Favorite films

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1984

★★★½ 4

Astute and hard-edged critics iced this movie for being an airless Boomer reimagining of Brief Encounter, which isn't far off. But context matters. In the aftermath of the New Hollywood, this probably seemed soft. But there's also something undeniably sincere and searching happening here. It's rare to see a mainstream film with movie stars where you can feel a screenwriter (the playwright and actor Michael Cristofer) channeling something emotionally real but restrained into the artifice of a Hollywood production.

1977

Liked 17

Seen for third time in four weeks -- this time with my daughter, her first time -- and would watch it again tomorrow. The Trench Run and Death Star explosion through the eyes of a four-year-old is the stuff dreams are made of.

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1972

★★★★★ Liked 50

I challenge Letterboxd to add a sixth star.

2024

★★★★½ Liked 24

You can freeze this movie at any moment of its 139 minutes and see an image that tells a story. Danger on a dark street. A magnet sliding down a fridge. An open seat in a car. A ceiling fan. A cane poking a bare chest. A wooden cross tied to a truck scraping the pavement. The cover of a book. A grandmother’s face. Space. A Google search. A bar patron you haven’t seen in years. Sidney Poitier.

It’s a…

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