#guys i am obsessed with james spader

[allmyandroids]

Working on a Mr Grey edit ❤️‍🔥

[oneguardian15]

oh my godddddddd i just started watching the blacklist with my mom like a week ago and i am literally SO obsessed! like the brainrot is REAL

help meee

[anthonybialy]

Alpha Mailed

Donald Trump is a terrible person.  He thinks he’s being complimented.  An ‘80s movie villain without the charisma of James Spader thinks he’s a bad boy, and he’s right in a certain sense.  He’ll never grasp which one.  Unpleasantness isn’t a virtue even if treated as such by pigeons too obnoxious to be pitied.  Principles remain unchanged unless your surly messiah says last week’s ally is now a loser.

Nothing embodies rugged masculinity like petty insults over refusal to kneel before him with sufficient vigor.  Wholesale compliance is crucial to being an alpha.  Ask slavish voters who think he’s awesome precisely because he’s disagreeable.

A wholly inverted take on every life aspect makes them more miserable whenever they get what they want.  That sounds delightful.  But Trump inflicts what he wants on people with decent taste whether they oppose hideous black glass on the skyline or an appalling presidential choice.

Trump may be repellant, but at least he’s ineffective.  He creates the best of both worlds otherwise.  The perpetual presidential hopeful has rather paltry accomplishments for someone who proclaims to have the most of all.  If you’re going to be that repulsive, at least achieve something noteworthy.  Seducing a commandeered party doesn’t count.

Never has someone sold more garbage to more fools.  He told you he was the world record holder.  The only consolation is by what percentage he lies about his persona, who’s surely an awesome guy.

Impressing marks as well as himself doesn’t alter actuality.  It would be far more stunning to create an item astute humans wanted, but real effective businessmen don’t need something insignificant like products.

Winning at elections treated as a success in itself by political devotees who don’t trust humans to perform useful tasks without mandates.  I am starting to wonder after a couple of atrocious consecutive presidents if obtaining 270 electoral votes means the person who does so is qualified.

Obama-style gloating shows the wrong kind of bipartisanship.  A different cult style features the same membership style.  Debt will never decrease as long as we elect Democrats or the one alleged Republican who calls every conservative a RINO.

Every single aspect is untethered from context.  Loyalty, winning, power, strength: Trump and his lackeys value anything they think makes them dominant.  The fact they’re submissive bitches just spreads misery further.

A wholesale misinterpretation of what constitutes triumph is preferred by those who don’t care for subtleties like persuasion.  The lifelong obsession with claiming others are weak is surely not projection.  Foes of nastiness as a virtue only point out difficulty in maintaining principles or completing pushups.

Trump admires aspects that bring might without the context of morality.  Worst, he owns none of these things.  The embodiment of cravenness also summarizes overcompensation.  A psychiatrist would have an easy time with the biggest mental patient ever to serve as executive spread over several terms of regular sessions.  The diagnosis is as simple as the patient is stubborn.  A clown pitchman is genuinely nasty even when doing so as shtick, which is as close as Trump gets to authentic.

None of this is funny.  Invective is presented as dully as possible.  Crude nicknames are misinterpreted as laughs by the same zealots who think making preposterous opening demands during a negotiation will flummox an enemy.  Trump has never once said anything humoerous.  He’s more likely to sell a useful good.  Fans of rather broad comedy crave the comfort of American Pie-style outrageous situations that substitute for worthwhile material.  Trying to shock is for people who can’t write jokes.  

The misfortune of encountering a Trump fan on social media neatly encapsulates the savior’s career.  The most malleably hateful are shockingly lousy at insults, which is especially pathetic considering how much practice they have.  Zombified recruits are acting like their idol, which is praise in the same sense that holding meetings in Atlantic City would provide plenty of elbow room.  Alpha males who copy the scuzzy behavior of their real fake hero are funny in a way they naturally don’t grasp.

Pointing out the obvious isn’t itself an obvious thing to do.  As example number one, people who’ve never announced on Facebook to avoid friend requests as a result of being hacked need more lectures about how phony a human trying to con them can be.  Trump’s greatest political asset aside from suckering dupes is exploiting their unwillingness to learn.

Anyone who thinks the prototypical jerk is a high achiever believes every other bit of nonsense he announced, too.  Exhausted documentarians of scumbag behavior shouldn’t have to note in 2024 what was clear in 1984.  The latter earlier year doubles as the titles of yet another book he’s never read even though he’s an expert on doing the opposite of what’s said.

Moving past thinking an arrogant prick is terrific at getting worthwhile things done would be a welcome development in human progress.  Boomers won’t take a single step.

