Directed by Richard Linklater Waking Life is all a dream, but it's not a dream like Inception is a dream.  The point is never really to determine whether or not you're awake or dreaming.  The point is to just go with it. The protagonist is an unnamed character, a young man played by Wiley Wiggins who … Continue reading Waking Life (2001)

Directed by Hal Ashby Being There is a comedy, but it starts off feeling much more somber and quiet than most comedies, and in the end it feels sharper and edgier than any comedy I've seen in a while.  Hal Ashby's first film, The Landlord, dealt with a protagonist similarly clueless to the protagonist in Being There, Chauncey … Continue reading Being There (1979)

Directed by John Carpenter You get the feeling that the Manhattan depicted in Escape From New York never sees daylight, much like Martin Scorsese's 1985 film After Hours or his 1999 film Bringing Out the Dead.  Like those films, this one takes place mostly at night and shows a grimy, rundown version of New York, though of course … Continue reading Escape From New York (1981)

Directed by Nacho Vigalondo There is a new movie coming out this month called Colossal with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis, and the trailer looks awesome.  It's a movie about a woman, Hathaway, who has a mental link with a Godzilla-like monster that attacks Seoul, South Korea.  Basically, Hathaway controls the monster's movements like a puppet, … Continue reading Extraterrestrial (2011)

Directed by Richard Linklater SubUrbia starts as yet another familiar, small scale, condensed timeframe Richard Linklater film, but it gets darker, dirtier and grungier, like the music you expect Jeff to listen to when he falls asleep, if he ever falls asleep. The film, like Dazed and Confused, is as much about a time and a place … Continue reading SubUrbia (1996)

Directed by Joe Swanberg Joe Swanberg's most well-known film might be 2013's Drinking Buddies.  It's a film that focuses on the platonic friendship between Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson.  Most of Swanberg's films, maybe all of them, are pretty quiet and centered on relationships between people.  That might seem obvious, but it's not, at least, I … Continue reading Win It All (2017)

Directed by Richard Linklater Everyone knows Dazed and Confused, though I'm sure some people get it confused with Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).  What I think is so incredible about Dazed and Confused is how timeless it feels and how drenched in the 70s it seems.  I think it's easy to forget that this movie was made in … Continue reading Dazed and Confused (1993)

Directed by John Landis An American Werewolf in London is one of those silly, colorful 1980s films that you think will just be kind of fun and entertaining but is actually quite scary.  It's directed by John Landis who also directed Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Spies Like Us, Coming to America and Trading Places.  He directs comedies, and there … Continue reading An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Directed by Sydney Pollack The opening 15 or so minutes of The Firm lead you to think that this will be a horror film.  Young hotshot law student Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) has almost literally got it all.  He is in the top 5% of his graduating class at Harvard Law, he's married to the woman … Continue reading The Firm (1993)

Directed by David Lynch I feel like I just watched Blue Velvet through a prism or some kind of obscured window, like I was peaking in on my neighbors and straining to hear what was being said.  It's a confusing movie, but it makes enough sense for you (or just me) to feel like I'm … Continue reading Blue Velvet (1986)