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Watched on Wednesday June 11, 2025.

A small budget movie set in the Cajun swamps of Louisiana.

Southern Comfort's most interesting as a social experiment, watching what happens when you give some idiots guns and autonomy, and then remove them from society (if only by the slightest amount).

The movie hangs everything on the performances, and they're a mixed bag. Carradine works as the smart under-achiever, Booth is solid as the saavy heavy, but Ward is unfortunately wasted as an idiotic hard-charger. Seales and Lannom turned in some rough work.

Southern Comfort's weakest element is how it manages tension. The subject matter should be a thriller (or even a horror), but the pressure comes in brief spikes, and then resets to zero. Characters don't carry fear with them, they go back to square one as soon as the scene cuts. The screenplay needed to do a better job of escalating/maintaining the tension, and the performances needed to reflect that.

As is, Souther Comfort reminds me of video game guards who return to their normal rounds after a thorough, 15 second investigation doesn't reveal the enemy who killed a dozen of their coworkers.

The last 15 minutes finally dials the tone in to what it should have been for the whole movie, before making a very strange choice with how to present the last 15 seconds.

The plot of the sequel is much more ridiculous and less schmaltzy, which is a welcome change. Tonally, it’s halfway between the original and Rumble in the Bronx, if that cross-over caused the filmmakers go completely insane.

Like the first installment, Woo’s action shots are fun but the action scenes are silly. The sequences are put together without any care for continuity or geography. But they do look cool, and that’s enough for a lot of people. It’s a definite step up from the original, for my tastes.

If you hit skip on every scene that didn’t have Chow Yun-fat or gunplay, you wouldn’t miss much. You might be confused about what’s happening… but that’s par for the course even if you watch the whole thing.

This is primordial Woo. Schmaltzy melodrama married with explosive action. Gunfire in slo-mo. Weird portrayals of women.

The action has lots of fun shots, but Woo doesn't care about geography or continuity when putting them together. For a lot of people, that doesn't matter. For me, that can make the action feel like self-parody.

Either way, I wish we could trade the "melodramatic staring + cheesy score" scenes for more slo-mo gunfights. And I'd be okay if they cut any of the scenes that didn't have Chow Yun-Fat.

Boiling Point really wants to be a serious movie, but it ends up on the level of a soap opera. It’s got an incredible cast, and they’re all playing down to that level. It feels like an extremely novice attempt at what could be a fun neo-noir.

I’m always wishing there were more Snipes action movies, and I thought this might scratch that itch… but you don’t get anything beyond him jump-kicking a door.

Not sure if it was in the theatrical cut, but the version on Hoopla has a crazy vestigial shot from a different edit. Some guy puts a gun to Snipe’s temple, there’s a quick cut… and the guy’s just gone like he never existed. Very strange.

The action scenes are always going to be the main draw in a martial arts film, but you need to do something with the rest of the movie. An interesting plot, comedic relief, or compelling characterization can elevate the action scenes (or just be entertaining on their own!). But The Way of the Dragon uses those scenes to kill time.

The action scenes are very route-one. A story isn't being told in the fight, and there's not much interesting choreography, it's just a showcase for Bruce Lee's technique and speed. It shouldn't come as a surprise that he's great at fighting (as opposed to writing and directing). But you're just watching Bruce Lee completely outclass his opponents. It's physically impressive, but not dramatically compelling.

When I was a kid I saw the Chuck Norris fight as a clip in a martial arts compilation VHS (I'm not sure if it was home-made or a commercial product), and that seems like the best way to consume Bruce Lee action scenes.

If Ana de Armas didn't steal the whole show with her 10 minutes in No Time to Die, she at least made a strong case for her star in her own action movie.

Unfortunately, that movie ended up being directed by Len Wiseman. The delightful, charming performance we saw Ana pull off is crushed under the accented, self-serious, emo-kid drivel of Ballerina.

The action is knock-off Borne more than it's Wick. But Ballerina doesn't have Borne's fun spy thriller plot. It doesn't have the primal simplicity of Wick 1. It has rocks for brains. Just ridiculously stupid, pro forma, hack writing.

They hang a lampshade on Ana not being as physically strong as her opponents, instructing her to play to her strengths – to "fight like a girl". Having established that, the movie has Ana repeatedly choose to grapple with guys twice her size instead of using a gun, only occasionally ing to kick them in the balls.

The set pieces and action scenes are badly scripted, badly staged, badly shot, and badly edited. It's all low-rent and lower-talent. Sub-par action, and terrible filmmaking.

JJ Abrams gets dunked on for using lens flares a (few) dozen times over the course of a movie, but every single shot in Wiseman's movie has mist, smoke, steam, snow, dust… the entire world is lousy with floating particles for ostentatious lighting.

There is a flamethrower fight with some fun individual shots, even though it doesn't work as a whole. But the characters’ commitment to the bit is impressive, they never even consider using a gun (which would trivialize all the contrived standoffs they get stuck in).

A heartwarming doc about a Seattle punk rock institution as it closes the doors of its original location. The Funhouse is shown to have a great ethos and structure that let it be an incubator, launchpad, and shared space for counter culture.

Shot and Set in Seattle.

Shout out to Jake Stratton.

The first hour of Side Effects is full of strong, nuanced performances. It's a character-driven drama, centered around an unfortunate tragedy.

But after that hour, the actual plot reveals itself. Details from the character-driven drama become the functional elements of a thriller. The performances all shift to be more stark and stilted; turgid lines delivered between awkward silences. It feels like comic-book dialogue, with each character getting their own frame and voice bubble to explicitly state what's happening.

I found the drama compelling, and the thriller fun. It would probably be a stronger movie if the thriller half was less cartoonish, but I still enjoyed the overwrought style.

Time of the Wolf immediately draws you in with bold, intense choices. But as the movie progresses, the effects of those choices go stale, and the draw fades.

While I'm not ideologically opposed to a well-done opening crawl or a smart voice over, Time of the Wolf goes to the other extreme and gives gives you zero context for the opening scenes.

It's the slightly incongruous and miscalibrated responses that show that the world you're watching is very different from the one you know. Brutal subject matter is shown disionately, reinforcing how alien the storyworld is. There's no narrative structure – the camera's just an observer that forces the viewer to infer the larger setting. We learn that critical necessities we take for granted are constantly at risk.

That all worked for me. I was engaged, I was puzzling out what the world must be, I was considering different strategies, and I was invested in the plight of the protagonists.

But then Haneke fails to do anything with that. Nothing's paid off. Nothing develops. You don't learn anything more about the world. You're just seeing more of the same.

The slightly incongruous and miscalibrated responses seem just as out of place in this world as ours. More detached brutality is shown, but it doesn't serve any narrative purpose. The lack of narrative is a constant, there's no payoff or resolution to anything. We never learn more than we knew at the start.

But maybe the most disappointing development was how problems and solutions became more symbolic than practical. The very real stakes established in the opening scenes just become window dressing for a broad portrayal of humanity.

Time of the Wolf is the type of movie that might spurn very interesting discussions, if the participants were willing to extrapolate far beyond what's actually in the text, and supply their own context. They would need to dig into moments that the movie included, but never explored.

I'd be much more interested to see Time of the Wolf listed on a philosphy syllabus than a movie marquee.

Watched on Saturday May 31, 2025.

Experimental animation that’s completely insane but remains approachable. Discordant styles, disted scenes, and distorted perspectives. A crazy trip. Visual storytelling. A confused and incomplete narrative.

A sleek, engaging presentation of a unique, character-driven story. Come Closer's well-crafted, and showcases some strong performances (especially Lia Elalouf as Eden).

