Category Archives: Film Listings/Ratings

 I saw it twice, then listened to the book on Audible. It is a masterpiece I think and the most inaccessible of Kaufman’s movies. It’s rare when a film asks so much of me and expects me to either keep up or give up. It’s even more rare to accept the challenge and dig inContinue reading “I’m Thinking of Ending Things (Charlie Kaufman- 2020) A+”

Two men are operating a lighthouse somewhere off 1800s New England. They are supposed to be there only for 4 weeks or so. Maybe more. In any case this one is about them slowly going insane. Movies like this; two actors, one or two settings are favorites of mine if done well. This is oneContinue reading “The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers – 2019) A”

It’s an awful brutal movie. It’s a rough, depressing tale set in a Cormac McCarthy type American south in the backwoods of West Virginia. Sold yet? It’s set in a place and time after the second war where religion and violence saturate every minute of it. We get excellent performances by Tom Holland, Bill SkarsgardContinue reading “The Devil All the Time (Antonio Campos – 2020) B+”

Set in the 18th century this a perfectly told love story of a painter, Marianne, who is commissioned to paint a young woman, Héloïse, so that the painting can be sent to her husband-to-be. She does not want to be painted, so Marianne has to take walks with her by the beach and sketch herContinue reading “Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma – 2019) A-“

When Daniel (Albert Brooks) dies in a car accident he finds himself in a purgatory of sorts. He is assigned a lawyer and needs to defend his life in front of three judges. His specific actions distilled into a few incidents from his life that he re-visits and defends. In the end it is decidedContinue reading “Defending Your Life (Albert Brooks – 1991) B”

I clicked on this based on the description on Amazon Prime. Seemed interesting enough. Figured it would be a fun little thriller from Blumhouse productions. It was stupid, filled with stupid people who make stupid choices and the performances by and large were bad.

You don’t really like Howard, but you sort of do. He is a hustler, jewelry and gem dealer in Manhattan’s diamond row. He is also a frenetic hyper personality who does not shut up. He owes money to everyone. He borrows from this guy to pay the next guy and pawns items he does notContinue reading “Uncut Gems (Benny and Josh Safdie – 2019) A”

See my comments about the other Trip movies. I love this stuff. More of the same, yet, I’m hoping for more of them. Also, in these times of being a “stuck at home horrible summer of cancelled plans”, it’s lovely seeing two chaps wander around the Greek isles, eating, bantering and being funny.