Corruption for Lovers
Pandora’s Box
Pandora’s Box is a 1929 drama directed by G.W. Pabst and starring the magnetic Louise Brooks. Pabst’s filmmaking is captivatingly deft considering the early era. It was already his 8th feature, but his command over visual storytelling still feels anachronistic. The film’s subject matter of sex and corruption also feels ahead of its time. There’s good reason this silent film is still celebrated today.
Witness for the Prosecution
Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 courtroom drama with wonderfully realized characters, especially that of Charles Laughton's ailing barrister, Sir Wilfrid.
The writing pedigree here is the stuff of legends. It began as a short story of Agatha Christie's. She adapted it for the stage, and that play was in turn adapted to film here by Billy Wilder, who also directed the picture.
I recommend this colorful and lively crime mystery.
Christie and Wilder expertly laid their trap and I fell right into it. I was, of course, meant to think that Christine was setting up her husband and running off with some other man, and I ignored the pieces that didn't fit that picture. So when the double twist came in the last few minutes of the movie, I was delightfully had. Well done.
On, and Marlene Dietrich's costumed scene was insane. Who is this lumpy witch with an impossible accent?
Brief Encounter
Brief Encounter is a 1945 British romantic drama by acclaimed director David Lean exploring the joy and misery of an extramarital affair. It's really well made, but not exactly my bag as far as subject matter.
Lean makes interesting formal choices in this film. First there's the voiceover, which accompanies many of the film's scenes. But it's not just any VO; it's the inner monologue of a woman mentally working her way through how she'd explain her affair to her husband. Pretty novel. Next there's the steady, predictable camerawork he employs throughout, up until the climax, when the protagonist experiences a moment of sudden existential mania. It's only then that the stately camerawork gives way to a more impressionist style; he allows the camera itself to emote, mirroring the woman's desperate, stilted perspective. It was super striking. Finally there's the structure. He arranged the film in a loop such that the penultimate sequence is played twice; once at the beginning of the film, and then once again, near the end, but with much more context this time, and expanded and extended. Master-level stuff.
Music
All That Jazz
I don’t usually like music movies, and I struggle with films about unrepentant womanizing assholes, but All That Jazz is an achievement. Incredible concept, dance numbers, performances, and cinematography and editing.
Looking at Bob Fosse’s career, and seeing how well he seems to understand Roy Scheider’s obsessed artist character, I’d have to guess this film is a self portrait. The film then is the most spectacular display of glitz and self-hatred you’ll see. Hard to watch, and impossible not to.
School of Rock
My kids learned of Jack Black through last year’s A Minecraft Movie, which I’ve not seen, but I saw an opening to present them more Jack Black, and I took it, by showing them the 2003 family comedy School of Rock. We had fun with this! My older kid is in band, so I think he particularly connected with it. Richard Linklater directed this one, and I've got to say, I've only had good experiences with him.
Night Moves
Night Moves is a 1975 neo-noir starring Gene Hackman. It's kind of a marvel in how it balances its pacing and tone. The pace feels relaxed and open while at the same time driving onward. This somehow makes it a good hang even though it's full of tough beats. It offers questions it doesn't fully answer, but it also has a strong point of view.
This one is very 70s malaise-core. The obvious comp for me was Chinatown. The final shot of Harry's boat helplessly circling the water is a brilliant symbol.
I found a few things difficult to follow. First of all, why does Delly die? Apparently Arlene would be the beneficiary of Delly's trust fund if she died, which indicates that she worked with stunt coordinator Joey to kill her. I guess any fund needs a backup beneficiary, but I would assume it was established by Arlene's first husband (as Arlene herself is broke), and he'd be the beneficiary. Is he dead, leaving Arlene as the sole beneficiary? Or did they divorce, and in that process it was ensured that Arlene was on the trust? But wait, that's only of value to her if Delly dies. I think maybe while Delly is alive the trust also affords Arlene a livelihood, but it seems like an unusual setup for alimony and child support. I really don't get how it works, and therefore I don't get how we're meant to understand why Delly dies.
The other thing that stumps me is if Harry's friend Nick is a part of the smuggling conspiracy or not. Is it just a coincidence that Nick is into smuggling Mexican artifacts, and so are the subjects of Harry's case, or is he a part of their crew? If it's a coincidence, I think the reason is to seed the early exposition with information about the illicit trade, so it can pay off later. If not, it feels a little off that every other person involved is confronted (and dies) and we just never check back with Nick.
Romance, family, and culture
Saving Face
Saving Face is a romance film about an Asian American woman navigating family issues, not least of which is the growing tension surrounding her not being out. Joan Chen plays her mother in what I thought was a hilarious performance.
