Spitball Army

watched Oct 28, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 7.4 [DVD, library] It’s beautiful visually, with lots (and I mean LOTS) of shots of hazy light filtered through mossy Southern trees [like in the works of Terrence Malick] and scenes in dark rooms that seem to be lit by only candlelight [as in Stanley Kubrick’s BARRY […]

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watched Oct 27, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 7.8 [streaming, Netflix] What a fascinating and ultimately tragic life Joan Didion has led! This doc connects her published works to the life events that inspired her to write them, for, as Didion state’s in the film’s generous interview segments, “You write what you have.” I have […]

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watched Oct 27, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 5.1 [DVD, Netflix] Here is a textbook example of a film likely having amazing potential on paper but not ultimately translating those qualities to the screen. The cast is A-ranked, the script is co-written by Joan Didion, the story offers moral dilemmas; but the acting is, for […]

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watched Oct 22, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 7.6 [DVD, Netflix] There was a point not too far into this film when the tone changed completely for me. Up until that point, the film was aloof and removed, but at the moment when Catherine Deneuve and Catherine Frot walk through the door of a bistro […]

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watched Oct 21, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 8.0 [blu-ray, Netflix] I laughed a lot during this movie. Tom Holland should take advantage of this perfect role while he is still young enough to pull it off well – he’s relatable and believable. Marisa Tomei (as Aunt May?! What?!!!) has the best and funniest moment of […]

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rewatched Oct 15, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 8.7 [theater] This movie, by now, has become review-proof. Everyone has seen it, everyone seems to love it, it is funny and romantic and endlessly quotable. So, watching it with a group of people becomes an enjoyable group experience every time. Today’s “group experience” was at […]

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watched Oct 14, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 7.7 [DVD, library] How I have lived this long without seeing this classic that is exactly as old as me is a mystery. But, since I have seen countless Westerns since then, seeing the one that so many of them borrow from and imitate is a bit […]

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watched Oct 14, 2017, spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 6.8 [streaming, Netflix] This isn’t a critical appraisal of Kubrick’s work, but a character portrait – told roughly in chronology – through the eyes of his personal assistant/chauffeur. The all-consuming self-focus of Kubrick’s personality is on full display here, yet the interactions have an intimate charm when […]

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watched Oct 14, 2017 spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 6.8 [DVD, library] Torn about what to think of this film. Is its uneven tone purposeful or a result of wanting to be too many things (a portrait of childhood precocity; a morality play; a vigilante thriller; an apologia of single parenthood; a messianic fable) all at […]

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rewatched Oct 13, 2017 spitballarmy’s review published on Letterboxd: 7.5 [blu-ray, Netflix] I’m glad to have not seen this as a pre-teen when it was first released. Yet, it’s been at least 25 years since I did first view it, and the emphasis for me has shifted from the episodic backwoods horror to the moral quandary […]

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