M. Night Shyamalan returns with one of his tightest scripts to date and excellent confined camerawork in an equally confined space. Dave Bautista is the star with a persona subverting performance making him by far the best professional wrestler turned actor. As usual, Shyamalan's third act is what fails him. Although, not for the usual reasons. He forgoes his twisty chicanery for a more straightforward ending that leaves a bit to be desired. I think it makes…
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The Whale 2022
There's no doubting Fraser's acting masterclass and Hong Chau holding her own (despite this not even being her best performance of 2022) but the rest of the performances felt totally offbeat which isn't help by the characters they had to play and their purpose in a story that's bloated beyond belief. There's a lot going on which made every one of Aronofsky's intentions feel at odds with one another fighting for screen time like 5 siblings fighting for…
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Babylon 2022
Damien Chazelle Ranked
Best Films of the 21st Century
2022 RankedMovies are the ultimate escape as this film shows. Whether it's a good thing, or bad thing, earned, or unearned, that's what this film explores. It's about everything and anything related to movies and how at the end of the day, the magic of the movies are always worth it, no matter the cost. My house was recently ravaged by a flood. It's been a stressful few days figuring…
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First Man 2018
Really interested to see how this is going to age when Chazelle's career is all said and done. It's a vast departure from what he was known for previously and what he'll probably continue to be know for. From the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles to the other end of the spectrum being a very subdued, bleak and almost banal retelling of one of the most significant events in human history. The intention is clear by…
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Look Away 2018
Commits the classic "let's cast someone who'd be the prettiest girl in school as the social outcast" movie sin. An even bigger sin is the amount of unnecessary nudity. I can see the intent of it, it could've worked great if handled better, but it just wasn't. Maybe this could've been a decently entertaining horror movie with a positive message if it didn't reveal itself so slowly.
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La La Land 2016
Damien Chazelle Ranked
Best Films of the 21st CenturyUp an entire star from my previous 4 star rating. I saw this when it came out and certainly appreciated the obvious craft that went into making everything look so brilliant but didn't think much of the story. Maybe it's just because I'm in a different stage of my life now but everything felt much more resonant. Even the magical realism aspects that don't usually work for me worked brilliantly here…
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Whiplash 2014
Damien Chazelle Ranked
Best Films of the 21st CenturyThere's a reason this is the 28th highest rated film on Letterboxd. This is really a flawless film. So flawless in fact that it inspired me to make a Letterboxd list where I rank my favourite films of the 21st Century. Spoiler alert, Whiplash is pretty high on that list. A perfect film about drive, sacrifice, ambition and obsession, being in control of your own destiny and how far you're willing…
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Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench 2009
I've seen some of Damien Chazelle's films but I decided now's the best time to run through his filmography before Babylon hits theaters and either bores me to death or makes me realise it's why cinema was made. I was unbelievably charmed by this. Extremely rough around the edges which sometimes bordered on annoying amateurishness but mostly delivered on being a late 2000's version of cinema verite French new wave filmmaking. One of the few things I…
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Last Flag Flying 2017
One of the few Linklater films I did not know existed until I decided to run through his filmography. I think this is one of his underrated gems. Only a director like Linklater can so seamlessly blend elements of raw drama and comedy in a film with subject matter that is hardly comedic. About a widowed father who lost his marine son in action and enlists the help of his estranged war veteran friends to help him…
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Enough Said 2013
Equally charming and bittersweet. Holofcener manages to tell a story that's light on the surface but has a lot darkness and sadness underneath. She created real people with real problems who say real words. Sounds dumb to say but it's true. Every conversation feels like it's what actual people would say no matter the absurdity of the subject matter. Gandolfini and Dreyfus were able to disappear into their roles to the point that you forget how famous these people are…