A ★★★★ review of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) Am I watching these films entirely out of order? Yes.  Do I care? Not in the slightest.  Directed by Tom McLoughlin, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives felt like the perfect film to close out this y...

It’s a well-made, surprisingly strong entry in a franchise that’s killed off its titular character multiple times and brought him back just as many.

My ★★★★ review of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/byTa2F

A ★★★★ review of Near Dark (1987) Backlit fog, sun-cloaked silhouettes, blood on the asphalt. Near Dark swaps velvet capes for denim and ash. Kathryn Bigelow’s solo-directorial debut is a vampire movie that feels more like a neo-weste...

Quibbles aside, it’s that neo-western vibe that works so well. Outlaws at midnight, love and blood as a habit you can’t kick. It’s mean, dusty, and very much its own thing.

My ★★★★ review of Near Dark on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/bxHm3R

A ★★½ review of Dust Devil (1992) A sun-blasted occult western, Dust Devil plays like a post-apartheid fever dream. Set against South Africa’s turbulent transitory period and the colonial hangover on Namibia’s horizon, Richard Stanley...

If you want a visual feast, Dust Devil absolutely delivers. If you need engagement beyond the image, the connection frays early and never quite returns. 

My ★★½ review of Dust Devil on @letterboxd.social: boxd.it/bx7MZP

A ★★★★ review of Trick 'r Treat (2007) I’ve technically watched Dougherty’s film about 17 years ago, far too young, peeking through a crack in my parents’ bedroom door. Sam’s burlap mask, that jagged lollipop, and the simple fact that kids...

Dougherty borrows freely from his inspirations, but the blend feels wholly its own. A perfect, perennial late October film. 

My ★★★★ review of Trick 'r Treat on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/bwssxf #filmsky

A ★★★ review of Halloween II (1981) Halloween II picks up exactly where Carpenter left off and plays more like a studio-mandated epilogue than anything else. As a slasher, it works. Rick Rosenthal trades atmosphere for escalation: hotte...

Decent slasher, but a redundant sequel. Worth it for Cundey alone. 

My ★★★ review of Halloween II on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/bvKnpn

A ★★★ review of Freddy vs. Jason (2003) There comes a point in every long-running franchise when the boardroom gets louder than the blood. Freddy vs. Jason seems to represent that rather well—a brand summit dressed as a movie, the culminati...

When the film stops over-explaining and just lets these icons brawl, it’s hard not to crack a smile. As engaging storytelling, it’s paper thin. As a fourth-wall-breaking spectacle, it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Freddy vs. Jason on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/bvn5sH

A ★★★★ review of Halloween (1978) Death comes to Haddonfield.  To call Halloween a classic undersells it. Carpenter’s film codified—and wildly popularized—the slasher, launched Jamie Lee Curtis’ career, and cemented him as a master of...

Countless films have chased its blueprint, but very few capture its chill. Halloween remains a minimalist horror masterstroke, timeless because it strips fear to its essentials.

My ★★★★ review of Halloween on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/buZcPF

A ★★★ review of Alien Resurrection (1997) Alien 3 may be the black sheep of the franchise, but Alien: Resurrection feels like the one everyone intentionally forgets. Maybe it’s the shadow of Alien 3’s reception, maybe it’s the bizarre premise...

I kind of loved this in spite of myself. It’s silly, self-aware, and weirdly beautiful. It doesn’t fully work, but it’s trying something new, and I think that’s worth celebrating.

My ★★★ review of Alien Resurrection on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/bhwQ0H

A ★★★★ review of Superman (2025) To say James Gunn has a lot riding on this film would be putting it mildly. Superman marks the fourth cinematic rendition of the Man of Steel, and the ninth film centered around the character in some ...

It’s hopeful. It’s messy. It’s sincere to a fault, but Superman is a bold, deeply human work. It’s a film that believes in human decency and the idea that being good for goodness’ sake is still something worth striving for. #SupermanMovie @letterboxd.social @jamesgunn.bsky.social

boxd.it/aj6Tg7

A ★★★★★ review of Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972) 1970s Japan was a period marked by civil unrest and widespread public outrage. In the aftermath of World War II, Japan was forced to surrender under the conditions of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. A...

