A Month in Film: January 2025Se7en (1995)
Been a minute since I revisited this one; definitely hit it in my IMDB Top 250 high school days. But it's always a great feeling when I revisit something I haven't watched since that era of my life and it still holds up. And boy does this ever rip. It's wild that Fincher was able to follow up the lackluster Alien³ with something so ice cold and confident so early in his career. Each reveal genuinely finds a way to be even more shocking and disturbing than the last. God level shit. And this one pretty much set the stage for Fincher's whole body of work in the thriller genre, for which we are all so lucky to have witnessed unfold over the years.
Watched the 30th anniversary IMAX re-release at Landmark Kanata. Thrilling to finally see Fincher's filmography get the 4K restoration treatment. I'll take that over whatever he is doing with Netflix any day of the week.
Watched the 30th anniversary IMAX re-release at Landmark Kanata. Thrilling to finally see Fincher's filmography get the 4K restoration treatment. I'll take that over whatever he is doing with Netflix any day of the week.
The Dark Knight (2008)
It's definitely an oddball take, but I think the legacy of this one is really that it was Nolan's first chance to let loose with all of his IMAX toys. It's a breathtaking film to experience, but my reverence for it starts and ends there. Inherent bias, I know, but I prefer Nolan operating in something that does not belong to any existing franchise (The Prestige, Interstellar, even Tenet). Given that I have seen this one countless times, the politics it presents have kinda become just a drag to me, just stringing the film along until it gets to its next 1.43:1 sequence.
Watched on 4K blu-ray, reunited with my LG C1 77". As with any Nolan 4K disc, you're in for an absolute treat. His work tops any other modern director in the home media presentation department, especially releases like this that retain the theatrical expanded aspect ratio for its IMAX sequences.
Watched on 4K blu-ray, reunited with my LG C1 77". As with any Nolan 4K disc, you're in for an absolute treat. His work tops any other modern director in the home media presentation department, especially releases like this that retain the theatrical expanded aspect ratio for its IMAX sequences.
Den of Thieves (2018)
Gerard Butler is kinda a poster boy for what you could call lowbrow, likely to be released in January kinds of action flicks, but this one is genuinely entertaining and ambitious in scope! While there are scenes that feel like they were cut and pasted randomly into the runtime, everything else is pretty legitimate. The Heat worship is on full display, but let's be real, who doesn't go to sleep at night thinking about that one?
Watched as a rental on iTunes. Thought I would check it out before the sequel. Not to mention, the ending of this one had one of the best set-ups for a sequel I've ever seen -- I'm surprised it took this long to get one out.
Watched as a rental on iTunes. Thought I would check it out before the sequel. Not to mention, the ending of this one had one of the best set-ups for a sequel I've ever seen -- I'm surprised it took this long to get one out.
Tokyo Story (1953)
As a twenty-something that has moved away from family and everything I had known in my young life, in pursuit of something potentially greater (but the jury is still out on that one)… yeah this one was going to hit. Doubly so after having just returned from being home for the holidays. Being a fly on the wall, watching this family suddenly have to reconcile the distance that has grown between them... it's heartbreaking. That's my perspective on it, but the beauty of this is one is that you're going to take something different from it depending on what stage of life you're at. BRB, going to go eat a muffin my mom sent home with me from Christmas.
Watched at the Cinematheque as part of their Ozu 121 programming. Big shoutout for the encore screening!
Watched at the Cinematheque as part of their Ozu 121 programming. Big shoutout for the encore screening!
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
I'll try to write a few words without mentioning La La Land first... flawless visually, bursting out of the screen with colour. Perfect in its depiction of imperfection in love and relationships. And that's a common thread it shares with La La Land, which with it too I have always felt is just so powerful in its unabashed way of saying, yeah, your idealism towards the future when you're smitten with someone may be fleeting. But life has a way of working itself out, and while some things may hurt in the moment, you will look back on it as one piece of the myriad of forming moments and experiences that will end up shaping what you become, for better or worse.
Watched at the Cinematheque as part of their Essential Big Screen 2024 programming. Another encore screening I was lucky enough to catch!
Watched at the Cinematheque as part of their Essential Big Screen 2024 programming. Another encore screening I was lucky enough to catch!
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Rest easy, David Lynch. Our worlds are just a whole lot richer for you having taken us for a ride behind your lens.
Mother (2009)
A slow burn through and through, daring to veer itself into the unexpected and unpleasant. Morally ambiguous and almost entirely up interpretation; ultimately suggesting that maybe some things are better left unknown. As a companion piece to Memories of Murder... man, what a one-two punch.