A long history of doing the precise opposite of what he claims is tiresomely irrelevant to worshipers who take him at his word.  The scuzziest religion also reflects the most obvious political push, which is quite odd for the self-proclaimed outsider.

Blatancy is an asset, at least for those who insist upon getting tricked.  Timeshare owners who endured a freaking presidential term of his ineffective awfulness and still think acting like a horse’s ass gets things done.  It’s true if ripping them off counts.

[irhinoceri]

I feel like there was a time when I used to always see stuff online about how the 80s romcom Pretty In Pink had a different original ending that was changed and people would be all like “oh the original ending would have been better, she should have ended up with Duckie instead”.

Well, I watched the movie in question last night and I am going to take a bold stance that No - the original ending was indeed bad. It was bad. I’m sorry Jon Cryer. It was Nice Guy propaganda and it was bad!

A whole movie about a girl settling for the “best friend” who was obsessed with her and clingy and possessive to an unhealthy degree, whomst she clearly had NO interest in or attraction to is not a good or satisfactory ending.

The test screeners who booed and threw garbage at the movie screen were right and I salute them. The reshot ending may suffer from being a hasty rewrite that was filmed in one day but it was still a better ending. Was Blane underdeveloped as a character compared to Duckie? Yes, but the movie was far more about Andie’s desire for Blane than whatever Duckie or Blane were going through. And even so, Blane is very interested in her and unlike Duckie actually asks her out. Does he cave to social pressure and back out, yes, but that’s just your standard romantic roadblock and it leads to him realizing his folly, standing up to James Spader, and telling our heroine that he was wrong and the problem was with him and his own cowardice and never with her — and that is the kind of wish fulfillment you want in your romantic movie.

You (and by you I mean me) want the man to have to grovel and confess his foolishness and beg forgiveness. You want Cinderella to end up with the Prince. The original story would have ended with her “realizing” that her Prince was the boy who’d been there all along but I repeat, it was just Nice Guy propaganda the whole way through. There was no way that Andie didn’t know that Duckie was into her, and if she had wanted to date him at any point before the start or the movie or during its runtime, she would have done so. Her finally relenting and ending up with Duckie only after being disappointed by Blane would have been infuriating. Terrible. A real let down.

And Duckie even gets a better ending in the revision! As soon as he comes to terms with the fact that his crush is incredibly one sided, he can finally move on and see that there are other women out there that might find him attractive. The illusion of nobility in suffering over unrequited love is struck down! That girl you’ve been pining over for eight years isn’t into you! Instead of being her pitiful consolation fallback option you can let her go and be free!

[awabubbles]

*Hesitantly comes off anon* I totally feel unworthy of talking to someone so talented who I’ve been following for years but here we go😅 Richard Dean Anderson was actually my first crush that I can really remember as a child. My parents were fans of his before Stargate but then we ended up seeing him in that and I really started loving it because of Jack. I know the character is different from the movie the show is based from, but I can’t imagine him being played any other way. But I definitely love appreciating the characters and world building much more now that I’m older. I am so happy the show itself has aged so well and that I can still enjoy it as much as I did as a kid❤️

no, no, im a giant dweeb please don’t be scared.

also, same, my mother was obsessed with MacGyver which is how I knew about him (and understood the subsequent “just macgyver it” jokes in SG-1). and funnily enough my wife is a huge james spader fan, who played the original daniel, so that’s how she had heard of stargate (which I THINK I’ve watched....god such a long....time ago). But I agree that RDA as Jack is a much better casting, that original guy looked like a schwarzenegger wannabe xD

I mean stargate was pretty big when it came out, yeah? it had it’s own fan conventions and ran for a good 10 seasons which at the time was the longest running scifi cable show ever. so yeah it’s nice to see some renewed interest in it after being dumped onto netflix. and who knows with the rate of remakes maybe they’ll even redo the whole thing, gawd @_@

[raisinghellonstarbug]

Comfort Films Challenge

Thank you to the wonderful @omnishambolichologram for tagging me as always in these fun activites :3 ^^ Also - sorry it’s taken me weeks to FINALLY post this!

Film are definitely my number one enjoyment in life along with watching television series (aside from the obvious of spending time with family and friends) and there are quite a few comfort films for me, so it’s going to be difficult to narrow down to only seven! I might have to be cheeky and add in a couple of special mentions hehe

And FYI some of these films might not be necessarily comforting, but they are in that they’re easy to watch so many times because I love them that much. This list probably won’t have all of my absolute favourites, but we shall see what my brain comes up with this time because it sometimes changes.

