Elle. I… have never seen anything quite like it. Guess I need to catch up on Verhoeven’s other work now.

Interstellar. As much as I whine about Christopher Nolan films, he’s got some gifts. My experience the second time around was almost the reverse of my first viewing: I was feeling the family story, and the epic space adventure had me twiddling my thumbs. I need an alternate cut of this movie that removes the “let’s explain the science” interludes. Just gimme the melodrama. The heightened emo stuff just wrecked me.

No Country for Old Men. The 10th anniversary is coming up soon (!), and it gets better every time.

A History of Violence. I remember reading the graphic novel way back in the day. Pretty solid small-town drama. Reminded me of The Equalizer, with the focus on some tidy local drama that caps off with a little road trip to the rich bad guy’s house.

Frailty. A father reveals to his sons that God has called them to kill demons. I really like the use of sound in this one, the full range from silence to full intensity at just the right moments. Also some smart visuals, like how we see humans get killed, but when demons are destroyed, we don’t. It doesn’t give away the truth, because it’s not the point.

In the Bedroom. This was excellent. Just lures you in, and you care about every single one of them. In a few decades we’re gonna look back and realize we didn’t appreciate Tom Wilkinson quite as much as we should have. Peak Tomei, too.

The Thing. I feel like this one has been in the air a good bit recently. I… don’t understand all the hubbub. It’s fine. Just wasn’t for me.

Going Clear. A bloated redheaded paranoiac congenital liar amasses customers/fans. Hilarity ensues. Didn’t learn a ton, but I suppose it’s nice to be reminded why some things creep you out.

Frankenstein. The last time I saw this I was in late elementary or early middle school, I think. Probably about a decade too early to appreciate the moral aspect of the horror. Heartbreaking, disturbing, must-watch. Makes me curious about the book…

A Simple Plan. Watch this one a couple days after Bill Paxton’s death. He’s great. Could make a nice combo with Fargo.

Children of Heaven. I loved this movie within minutes. Amazing piece of work. Majidi gets so much mileage out of the smallest moments. The schoolkids’ foot race at the end was more intense than most blockbuster finales. Anything can be high-stakes if you care about the characters.

10 Cloverfield Lane. One of those movies that takes a few different shapes. Start with a stalker suspense, then abduction horror, then bunker survival, then… well, ya gotta watch it. Love how a few new details surfacing makes you change what you’re rooting for. Good ride.

Complete Unknown. It seems so unfair that a perfectly-fine-but-not-great movie like this gets saddled with a terrible name. Weisz and Shannon are top-notch.

Cold War. It’s a bit of a mess but it’s decent. Always keeps moving. Bureaucratic succession drama disguised as action film! Sometimes watching foreign movies I think I’m probably missing a lot of cultural context that would help me settle in.

The Stranger. Edward G. Robinson is a treasure.

You’re Next. This one got on my list right after I finished The Guest for the first time. Solid home invasion horror. The story details for this sort of thing are almost never satisfying, but the trip is fun.

The Lobster. Oof. This is brutal. Deadpan funny and dark as can be. Seems like so it’s fully thought through and considered. I need to find more by this Lanthimos guy.

Knight of Cups. After I watched it I wrote some snarky tweets rolling my eyes at this movie having beautiful people walking aimlessly. I meant it, and I also still liked it. The interiority that’s getting stronger in his films is interesting for me. Not so much just watching the characters but riding along with them. Also, he’s the only person making weird idiosyncratically Malickian movies with big names, whenever he feels like it. However he’s getting it done, respect. Filed under: Terrence Malick.

The Grey. I wish the poem at the heart of the movie was better. For me, there’s not quite enough there for the melodrama it’s asking for. I think maybe it would have been better without knowing the reasons our hero is so dour. But of course I like the survival bits. The surprises and set pieces are all great.

Miami Vice. I love this movie. The pathos was stronger this time around, the resignation. On each watch I also become a little more resentful that Foxx doesn’t have a bigger role. His relationship with Crockett has something to offer the story, but we don’t see it much. I’d be up for another 12 minutes with the two of them on screen. Filed under: Michael Mann.