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Don't Bother to Knock (1952)

USA

Directed by Roy Ward Baker

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft

An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be.

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The Lives of Others (2006) 'Das Leben der Anderen'

Germany/France

Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Starring: Ulrich Muhe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck

In 1983 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

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The Room Next Door (2024)

Spain

Directed by Pedro Almodovar

Starring: Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton

Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.

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Singin' in the Rain (1952)

USA

Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly

Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

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Double Indemnity (1944)

USA

Directed by Billy Wilder

Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck

A rich woman and a calculating insurance agent plot to kill her unsuspecting husband after he signs a double indemnity policy.

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The Great Dictator (1940)

USA

Directed by Charlie Chaplin

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel’s regime.

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Paper Moon (1973)

USA

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich

Starring: Tatum O'Neal, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn

A bible salesman finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership as a money-making con team in Depression-era Kansas.

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Do the Right Thing (1989)

USA

Directed by Spike Lee

Starring: Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez

Salvatore “Sal” Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin’ Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria’s Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin’ Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin’ Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

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Currently listening:

Ethel Cain - Perverts (2025)

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The Elephant Man (1980)

USA

Directed by David Lynch

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his “owner” as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

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This is so beautiful

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The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Algeria/Italy

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo

Starring: Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi

Tracing the struggle of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale to gain freedom from French colonial rule as seen through the eyes of Ali from his start as a petty thief to his rise to prominence in the organisation and capture by the French in 1957. The film traces the rebels’ struggle and the increasingly extreme measures taken by the French government to quell the revolt.

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Remembering Moira Shearer on her birthday #botd

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Inherent Vice

2014, USA

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry “Doc” Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

Based on the 2009 novel by Thomas Pynchon

After watching this, I have now completed the PTA filmography (features, at least). While this is nowhere near his best film, there's still a lot to enjoy. The ensemble cast, led by Joaquin Phoenix, and the Jonny Greenwood score stood out most to me. The plot may be convoluted, but the vibes are good.

As Doc sets off in search of his ex-girlfriend, he finds himself in a series of increasingly bizarre situations. Is he hallucinating? Is he paranoid? What is real? In the end it doesn't matter because what a trip!

Tonally this could have been a mess, but Anderson deftly pulls off the combination of Neo-noir and stoner comedy.

If you're new to PTA, this might not be the best entry-point into his body of work. However this is definitely worth a watch, especially if you like Neo-noirs and Joaquin Phoenix.

Currently streaming on Max.

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Ikiru (1952)

Japan

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Haruo Tanaka, Miki Odagiri

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.