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This review/text correspondence hybrid was written within an hour after watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for my Philosophy and Film (PHL 324) class during the fall semester of my sophomore year at college. My overall rating was 2 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 2 stars qualifies as "okay/average." Just a quick note: This review will be different than others. This is not a warning, just a friendly bit of information before you read. This review WILL BE sh

This review/personal recounting of a filmwatching experience hybrid was written a couple hours after seeing The Accountant in theatres with four college friends during the fall semester of our sophomore year. My overall rating was 2.5 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 2.5 stars qualifies as "decent." This is the first Rated R [live action] film I saw in theatres that was not four stars. I had previously seen Argo (2012), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle

For each director's list, feature films, shorts, and TV movies will be included. To avoid excessively skewing any judgment of the cinematic works, the actual star ratings I've awarded each title will not be provided. However, there will be two asterisks included after the release year to signify that the work has received my highest star rating: 4 stars. As directors "graduate" to a higher tier increment, they will be moved to the corresponding director page and their ranking

For each director's list, feature films, shorts, and TV movies will be included. To avoid excessively skewing any judgment of the cinematic works, the actual star ratings I've awarded each title will not be provided. However, there will be two asterisks included after the release year to signify that the work has received my highest star rating: 4 stars. As directors "graduate" to a higher tier increment, they will be moved to the corresponding director page and their ranking

For each director's list, feature films and shorts will be included. To avoid excessively skewing any judgment of the cinematic works, the actual star ratings I've awarded each title will not be provided. However, there will be two asterisks included after the release year to signify that the work has received my highest star rating: 4 stars. As directors "graduate" to a higher tier increment, they will be moved to the corresponding director page and their rankings will be re

For each director's list, feature films, shorts, and TV movies will be included. However, not all of a director's short films or TV movies need to have been watched for inclusion here, just their feature length films. In the event that there are short films I have yet to see for a particular director, they will be highlighted as an "updated director ranking" as I work to finish their completed short films as well. To avoid excessively skewing any judgment of the cinematic wor

This review/personal recounting of a filmwatching experience hybrid was written after watching The Castle of Cagliostro with one of my college roommates during the fall semester of our sophomore year. My overall rating was 3 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 3 stars qualifies as "good." This is definitely one of the most entertaining movies I have ever seen, and I would even venture out and say that I love this film. My roommate said something after the film, more or le

This review was written after seeing Rome, Open City during the fall semester of my sophomore year at college. My overall rating for the film was 3.5 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 3.5 stars qualifies as "very good." This was a very good film. For one thing, it has resurrected my opinion of the Italian Neorealist movement. I won’t go on another Bicycle Thieves bashing, but this film really does give me hope that Vittorio de Sica’s “masterpiece” is really just a flu

This is a stream of consciousness review I wrote about 30 minutes after completing Ordet during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. My overall rating for the film was 4 stars out of a possible 4. It was the 213th film to receive my highest rating distinction. This writing will not be as long as the others, mainly because this is a religious drama, and dissecting religion, as opposed to film, is not my strong suit. This film was very intriguing to m

This is a stream of consciousness review I jotted down after finishing The Abyss during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. My overall rating for the movie was 3 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 3 stars qualifies as "good." This is a difficult one to rate. The script for the first forty minutes is so bad that it seems like Cameron constructed it when he was in third grade; it’s that poor even by Cameron’s low standards. The first forty minut

This review was written after seeing La Dolce Vita during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. My overall rating for the film was 4 stars out of a possible 4. It was the 212th film to receive my highest rating distinction. The incredible part about La Dolce Vita is that the internal meaning that the epilogue concludes with (as I see and understand it) is what secures its place as not only a terrific film, but a terrific film about morals. Throughou

This a structured pondering and review I wrote after seeing Mirror during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. My overall rating for the film was 3.5 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 3.5 stars qualifies as "very good." Dare I say it, this film is a tremendous work of art. Next, I say, this time without a necessity to be daring, that this is one of the most evident and brilliant examples of art house cinema. Reverting to the first part, just so

This is a unique entry within the "Reviews and Musings" section. Presented here is a collection of notes I made while rewatching Persona (1966) on August 6th, 2020, in preparation for a film discussion and analysis I was set to have the following day. I first saw Persona during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at college and was quite blown away by it. My overall rating for the film was 4 stars out of a possible 4. It was the 210th film to receive my highes

This is a slightly more structured stream of consciousness review than my traditional film review style. I watched Bicycle Thieves during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college. My overall rating for the film was 1.5 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 1.5 stars qualifies as "tolerable." Very rarely have I hated a film as much as this one. The heartbreak of this film is undeniable. The message that (almost) nobody in the world cares about your own

The following is a stream of consciousness review I jotted down after watching Interstellar during the spring semester of my freshman year at college. My overall rating for the movie was 2.5 stars out of a possible 4. On my scale, 2.5 stars qualifies as "decent." From the moment that Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) enters Gargantuan forward, this movie approaches 2001: A Space Odyssey in terms of complexity and in doing so raises itself a whole star. The ending is fantastic, d

This list is of the 53 greatest animated feature-length films and was requested by K1. The reason for 53 instead of a traditional 50 is that three of the films included are live-action films that prominently feature animated sequences. It was completed 02/24/2026. 1. Princess Mononoke (1997, Japan) 2. Grave of the Fireflies (1988, Japan) 3. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, Japan) 4. Fantasia (1940, USA) 5. Waltz with Bashir (2008, Israel) 6. S

This list is of my personal favorite Japanese cinematic works and was requested by D1. The name(s) that follow each title are the respective director(s). It was completed 02/20/2026. 1. Battle Royale (2000, Kinji Fukasaku) 2. Redline (2009, Takeshi Koike) 3. Whisper of the Heart (1995, Yoshifumi Kondō) 4. Summer Wars (2009, Mamoru Hosoda) 5. Hausu (1977, Nobuhiko Obayashi) 6. The Castle of Cagliostro (1979, Hayao Miyazaki) 7. Ryuichi Sakamoto

The statistics are in for 2025's first-time watches! There were 204 feature films (including 2 TV movies), 79 short subjects, 2 TV episodes isolated from their series, and a singular comedy special (Richard Pryor, in case you were curious). We started with 1932's Shopworn and ended with the 1966 short Qolga. There were eight national film industries that I got my first taste of in 2025. Seventeen first-time watches received my highest rating distinction (4 stars) and 45 first

This is a running list of the cinematic works that I watched for the first time in 2025 that I feel deserve 4 Stars (my highest film-rating distinction). The titles below are listed in the order that I saw them and grouped together by the month in which they were watched. January : The Cat Concerto (1947) (short) The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) April : Elmer Gantry (1960) Anatomy of a Fall (2023) June : Another Hayride (2021) (short) Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023)