While we don't get a ton of explicit backstory for Eden, my read is that she's unhappy at her core. She's flirting with the edge, in the early loops of a self-destructive spiral. She's needy and insecure in all of her relationships (familial, platonic, professional, and romantic), and over-compensates with sexuality. Eden's aware of her problematic actions, but not in control. Being forced to deal with additional trauma might speed up her spiral, or might snap her out of it.

Or maybe she's just a cool club girl who's got it all together despite everything, and I'm just uptight and pathologizing her sexual liberation.

Waves has very important subject matter. It's even more timely in the US today. But it's not a compelling story. It's very route one. Maybe I'm cynical, but as Calvin needed to clarify: "I mean SURPRISE me"

To double down on my cynicism, the idea that free press is a silver bullet against fascism feels more dated than it feels optimistic.

Anyway, Waves is competently made, competently acted, competently written. It's just… okay.

I like what Edge of Darkness is aiming for, but the shots go wide.

Campbell combines very restrained performances with a disionate presentation of a fragmented story. The audience is kept in the dark for much of the runtime. The action is haphazard.

None of that’s disqualifying, but none of it’s done well.

The protagonist is charmless, stoic, and has a Boston accent. Not a great fit for Gibson.

eBay and ennui.

The first act is Nightcrawler set in the world of Japanese online reselling. “Buy low sell high” is more subdued and less salacious than “If it bleeds it leads”, but at least it’s something.

The second act takes a turn into the cartoonish that loses me. Character motivations that come straight out of Scott Pilgrim vs The World, but Kurosawa doesn’t ever harness the ridiculousness for anything fun, and the action is too minimalistic to be the draw.

The message of the movie is anti-capitalistic, which I’m on board for, but the response to Ratel is so disproportionate (and championed by such anonymous characters) that the movie forces the audience to argue against it.

Payback suffers from having Gibson as the lead. Not because he's a reprehensible person, but because he's always been more of a movie star than an actor, and that clashes with this type of anti-hero protagonist. A stoic character actor or a gritty up-and-comer would give Payback the space it needs to be its own thing.

That's just the most glaring example of the Payback's central problem. They put down a glossy coat first, and then tried to paint the shadows on top of it. But that topcoat flakes off, and the gloss shines through.

A comedy that’s trying to be risqué and dangerous, but Ron Howard is so fucking cheesy.

Keaton’s giving a huge performance, but Howard didn’t build a foundation that can it. Keaton’s going for a riff on Bill Murray shtick, and while it doesn’t always land, it’s the only thing the movie’s got going for it.

Howard can’t make the characters interesting, the story compelling, or the humor bawdy. He’s just muddling through without any purpose.

Winkler is completely wasted as a stick in the mud, but a baby Keaton doing Murray is fun. At least as fun as Howard lets it be.

Fantastic Planet is surreal and trippy, a visually engaging world meant to hold your attention and stimulate your brain. The animation reminds me of Terry Gilliam, if he were more psychedelic and less absurdist.

Fantastic Planet isn't going to blow you away with plot mechanics or character development, but it's classic sci-fi. It provides a novel context for humanity, and gives the audience different perspectives to view it from.

Just let it wash over you, then check your intuitions, re-evaluate your preconceptions, and think about what you're feeling.

A British micro-budget sci-fi farce. It occasionally pretends to be a mockumentary like The Office, with characters reacting to or addressing the camera… but that conceit’s completely abandoned for 99% of the shots.

The first half of the movie is very loosey-goosey, and got a lot of amused titters (and a couple big laughs) from the theater, but it capped out at a wry smile for me.

The second half gets bogged down in plot and drama. The frequency of audience laughs dropped a lot, and my smile disappeared.

Lesia is the main character of the movie, but her mobbed-up father is the main character of the story. The Kingdom is mostly comprised of small, intimate moments on the periphery of that story. We spend a lot of time watching Lesia watch things play out.

Benedetti gives Lesia a great stare, one that promises there are deep emotions roiling behind the calm facade. And there is something there to the father/daughter relationship. He’s actually a surprisingly decent dad, in a very time-boxed, compartmentalized way.

Between us being kept on the outskirts of the story, and the protagonist not having much autonomy, The Kingdom left me a bit disengaged.

6 > 5 > 4 > 1 > 3 > 2 > 7 > 8

Final Reckoning spends so much time spinning its wheels. You've got heaps of fan-service (or a franchise reprise, if you want to be kinder). It's also a Part 2, so you need to waste a ton of time re-establishing all the critical parts from Part 1 (time that would be better used establishing those points for the first time, and not splitting one story into two movies). And then there's so much needless, ineffective exposition. If you trimmed all of that, there's not much meat left on the bone.

Part 2 has all the weaknesses of Part 1. It's self-important, overly-sentimental, generic, and trite. There's a forced, unearned relationship with Atwell (it really feels like Ferguson was supposed to be in these scenes). Final Reckoning doubles down on dropping dialogue and sfx in favor of an overwhelming symphonic score. It wants you to feel that the scene's important more than it wants you to feel what's happening in the scene.

Respect for the audience's intelligence is at an all-time low. McQuarrie treats us to broad, emotive responses, repeated expositions, and flashbacks to scenes from earlier in this movie. He leaves no room for you to misinterpret what's being shown. But what's being shown is insufficient. Despite all the time devoted to exposition, specific objectives and risks aren't established. Things just sort of happen without really engaging the audience, in stark contrast to Top Gun: Maverick.

Top Gun: Maverick and Gladiator 2 took different tacts on how to leverage a decades-old movie. Ironically, with Cruise and McQuarrie's involvement, Final Reckoning leans towards the Gladiator method: Extended flashbacks where watching the old movie is the payoff instead of the setup.

Esai Morales is the least interesting antagonist in a franchise where that's often the weakest element. But it's hard to put the blame on him, his performance fits with how the rest of the cast is being directed in Reckoning. And, to be fair, the Entity is the least interesting antagonist if we don't limit ourselves to humans.

The bi-plane scene is way too much of a re-hash of the helicopters in Fallout. But with a less compelling story and much tamer stunts. Once Cruise gets to straight wing-walking, it's compelling. But that's so little in such a long movie.

The post-Fallout MIs are self-indulgent, and the worst part is they stretch it out to 6 hours. If they wanted to do a curtain call for the characters we know and love, take the stunt from part 1 and the stunt from part 2, and then put them in a 2.5 hour swansong. Don't introduce 5 new major characters. Don't force a ret-con that undermines the entire franchise. Don't make everyone give sad, listless, humorless performacnes. Go out on the triumphant high note that ended Fallout.

Dead Reckoning is able as a brainless popcorn movie, but a huge disappointment as a followup to Fallout.

The biggest red flag is the now-disavowed “Part 1” of it all, where they only give you half a movie, so the structure is all out of balance and you don’t get any of the payoffs that should close a chapter.

Another issue is how they replaced a quirky bad guy trying to do bad stuff with a more pointed critique about real world AI, which immediately dates the premise and makes it less fun. Ironically, this movie feels like it was written entirely by chatGPT, recycling and neutering bits from non-M:I Cruise movies and other action franchises*.

What you end up with is an ultra-generic, uninspired script built out of pieces that don’t fit together correctly. They’re the right general shape but their functional use is ignored. Instead of gripping action with comic relief, you get cartoon-gimmicky action and self-seriousness. Leaning into AI as the bad guy has turned this into a wizard battle with no rules or consistency. You don’t even get to see energy beams slamming into each other.

