Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Oh wow. Perfection–I don’t have words for this.
Month: November 2021
Wings of Desire (1987)
Some moments of real beauty here. Strange to see Bruno Ganz in this role after only knowing him from a thousand memes (and the very good film from which they come), but he works perfectly here. There’s an aching tenderness in his performance that really hits the heart. The poetic script didn’t always land for… Read More Wings of Desire (1987)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
There’s something about Annie Hall that works so well for me, but every other Woody Allen movie just falls flat. I need to flesh these thoughts out some time, but there’s something about his characters which makes them just so unlikeable and uninteresting. But the problem I think is that the movie clearly finds them… Read More Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Goonies (1985)
Can’t believe I was a kid in Oregon and never saw this movie–wasn’t even really on my radar. I wish I had seen it then, because watching it now was fairly excruciating. It was like watching the movie equivalent of a Pixy Stix–just pure chaotic energy, pitched at a volume of 11. This was produced… Read More The Goonies (1985)
Blood Simple (1984)
This was exquisite–simple, yes, but so tight throughout. Remarkable the layering in the screenplay, and tension oozing out of every frame. Loved it.
Videodrome (1983)
I finally hit my birth year on this film project. And it was…ok. I loved Debbie Harry in this, but it’s hard to appreciate anything about James Woods these days. The film itself made a Very Important Satirical Point but was ultimately sort of goofy. I loved the special effects, though, and there were some… Read More Videodrome (1983)
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Hmm, probably more impressive 40 years ago. The formal elements here were done better elsewhere, for me, especially in Vertov’s Man With a Movie Camera–here, the rapid procession of images never felt like they built toward anything. There wasn’t a sense of momentum, or of purpose. It all felt fairly random. And even watching the… Read More Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Body Heat (1981)
Absolute firecracker of a movie. Sultry personified. Are there some strange plot holes? Yes, but I enjoyed myself too much to care. Bonus points for working the rule against perpetuities into a major plot point with a straight face. Loved it.
Winkie's Diner 