Back-to-back postwar bangers: De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Kubrick’s Paths of Glory (1957).

It was my first time watching Bicycle Thieves, and it was marvelous. A neorealist urban crawler, comprised of (allegedly) mostly non-actors (directed by an actor), this film found its footing almost immediately to the backdrop of an enchanting, enigmatic Rome. For a mere 89 minutes, we’re along for a succinct, fast-moving ride following a struggling, stubborn family man who fitfully reckons with the stolen hope of finally landing a stable job in postwar Italy, along with the city’s mischievous machinations that seemingly work against him up until his harrowing end-scene decision.

I gathered, like a few films that tread into the sub-genre of child and parent adventures, this one will definitely yield more rewards in repeat viewings. Got the sense immediately that it was trying to tell us that our protagonist was being harshly (if unwittingly) judged by his own son, much like the audience witnessing his slowly unraveling tragedy.

And so, unintentionally, I followed this film with another fairly short but punctual tragedy that released eight years later. Kubrick’s second ‘major’ release, Paths of Glory is a film I hadn’t watched since the WarnerBros Kubrick Collection DVD release edition back… when I was in high school? But what a film. Holds up exceptionally well, particularly with Criterion’s 4K release — the transfer looks great. Even better is the way this film operates, basically across three acts, detailed a slow roll of antiwar horror as we following a mad order to mount an impossible advance uphill, witness the inevitable failure, and then follow the dark antics of crucifying three men made examples for cowardice.

Though thoroughly different films, you feel an almost similar frequency of sadness after finishing both.

We just randomly watched Point Break for the first time, and it has lingered in my mind. Is it a particularly good film? Does it matter? It’s an absolutely iconic thriller with some of the most ludicrously entertaining writing and acting in all of the 90s era. What a way to start the summer.

So many fun quotes to pull from in this LA Times piece on VHS revivalism. While not a “good” format, this is one of a few solid takes on why VHS is still interesting:

“If a film came out originally on VHS in the ’80s or ’90s, it feels right to watch it on VHS because this is how someone in 1989 would’ve watched this movie,” Conor explains in our living room. “I like watching on VHS so I can feel like a time traveler.”

What does IMAX mean? You’ll leave Todd Vazari’s post none the wiser, but somehow, more informed.

…it’s super clear what “IMAX” means.

Finally got around to seeing Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. What a film.

Magnificent cinematography and color grading. Performances were monumental. Americana for the ages (even through the eyes of a German director). The Criterion 4k remaster is where it’s at.

After watching Kurosawa’s High & Low (Criterion 4k release) and Linklater’s Blue Moon, this list of films set primarily in a single location seems apt. (Even if only the first half of High & Low is a chamber drama, I’d add it.) Nice reminders of Assault on Precinct 13 and The Party.

Really enjoy seeing the younger generations still connecting with cinema, so much so they’re calculating profitability to reassure themselves that if their favorite films are getting box office returns, the studios will hopefully continue to make their ilk.

Watched Blue Moon last night 🍿 — Chamber drama camp, Linklater-style, with long-time collaborator Ethan Hawke. Not perfect, but an extraordinarily intimate way to conduct a biofilm on someone, distilling the relationships and decades-long career of lyricist Lorenz Hart into a 1h 40m runtime.

Watched: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 🍿 at the Alamo Drafthouse (during a limited two-time showing this past weekend). Last time I watched this was in 2017 shortly after finishing Twin Peaks The Return, and felt it was a masterwork. Nearly ten years later, my mind hasn’t changed.

I take a few weeks off from posting (the current stage of what’s happening with our country has been eroding my brain)… and a plethora of perspectives pile up.

With regards to cinema creation driven completely by AI, I like M.G. Siegler’s take:

Hollywood shouldn’t be concerned about a kid in their basement using AI to make a rogue version of Star Wars, they should be worried about Disney using AI to make a version of Star Wars without much of the headcount currently needed to make a Star Wars. This is the real disruption here.

Relates to my piece a few months ago. This is worth emphasizing in the midst of the Warner Bros./HBO takeover by either Paramount or Netflix. Companies acquire, companies streamline, companies penny-pinch. Hollywood actors, directors, and writers need to be thinking about this every waking moment.

Short clip from Christopher Nolan on the defense of the physicality of movies, both shooting them and rewatching them.

Accurate.

In watching Criterion’s 2025 4K release of Eyes Wide Shut, my immediate thought was that the grain and contrast is spectacular. And evidently, this was a major part of the release: they went back to the original 35mm celluloid for scanning, and it has yielded a film-like master. Bravo.

Edit: Screen Anarchy notes a few of the details from an interview with Larry Smith (the lighting cameraman from the production), available on the disc.

Grain is showy at times – but this is by design, as Kubrick, who preferred bright, glowing images, pushed the film stock two stops in processing in collaboration with his lighting cameraman, Larry Smith, who describes the approach in a newly-recorded interview on the disc.

Smith has gone on to re-time the entire picture during the restoration, attempting to bring it as close as possible to what he believed Kubrick was looking for, as Kubrick died before the film was originally timed.

The resulting image has extraordinary depth and colour fidelity, even given that the colours (nighttime blues; tungsten oranges) are intentionally oversaturated. This is the best I’ve ever seen the film look, including 35mm print projection.

In light of the Warner Bros dilemma, Jason L. Riley writes on the movie theater’s inevitable, unfortunate decline. And as much as we dread the day… it’s likely coming. Only a few generations will remember:

The ticket lines could be long. You had to arrive early for evening showings, particularly on weekends. But what resonated more than the setting was the shared experience. Watching “E.T.” or “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or “Superman” on a giant screen in a dark theater with total strangers offered a visceral thrill that could never be replicated in my living room.