Respect for the audience has also plummeted. Everything is spoon-fed, explicitly spelled out, and then repeated slowly. Character reactions are all broad and cartoonish. Despite all of that, Dead Reckoning doesn’t establish real stakes or objectives.

But most infuriatingly they ret-conned the whole IMF in a way that breaks all previous movies, and completely changes the characters we’ve come to love. And it’s not even in service of some great idea, it’s a hack, cliched origin story that’s got to be the basis of every-other spy show pilot. Just dumb and generic slop. If Dead Reckoning doesn’t go to full self-parody, it at least feels like a cheap knock-off.

6 > 5 > 4 > 1 > 3 > 2 > 7

ChatGPT ripped off from:
- Cruise dancing the female lead through opponents ala Edge of Tomorrow
- Cruise’s ghosting a motorcycle into an enemy from the pov of the female lead trapped in a car ala Knight and Day
- Exaggerated characters and classical architecture raves from Wick
- Romance, sexuality, and the desperate need to reboot the franchise from Bond
- Weightless car-chases and nauseating self-seriousness from Fast and Furious
- Sloppy, illegible, run and gun action scenes from Borne
- Prestidigitation and perfect predictions that would require actual real-life magic to accomplish ala Now You See Me
- Crashing into a train to board it and then plummeting down a chasm in the derailed train cars with a not-enemy ala Wanted

40 Acres immediately grounds you in the world and establishes the stakes. It’s boldly shot with strong characters. The movie gives everyone space to be smart and competent.

Deadwyler’s the bedrock of a new world, an elemental force that defines the local reality. And O’Connor’s such an appealing protagonist, coming into his own and wanting to go beyond the shadow of his mother.

Like pretty much every modern action movie that involves gun fights, 40 Acres needs to lean on some ridiculous contrivances to vary the types of encounters. Inveterate killers go for non-lethal takedowns when the plot demands it. Occasionally all of the participants have a tacit understanding that the next round is knives-only. That’s annoying in any movie, but it clashes with the world of 40 Acres more than most. My one other pet peeve was that they never used any countersigns. At least yell “corner”!

Even so, 40 Acres is a great movie to see at the theater. My favorite SIFF showing this year.

Evergreens is a slightly-delayed coming of age/hangout movie that takes the audience on trip across Washington state.

This is a low-budget indie movie, a debut feature for the director, and the first starring role for both leads. You might be able to guess some of that watching the film. The writer’s voice bleeds through across characters, and oftentimes the performers are waiting for the cue instead of reacting to the scene.

Edouard Philipponnat gives the strongest performance, which is the backbone of the movie. Darby Lee-Stack is more hit and miss, but she has a high ceiling. Shooting over 18 days on multiple locations as you drive across the state probably isn’t the easiest way to perform, but they both pull it off.

Knowing the budget and the time constraints, you’d be surprised by how good it looks. Great shots taking advantage of the natural beauty, mountain towns, and cityscapes as you follow the characters across on 2, a ferry, and 101.

Evergreens is shot and set in Washington. You do get a segment in Seattle, and while it’s not too long the whole movie feels like a Seattleite’s guide for weekend trips, so I’m adding it to the Set in Seattle list.

The Balconettes is aggressively shot, sexually liberated, told from a female perspective, with an overriding theme of women ing women.

The movie starts out by laying the groundwork for an erotic thriller. Women confined to their homes during a heatwave, dealing with the insanity that causes under the omnipresent watch of their apartment-bound neighbors across the street. But before too long, things go off the rails and get weird.

Balconettes is successful in subverting those genre expectations, but it doesn’t do much to replace what was lost in abandoning the classic chills and thrills. It’s mostly riding on its theme and the three extremely personable leads. There’s not much dramatic tension, suspense, or payoffs.

Narratively, Balconettes is a mess. The story never detracts from the theme, but it doesn’t do much to add to it, either. The movie might have hit me a lot harder if the writing was more refined and purposeful, instead of being so loose and shapeless.

Couldn't up the opportunity to see a 3D Noir in a theater.

The Glass Web has a lot of the trappings of a Brian DePalma movie, but with the sleaze tuned down to tawdriness. The beginning and end are pretty strong, while the middle of the picture drags a bit.

I really liked Hughes' performance. It's refreshing when a female lead has full agency to be a baddie, without needing the excuse of extenuating circumstances or the manipulation of some male svengali.

The extra dimension was mostly used to add depth in the background, which is one of the better uses of 3D, but probably not worth all the extra difficulty. The big exception was a sequence in the middle of the movie, where the protagonist was walking the city streets in a daze, completely unaware of all sorts of near misses. But all the stuff that misses him by an inch goes straight towards the camera and into the theater. If you're going to force the 3D perspective tricks into a movie, that was a clever way to tie it in.

An over-the-top Blaxploitation set in the 80s of Miami Vice and Double Dragon.

Every dial is turned to 11: Artifice, style, ridiculousness, hammy over acting, Trapson’s commitment to the MJ bit, and (lack of) budget.

It’s a bit uneven, but it's a fun ride. A perfect midnight movie to see in a theater full of people laughing (and one guy snoring).

Undercover is well-shot, well-acted, and covers an interesting subject. But it’s not a well-constructed story (partially due to it being based on real events, and partially due to artistic choices).

Echevarria starts the movie by yada yadaing us through the first six years of an undercover assignment, which is where all the dramatically compelling moments would happen. But instead of those, we’re treated to a montage of  Arantxa hanging out with a couple of friends (who mostly disappear as soon as the montage ends).

We’re repeatedly told that Arantxa was crucial in gathering information, but we never see any of her wins. Context is never established about why this specific operation is important, or what impact it would have on the larger scale. We know one suspect is a worthless rookie and another guy is an asshole who’s at least half a rung up… but that’s it. We never learn what’s at stake, or which kingpin the operation’s targeting. All we’re shown is that Arantxa made two civilian friends over six years.

For a movie called Undercover, you’d expect a bit more attention would be paid to the craft, but it isn’t. The whole operation is a sloppy mess, but the movie only ever portrays it as ‘sufficient’. Nothing ever comes from the missteps, no cleverness is demonstrated, no cleverness is required.

It’s an unforced error to introduce the main story explicitly saying that the undercover agent is ‘plain as a table’ and ‘not too pretty’… and then cast Yuste. Maybe rework that scene if you’re going to flagrantly ignore it.

I’m not squeamish about nudity in movies, but it did come off aa extremely gratuitous (especially after the G-rated handling of the sex scene).

Undercover is based on real events, but it doesn’t really dig into the larger, real-world implications. It’s focused on the personal journey of the protagonist, and just paints everyone else as good guys or bad guys (with a couple brief moments that indicate there might be some issues with the good guys… but those threads are left unpulled). Despite that, and how vile Sergio was, and how the epilogue text felt like it came from the Ministry of Truth… it still seems like the Basque (not the ETA, and not the cops) was the group we should be sympathizing with.

Watched on Friday May 16, 2025.

A tense tale about a young woman (~17?) with a pick axe for a backbone needing to make her way in a hard-scrap world full of disreputable men.

The buildup is a bit slower, and the stakes a bit less extreme than the first act led me to expect. But Olea continually builds suspense, it's just a more grounded flavor of anxiety than you might be used to.

Outside of Katalina Sánchez's performance, my favorite part had to be Pacifico's character. He's a real one. Normally, when a movie has someone like Pacifico, their grit is a boundless super-power. But it's so much more powerful when the movie shows that even though grit can get you a long way, there are still limits.

It’s always a bit strange to finally watch something you think you know about through cultural osmosis (and Sorkin shows).