(I won’t be able to rate one more than the other as they’ll all be different kinds of films so I wouldn’t be able to necessarily say one is better than the other)

I’ve chosen these films based on not only how rewatchable they are, but also on their sheer brilliance as a whole in terms of cinematography, dialogue, cleverness and the acting... (and probably on how long I’ve known them and grown to love them everytime I watch them)

Note: I don’t own some of the gifs included in this post. Credit would go to them if I knew who they were but I’m making sure that I don’t take credit for the ones which aren’t mine.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

This film is quirky, intelligent, funny and teaches you a lot about the choices you make in life. I think what I love about this film is how simple the ending is. “I gotta see about a girl...” - sums up how love can end up being the most important thing to grab hold of when you realise you have it and never had it before. I personally believe that this is probably Matt Damon’s best performance out of all his acting roles even to this day. Ben Affleck and Robin Williams were pretty damn great in it too.

Midnight Run (1988)

(This gif is mine).

This film has it all. A damn well cleverly written script with uncanny and hilarious dialogue, brilliant dynamic between the two main characters, fabulous music score, wonderful sets of shots (the cinematography of the beginning scene is great) and basically a simple story that is not only entertaining and easy to follow, but is acted out fabulously by everyone. The whole wild goose chase for these two men played by Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin across the country is just ridiculous, but ridiculously funny. I have to say that it’s definitely one of my top favourites of all time. If you want a laugh, I would recommend this one!

Special mention (another Martin Brest film): Beverly Hills Cop is on point also.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

It was tough for me to just decide on one John Hughes film as he’s one of my favourite directors of all time, but I chose Breakfast Club because it’s the ultimate classic coming-of-age story, and it’s all set in just one location. It’s clever in that there doesn’t have to be lots of action to make it good, all it does is introduce a bunch of teenage stereotypes and take away the shields that they have put on and learn to no longer be prejudice of one another. Eighties is also my favourite era of films and this is just a perfect mixture of comedy and drama. The acting is great and I give applause to especially Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael-Hall for their delivery and their facial expressions.

Special mentions of other John Hughes films he has written/directed that I ADORE: Pretty in Pink (Andrew McCarthy and James Spader yum), Sixteen Candles (hilarious), Uncle Buck (the best family film ever), Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Some Kind of Wonderful <3

Heathers (1988)

Christian Slater and Winona Ryder are the best duo in this film and it is another eighties classic. I related to both these characters and I can never get enough of this film. I have probably seen it twenty times or more and still not fed up with watching it. The dark comedy and the gritty and foul dialogue are iconic in this flick, and I take my hat off to the brilliant Heathers (Kim Walker - may she RIP, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk) for playing such clever and awful characters. I was obsessed at one point with Slater because of his role as J.D and honestly his death at the end of the film is a powerful as fuck ending. The cinematography of the ending makes the film for sure, the angle, the chosen shots I just Ugh. Fabulous.

The Help (2011)

This film. I don’t know it’s just brilliantly done and the acting is perfection. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain and Dallas Bryce-Howard are fantastic in their roles and this film explores such a crucial time period that I think is illustrated well. These women while fictional, feel so real and the struggle of black maids (black people in general really but this is specific to the women) is real. I cannot help but cry everytime at the ending, and the way that Aibilene stands up for herself, I never get tired of. It is easy to watch as it’s not painful like 12 Years A Slave, but it still epitomises the segregation that was so prominent in the sixties in southern US very well. I find comfort in how delightful the characters are and still manages to be funny despite the story being focused on such a sensitive subject.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Shawshank, well we all know this film. It has been parodied and quoted so many bloody times, but yet I am cliche in love with it and I cannot fault a single thing about it. Tim Robbins is an underrated as fuck actor and he should be appreciated so much more for his stellar performance as Andy Dufrense. He is the epitome of the straight and narrow man who, really, is not a bad guy at all. In fact, he’s always tried to be the opposite. You symphathise with him throughout and you really feel his struggle, but also his perfect ability to be so human. He makes Red realise he is not as bad as he made himself believe and of course we know how good Morgan Freeman is. Again, this film like Heathers I could watch a million times and never get bored with it. Whether it’s on TV or I find it available online, I always will make time to watch it.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

I have only recently come across this film about 8 months ago and it’s the kind of film which I can’t help but wonder where it’s been my whole life. I have already watched it probably like 10 times since I found it and I am so happy I did. However, it has led me to form an unhealthy obsession with Timothee Chalamet where he has come up in conversation in real life and I figured the only things I was still an avid fan of was of Supernatural and Red Dwarf, but no this film is just pure delightful dynamite. The cinematography is so elegant and perfect (especially during the dream like sequence when Elio is alone or in the gif above when Elio is watching Oliver). The screenplay brilliantly illustrates how wonderfully amazing but also torturous love can be, and well it is set in the eighties. What more can you love? Timmy and Armie have such good chemistry it’s unreal, and they make their characters so believable. Another film I cannot fault and could watch anytime, even though the ending is heartbreaking af.

