Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard, 2018): 4/5

I accidentally typed “Good Time at the Battle Royale” lol. Devilish, engaging, and extremely well-crafted. Brad Pitt 100% would’ve played Hemsworth’s role if this were made in the 90s.

Fahrenheit 11/9 (Michael Moore, 2018): 4/5

Scattershot, yes, but I sense this was originally a documentary about Flint that got expanded after the 2016 election. Fun Fact: When Moore’s first feature Rodger & Me came out Donald Trump said “I hope you don’t make one about me.”

The American Soldier (RWF, 1970): 2/5

Imagine Alphaville, Shoot the Piano Player, and Breathless, but German, kind of surreal, and not good.

(The scene where the maid relays the entire plot of Fear Eats The Soul, before it came out, was pretty cool.)

The Farm (Hans Stjernsward, 2018): 0.5/5

Damn vegans are back at it again being annoying. 80% of this movie is just people in animal masks walking around a farm.

A Happening of Monumental Proportions (Judy Greer, 2017): 2.5/5

There's no real protagonist, the stakes are astoundingly low, and the plot is predictable at every turn. The spectacular all-star cast holds their noses and gamely dives in anyway, for the sake of Judy Greer’s directorial debut.

re-watched Crumb (Terry Zwigoff, 1994): 5/5

One of my all-time favorites. Crumb epitomizes the best of what documentary film has to offer.

Terms and Conditions May Apply (Cullen Hoback, 2013): 3/5

Today this doc would just be like...a seven-minute Vox video. And it would probably have better graphics.

re-watched Pet Sematary (Mary Lambert, 1989): 3/5

Really bad. But then there's the sweet nostalgia. Zelda still freaks me out.

Bel Canto (Paul Weitz, 2018): 1/5

One of the most inert and lifeless hostage dramas ever made, with a simplistic view of Latin America and its people to boot.

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman, 2009): 3/5

A structurally-familiar exploit, but still entertaining thanks to great performances from both main and supporting casts.

Danton (Andrei Wajda, 1983): 3/5

Powerful performances, particularly from Wojciech Pszoniak (Robespierre), and Depardieu (Danton) is especially charismatic. The main flaws arise from uneven pacing, a claustrophobic scope, and the familiarity with the historical episode it assumes from the audience. The wonderful Google - who is this fellow in the clockwork wheelchair? Look up “crippled leader of the french revolution”...Couthon. Just so.

Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone, 1984): 1/5

Rapey, misogynistic, super long, and overwrought. (And not enough Joe Pesci!!) The phone ringing scene at the start is the most irritating piece of cinema ever.

Hurry up and fucking answer it

Mom and Dad (Brian Taylor, 2017): 3.5/5

Batshitty, harmless fun. Nic Cage is at his absolute 100% meme peak here and Selma Blair is acting her ass off trying to keep up. Excellent movie to watch with friends, and the less they know about it going in, the better.

After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985): 3/5

a Top-Tier Underrated Marty™

Lights Out (David F. Sandberg, 2016): 1.5/5

Don't bother, just watch the original (and brilliant) short film on Vimeo instead.

Paradise (Andrei Konchalovsky, 2016): 2/5

Unable to ignite an emotional fire, the story fades gradually as the limitations of its uneven parts force me to abandon the characters. This ungoverned ship got lost in explanative rumination and trivial details that could have spared the film from that annoying overlong feel.

God's Own Country (Francis Lee, 2017): 3/5

Brokeback Mountain except present-day and with a happy ending.

What Makes Sammy Run? (Delbert Mann, 1959): 3/5

Pretty solid TV adaptation of Budd Shulberg's famed 1941 novel. Sammy Glick as interpreted by an excellent Larry Blyden represents that combustible combination of Machiavellian drive with steely-eyed pitiless power.

Always for Pleasure (Criterion set) (Les Blank, 1978): 3.5/5

A document of vitality and blackness. And the way Les Blank films food is the equivalent of flipping through an outdated oddly tinted mid-century cookbook. I always walk away slightly nauseous and hungry at the same time. The Mardi Gras stuff is cool but I just want to look at the food. 

Wildling (Fritz Bohm, 2018): 3/5

A coming-of-age sorta-werewolf story with a unique bend to it, even if the narrative has familiar beats. The lead performance is convincing and Brad Dourif is great as always, as is James Le Gros: Dirty Mountain Man Cyclops. Minus half a star for not ending with a smash cut to black and Tone Loc's "Wild Thing."

Pyewacket (Adam MacDonald, 2017): 3/5

When your relationship with your mom is finally starting to get better, but you already put an unbreakable death hex on her last week. #awkward Another IFC Midnight indie low budget chilly feature.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (David Slade, 2018): 2.5/5

Tech was smooth, story was lacking. I do realize this is a test drive for wilder things to come. Is it gimmicky or is it clever? Either way it's all surface-level for me.

re-watched The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953): 5/5

Hitchcock may have mastered suspense, but Clouzot wrote poetry with it

re-watched Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964): 5/5

"You're gonna have to answer to the Coca Cola company."

My go-to film for a night of hysterical laughter.

re-watched Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966): 5/5

There needs to be more films where the main character is an animal that is not anthropomorphized.