The theme Network’s famous for is interesting, there’s fun dialogue, and lots of strong performances (especially Dunaway and Warfield).

But the signature theme gets lost and things get muddled as the runtime drags on. The romantic subplot is excruciating, but at least it gives Dunaway some more lines.

The cliff notes version I knew contained all the important bits, so watching the full movie felt like it had a bunch of needless filler.

Awakenings feels like a fairytale. All the performances are goofy emoting. The patients are weird clockwork caricatures that operate on fantasy logic. The score is cloying, and the story is very pared down. Most practical elements are ignored, montages abound, and it’s buttoned up with a trite moral thesis.

This movie's best seen on a TV strapped to a cart, wheeled in when your social studies teacher is hungover.

Watched on Tuesday May 13, 2025.

More pablum than pulp.

For a Noir, Race Street feels about as dark as Leave it to Beaver. Juiceless performances. Raft is nondescript and worthless, he's a blank slug where the movie needs a minted coin.

The club numbers were the highlights, but they're merely pleasant.

I was really missing core of love that makes Detroiters a masterpiece.

Friendship would make a good segment on ITYSL if it was reduced down for a couple hours, but right now it’s a stockpot that’s mostly water. There are some real laughs, but it’s a diluted experience.

Tim’s not credited as a writer, and it definitely feels like this is someone else’s story… but that someone wrote a story where every scene includes a large block that just says: [Tim does Tim stuff]

p.s. The post-credits interview is not worth staying around for

Hou Hsiao-hsien keeps the audience detached from the subjects. The camera floats through scenes, not necessarily following the characters, a disionate observer of the small moments of a life. The almost whispered, third-person, out-of-time narration reinforces that remove, making you feel like a ghost tethered to Vicky, without any purpose or agency.

Millennium Mambo feels like watching birds outside your window. You're not privy to their inner lives, you don't know what happens when they're not in frame, but when they are you can idly watch them interact with each other.

I'm not usually one for "vibe" movies, but this one held my interest for longer than I would have guessed, but 106 minutes is too much time to commit for so little plot.

Another thing that made that 106 minutes feel repetitive is how long Vicky spends with an emotionally abusive, loser boyfriend in a relationship that's constantly replaying the same cycle. And it was disappointing when the secretive narration didn't turn out to be linked to a key moment or event, it was just another element used intermittently without clear purpose.

But if you like vibe movies, give this one a shot.

A cool doc about Seattle's pre-grunge music scene. I didn't realize there was so much jazz/r&b/funk/soul going on. Wheedle's Groove is more of a survey course than a deep dive of the scene or a treatise on how things progressed. But that's right at my level.

Shot and set in Seattle.

Since a quick google didn't show me a list of all the bands mentioned, I decided to transcribe it here so I could reference it later. If I knew how long it was, I might have spent an extra minute googling…

48 Pounds, 3 Ounces
Aaron Stewart
Acapulco Gold
Annakonda
Back 2 Back
Benorce blackman
Bernadette Bascom
Billy Burns
Billy Tolles
Black and White Affair
Black on White Affair
Bobby Green and The Innkeepers
Bobby Tuggle
Broham
Bugundy Express
Cameo
Casanovas
Cinnamon Soul
Clarence Axoc
Cold, Bold & Together
Contents Under Pressure
Cookin' Bag
Cornell Robinson
Curtis Hammond Sr.
Curtis Ware
Danny Ward & Reality
Dave Holden
Dave Lewis
David Wasson & Northwest Funk Factory
Dean Hodges
Dicky Enfield
Elbowed Out
Elijah "Kid" Anderson
Emergency Exit
Epicentre
Ernestine Anderson
Fatback
Frank Roberts & The Soul Brothers
Fred Zeufeld
Gail Harris
Gary Hendrix
George Griffin
Gerald Brashear
Gerald Frank
Guitar Shorty
Herbert Owings
Hot Ice
James Beaver
James Moody
Jay Thomas
Jimi Hendrix
Jim Pipkin & The Boss Five
Jimmy Holden
Jimmy Pipkins and the Boss Five
Joe Johansen
John Carmody
Jonah's Whale
Jordy
Juggernaut
Just Us
K Kuniyuki
Kings of Soul
Lady Rose
Lady Vee
Larry Coryell
Lee Parker
Leroy & The Galahads
Lester McFarland
Little Bill Engelhart
Little Curtis & The Blues
Little Willie Bell
Luther Rabb
Mark Doubleday
Merrilee Rush
Michael Jones
Mike Mandel
Movin' Good Together
Mr. Clean & The Cleansers
Nancy Claire
Nine Lives
Nite Sounds
Onyx
Pastor Patrinell Staten Wright
Patti Allen
Pernell Alexander
Pete DePoe
Pierce Brothers
Priceless
Push
Randy Snipes
Ready Made Family
Rich Dangel
Robbie Hill's Family Affair
Roger Filgo
Ron Buford
Ron Holden
Ron Woods
Sammy Drain & The New Breeds
Sarge West
Seattle Pure Dynamite
Septimus
Soul Swingers
Southside Syndicate
Steppen Stones
Steve Banks
Sweet Talkin' Jones
Tamaraw
Teresa (Tess) Thomas
The Deacons
The Dynamics
The Five Checks
The Gospel Five
The Johnny Lewis Trio
The Killing Floor
The Lee Brothers
The Main Attraction
The Majestics
The Nightmen
The Noblemen
The Notion
The Overton Berry Trio
The Shades
The Statics
Tiny Tony & Marble Head
Tiny Tony Smith
Toby Croons Band
Tommy Adams
Tommy Bliss
Tommy Henderson
Unfinished BUsiness
Ural Thomas
Valerie Rosa
Wayne Bibbs
Wayne Henderson
Woody Carr
Woody Woodhouse

You don't watch a giallo movie if you're looking for subtlety. Ostentatious camera moves, tight shots, and garish colors force your eyes to exactly where the director wants them to be. Within their first two lines, new characters explain their connection to the case, their motives, and their demands.

But what the Scorpion's Tail lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in style. Bombastic scoring, turgid dialogue, dramatic lighting, steely glares, and Eurpoean vistas ensure a strong, distinct flavor. You've got creeps in trench-coats, switchblade assassins in leather pants, and scantily-clad women in peril.

You're not going to be blown away by the script, or the performances, but everything about the presentation is so bold and arresting it's going to be an interesting watch.

Frank Oz’s takes a try at an adult drama by aping Michael Mann. It ends up feeling self-important and juiceless.

The thinking behind The Score begins and ends with “Brando + DeNiro + Norton”. Everything else is just stock movie cliches. A generic jazz score, an overly-complex yet uninteresting heist, and pro forma betrayals.

Norton is the only one of the three who's flexing. DeNiro is doing his standard DeNiro thing, and Brando just showed up for a day because they wrote all his scenes around a comfy place to sit.

Shadow Force isn’t an R-Rated action movie, it’s an episode of a USA Network show where they can say ‘Fuck’ a lot.

Most of the dialogue and many of the script elements feel like 80s throw-backs: broad, cartoonish ridiculousness that’s taken seriously. But instead of Van Damme doing the splits and gratuitous topless scenes, you get saccharine sentimentality with PG-13 (a soft PG-13) gunfights.

Mark Strong is having fun hamming it up. His “I didn’t get a manicure until I was 30 years old” speech is an instant classic for cheesy villain monologues. Omar Sy has enough charisma to make the movie watchable, and the kid stuff is very forced but still cute.

But the most disappointing thing about the movie is how little follow through there is for any of the stupid setups. They’re making stupid promises they don’t stupid keep.

