Fresh Kill (1994) directed by Shu Lea Cheang. Watched September 2024. I had recently read an interview on Tone Glow with the director and really enjoyed her real love of community television. I gave this film a shot after hearing about it also from a friend and loved it. It takes a lot of the same feel from Hackers 1995 (obviously being produced before that), but feels much more radical in pretty much every sense. Lots of cool "hacking" shots, the feel that the internet and communication/meta in general can be something radical and outside of corporate control. Worth watching!
10 Things I Hate About You (1999) directed by Gil Junger. Watched September 2024. I watched this on an airplane and I think it's probably one of the best rom-coms for such a scenario. Every character was memorable, loveable, identifiable (except maybe Bianca's best friend) and I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much every second of it. No other strong thoughts on it!
哀しみのベラドンナ/Belladonna of Sadness (1973) directed by Eiichi Yamamoto. Watched September 2024. I completely went into this without really knowing what it was, but I thought it was really great. My favorite scenes were the crucifixion at the end, and the ultra pan out to La Liberté guidant le peuple. I think its portrayal of both the tragedy and power of femininity was something I want to think about more.
Alien: Romulus (2024) directed by Fede Álvarez. Watched September 2024. This movie was bad. I enjoyed the CGI scenes of space especially the Space Station falling into the planet's ring, but the majority of the action scenes and characters were not at all interesting. Especially in the beginning, it felt like a Young Adult Dystopia novel which could have been fun, but it chose to rehash Alien instead. The final sequence was the strongest action-wise, but just made me want to rewatch Alien and Aliens.
Brian Eno (2024) directed by Gary Hustwit. Watched July 2024 at Film Forum. Brian Eno is a very funny man, everytime I watch a video of him philosophizing, it's almost cringey, but it persists in being deeply inspiring anyways. My favorite sequences were him browsing Youtube (complete with yelling at the ads), reminiscing on Ketty Lester, Fela Kuti, and Little Richard in my particular edition of the film. His approach to generative composition somehow works while always being so simple. My favorite moment in the movie is Brian talking about singing in a group and how little individuality we all really have at the end of the day. I really liked the movie and came out remembering why I like him so much.
Hairspray (1988) directed by John Waters. Watched July 2024. This is my first John Waters movie and I could see the dirty/zany/edginess he's known for even in this PG film. There's puke, critiques of whiteness (most white characters are somewhat opportunistic for when they stand up for Black Right notably Tracy's parents and Corny), and amazing goofy dance sequences. I'm excited to watch more of his films.
3 Women directed by Robert Altman Watched July 2024. Really amazing movie, watched after Shelly Duval passed away. I loved feeling that I wasn't sure where it was going to go, I loved the relationship between Pinky and Millie, and I loved Millie deeply trying to relate with others while rejecting the same from Pinky.
