The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 80-76
Dir. Stephen Frears. Starring John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michelle Pfeiffer Valmont (Malkovich) emotionally withdraws from as many situations as he can, not because “emotion is weakness” or some other flaccid cliche, but because it’s silly to be emotionally involved in a situation where only one of you is in real life. Valmont is in a stage… Read More Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Dir. Quentin Tarantino. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, John Travolta Matt and I accidentally/jointly named Pulp Fiction the greatest movie in American history when we did our podcast on the matter a little while back. It’s certainly the greatest movie released in my lifetime (not literally, but essentially, since 1991). And as we recede further and… Read More Pulp Fiction (1994)
Seeing Things Secondhand 