Diary
May 2026
Bombshell
the saddest screwball comedy ever. jean harlow outshines everyone in this bizarrely compelling tale of the pitfalls of stardom. never has every man in a movie been SO frustrating. guess there really is no business like show business :(
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
awful, awful vibes from the jump and we would not want it any other way! taylor & burton putting in performances for the history books. not hard to see how this bagged so many oscar wins/noms as to sustain this level of drama & tension for over 2 hours takes a special cast and crew indeed. this will never leave my mind. also the amount of alcohol consumed by these 4 people would incapacitate a small village. "i looked at you tonight and you weren't there..."
Hokum
first of all: the screen was packed out for this, which is always a delight to see with any independent original horror film!! this lands somewhere between mccarthy's two previous films for me, some really great scares and a solid lead performance from adam scott (who, despite playing a total piece of shit, still manages to make you root for him) however chunks of this feel like a rehash of prior ideas to me (most notably the shining, and no not just because it's set in a hotel), not to mention certain signposty moments that would've benefitted from a lil show-don't-tell work still it is great to watch a new horror figure blossoming, especially to this level, and no doubt this is the start of a new chapter for damian mccarthy!
Caveat
interesting albeit far-fetched premise, heavy dose of atmosphere, with an endearing early-digital look which makes it feel 10-15 years older than it is.....i just fear i ruined this for myself slightly by watching oddity first as that film delivers far more thematically and visually
The Parallax View
off the deep end and into the fire. this is masterfully done. perfect descent from stoic poise to abstract setpieces, with a gut-punch of a final sequence. the montage sequence is so simply done yet remains intensely harrowing. AS AMERICAN AS APPLE PIE: LOVE MOTHER FATHER ME HOME COUNTRY GOD ENEMY HAPPINESS FATHER MOTHER HOME HAPPINESS ME COUNTRY ENEMY ME FATHER ME COUNTRY ENEMY HAPPINESS ME COUNTRY GOD COUNTRY MEHAPPINESSMECOUNTRYMELOVEMEMOTHERFATHERMELOVEHAPPINESSMELOVEME HAPPINESS
Peeping Tom
"It's no good. The lights fade too soon." "They always do." surprisingly provocative for 1960, and visually in a league of its own (as you would expect from powell). yet another glorious moira shearer dance sequence too! was michael powell the first director whose swag was actually too different?
Michael
there's no way to fit the story of this man's rise to super-ultra-megastardom into 2 hours and change, certainly not when the estate is breathing down the creators' necks, clammering for some new, scrubbed-up version of michael's story to sell, so we end up with this strangely tonally-ambiguous beast, where any stray step into harrowing realism is undercut by a musical cue or a light-hearted nod from a giraffe. jafaar jackson does a fine job portraying his uncle, sure, but because of such obfuscation of the real hard truths this also winds up being as much a movie about the people surrounding michael as it is about michael himself; colman domingo threatens to steal almost every scene he's in. he is the sole glimpse we get into the horror of these early years. most of the rest of the runtime is devoted to rehashing much of michael's well-trodden musical and visual catalogue. "his story continues" says the movie as the credits roll. at time of writing, the sequel has been greenlit. we know where the story goes.....but do the filmmakers? only time will tell.
April 2026
To Catch a Thief
"8 o'clock...and be on time." "I haven't got a decent watch." "Steal one." slightly more reserved than standard hitchcock fare, here he opts to pare back the suspense and instead revel in the beauty and chaos of the events that unfold and delight in capturing the gorgeous french surroundings. also grace kelly here is SO 😍😍😍😍😍!!!!!!!!
Now, Voyager
stunningly delicate portrayal of love, freedom and mental health, anchored by beautiful, nuanced performances from bette davis and paul henreid. add to that a gorgeous score from max steiner and my god this really rips your heart out!!!!!
