movie
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Ocean’s 11 1960, directed by Lewis Milestone Rating: 6/10 I love a good heist movie, including the Ocean’s movies. I grew up watching and rewatching (and rewatching and rewatching) the George Clooney and Brad Pitt trilogy, and when Ocean’s 8 came out I was very into it and get excited whenever I’m in a hotel and see
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The Phantom Carriage 1921, directed by Victor Sjöström Rating: 9/10 Another silent film in the Criterion Collection that is in my collection, Victor Sjöström’s The Phantom Carriage is centered around an old myth that the last person to die each year has to spend the next year collecting the souls of the dead until his or her
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Pandora’s Box 1929, directed by G.W. Pabst Rating: 10/10 When I watched this movie in high school, I was deeply unimpressed—mostly because I went in hoping for a silent movie retelling of the actual Pandora’s Box myth which I thought it would be really cool to see with Méliès style effects. What there is instead
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Spencer 2021, directed by Pablo Larraín Rating: 8/10 Like The Lion in Winter, Spencer shows the special kind of torture that comes with spending your Christmas with the British Royal Family as Princess Diana tries to survive the formalities and traditions while keeping her sense of self intact. This movie is far from perfect, but it still has
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Stalag 17 1953, directed by Billy Wilder Rating: 7/10 A bunch of sergeants are trapped in a German prisoner of war camp in this Billy Wilder classic, and that isn’t going to stop them from having a good time, especially for Christmas! When I saw this in high school, it was one of my favorites;
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The Hateful Eight 2015, directed by Quentin Tarantino Rating: 8/10 I love Quentin Tarantino, and the ads when this came out made it seem to me like a snowbound Western version of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which is one of my favorite novels, so I expected this to become my new favorite Tarantino
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McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971, directed by Robert Altman Rating: 9/10 I love when Westerns are set in locations that don’t look like the regular Wild West with tumbleweeds and cacti and such, and I also love the look of snow from growing up in Connecticut, so the look of McCabe & Mrs. Miller is very much
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Joker 2019, directed by Todd Phillips Rating: 5/10 This movie is one that I thought I would love, as I am usually very into comic book movies, and especially into ones that try something new, and if that something new is “gritty 1970s New York” aesthetic, then that’s even more up my alley (see Smithereens). And
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The Wizard of Oz 1939, directed by Victor Fleming Rating: 10/10 This movie is a classic for a reason and no matter how many times or at whatever age I watch it, it is still great. I love old movies, and 1939 is famously one of the best years for movies, but this movie holds
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Mala Noche 1988, directed by Gus Van Sant Rating: 8/10 This is Gus Van Sant’s first movie made for super cheap in black and white and while it is not a perfect film, it is still great for what it is and what it presaged. Since this movie came out, Van Sant has continued to
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