Call your representatives
I have spent time each day since Friday calling my representatives. I started calling everyone—my two democratic Senators, my Republican Congressman, and my Republican Governor ask them to get oil television denouncing what is happening in Washington, D.C. and with Elon Musk effectively working through a coup on our government. Amodei’s office hung up on me twice.
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Solaris (1972)

Damn. This one came from Letterboxd Roulette, courtesy of @jaillud. It was a great suggestion, and they pointed out that I had both Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey in my top ten of all time, so this should complete the trifecta of science fiction greats. In short, it does.
I have owned the Criterion Collection bluray of this movie for about six months. It has been staring at me from the shelf that whole time, daring me to take it on. See, I have this problem where I hear things about certain movies and those things paralyze me from watching. I am afraid I'll miss something, or I won't be emotionally able to handle it. This has scared me because it seems like a really important movie. I want to watch those, but I have to watch them right.
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I have owned the Criterion Collection bluray of this movie for about six months. It has been staring at me from the shelf that whole time, daring me to take it on. See, I have this problem where I hear things about certain movies and those things paralyze me from watching. I am afraid I'll miss something, or I won't be emotionally able to handle it. This has scared me because it seems like a really important movie. I want to watch those, but I have to watch them right.
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February 02, 2025
Tags: Andrei Tarkovsky | science fiction | Donatas Banionis | all-time | Natalya Bondarchuk
Tags: Andrei Tarkovsky | science fiction | Donatas Banionis | all-time | Natalya Bondarchuk
The Abyss (1989)

Another great recommendation from the Letterboxd Roulette, this time from @andywarmstrong. I had seen this a few years ago without giving it a bunch of thought. I was pretty excited to watch this with some intention, especially after liking it the first time.
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January 25, 2025
Tags: Michael Biehn | James Cameron | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio | slap | drowning | Ed Harris
Tags: Michael Biehn | James Cameron | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio | slap | drowning | Ed Harris
La Haine (1995)

La Haine pointed out to me that this shit doesn’t seem to change. It’s been this way for generations. The cycle is repeating in American cities all over, in geopolitical conflict, and anywhere you can think. This particular injustice—the lack of accountability for people in power—is universal. All of us have felt it. Fortunately, we haven’t all had it end like Vinz.
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Breaker Morant (1980)

Another in my Criterion Challenge, this one covering the Australian movie category.
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This moved really slowly and brought out some old feelings about Edward Woodward, for some reason. The talks of movies the adults around me were having about when I was a kid are starting to come into focus. My dad thought Woodward was awesome and loved the television show The Equalizer that he starred in during the 1980s.
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January 12, 2025
Tags: slap | Bruce Beresford | Jack Thompson | Criterion Challenge | John Waters | Edward Woodward
Tags: slap | Bruce Beresford | Jack Thompson | Criterion Challenge | John Waters | Edward Woodward
Major League (1989)

Major League spent a lot of time being mentioned as my favorite baseball movie of all time. As I’ve changed over the years, I began to worry that this was a bad thing to say. This watch was an attempt to figure my future with the movie out. I went into this thinking it would be the end. I’d watch it, confirm that it doesn’t hold up, and I could be done with it forever. That’s not quite how it went. What I realized during this viewing is that, while it has some of the very same problems that riddle 1980s comedies, it makes baseball seem like a really fun time.
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Audrey Hepburn was cool
I absolutely love stories about people who fuck with fascists. Audrey Hepburn’s is a cool one.
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The Criterion Challenge 2025

The Piano Teacher (2001)

My most reductive thought is this is Whiplash and Isabelle Huppert’s Erika is Miles Teller grown up. Her mother’s awfulness has turned her into someone who has no idea what counts as normal in society and she seems to feel a great deal of loneliness as a result. But there’s more.
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