Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker – 2019 Abrams
There are some redeeming moments here that make it worthy of the archives but I do feel like it’s the worst of the three Star Wars films from the 2010’s and it doesn’t exactly leave
Another Year – 2010 Leigh
A four-part drama about a contented couple (Ruth Sheen and Jim Broadbent) with those in their orbit (the depressing Lesley Manville the main character) set to the four seasonsThere’s great work by Leigh and his
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 2004 Cuarón
So I thought about a comparison for watching Cuaron direct this film--- it’s a very good film—but it feels a bit like watching the world’s greatest opera singer do a pop song. I was going
Uncut Gems – 2019 Safdie
A roller-coaster, a time bomb, a heart-attack—you pick the analogy--- the Safdie brothers have confirmed their arrival as major auteurs, in a big way, with Uncut Gems. Their specific brand of narrative propulsion is their
Germany Year Zero – 1948 Rossellini
The third and final film in Rossellini’s War Trilogy—the first two films are Rome, Open City and PaisanTracking shots of the post WWII ruins in Berlin during the credits with a horror film-like score from
The 133rd Best Director of All-Time: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pasolini. I’ll be the first to admit that there is work to be done here on my end regarding Pasolini. I’ve seen six Pasolini films, once a piece, between the years 2004-2006. That certainly doesn’t
The 132nd Best Director of All-Time: Marcel Carné
Carné. All three of Carné’s archiveable films land in the top 100 of their respective decade. There isn’t much beyond that as far as resume. I’ll get to it below but the disconnect I have
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – 1939 Thorpe
I’m not IMDB’ing what else Richard Thorpe directed by this is a solid adaptation of Twain with the perfect casting (even if he’s actually 19 years old) of Mickey Rooney as the titular heroRooney is
Happy-Go-Lucky – 2008 Leigh
It is not on that level of an artistic achievement but I think Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky (probably more of a triumph for Sally Hawkins—who is wonderful here-- than Leigh himself) makes for an interesting pairing
Waves – 2019 Shults
Trey Edward Shults’ Waves feels like something big. It is Shults’ third film—at the age of 31. Waves is a breakthrough for Shults’—it looks and feels like Krisha (Shults has an identifiable aesthetic—the mark of
Little Women – 2019 Gerwig
There are 3 previous archiveable versions of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women-- but Gerwig’s version is utterly distinct and cinematically spectacular—the only one close (and they’re all in the archives) is Cukor’ s 1933 version
Footloose – 1984 Herbert Ross
Kevin Bacon and Kenny Loggins give this film just enough to sneak into the archives. The entire soundtrack (most of it original for the film) is perfect. Loggins, as mentioned, does much of it- but