Shadow Force (née The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad) are the most badass, lethal assassins in the world. It's a crew of a half-dozen visually distinct badasses. We’re repeatedly shown them menacingly sitting around, looking cool, a rogues gallery of would-be boss fights. But that setup’s all you get. The Shadow Forcees don’t get special skillsets or signature weapons. None of them have more than 2 lines of dialogue. I'm pretty sure you don't even learn their badass codenames. The worst part is, none of them even get a badass showdown. They’re used as generic henchmen that the costume department happened to doll up.

On a technical level, the action is very bad. But it’s a weird combination of complete incompetence plus professional polish that ends up being cute, in an awkward way.

Not a good movie, but not a terrible watch. : Mark Strong didn’t get a tailored suit until he was 40 years old.

Just like Memories of a Murder, I didn't realize Vengeance Is Mine was based on true events. I watched it as a narrative story, so my expectations were way-off.

Vengeance Is Mine has a lot going for it. The shot compositions are engaging, the score is bold (I wish there was a lot more of it), and the characters all pop. Each scene holds up on its own.

But the way those scenes were put together was awkward and unsatisfying. It's non-linear, and mostly told in flashbacks. There's no effort made to weave the flashbacks into the present day, or to keep narrative momentum between jumps. You just cut to a new day, without any cinematic indication besides a full calendar date in the bottom third (not even '3 months later', you need to keep notes if you want to know how much time has ed).

The movie starts with Enokizu in custody, which doesn't do much for dramatic tension. The flashbacks don't follow a cohesive story arc, or emotional through-lines. The scenes that are included in the flashbacks seem arbitrary. Narratively it's just "and then this happened".

All of that makes sense if the filmmaker's just trying to illustrate the partial timeline of the details known by the real life police. The director seems unwilling to fabricate details, attribute motives, or cast real-life tragedies as entertainment. That’s a respectable choice, but it that makes the movie less fun to watch.

The thing that finally tipped me off that Vengeance is Mine was a true story was how little payoff the ending had. If Enokizu was fictional, we'd be given some reasoning, some satisfying conclusion. But when the filmmaker's depicting a real-life psychopath, so we don't get to go inside their head. We don't know why he did the evil things he did. The audience is just shown that it happened, without any being granted any further insight.

Millennial mumblecore focused on an introverted, socially-isolated, overly-empathetic, under-confident, overly-intellectual, and averagely-narcissistic protagonist.

It's most effective in the small, immediate moments of emotional honesty that come from the characters just hanging out. It suffers when the timeline stretches beyond that one awkward night, and the movie tries to force arcs and artificial conflict into the picture.

The script has some fun, punchy lines. But the plot is a car-wreck in slow-motion. A cliche story about a naive lady who falls for a drunken sot. All subtext is elevated to text; everything shown is also told.

Nascent De Palma, you can definitely see his penchant for voyeurism and aggressive cinematography, but his skills hadn’t fully developed and he’s working on a small budget.

Sisters doesn’t have a ton going on. It’s underwritten, uneven in pacing and tone, and the performances are rough.

The best part is that it must be the inspiration for Hugo’s Treehouse of Horror segment.

The ant’s competently put together, and hits enough popcorn-movie touchpoints to be watchable. Affleck puts in a decent but understated shift. Simmons, Kendrick, and Bernthal are always welcome additions.

The main plotline works as an action movie if you can get onboard with the premise that regimented abuse turns neural-atypicality into a suite of super powers. 

But The ant spends so much of its runtime on the more serious, dramatic elements. And the writing’s too reductive and simplistic to pull that off.

Without changing the entire premise, it would have been nice if they showed that the dad’s regiment came at a cost. Or contrasted Affleck’s progress with a few well-balanced graduates of the special school. Or just stayed in its lane of an action movie with a fantastical and dated premise.

Great music. Liotta’s going full Ray, Griffith brings something to the table, and Daniels has moments. But it’s a soft, shapeless story that requires Daniels repeatedly go into cartoonish-dolt mode to move the plot along.

There’s no comedy, and the key elements for dramatic tension are ignored, but the biggest miss is how the movie’s put together. The editing and the scoring never seem in conversation with each other, or what’s happening on-screen. I’m shocked that Demme could go from this to Silence of the Lambs in 5 years.

Lowlight: cutting to a knees-down shot for 5 seconds of a stunt-moonwalker giving the absolute minimum.

Highlight: Nelson chastising Charlie’s goober antics with a plaintive “Attempt to be cool”

Watched on Monday April 28, 2025.

In a rural gothic setting of 1930s Mississippi, tension tinged with mystery permeates everything. Sinners is filled with characters that are slightly larger than life, embossed elements in a story that bleeds past the frayed edges of reality.

Everyone gives a strong performance (if not two), the score is top-notch, and Coogler provides gripping cinematography. The message is a bit more universal and far-reaching than you might think on first glance.

The story's told in ~7 chapters, and they're all fairly distinct, with different tones and stakes. I'd be interested to see more of any of them, but seeing them all in a row might have muddled things up just a bit.

The weakest part of Sinners is the action, which was of typical quality for a modern movie (derogatory).

I wish Hollywood would let more stories be singular, instead of tying people up for a decade to wring every last dollar out of an idea until it's lost all of its essence… but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't buy a ticket to Smoke/Stack in the Windy City.

Ridiculously under-baked script. For every line of actual writing there had to be 5 lines of "PUT JOKE HERE" placeholders they never got back to.

Covert's performance combines amateur-level skill with the complete disinterest of a burned-out veteran. He brings the energy of reading a phonebook to every scene.

When the biggest (only?) laugh comes from Swardson’s delivery of a joke served up on a platter, your comedy movie was not effective.

Plenty of sequels fail to live up to the original. Or a franchise will get diminishing returns going back to the same well again and again.

But, every once in awhile, a new installment fundamentally changes the characters or the world that's already been established, possibly taking the shine off of the movies you've already watched and loved.

Origins might be ret-conned, epilogues might be ignored, foundational mechanics might shift, dead characters might be resurrected, and living characters might suffer some sort of emotional amnesia.

If you're sensitive to that, take this as a warning to stop the adventure you're on, and head back home while you still can look back on the trip fondly. Because THAR BE MONSTERS.

(comments/suggestions welcome)

• Deadpool & Wolverine
• Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning
• Kingsman: The Golden Circle
• John Wick: Chapter 2
• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• The Dark Knight Rises
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Live Free or Die Hard
• Spider-Man 3
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

...plus 6 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Movies worth putting on pants for. Hopefully.

1. Black Bag
2. Sinners
3. 40 Acres
4. The Narrow Margin
5. 99 River Street
6. Out of the Past
7. The Killing
8. Ace in the Hole
9. The Sleeping City
10. Cry Danger

...plus 29 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These movies might not have come out in 2025, but I didn’t see them until 2025. Top 20 first-time watches of the year… although the bottom half of the list might cheat towards being the more interesting films that might otherwise be on the bubble for the “best” 20.

(Will rewatch/re-order the top10 at the end of the year)

1. Black Bag
2. Sinners
3. 40 Acres
4. Sweet Smell of Success
5. Women Talking
6. Burning
7. The Narrow Margin
8. Monster
9. 99 River Street
10. Kiss of Death

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

For SIFF 2025 I caught 10 movies in the theater, and then 2 more streaming.

The films I picked this year were pretty down the middle. Not many big hits, not many big misses, just a lot of "Oh, I guess that was nice."

Number one with a bullet (or a knife kill… gotta conserve!) is 40 Acres. I hope that gets distribution and more people get to see it.

