The actor: Josh Brolin The character: Thanos The film: Avengers: Endgame The quote: “I am inevitable.” There are two moments from the MCU which feel essential to me not just as part of this business venture, but as emblematic, historical moments in American cinema. The first, which I’ve talked about a lot already, is from… Read More Top 100 American Movie Quotes of the 21st Century: #80
To read my introduction to this set of rankings, go here. I’ve broken the twenty-three movies from this franchise into tiers of irregular size. I still have a fairly firm ranking in my head for each of them, but I include the tiers to give a sense of what movies roughly match each other in… Read More Infinity Saga/Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Ranking – Part 2
To read my introduction to this set of rankings, go here. I’ve broken the twenty-three movies from this franchise into tiers of irregular size. I still have a fairly firm ranking in my head for each of them, but I include the tiers to give a sense of what movies roughly match each other in… Read More Infinity Saga/Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Ranking – Part 1
Dir. Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. Starring Josh Brolin, Zoe Saldana, Robert Downey, Jr. For about six months now I’ve been casually watching these MCU movies, typically watching a couple at a time and then leaving them alone for a couple weeks. Infinity War was part of a double feature with Thor: Ragnarok for me, a movie which I’d… Read More Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Dir. Denis Villeneuve. Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin For a while, there was something very 1970s about Sicario. Kate (Blunt) is someone who believes in the rule of law, which makes her a throwback, which makes her obsolete. She is surrounded by people who believe in winning more than they believe in stuff like… Read More Sicario (2015)
Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich Watching Hail, Caesar! with the knowledge that the Coens’ next movie is The Ballad of Buster Scruggs makes Caesar look better, a kind of “learning to walk before you can run” aspect. In Buster Scruggs, which is pure anthology, there is no central character to whom everyone is tied, functioning… Read More Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones There’s a compulsion to see No Country as a sort of relentlessly nihilistic story, and I smell what those people are stepping in. There is an awful lot of collateral damage in this picture, well beyond the people who enter a dangerous line of… Read More No Country for Old Men (2007)
You can read up on the basis for this series here, and also find links to other posts in the series. Movies I’ve reviewed on this site have a link in the title which you can follow to read my full review. 5) Marie Antoinette (2006), directed by Sofia Coppola – featuring Kirsten Dunst as… Read More 100 Exceptional American Movies in 10 Genres: Biopics, 5-1
The following is part of an overview of the top 100 American narrative fiction feature films, from my perspective. For an introduction to the project and an index of other entries in the series, click here. For a list of more than 800 films which I considered for the top 450 and my eligibility qualifications, click here.… Read More Better than AFI’s Top 100: 50-46
Dir. Gus van Sant. Starring Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin There are some real howlers in the history of Best Picture winners. One thinks The Artist in 2011. 2011 wasn’t a terribly strong year, but Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy were at least viable options. (Bridesmaids and A Separation, for their own reasons, would… Read More Milk (2008)
Seeing Things Secondhand 