After watching Weapons, I thought it was one of the most entertaining films I’d seen in a long, long time. But to see if this was really the case, I went back and scanned all the films I’d seen in the last ten years–not just current releases, but older films as well. In this thread, I’m going to list those films, and talk about a few of them.
Here’s the list, starting with the films I saw in 2016
Continue reading “The Most Entertaining Movies I Saw from 2016-2026”In terms of the greatest Japanese directors, my sense is that films critics tend to mention three: Ozu, Kurosawa, and Mizoguchi. Of the three, I never really understood the reason Mizoguchi made the list. I should say that I’ve seen far less of his films than the other two, but I did see Ugetsu Monogatari and Sansho Daiyu, perhaps two of his most famous internationally. I liked those films, but they didn’t seem to warrant putting him as one of the best Japanese filmmakers (at least after the first viewing).
So I’ve been trying to watch more of his films recently. I re-watched the films above, and I did appreciate the visual aspects of the films a lot more, and I thought both were good-to-very good. After those two, I watched Osaka Legacy and Sisters of Gion. Both were good, especially the second one. Isuzu Yamada’s feistiness stood out, reminding me of Stanwyck’s and Magnani’s feminine spunk. The fact that Mizoguchi made what can be categorized as feminist films, in 1936 Japan, also surprised me.
A few months ago, I went to Ideas Books and Music and discovered, to my dismay, that the store had permanently closed down. Although I hadn’t been going to the store as much, the closure saddened me, primarily because the store had been a big part of my life, starting in my 20s. Not only that, but the closing represents the end of era for me–specifically, going to used cd stores, which was a major leisure activity for me.
Before I say anything else, let me describe the two motivating factors sending me to these stores.
Continue reading “With the Closing of Ideas Books and Music (Jelly’s), an Era Comes to an End”If the title is confusing, I don’t blame you. I wasn’t sure what to call this post myself, and I’m not really sure how to start it…..So, I guess I’ll start by describing something I’ve recently observed–namely, that with certain media, if I don’t consume them regularly, they can be really difficult to get into. This applies specifically to mostly movies, TV shows, books, and writing–as in, taking the time to write something like this. However, suppose I watch a movie and then another movie right after that. If I see a movie soon after (say, the next day or two), the difficulty to sit watch the film isn’t so great. The same applies to books. If I read a book, and then another soon after, getting started and then finishing the book isn’t so difficult. Something applies to an individual book as well–namely, if I’m reading the book regularly and not really short spurts, then reading seems to flow. On the other hand, if my reading of the book is intermittent and each reading session is relatively short, reading can feel like a slog. It’s almost as if a type of momentum begins, making reading or watching a film easier. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what do you think is going on?
Continue reading “The Need for Momentum When Consuming Certain Types of Media”A thread to discuss the movies and TV shows you’ve seen in 2026.
PBS recently aired The American Revolution, a six part documentary made by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. I’ll use this thread to discuss the series. Up first, I’ll list some anecdotes that I didn’t know about and that stood out to me.
Continue reading “The American Revolution (2025 documentary)”This was a question theAtlantic posed to some of its writers. Their answers largely disappointed me. Let me quickly review them, with some alternate suggestions.
Continue reading “What is a foreign film you’d recommend to somebody who hasn’t seen one before?”Criterion Channel is now streaming a collection of Robert Altman films, so I decided to start a thread on these films. Stylistically, Altman is probably most famous for features many different characters in his films and the use of overlapping dialogue, where characters talk over each other (which often occurs in real life). I should note that not all of these films have these qualities. If Altman’s films do possess features that are present in all his films, I don’t know what they are, but I hope to discover them as I watch these films.
Leaving the Portland airport, seeing the architecture of the homes and evergreen trees made me feel like I was back in Seattle. But as we drove into downtown Portland, two things stood out, distinguishing Portland from Seattle–namely, the Willamette River and the bridges, one after the other, a few rising high above it. Water features prominently in Seattle, but the water there is like an amoeba surrounding it, whereas in Portland, the Willamette is a strong line, cleaving the city in two, creating western and eastern sections. The Western side is more of the urban core, including the downtown area. The Eastern side is more suburban, with several portions of the longer streets and avenues filled with shops, restaurants and even movie theaters, creating a kind of charming main street vibe. I really like Seattle, but I might like Portland even more. The food scene seems just as good as Seattle, if not better, and they have probably the best bookstore I’ve been to. I want to talk about that store and also a used vinyl/cd/video store which I really liked as well.
I was debating whether to start a separate thread or include this in the thread about Film Comment’s best films of the 2010s, but a separate thread seems appropriate, even though there is a lot of overlap. In this thread, I’m going to discuss the list ten films per post, starting with the 100th film. Here’s the link to the article: The New York Times 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century (Note: I had trouble making this a gifted article, but if you want that, let me know, and I’ll try again.)
Some random thoughts before I begin:
Continue reading “The New York Times 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century”