And even though the movies themselves didn't blow me away, it was a lot of fun seeing The Glass Web in 3D, and New Jack Fury at a midnight showing with an appreciative audience.

1. 40 Acres
2. Come Closer
3. Bitter Gold
4. The Kingdom
5. The Balconettes
6. The Glass Web
7. Evergreens
8. New Jack Fury
9. Cloud
10. Undercover

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

All movies covered on The Suspense is Killing Us.
(Short list of trailing 10 episodes)

Notes have the host ratings for each movie, and a timestamped link to the ep.

🔆 Judd rating (0-5). This represents the movie's quality, but doesn't translate directly to letterboxd stars. Judds reflect the quality of the movie as this type of Suspense Thriller.
(List Sorted by Judds)

👄 Douglas rating (0-5). This is a nebulously-defined rating of the general sleaziness of the movie. Sometimes it's nudity, or sex, or attitude. Each host has their own take. It's… open-ended.
(List Sorted by Douglases)

🔷 Ad-hoc rating. The hosts also give a customized third rating that references something shocking from the movie. May contain spoilers. Early on, these were Mad Magazine-style titles.

• Longtime listeners can use the links in the notes to jump directly to the discussion of a specific movie they're interested in re-visiting.

• New listeners can use this list to see if a movie is worth watching before listening to the episode (many are not). But I'd recommend listening to the whole episode, and not just jumping directly to the movie discussion.

• Can non-listeners find a use for this list? We don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know. It's a market we could do without.

* This list is just the main feed – not including their Patreon. Andy is tracking those movies in their own Letterboxd list.

Caveats:
- Ignore my (low) ratings. Plenty of these have fun elements that I enjoy, but when I look at the full work they get lumped into the 2 star “didn’t work for me as a complete movie” bucket, and if a movie's more vibes or style than plot and story, it probably doesn't work for me as much as it works for you.
- The links to the hosts' activity on the movies are auto-generated, I'm not checking that they actually exist. If you follow one of those links, and the host hasn't logged or reviewed the movie? Keep hitting refresh until they get around to it. But there's nothing I can do about that.

• The Star Chamber

  Ep. 1: Star Chamber, Presidio, Narrow Margin (starts at 4:04)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5)
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5)
  Kevin: 🔆🔆(2)

• The Presidio

  Ep. 1: Star Chamber, Presidio, Narrow Margin (starts at 26:28)
  Matt: 🔆🔆(2)
  Travis: 🔆🔆(2)
  Kevin: 🔆🔅(1.5)

• Narrow Margin

  Ep. 1: Star Chamber, Presidio, Narrow Margin (starts at 51:14)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5)
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5)
  Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆(3)

• Presumed Innocent

  Ep. 2: Presumed Innocent, Consenting Adults, The Pelican Brief (starts at 4:40)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4)
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 🔷 Presumed Incoherent
  Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4)

• Consenting Adults

  Ep. 2: Presumed Innocent, Consenting Adults, The Pelican Brief (starts at 22:26)
  Matt: 🔆(1)
  Travis: 🔷 Confounding Dolts
  Kevin: 🔆🔅(1.5) 👄👄👄(3)

• The Pelican Brief

  Ep. 2: Presumed Innocent, Consenting Adults, The Pelican Brief (starts at 41:49)
  Matt: 🔆🔆(2) 👄(1) 🔷 The Smelly Pants Brief
  Travis: 🔆(1)
  Kevin: 🔆🔆(2) 💋(0.5) 🔷 Peli-can't Good Grief

• Basic Instinct

  Ep. 3: Basic Instinct & Lesser Ripoffs (starts at 2:09)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)
  Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)

• Sliver

  Ep. 3: Basic Instinct & Lesser Ripoffs (starts at 45:23)
  Matt: 🔆🔆(2) 👄👄(2) 🔷 Slobber
  Travis: 🔆🔆(2) 👄👄💋(2.5)
  Kevin: 🔆🔆(2) 👄👄💋(2.5) 🔷 Shiller

• Body of Evidence

  Ep. 3: Basic Instinct & Lesser Ripoffs (starts at 1:10:24)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 Shoddy of Evi-Dunce
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 Bawdy of Evi-Dunce
  Kevin: 🔆(1) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 Booty of Evi-Dunce

• Jagged Edge

  Ep. 4: Joe Eszterhouse (starts at 7:53)
  Matt: 🔆🔆(2) 👄(1) 🔷 30 Jaggs
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 💋(0.5) 🔷 5 Glasses of Orange Juice
  Kevin: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 👄(1) 🔷 5/5 Peter Coyotes

...plus 491 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Context available in the main list.

The full list can be a bit unwieldy, so this is just the trailing 10 episodes covered on The Suspense is Killing Us. Reverse episode order.

• Bird on a Wire

  Ep. 167: DRAG ME TO MEL (starts at 10:12)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 💋(0.5) 🔷 1 Cockroach in the Shower
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 👄(1) 🔷 101 References to Mel Gibson's Butt
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Piranhas Eating Tobolowsky
  Will Goss: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 👄(1) 🔷 1/1 Treacherous Tobolowskys

• Payback

  Ep. 167: DRAG ME TO MEL (starts at 1:11:35)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Hammered Toes
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 👄(1) 🔷 0/10 Smashed Toes
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 💋(0.5) 🔷 10/10 Healthy, Happy Dogs
  Will Goss: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 👄(1) 🔷 $70,000/$140,000

• Edge of Darkness

  Ep. 167: DRAG ME TO MEL (starts at 2:01:35)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Glasses of Milk
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 🚫(0) 🔷 4 Scenes of People Barfing
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Cigars
  Will Goss: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 3/4 Remaining Car Doors

• The Score

  Ep. 166: HEIST HEIST BABY (starts at 12:43)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 1 Big Fat Stack of Pancakes for Brian and Danny
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Marlon Brandos Falling Through the Floor
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔅(2.5) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Brando Bathrobes

• The Italian Job

  Ep. 166: HEIST HEIST BABY (starts at 1:13:03)
  Matt: 🔆🔆(2) 👄(1) 🔷 1 Very Large Rapper
  Travis: 🔆🔅(1.5) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Edward Nortons Getting Tortured With Ukranian Machinery
  Emalie: 🔆🔆(2) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Hot Cable Women

• Inside Man

  Ep. 166: HEIST HEIST BABY (starts at 1:58:42)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 💋(0.5) 🔷 10/10 Stolen Cartier Rings
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 💋(0.5) 🔷 100 Parking Tickets
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 🚫(0) 🔷 1 Big Willy and 2 Twins

• Something Wild

  Ep. 165: EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (starts at 11:01)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 👄👄(2) 🔷 1 Virginia is for Lovers T-Shirt
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Unseen Ray Liotta Stab Wounds
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Christmas Club Vouchers

• No Escape

  Ep. 165: EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (starts at 1:05:29)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Super Bazookas
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 🚫(0) 🔷 3 Guys With Their Teeth Filed
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 🚫(0) 🔷 5/5 Minutes in the Pool with Ralph

• Killing Them Softly

  Ep. 165: EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (starts at 1:59:30)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Dented Scoot McNairy Heads
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Ginger Ales
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Dishwashing Gloves and Sawed Off Shotguns

• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

  Ep. 164: PELHAMS 1,2,3 (starts at 8:46)
  Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Mayor's Discarded Kleenex
  Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 🚫(0) 🔷 3 Gesundheits
  Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 🚫(0) 🔷 10/10 Fried Robert Shaws

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

Context available in the main list.

