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themacsays

themacsays
Movie Buff
# Film Ratings: 261
Member Since: 13 Jan 2018
Bio: Signing up to force myself to keep a record of the films I watch, which is a lot fewer than I'd like.



Notes on my notes...



Review starting with "C -" Saw it in the cinema



Review starting with "R -" Seen it before, adding review after rewatch



Review starting with "P -" Watched it on a plane



Review starting with "K -" Watched it either with or because of my kids



For non-anthology TV series, I've elected to try reviewing per season

Recent Ratings

85 79%
The Long Goodbye (1973) - Rated 13 Sep 2025
Trying to fill in a few gaps I've had in the Altman canon. Can't quite believe I didn't get to this one before. It's a shaggy dog masterpiece. The contrast (and interlock) between the old-fashioned gumshoe sensibility and the 70s era is played perfectly. This was clearly hugely influential. The Coen Brothers must have seen it a few times.
71 44%
A Real Pain (2024) - Rated 11 Sep 2025
51 6%
The Fountain (2006) - Rated 04 Sep 2025
This is just annoying. Death comes to us all, but when it comes near Hugh Jackman, he tries to punch the very idea of death. Multiple times, in three timelines. (Warning: I'm suddenly worried this description makes the film sound way better than it is.)
70 36%
After Hours (1985) - Rated 02 Sep 2025
97 97%
Hell or High Water (2016) - Rated 29 Aug 2025
R - One of my top films. It's just so great. The Western vibe, the anti-corporate theme, the performances.
75 52%
Irma Vep (1996) - Rated 29 Aug 2025
There's something here in the shaggy looseness.
66 26%
Predestination (2014) - Rated 29 Aug 2025
Probably gets a bit too caught up in its own intricacies.
66 26%
Thief (1981) - Rated 29 Aug 2025
Michael Mann had so much of his schtick worked out early. James Caan's character could wander through a scene in Heat and not be out of place.
67 27%
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) - Rated 29 Aug 2025
Is it a revisionist western? I suppose it is. It's more like a capitalistist nightmare though. So mucky and grey. Altman has his point to make, and he does it very well.
79 60%
The Prestige (2006) - Rated 29 Aug 2025
R - Not sure how to rate this, it definitely loses something on rewatch when you know the whole story, even though it is precise clockwork. Nolan's "dead wife = plot driving gold" is arguably never more to the fore, and is one of the things that makes you question the whole intricacy on repeated viewings. I don't want to seem too negative. There is real magic here.