scottstilson

A culture grows hale and virtuous if we all watch this film. None of its lessons are novel: - Kindness goes a long way—but it often requires courage. - War is hell. - Lifelong commitment to another human is heaven. Yet the lessons came to me in an inspiring, beautiful way that made me cry tears of guilt and gratitude: Guilt for my lack of gratitude in life, and gratitude for the guilt.

61 _64%

When Harry Met Sally... (1989) - Rated 07 Dec 2025

With the exception of the old sub-subgenre of the elite screwball comedies and with very honorable mention to the equally old The Shop Around the Corner, romcom is not my genre. But this is the best of its late-20th-century breed, at least that I’ve seen, a screenwriter’s triump. But CAN a man and a woman be just close friends?

5 _2%

Highest 2 Lowest (2025) - Rated 30 Nov 2025

55 _52%

This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - Rated 26 Nov 2025

50 _43%

Whiplash (2014) - Rated 25 Nov 2025

55 _52%

Hundreds of Beavers (2024) - Rated 24 Nov 2025

73 _80%

In the Mood for Love (2000) - Rated 09 Nov 2025

An exquisite Hong Kong pas de deux and series of color-coded pseudo tableaux vivants depicting the sad, halting victory of moral vanity self-restraint over smoldering desire. I prefer its Mandarin title (花样年华; lit. ‘Flower-like Years,’ ‘the prime of one's youth’).

69 _76%

Get Out (2017) - Rated 22 Oct 2025

Well-written, expertly cast Hitchcockian contrivance as feature-length parable about being Black in a White world. Is it naïve to think it could be a revelation to some? Probably, but the movie did, I think, succeed in helping cultivate my own capacity for sympathy.

46 _37%

High and Low (1963) - Rated 04 Oct 2025

60 _62%

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) - Rated 18 Apr 2025

Come for the historical interest and the opportunity to behold an impressive, highly original silhouette animation technique. Stay for the surprising way, despite the poverty of the plot, that the shapes of these silhouettes and the herky-jerky yet magical way they move resonate with and reflect at some semi-conscious level the way you you live, move, and have your being.