Same movies, sorted by the average host/guest Judd rating (tie breakers are average Douglas rating, then appearance order)

🔆 Judd rating (0-5). This represents the movie's quality, but doesn't translate directly to letterboxd stars. Judds reflect the quality of the movie as an 80s/90s Suspense Thriller.

1. Basic Instinct

   Ep. 3: Basic Instinct & Lesser Ripoffs (starts at 2:09)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)

2. Ricochet

   Ep. 7: Ricochet (& Two Other Denzel Movies) (starts at 56:19)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5/5 Suits of Phone Book Armor
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 1 Bullet Shot Right in Your Fucking Face
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5 Glasses of Ice Tea
   Vern: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5/5 Denzels, 10/10 Joel Silvers, 2/2 Impalement/Electrocution Puns

3. Bound

   Ep. 38: First Traps (starts at 1:54:40)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 10/10 Drain Snakes
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄💋(3.5) 🔷 10/10 Wet Pipes
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄💋(3.5) 🔷 10/10 Joey Pants Toupees

4. Blow Out

   Ep. 5: Brian De Palma, part 1 (starts at 39:01)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5 Good Screams
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄💋(2.5) 🔷 100 Broken Hearts
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄💋(2.5) 🔷 5/5 Embroidered Springsteen Pillows

5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

   Ep. 19: Chinatownsploitation (starts at 1:20:45)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄💋(2.5) 🔷 10/10 Summarily Executed Shoes
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 2 Cars in Cars
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄💋(2.5) 🔷 2 Cartoon Bongo Boobs

6. The Silence of the Lambs

   Ep. 81: SERIAL PILLARS (starts at 1:01:25)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Moths in Me Gullet
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 10/10 Bottles of Stuff You Put on Your Nostrils
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 10/10 Jizzes Thrown

7. Out of Sight

   Ep. 124: TO BE FRANK (starts at 1:51:43)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Bottles of Nitroglycerin Matt's Going to Rob This Bank With
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Fake Legs
   Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Crushed Goldfish Bags

8. Se7en

   Ep. 81: SERIAL PILLARS (starts at 2:03:20)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 10/10 Phones That Aren't Even at My Desk
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 100,000 Cans of Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄👄👄(3) 🔷 3 Poor Dogs That are Left in that Tiny Apartment

9. Déjà Vu

   Ep. 102: TONYVEMBER part 2! (starts at 1:53:22)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Insane Time-Travel Car Chases
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄(2) 🔷 10/10 Partial License Plates
   Emalie: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄💋(1.5) 🔷 10/10 Cigarettes in the Autopsy Room

10. Thief

    Ep. 79: MICHAEL MANNUARY vol. 1 (starts at 11:35)
    Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄(1) 🔷 10/10 Fucking Thermal Lances
    Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄(1) 🔷 2 Shotgun Blasts to Jim Beluishi One on the Ground One in the Air
    Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄(1) 🔷 5 Alarms They Have to Get Through

...plus 491 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Context available in the main list.

Same movies, sorted by the average host/guest Douglas rating (tie breakers are average Judd rating, then appearance order)

👄 Douglas rating (0-5). This is a nebulously-defined rating of the general sleaziness of the movie. Sometimes it's nudity, or sex, or attitude. Each host has their own take. It's… open-ended.

1. Basic Instinct

   Ep. 3: Basic Instinct & Lesser Ripoffs (starts at 2:09)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5)

2. Strange Days

   Ep. 62: VIRTUAL INSANITY (starts at 10:25)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Knives in the Back
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Pairs of Rollerblades
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 2 Bad Apples

3. Body Double

   Ep. 5: Brian De Palma, part 1 (starts at 1:14:58)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5 Drills
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 2 Sensitive Nipples
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5 White Dogs

4. In the Cut

   Ep. 36: The Ryan Game (starts at 2:08:29)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Headbags
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 2/3 Spade Tattoos
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Downstairs Blow Jobs

5. Love Crimes

   Ep. 64: THE YOUNG ONES (starts at 1:59:27)
   Matt: ⛭(N/A) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 1 Wonderful Horsey Lady
   Travis: 🔅(0.5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Completely Unconvincing School Teacher Portrayals
   Kevin: 🔅(0.5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 1 Well-known Fact

6. The Quiet

   Ep. 95: SHITHOUSE (starts at 53:31)
   Matt: ⛭(N/A) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Towels Momma's Folding
   Travis: 0️⃣(0) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 10/10 Judd Nelson Piano Wires from Relentless
   Emalie: 🔆(1) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5 Spoonfuls of Dead-Dad Ashes

7. Dressed to Kill

   Ep. 5: Brian De Palma, part 1 (starts at 7:25)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5 Franzes
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5 Beavers
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5 Keith Gordons

8. Femme Fatale

   Ep. 6: DePalma-Rama pt. 2 (starts at 53:58)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5 Empty Chambers
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆(4) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5 Overflowing Aquariums
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔅(4.5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5/5 Bloody Shirts

9. Color of Night

   Ep. 15: Big Willis Style (starts at 1:01:01)
   Matt: 🔆🔆🔆(3) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 10/10 Naked Chicks at the Dinner Table
   Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 👄👄👄👄💋(4.5) 🔷 5 Inches to the Left
   Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔅(3.5) 👄👄👄👄💋(4.5) 🔷 10/10 Naked Bathtub Tanks

10. Ricochet

    Ep. 7: Ricochet (& Two Other Denzel Movies) (starts at 56:19)
    Matt: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄👄(5) 🔷 5/5 Suits of Phone Book Armor
    Travis: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 1 Bullet Shot Right in Your Fucking Face
    Kevin: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5 Glasses of Ice Tea
    Vern: 🔆🔆🔆🔆🔆(5) 👄👄👄👄(4) 🔷 5/5 Denzels, 10/10 Joel Silvers, 2/2 Impalement/Electrocution Puns

...plus 491 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

This list is dedicated to non-horror, original IP, R-rated movies.

That means No Scary Cinema, Reused Universes, or Budding Show-goers (also known as busters).

If there's a movie that's aimed at adults, telling an original story, and isn't in the horror genre? I'm sold. Just tell me the next showtime, I don't even want to know who's in it.

So skip the scream queens, the pre-seens, and the teen/tweens — take a flier on one of these historic gems.

[Ordered by release date - Going back to 1999 when TLC started it all.]

• Sinners
• Black Bag
• We Live in Time
• 40 Acres
• Anora
• Challengers
• Ghostlight
• Kneecap
• Boy Kills World
• All of Us Strangers

...plus 79 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The Emerald City on the Silver Screen.

I started with films listed in Filmlandia! and the wikipedia page, added any others I could find, and then applied my criteria:

- Films must be set in the greater Seattle area (or a fictionalized city with the Space Needle) for a significant/important chunk of the runtime. It doesn't matter where they're shot, Vancouver can play Seattle, as long as it's playing Seattle for a significant and/or important chunk of the movie. (So Ghost Protocol is excluded not because it was shot in Vancouver, but because it was only in Vancouver for a few anonymous minutes)
- That's it

I haven't seen all these movies, so please comment with any corrections or suggestions.

• Evergreens
• Heart Eyes
• Rainier: A Beer Odyssey
• Sono Lino
• Ultimate Citizens
• Grandpa Guru
• Fish War
• All We Carry
• The Boys in the Boat
• M3GAN

...plus 152 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Ranking the films I've seen at the 2024 SIFF Film Festival.

1. Ghostlight
2. Bob Trevino Likes It
3. Resynator
4. Red Rooms
5. Rainier: A Beer Odyssey
6. Killing Romance
7. Scorched Earth
8. Thelma
9. The Missile
10. Golden Child

...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My personal best picture of the year, going back to 1980. This award is mercurial, and the current holder of the title may change over time, as they are re-evaluated.