Speaking of the Mad Men debacle on HBO Max, special effects wizard Todd Vaziri has an analytical post up about this.

It appears as though this represents the original photography, unaltered before digital visual effects got involved

The Verge on HBO’s poor execution of the “remastering” of Mad Men in 4k for streaming. It exemplifies bad stewardship of assets and ill-advised processes (missed cropping-out of production crew from scenes we’ve already seen properly sized for TV?). All the more reason to own a Blu-ray version.

As a film lover and, particularly, an enthusiast for film criticism – one of the best ways to truly immerse yourself and re-evaluate your perspective on a given piece of work – I enjoyed this small but important note in Racket’s bi-weekly membership newsletter from their resident film critic, Keith Harris.

Why does a hyperlocal website need movie reviews when you can find them everywhere online? Because a regional criticism scene matters. The coasts shouldn’t totally dominate the way we talk about art.

While I can’t link to the newsletter since it’s only via email, the point of this is that Keith has an important sentiment about film. In an era where it seems very few people have the time or attention to indulge in deep dialogue about films anymore, let alone read reviews, folks need to be reminded that [most] of this art isn’t something to simply pin against aggregate ratings or a singular, outspoken voice from New York or California. Regional, contextual perspectives and attitudes are welcome and warranted here.

Perspective and interpretation is the flip side to creation, and that’s the beauty of human connection through art. We may connect magically over a line, an image, a sound, or the intricate unification of all of them, or have a widely different connection to a piece of music used to the backdrop of a scene that resonates because of known experiences, regional differences, or a wholly unique memory. One of the most notable pieces I’ve ever read on this was Geoff Dyer’s Zona, a wildly opinionated, sarcastic, and thoroughly sardonic take on Tarkovsky’s Stalker. When I read that, it reminded me at a critical age of film appreciation that not everything needed to be interpreted “correctly”. You can absurdly over-analyze a film that can be interpreted in a myriad of ways and still come out the wiser.

I only wish there was even more accessible film criticism for newer generations, because cinema is a rich culmination of so many complementary art forms, its endless in the ways of reward.

A rewatch of Laloux’s Fantastic Planet (1973) re-establishes — in my mind — its boundless inventiveness and vision. It also operates as an historic spiritual precursor to the Scavengers Reign series, which was unjustly cancelled by both HBO Max and Netflix.

The precursor to capitalism’s demise may have just begun…

A moviegoer from Bangalore became so vexed by the trailer marathon to which he was subjected that he filed suit against the cinema chain in question and won. The court awarded him the equivalent of 450 quid for having his time wasted and another 45 pounds for mental agony… this precedent is going to bankrupt not just every cinema chain on earth, but pretty much everything on earth.

Discussed on The Monocle Daily (timestamp), which, as a podcast, can be hit or miss, but 100% represents the international pinnacle of snark.

Kottke has a rundown on the recently released 4K restoration of Seven Samurai. Funny he mentions getting a Blu-ray player and returning to physical media… I just bought a handful of favorites from Criterion a few weeks ago. Feels good to have a real backup in case, you know, the worst happens.

Rewatched Twin Peaks: The Return and can reaffirm, it still operates on its own masterful level of cinema.

It’s David Lynch’s magnum opus, and it will stand the test of time as one of the absolute best films/shows ever conceived.

Watched the French film The Taste of Things twice this past week, and can’t get its immaculate vibe out of my mind. My wife said it best — it’s like ASMR for food obsessives. If you like cuisine, cooking, the details of hospitality, or a lovely, focused, quiet cinema experience, this if for you.

True Detective: Night Country was a succinct masterclass in whodunit that delivered a rewarding cohesiveness to all character arcs. It’s too bad it was only six episodes — it was drenched in a blustery winter vibe that was enjoyable to visit — but it was also the perfect length.

Scavengers Reign is one of the most surprising, strange, and best shows of the year. So glad I happened upon this – binged the entire thing in two days.

Just received my first issue of MUBI’s Notebook, and it’s an incredible print production. Absolutely love a surprise and delight moment with anything I wasn’t expecting to have such a moment with, and this hit the mark.

MUBI is a niche/classical/independent/international film streaming service that’s been around for over a decade (I originally subscribed back in 2010). I recently re-subscribed and learned that they were producing a bi-annual magazine that accompanies the company’s super-focused spotlight on cinematic experiences.

And it is a beautiful object.

• It ships in a magazine-sized box (not plastic wrap!)
• The magazine inside is wrapped with a re-usable, water-resistant sleeve that makes the printed pages inside feel cared for
• The pages are printed on thick, punchy stock that feels unlike any other magazine, including the crown jewel, Monocle
• Lay-flat design, so you can open any part of the magazine and keep it comfortably open without the pages curling back around
• Beautiful orange stitching throughout, which is… notable

This issue (#3) is dedicated to weather throughout film:

…saboteurs are afoot and unpredictable weather is in the forecast! With thematic pieces devoted to the appearance of weather inside and outside of movies—w(h)e(a)ther cataclysmic or beautiful, documented or created—and to the disruptive ways film culture and industry can be sabotaged, this Issue is expected to reach record readings (!).

I’ve only just begun paging through it, but it’s a joy to read and see so far. Highly recommend — keep print alive!

Another cinema rant: Khoi Vinh observes Wes Anderson like he truly is, for better or worse:

Anderson is essentially a children’s storyteller. For my money, he’s most at home when he’s telling stories through the lens of child characters

I haven’t seen Asteroid City (honestly, not planning on it). But… Barbie and Oppenheimer were fantastic.