Lingua Franca

2019

★★★★ Liked 3

I love Isabel Sandoval and the way she sees the world so so so much. When I first watched this film during the pandemic, I was still in the closet, and lemme just say it hits a lot harder after one year on HRT and one year of experiencing life, love, and ~everything else~ as a trans woman. I love that Isabel has total tonal control over the film at all times (as the star, writer, director, producer, and editor)…

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

2020

★★★★★ Liked 2

(Watched for writing research.)

One of the most essential American films of the 21st Century.

Favorites
2020 Ranked

Pieces of a Woman

2020

★★★★½ Liked 1

Vanessa Kirby gives one of my favorite performances from a female actor ever committed to celluloid in this. Hell, it’s probably just one of my favorite performances, period. Still insane to me how overlooked she was by the industry.

Happy one-year anniversary. You deserved SO much more than just the Volpi Cup (which is certainly not nothing, but c’mon, this is a sweep-worthy performance if I’ve ever seen one).

2020 Ranked

Soul

2020

★★½ 4

Yeah, this one didn’t hold up at all, unfortunately. In trying so hard to be some epic statement on existence, it fails to simply tell a good story, and it simultaneously loses sight of its characters. I respect Pixar for tackling such weighty subject matter, but the execution can’t quite match their ambitions.

2020 Ranked
Pixar Ranked

Nomadland

2020

★★★★★ Liked 3

At LONG last, we’ve come to the end of the elongated 2020-2021 awards season and, as such, here are my and my fellow senior staff writer Bernard Ozarowski’s final predictions for Sunday’s Oscars ceremony!

(Casual reminder: I know nothing.)

The Father

2020

★★★★½ Liked Rewatched

A rewatch only further solidified my belief that Anthony Hopkins would be the best Best Actor winner in Academy history if he were to somehow prevail on April 25th.

A formidable feat of acting that will be ired and analyzed for decades.

2020 Ranked
Best Actor Winners Ranked

The Last Blockbuster

2020

★★★★ Liked 1

Somewhat shocked by the semi-low reviews for this? I thought it was a damn DELIGHT. Sure, it’s a little surface level, and one could argue that the interviews get a little repetitive towards the end, but I largely didn’t care, as nothing makes me happier than hearing about others’ personal connections with cinema and video stores, specifically - every story just felt so sincere, and that really resonated with me.

Gutted I never got to work at a Blockbuster after…

My Octopus Teacher

2020

★★★½ Liked 1

The way I was prepared to literally lay down my LIFE for that octopus while watching this, oh my GOD

2020 Ranked

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

2020

★★★½ Liked Watched

A tad unfocused in parts, but its heart is so huge that it’s easy to overlook any minor gripes you have here or there. Such a monumental movement in history that has been obscured for faaaaar too long. Judy Heumann is an I-C-O-N.

2020 Ranked

The Mole Agent

2020

★★★½ Liked Watched

Don’t know if I’ve ever related to a human being more than I did to Bertia after she had one conversation with Sergio and instantly decided she wanted to marry him (yes that was my main takeaway)

2020 Ranked