Even if you choose not to engage with the subtext, Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 remains a prime example of what happens when a director is fully in command of his vision, open to experimentation and collaboration.

My @letterboxd.social review

A ★★★★★ review of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) Is there any other director who has returned to a world he created nearly three decades prior and not only lived up to the expectations, but completely transcended them? I genuinely don’t think so. Tw...

The Return is difficult, often frustrating, but devastatingly beautiful. More than anything, it’s honest.

My ★★★★★ review of Twin Peaks: The Return on @letterboxd: boxd.it/9egJYv

A ★★★★½ review of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) A portrait of a broken woman, hounded by the sins of her past, trying to save the ones she loves by pushing them away. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is anything but an easy watch—both for its nightmar...

Even in its truncated, compromised form, Fire Walk With Me is a singular work of art. It refuses to be the story audiences expected, becoming something far more profound.

My ★★★★½ review of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me on @letterboxd: boxd.it/9ag8of

A ★★★★½ review of Black Bag (2025) It is endlessly refreshing to see Michael Fassbender in a good film again, but even more so when it’s a Steven Soderbergh directed spy thriller. Black Bag marks Soderbergh’s second film of 2025 (we ar...

At just 90 minutes, Black Bag wastes absolutely nothing. Soderbergh’s editing is surgical, delivering a film that is all killer, no filler.

My ★★★★½ review of Black Bag on @letterboxd.social

A ★★★★ review of High Plains Drifter (1973) Born from hate and fueled by redemption. A reckoning rides into the town of Lago. High Plains Drifter may only be Clint Eastwood’s second directorial outing, but it packs a punch unlike any western I’...

High Plains Drifter is less about vengeance and more about inevitability—the idea that some debts can never be repaid, that some ghosts never rest, until it manifests into something otherworldly.

My ★★★★ review of High Plains Drifter on @letterboxd: boxd.it/8OTjtP

A ★★★★ review of Killing (2018) Steel and flesh. Life and death.  In Killing, Shinya Tsukamoto delivers a brutal deconstruction of the samurai genre, stripping away its romanticized notions and exposing a world where morality is lit...

Tsukamoto does not give us the satisfaction of a hero’s journey, because in this world, heroism simply does not exist. 

My ★★★★ review of Killing on @letterboxd: boxd.it/8ObUXp

A ★★ review of Texas, Adios (1966) Released as a sequel to Sergio Corbucci’s Django in some regions, Texas, Adios is yet another standard entry in the spaghetti western genre starring the steely-eyed heartthrob Franco Nero. Oddly enoug...

Apart from certain technical aspects, the film just doesn’t leave much of an impression to remember it in about a week from now, but I’ve come to expect this from many of these b-tier Italian westerns.

My ★★ review of Texas, Adios on @letterboxd: boxd.it/8N30PT

A ★★★★½ review of Mission: Impossible II (2000) Raw, unrestrained sexual yearning pulses through the veins of John Woo’s unapologetically hyper-masculine entry into the franchise. Mission: Impossible II not only stands the test of time, but emerges...

Love and sacrifice define Woo’s vision of romantic heroism, pushing the film beyond the confines of a typical M:I film, and turning it into something achingly human. Fucking electric, man.

My ★★★★½ review of Mission: Impossible II on @letterboxd: boxd.it/8oREZT

A ★★★½ review of Nosferatu (2024) Let me get this out of the way: I haven’t seen F.W. Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu. My only exposure to the story is through Francis Ford Coppola’s gorgeously shot Bram Stoker’s Dracula (and, of course, that...

Nosferatu, though undeniably beautiful, left me wanting more from its story. It’s faithful—maybe slavishly so—to the original, and in the process, it feels like it’s missing an essential spark.

My ★★★½ review of Nosferatu on @letterboxd: boxd.it/8cHxSj

A ★★★★★ review of Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) Far and away one of the Coen Brothers’ most distinctive works, Inside Llewyn Davis uses the struggles of its titular character to delve into themes of art, the human condition, and the relentless, cyc...

Inside Llewyn Davis is a testament to the importance of how we deal with failure, and, above all, a refusal to let it define us.

My ★★★★★ review of Inside Llewyn Davis on @letterboxd: boxd.it/88YDKj

A ★★★★ review of What Happened Was... (1994) Written, directed, and edited by Tom Noonan, What Happened Was… is an unexpectedly brilliant debut from the Tooth Fairy himself. For all its small-scale simplicity, the film dives into some pretty exi...