Screened at the VIFF Centre as part of their Bong 1-7 series, highlighting all seven of his feature films leading up to Mickey 17.
Screened at the VIFF Centre as part of their Bong 1-7 series, highlighting all seven of his feature films leading up to Mickey 17.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025)
Hell yeah brother! Starting off 2025 releases with a delectable slice of genre fare right here. Love the move to ante up the globetrotting. Makes something so much more out of the Fast and Furious style good guy gone bad storyline. Really hope they keep making more of these; I can't imagine having to wait seven years for another one.
Watched at Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver. Happy National Popcorn Weekend!
Watched at Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver. Happy National Popcorn Weekend!
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Got to give credit to this one for setting the stage for the deep fried aesthetic of the 2000s. Definitely harkens back to Platoon with the stacked cast, but that, along with all the scattered and flashy combat, makes this feel a bit disingenuous as far as war films go.
Watched on blu-ray.
Watched on blu-ray.
Lost Highway (1997)
Back when I first watched this, I had felt like it was the first Lynch film to really resonate with me. It’s just as rewarding upon rewatch, especially looking at it from a broader context as the start of his LA trilogy. Though Inland Empire is still a missing link for me; whenever that happens, it’s going to be a bittersweet experience, knowing it’s really the last material from Lynch I’ll get to watch for the first time. We truly lost a visionary.
Watched on 4K blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.
Watched on 4K blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.
Shutter Island (2010)
I see this one as the start of late career Scorsese; I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it feels distinct from his prior work in the 2000s, specifically his most recent film before this one, The Departed. Maybe it’s the green screen laded presentation, or the more confined and less expansive movie world we’re looking at here. Leo was tasked with a lot here, with the supporting cast really just filling in as puppets in his insanity. For that reason, it does feel a bit restrained and not what I would typically look to in a Scorsese classic. Regardless, it’s still great storytelling, and probably the closest he’s gotten to putting together something one could describe as Hitchcockian.
Watched on 4K blu-ray. It’s not an essential disc — it’s not a fantastic looking film to begin with anyways.
Watched on 4K blu-ray. It’s not an essential disc — it’s not a fantastic looking film to begin with anyways.
The Bourne Identity (2002)
I was too harsh on these when I first watched them a few years ago. Fantastic premise, and Matt Damon chews it up. Love just how coherent and no-nonsense it is. Shaky cam is not really prevalent here, which was my main takeaway from the trilogy from my first watch, so we’ll see if the next two entires have it bad enough that my initial dismissal was justified.
Watched on 4K blu-ray. I’ve heard bad things about the transfer, but I don’t think it was that bad. Maybe not much better than the regular blu-ray, but if you’re buying the series for the first time, you may as well get the 4K set.
Watched on 4K blu-ray. I’ve heard bad things about the transfer, but I don’t think it was that bad. Maybe not much better than the regular blu-ray, but if you’re buying the series for the first time, you may as well get the 4K set.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
OK, here’s where we’re getting some shaky cam. And some unnecessarily complex plot points; all too common in action flicks. Still enjoyable though, and positions itself for a nice end to the trilogy. Also a good example of refining the cast of a film for a sequel, doubling down on the compelling characters and trimming (or eliminating) the filler where necessary.
Watched on 4K blu-ray.
Watched on 4K blu-ray.
State of Play (2009)
Love myself a good political thriller, and this one has a shockingly stacked cast given how unknown it is. Great chemistry between Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams here. And Jason Bateman… wow, great stuff from him here. But I do feel it doesn’t really stick the landing, ultimately making me feel a bit indifferent. I can’t help but feel that this one is just a reminder of how good Spotlight is.
Watched on blu-ray.
Watched on blu-ray.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Despite its setting in the 80s/90s, I feel like this one has really taken the mantle as Scorsese’s 21st century classic. As an epic tragedy of hedonism and excess, it really does feel spiritually connected to his prior work (thinking Casino, Raging Bull, to a certain extent Goodfellas). No melodrama, just as brash as it possibly could be; genuinely hilarious stuff. And the way it resonated with audiences has seen it linger in the cultural zeitgeist, though maybe for the wrong reasons, but ultimately undeniably a defining moment in Scorsese’s filmography.
Watched on 4K blu-ray. Great looking disc — a step up from the presentation on Shutter Island, no doubt.
Watched on 4K blu-ray. Great looking disc — a step up from the presentation on Shutter Island, no doubt.
