What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? – 1993 Hallström
It’s a family portrait with a bittersweet tone that is in the archives largely on the basis of the two performances from Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio The rest of the ensemble is strong as
Sorry to Bother You – 2018 Boots Riley
With a second watch I’m not sure if some of the flimsier connective tissue will meld—or float apart—but either way it’s a wildly innovative, intelligent, and aspiring film While being wholly original (excited to see
The Guardians – 2017 Beauvois
A slow-burn period epic (sometimes romance) with great photography and a meditative approach based in realism Great photography of the countryside, wheat fields—Van Gogh or Monet paintings—photography by Caroline Champetier—worked on Holy Motors Never shows
The Best Actor of All-Time: Robert De Niro
best film: Raging Bull. Scorsese’s supreme masterpiece has moved to my #4 film of all-time. The opening credits, the battle with Sugar Ray (my god that lighting) and the slow-motion drive-by sequence with Frank Vincent
The 2nd Best Actor of All-Time: James Stewart
best film: Vertigo. There are four Jimmy Stewart masterpiece films to choose from including It’s a Wonderful Life, Rear Window, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and Vertigo. Hitchcock’s Vertigo recently passed Citizen Kane on
The 3rd Best Actor of All-Time: Marlon Brando
best film: Apocalypse Now is the second best film of all-time and since Brando isn’t in The Searchers (#1) it’s the choice here even with The Godfather looming closely behind (also in the top 10).
The 4th Best Actor of All-Time: Humphrey Bogart
best film: Casablanca is the best of four masterpieces starring Bogart. Those four are (in order of quality): Casablanca, The Big Sleep, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon. I have In
I’m Not There. – 2007 Haynes
The narrative storytelling is fascinating—a collage, kaleidoscope—impressionistic biopic that avoids the dry conventional biopic like the plague (sort of the anti-Ray or Walk the Line) Haynes sets it up early with a montage of his
The 5th Best Actor of All-Time: Jack Nicholson
best film: This one is incredibly crowded because Jack has been in (and been excellent in) 6 ½ masterpieces. It’s the most I’ve seen while doing this. He’s in Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
The 6th Best Actor of All-Time: Al Pacino
best film: The Godfather is Pacino’s best film with Part II close behind and Heat not far in the rear-view either. Pacino has been in four masterpieces—the fourth of which is Sidley Lumet’s film Dog
The 7th Best Actor of All-Time: Daniel Day-Lewis
best film: There Will Be Blood. There’s nothing terribly close so this film is absolutely huge for DDL’s resume. As of now it’s his lone masterpiece (I’m excited to revisit Phantom Thread after twice in
The 8th Best Actor of All-Time: Toshirô Mifune
best film: Seven Samurai reigns supreme but Rashomon has shot up my list over the last decade. The sheer ambition and size of The Seven Samurai edges out the narrative genius of Rashomon but they’re