For all its small-scale simplicity, the film dives into some pretty existential territory, exploring fears of loneliness, the search for meaning, and the lies we tell ourselves and others.

My ★★★★ review of What Happened Was... on @letterboxd: boxd.it/88uWeB

A ★★★★½ review of The Color of Money (1986) Despite The Color of Money being a legacy sequel to Robert Rossen’s The Hustler—a fact I didn’t even realize until after my initial viewing (and a film I haven’t watched)—Martin Scorsese’s film manage...

As I grow older, I find myself appreciating Scorsese more and more, not just as a filmmaker, but as an artist. The Color of Money is a testament to that brilliance…

My ★★★★½ review of The Color of Money on @letterboxd: boxd.it/87n88Z

A ★★★★½ review of Miller's Crossing (1990) For only their third feature, Miller’s Crossing is a testament to how quickly The Coen Brothers had managed to find their stride. It’s razor-sharp in its wit, beautiful to look at, and they take the l...

Miller’s Crossing doesn’t just sit comfortably alongside the great gangster films that preceded it—it transcends them, plain and simple.

My ★★★★½ review of Miller's Crossing on @letterboxd: boxd.it/85Etlr

A ★★★½ review of Queer (2024) Having never read William S. Burroughs, the father of the Beat Generation, or seen any other adaptations of his work, I went into Queer feeling like I might be missing some critical context. And maybe...

At its core, Queer is about the most basic, innate human desires:

To be loved. To be seen. To be heard.

My ★★★½ review of Queer on @letterboxd: boxd.it/84LAPD

A ★★★★ review of Oh, Canada (2024) As someone more familiar with Paul Schrader’s grittier works, Oh, Canada comes as a startling detour—a sentimental, almost tender meditation that feels miles away from the inherent darkness that typic...

A reflection of a life both lived and lost in the cracks of a jumbled mind.

My ★★★★ review of Oh, Canada on @letterboxd: boxd.it/82STPD

A ★★★½ review of The Tall T (1957) Budd Boetticher • 1957 • Western The Tall T marks the third collaboration between Budd Boetticher and Randolph Scott that I’ve seen—part of what’s commonly referred to as the “Ranown Westerns.” Just l...

My ★★★½ review of The Tall T on @letterboxd: boxd.it/7ZRHx9

A ★★★★ review of Carlito's Way (1993) Brian De Palma • 1993 • Crime, Drama A neon-infused, operatic, and melodramatic story of a man trying his best to do good in a world that is anything but. Carlito’s Way marks the second collaboration ...

My ★★★★ review of Carlito's Way on @letterboxd.social boxd.it/7XZU5P

A ★★★★★ review of Kagemusha (1980) Set to the backdrop of the Sengoku period during the early 16th century, Kagemusha tells the tale of Takeda Shingen’s decoy (Tatsuya Nakadai), a thief spared from a crucifixion due to his resemblance ...

While many see Kagemusha as the stepping stone for Akira Kurosawa’s Ran, I think it’s a brilliant example of the cinematic prowess and unmatched directorial mastery he wielded over the craft all his life.

My ★★★★★ review of Kagemusha on @letterboxd.social : boxd.it/7V279d

A ★★★★½ review of JFK (1991) Are you telling me the American government, one of the most militaristic nations on Earth, lied to its citizens under false pretenses to profit off of war? Say it ain’t so, Jack… Released in 1991, 28 ...

Are you telling me the American government, one of the most militaristic nations on Earth, lied to its citizens under false pretenses to profit off of war? Say it ain’t so, Jack…

My ★★★★½ review of JFK on @letterboxd.social boxd.it/7TSDeb

What am I missing for this list?

A ★★★ review of Gladiator II (2024) From the get-go, Gladiator II faced the monumental challenge of living up to the legacy of its predecessor, a film that not only revived the swords-and-sandals epic but also launched Russell Crowe int...

#GladiatorII delivers on the visual spectacle but lacks the emotional core that defined its predecessor. I guess I didn’t like it as much as I thought I did coming out of the theater.

My ★★★ review of Gladiator II on @letterboxd.social boxd.it/7RVfJ3