was top-notch, which was to be expected. Looking forward to a rewatch.

Elephant – Gus Van Sant

Kind of disappointed. I think I was perhaps expecting something a bit more shocking or thought provoking, but what I got was very underwhelming and flaccid. I can appreciate the interpretation of “violence is senseless, so the movie is going to be pointless,” but that’s just not very interesting or profound in any way and if anything, it’s a bit pretentious and shallow. Pretty neat poster though.

Kajillionaire – Miranda July

Not a huge fan. Evan Rachel Wood’s performance was great and Emile Mosseri’s score (as usual) was fantastic, but so much of the movie, from the individual plot beats to the editing, felt so contrived and full of stereotypical indie “charm” that it was hard for me to be invested. It wasn’t horrible, but I think it fell pretty flat at the end of the day.

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty – Terrance Nance

A very good, interesting movie that has stuck with me over the past few days since watching it. I can’t say that I would go as far as saying that it is one of the best movies that I’ve ever seen (as one of my friends described it), but it was certainly unique, smart and entertaining. I think that it got close to being pretentious at times but never quite tipped itself over the edge.

RRR – S.S. Rajamouli

This movie was awesome! I unironically loved the characters, action, set pieces, etc. I was probably most surprised by how much I enjoyed the musical sequences, though, and I honestly would have liked to see more. I think that the ambiguity of the movie’s tone, how seriously it’s taking itself, was also something that added to my enjoyment, not to mention the fact that I saw it with friends and got to joke around with them. RRR makes me want to watch more Bollywood movies because it was so much fun.

The Holy Mountain – Alejandro Jodorowski

I’m definitely too dumb for this movie. There were a lot of interesting elements to grasp onto, especially those pertaining to tarot and the nature of man/civilization, but there was also plenty–in the beginning especially– that I think require a second viewing. Still, pretty fun and entertaining. I liked the second half better than the first. Like I said, though, definitely hard to penetrate after just watching it once.

The Cider House Rules – Lasse Hallstrom

Kind of a bizarre viewing experience watching this so soon after finishing the book. The severe truncation of the storyline, omitting inclusions like Angel and the decades that Homer spent with Candy and Wally (whose role was jarringly reduced in the movie–Paul Rudd had like 15 min of screen time) felt very strange. It’s also an instance where reading the book first may have made me appreciate the movie less, as there were so many tender, unsettling, intriguing, or otherwise moving elements of the novel that just didn’t translate to the film. That said, I liked this a lot. The casting was nearly perfect, the cinematography was great and made the most of the Maine landscape, and the story’s major themes and emotional core were carried over well despite the condensed timeline. One interesting thing to note was how the shortening of the story impacted how I read Candy and Homer’s relationship; in the book, they get together long after Wally leaves for war, and after they know each other for a very long time. It’s not exactly ethical, but their affair is much more sympathetic in the book. In the movie, they both seem a bit more callous, especially Candy.

On the Count of Three – Jerrod Carmichael

One of the best movies of the year. Quite a satisfying and entertaining mix of drama, melancholy, and comedy, aided by fantastic acting. Christopher Abbott (who I am becoming more and more convinced is one of the most underrated actors working today) gave an incredible performance, being genuinely hilarious but also very sad and relatable. Haddish, Carmichael, Smoove and Winkler were also all great, but I don’t think they shone quite as bright as Abbott. I think this movie’s ending alone precludes it from earning any Oscars, but it definitely deserves one of those awards.

Drive My Car – Ryosuke Yamaguchi

Very good and not quite what I expected. I’m not sure where exactly I got the impression that this movie would be taking elements from several of the stories in Men Without Women, but that certainly wasn’t the case outside of the lamprey story delivered via Oto (I could be missing other tie-ins or references). This was basically a stretched-out version of the Drive My Car short story, but I have no objections to the plot elements that were added and they seemed to actually be very much in line with what I would expect from a Murakami story. It was slightly boring at times, but I think that had to do with the fact that I was watching it with someone else and was pretty tired. I might watch it again one day, but I can’t say that it blew me away or anything like that.