Monsoon Wedding
Monsoon Wedding is a 2001 film about romance and family in India. It weaves together several connected stories which are all set to converge on the big wedding day. Vibrantly colored, charming, and well-crafted, it’s a good watch.
Foreign language
Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali is a 1955 humanist drama set in a rural Bengal village; a tale of stolen moments of joy amid a crush of hardship. Shockingly, this was the first feature by Satyajit Ray. How did he already have a sense of how to shoot and edit a film like this (not to mention his subtle and poignant writing)? I'll be watching more from this guy.
Tokyo Drifter
Tokyo Drifter is a 1966 Japanese gangster movie directed by Seijun Suzuki. It's stylish but suffers from a poor story and editing issues. One might enjoy it as a “bad movie” but I don’t really have that gear. I preferred Suzuki's 1964 film Gate of Flesh.
The Creatures
The Creatures is a strange film coming from Agnes Varda; a sci-fi! Although I didn't love it, what I did appreciate was Varda's playful experimentation. Her films are alive and daring. I'll definitely be continuing my journey through her oeuvre.
New releases
Resident Evil
Resident Evil (2026) is a horror comedy by Zach Cregger. I love when movies go “all the way”, and in general, horror does that. Zombies are good, but what if they also explode? Exploding zombies go all the way.
2026 has been a solid movie year for me, but so far nothing I’ve seen is a “5-star classic”. This film and The Invite are my favorites among the 4-star tier. I’m going to have to circle back for Cregger’s other movies.
Primetime
Primetime is a 2026 drama about TV personality Chris Hansen's rise to prominence and infamy in the 00s. Its portrait of Hansen, and of the TV business, is scathing. As much as I don't like spending time in slime with monsters, I can appreciate that the filmmaker and I agree on which things are slime, and which people are monsters.
This movie employs some pretty wild stylization, some of which really worked for me, and some of which felt a little off.
Rewatches
Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke is a classic Studio Ghibli film I rewatched with my kids. I love how complexly it renders its characters; they're not all one thing or another, even as they play roles that oppose each other. Similarly it deals with humanity and its dangerous relationship with nature in a way that provides fertile ground for despair, hope, and deep consideration. A film that does all that while being eye-poppingly beautiful and delivering exciting gnarly violence, well, that's a film in rare air.
Batman Begins
I shared this with my older kid. We've worked our way through a few of Christopher Nolan's films together, and now we're doing his Batman trilogy. Lucky for us both, my kid doesn't know a lot about Batman, so it's an all-new world for him, with a lot of fun stuff to discover.
Misc
The Women
The Women is a 1939 George Cukor directed comedy-drama featuring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, many other women, and for its 133 minutes zero men. In it women navigate their treacherous social circles while negotiating their relationships with offscreen men. I had fun with this one; I think it's a bit of a gem.
The Women can feel surprisingly modern in its ideas about divorce and female agency in love. Shearer’s character gets a lot of unwanted advice about the predicament of her disintegrating marriage, and works through staying or leaving, reuniting or breaking. She’s thoughtful about her ideals versus her realities, and what she can stand to live with and what she can’t. Through all of this we understand and have compassion for her.
On the other hand, the film can be read as accepting certain assumptions about women; that they are catty gossips who will destroy each other for men, who, though unseen, are the center of their world.
Stand by Me
Stand by Me is a 1986 coming of age film directed by Rob Reiner, adapting a story by Stephen King, and set in the 1950s. Its story is basically flawless and the young performers do a great job. It wasn't really for me though.
I felt myself bristling at the trope of these foul-mouthed youths with hearts of gold. I had the same reaction to the rough-and-tumble urchins in Angels with Dirty Faces. I was thinking "boys aren't really like this" and then I remembered what my classmates were like when I was the same age. Yeah, boys are exactly like this, and that's what's so painful about tagging along with them.
TV
Dr. Stone
Dr. Stone is a 2019 sci-fi anime series based on the shōnen manga of the same name. It follows the events that ensue after human beings worldwide are suddenly petrified into stone. Some people eventually escape this terrible fate—of course they do, otherwise there wouldn't be a show—and set themselves to the task of restarting the world. Their only tool: science. This show loves science so much that it's, well, notable. My kids and I enjoyed it. I think the first season especially is compelling.
Books
Best. Movie. Year. Ever.
I've enjoyed Brian Raftery's serial podcasts in the past, so I was thrilled to listen to Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen on audiobook. In it, he does a fantastic job diving into many of the year's most notable films and giving the reader a sense of the industry at the turn of the millennium.
Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron
I hated this.