Some years were a challenge to find any movie worthy of inclusion, while other years it felt like a crime to limit it to only one. But that's why they pay me the… single letterbox'd ♥??

Dang.

[Details in notes]

1. The Blues Brothers

   A strong showing right out the gate, Blues Brothers featured so many living legends giving musical performances bookended by insane car chases and deadpan comedy.

2. Roadgames

   A low budget, Aussie suspense movie? 1981 isn't a tall mountain, but Stacy Keach is king of it.

3. Victor/Victoria

   Hollywood still hadn't gotten its act together by '82. But Victor/Victoria was at least unique, and surprisingly ahead of its time.

4. Project A

   '83 marks what I consider the start of Jackie Chan as a brand, and Project A gives you a preview of what the rest of his pre-Hollywood career will look like.

5. Beverly Hills Cop

   Hollywood's quality is starting to creep up, when Axel Foley shows up in Beverly Hills.

6. Clue

   While Police Story and Back to the Future are great… Clue is your one stop shop for solving crimes and multiple timelines.

7. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

   Top Gun, Short Circuit, Aliens… '86 may be the strongest year yet for 80s classics. But I've got a soft spot for Ferris.

8. The Princess Bride

   Robocop, Raising Arizona, Lethal Weapon… lots of cultural mainstays started in 1987.  But the one that holds up the best has to be Princess Bride.

9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

   Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Die Hard, Baron Munchausen, and Akira deserve a nod as well.

10. Back to the Future Part II

    The best of the Back to the Futures!

...plus 36 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Prompts for The Official Hater Club Movie Challenge 2025 available in the original list, that's too many links to copy.

• Monster
• Natural Born Killers
• Punishment Park
• 200 Cigarettes
• Coffy
• Women Talking
• Burning
• Wendell & Wild
• Sick of Myself
• The King of Comedy

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

There are a lot of movies I rated 4+ stars, but I haven't seen since I started logging movies on Letterboxd sometime in late 2018.

This is a list to (slowly) go back and re-watch, re-evaluate, re-enjoy… and finally log these movies.

• Akira
• The Blues Brothers
• Captain Fantastic
• Catch Me If You Can
• Clerks
• Coco
• Crank
• The Dark Knight
• District 9
• Equilibrium

...plus 33 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

The 18 films of Noir City 22 shown in Seattle, ranked.

There were 6 more shown in the Oakland run, and I'll try to get to them soonish, but they won't be in the theater, they won't have classy intros, and they won't be on this list. But I've gotta see all the clips that were in that Serena Bramble overture [LINK MISSING].

1. The Narrow Margin
2. 99 River Street
3. Out of the Past
4. The Killing
5. Ace in the Hole
6. The Sleeping City
7. Cry Danger
8. Hell's Half Acre
9. Detour
10. My True Story

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Cult Movie Challenge, prompts available in the original list, or you can see it with nice links in Cory's list

• Memories
• Hardcore
• The Changeling
• Loose Screws
• TNT Jackson
• Across 110th Street
• Taste of Fear
• Spitfire
• Agent Cody Banks
• Link

...plus 42 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

These movies might not have come out in 2024, but I didn’t see them until 2024. Top 20 first-time watches of the year… although the bottom half of the list might cheat towards being the more interesting films that might otherwise be on the bubble for the “best” 20.

Rewatching/re-ordering the top10 at the end of the year.

1. Ghostlight
2. Anora
3. Challengers
4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
5. Kneecap
6. Dogville
7. We Live in Time
8. Perfect Days
9. Dune: Part Two
10. Bob Trevino Likes It

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

I came for the magic… but I stayed to laugh, to cry, to care.

1. The Fall
2. Ghostlight
3. Whiplash
4. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
5. Anora
6. Kneecap
7. Dune: Part Two
8. Challengers
9. We Live in Time
10. Perfect Days

...plus 65 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Ranking the Noir City movies, as hosted by SIFF at the Egyptian. I got to 10 in the theater, and am catching the rest at home.

1. Le Trou
2. Never Open That Door
3. Union Station
4. The Asphalt Jungle
5. Strongroom
6. Street of Chance
7. Elevator to the Gallows
8. Zero Focus
9. Human Desire
10. Victims of Sin

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Scarecrow Video is one of the largest archives of physical movie media in the world. Many of these titles are available to rent by mail, which is handy as some have never had a 'digital' release.

This list is based off of the Foreign section. (Films from featured directors will be in the Directors section). Details (editions, formats, etc) are available in the notes.

Items that are obviously TV shows, bonus features, shorts, and multi-title discs have been stripped out. The remaining items were grouped into movies, and those movies were matched to Letterboxd. A list of titles that weren't found on Letterboxd will be published later.

Any bad groupings or mismatches can be reported to me. If there's an issue with the details about a movie, that's (probably) an issue with the underlying data.

• 09:06

  🗺️ FOREIGN : SLOVENIA
  Standard Edition (2010) 1 hour 30 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/R
  [Subtitled] [Widescreen]

  📀1️⃣⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 82⟭v1.1⟭

• 1 Litre of Tears

  🗺️ FOREIGN : JAPAN
  Standard Edition (2006) 1 hour 38 minutes ⠀ Rated: PG13
  [Subtitled] [Widescreen]

  📀🆓⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 97⟭v1.1⟭

• 10 Days with Dad

  🗺️ FOREIGN :
  Standard Edition (2020) 1 hour 38 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/PG
  [Anamorphic] [Subtitled] [Widescreen]

  📀1️⃣⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 94⟭v1.1⟭

• 10 Magnificent Killers

  🗺️ FOREIGN : HONG KONG
  Standard Edition ⠀ Rated: U/R

  📀⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 79⟭v1.1⟭

• 10 Promises to My Dog

  🗺️ FOREIGN : JAPAN
  Standard Edition (2008) 1 hour 57 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/G
  [Subtitled] [Widescreen]

  📀3️⃣⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 99⟭v1.1⟭

• 100% Arabica

  🗺️ FOREIGN :
  Standard Edition (1997) 1 hour 25 minutes ⠀ Rated: PG13
  [Subtitled] [Widescreen]

  📀1️⃣⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 99⟭v1.1⟭

• 100 Bloody Acres

  🗺️ FOREIGN : AUSTRALIA
  Standard Edition 1 hour 30 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/R

  💿🅰️⠀BLU-RAY
  ⠀⠀↪ (2009 - 2012) 1 hour 30 minutes
  ⠀⠀↪ Also Includes The Short Film "celestial Avenue"
  ⠀⠀↪ [Anamorphic] [Extras] [Widescreen]
  📀1️⃣⠀DVD
  ⠀⠀↪ (2012) 1 hour 30 minutes
  ⠀⠀↪ [Extras] [Widescreen]

  ⟬match score: 98⟭v1.1⟭

• 100 Days

  🗺️ FOREIGN : BRITISH DRAMA
  Standard Edition (2001) 1 hour 40 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/R

  📀🆓⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 99⟭v1.1⟭

• 100 Days Before the Command

  🗺️ FOREIGN : RUSSIA
  Standard Edition (1990) 1 hour 10 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/R
  [Widescreen]

  📀1️⃣⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 97⟭v1.1⟭

• 100 Streets

  🗺️ FOREIGN : BRITISH DRAMA
  Standard Edition (2016) 1 hour 33 minutes ⠀ Rated: U/R
  [Anamorphic] [Extras] [Widescreen]

  📀1️⃣⠀DVD

  ⟬match score: 99⟭v1.1⟭

...plus 13589 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.