Annihilation – Alex Garland

Pretty spectacular and even better than Ex Machina (maybe). The visual style of the film was distinct and interesting, being bright and colorful despite the fact that the movie itself was pretty cut-and-dry horror in my opinion, which I loved. On that note, the bear scene and the mimic scene were incredibly terrifying, and in ways that I hadn’t quite experienced before. The music was also great, and I liked how the score started with more grounded, folksy music before introducing more typical synth-heavy sci-fi stuff. There were tons of small details (like the tattoo on Gina Rodriguez’s character showing up on Natalie Portman) that I’m sure I missed, so I’m looking forward to another watch.

Saint Maud – Rose Glass

Very engaging and fun. Morfydd Clark’s performance really sold the movie for me, as she was able to deliver a character that was innocent and naive/fragile but also unhinged and a bit menacing. The first half of the movie was definitely better than the second though, as the more abject horror elements present in the later scenes didn’t feel as inspired or gripping as the more mundane, uncomfortable interactions of the early ones. I also wish that we got to see a bit more of Maud’s trauma, as I think it could have made the specifics of her delusion a bit more interesting and thought-provoking, rather than just “young girl gets traumatizes and goes crazy.” I’ve heard this is Rose Glass’s debut, so I would be interested to see what she does next.

Feels Good Man – Arthur Jones

I watched this a while ago and forgot to write about it, so it’s not really fresh in my mind and I don’t think I’ll be able to say much about it. This movie was really great, though. Matt Furie is quite an interesting and likable character, and it made me genuinely upset to see how his work was appropriated and abused by bad actors working towards fucked-up political ends. The music was great as well, and the animation segments were incredibly fun. Feels good man (to watch this movie).

Men – Alex Garland

Might even be better than Annihilation. This movie was just about as weird as I expected it to be, and it was nice to see Alex Garland creating some of the same tone as his other movies in a setting that is decidedly non-sci-fi.

The Northman – Robert Eggers

Not sure why people are split on this movie– I loved it. It was actually much more action-packed than I would have expected, considering Eggers’s other movies. Acting was all stellar, Alexander Skarsgard is jacked as can be, and it was just weird enough to make it stand apart from other Viking films.

Hellraiser – David Bruckner

Pretty awesome. I never saw the original movies, but this reboot had a lot going for it. It’s not life-changing, but it was definitely one of the best big-budget American horror movies (not by Ari Aster) of the past few years.

We Need to do Something – Sean King O’Grady

Absolutely terrible. I can’t believe how obnoxious this movie was. The acting was bad, the dialog was even worse, and the story itself was just nothing. I can imagine a defender of this movie pulling some BS “it’s not supposed to be explained or make sense” when talking about why they were trapped in that room for so long (NO ONE came looking for them? No one saw a house with an oak tree crashed through it and thought to take a look?), but nothing about how the characters were written or their various personal hiccups and flaws makes up for what the story lacks in those elements of logic, let alone suspense or intrigue. Everyone was a cliché, no one acted normal, the story was confusing in all the wrong ways, and I just generally really did not like it. The worst movie I’ve seen this year for sure.

Bones and All – Luca Guadagnino

The best parts of Suspiria and Call Me by Your Name combine in this movie. Timmy killed it in this one, as usual, and Taylor Russell, who I had not seen prior to this, also did an amazing job, probably outshining Timmy for me. It was gross, sensitive, and sweet. Great movie.

No One Gets Out Alive – Santiago Menghini

Surprisingly pretty fun. I watched this in a cabin with my family, and I think that was a perfect setting for this movie. It’s the type of movie that you want to watch with a group, comment on, and just generally experience together, because there’s the perfect mix of fun, shocking, spooky moments alongside kind of boring or dumb moments, which could make for a lackluster viewing experience if watched alone.

Training Day – David Ayer

Yeah. Absolutely dope. I can see why so many people love this movie. I guess I never really knew much about the actual plot, because I kind of assumed it would be a standard cop-action-thriller situation, which it kind of was, but it was also so consistently entertaining and just all-around a great time.

Blue Jasmine – Woody Allen

I liked it. It’s not changing my life or anything, and I wouldn’t even say it’s my favorite Woody Allen movie, but it’s definitely up there. Cate Blanchett was amazing as usual, alongside the rest of the cast; it was funny, heartbreaking, depressing, etc… a good time for sure.