Bonus: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Notting Hill (1999)

About TIme (2013)

There are plenty of other comfort films I adore but it probably depends on my mood. I’m definitely a sucker for romantic comedies and these three are on here as bonuses because they’ve also been very comforting to me over the years. What can I say? Richard Curtis writes some brilliant screenplays and directs some of them too.

[meetmeatthecoda]

Thank you so much for tagging me, @starcrier!! 😄 I’m sorry this took so long, friend, but here we go!! 😊 Enjoy or whatever 😂

Favorite snack? Right now, I’m obsessed with Annie’s organic cheddar bunnies. Those little buggers are tasty!!

Favorite place to go on vacation? The beach!! For sure. The boardwalk and the ocean waves can solve just about anything.

What’s a song that makes you dance immediately? Right now, It’s Strange by Louis The Child feat. K.Flay. I kept hearing it in that stupid car commercial and now it’s my jam. Whoops.

Tea or Coffee? And what kind? Coffee!! Preferably with indecent amounts of chocolate and whipped cream. My coffees are more like desserts honestly.

Do you play an instrument? LOL yeah, that’s kinda what I do. Flute & piccolo 😊

What’s your favorite type of personality? On other people? Hmmm, well, I’m like immediately drawn to people who go out of their way to make awkward people (me) feel at ease. Like just genuinely easy-going, kind, understanding people. Just chill. Yeah, those are good people, they help me relax and be more like myself.

Favorite Comedian? I don’t watch a whole lot of comedy but John Mulaney, for sure, I’m kinda in love with him. Also, Kathleen Madigan is great. And Kate McKinnon is just so cutely quirky, she’s adorable.

Gummy candy or chocolate? Chocolate, 1000%. But I also love me a bag of gummy bears.

What did you ‘want to be when you grew up’ as a kid? Ah, I had 3 very specific visions for myself: horse trainer, oceanographer, and author. Preferably all at once. I was a kid of many interests. Still am. Even though they have narrowed slightly in focus to all things music related. (It’d still be cool to be an author tho, no lie.)

What’s your favorite physical feature about yourself? LOL meh, I’m not super enamored with myself. I’m pretty tall, so that’s cool. My arms and fingers are kinda long from playing the flute, but I also have huge hands so idk. Probably also from playing flute. Sometimes I think my eyes are pretty.

When was the last time you watched a show or movie on a TV? I’m currently watching The Late Late Show with James Corden. I’m all about late night TV.

Unpopular Opinion? I don’t like Beyonce. Please don’t hate me.

Are you scared of bugs? Hell, yeah. Hate ‘em. Hate killin’ ‘em, hate lookin’ at ‘em, hate anything to do with ‘em. Just no. Please go be gross somewhere else.

Cats or dogs? Kitty cats. They’re beautiful. Especially mine ❤️

Are you allergic to any foods? No, luckily!

Does the description of your star sign match your personality? I… don’t pay attention to that stuff honestly.

Favorite type of accent? Aw, man, I just love accents in general. Other than American ones, of course, those are boring to me, too familiar LOL (I think I just like dissecting the differences in rhythms and cadences, how people pronounce different words. I guess that’s my music geek coming out.) In particular, I’m super attracted to British and Scottish accents. Like, yes.

Name the first song that comes into your head! The Waving Through A Window cover by Pentatonix. I’m obsessed. (P.S. @starcrier, my mom used to call the Jar of Hearts song Jar of Farts instead 👍)

Who is the sexiest famous person to you? Uhhh, James Spader. He’s sexy at any age. Also, Zachary Quinto comes to mind. He’s freaking beautiful. And Ryan Gosling. I have to conform somehow.

Cake or pie? I’m generally pro-cake. But my mom’s pies are the bomb.

When was the last time you read an entire book? Ooooh, probably last summer, unfortunately. I’m usually stuck reading music textbooks right now, which isn’t awful, but… it’s tiresome. I believe it was Portrait of a Lady btw. But I also read a lot of fanfiction. Easier to get through quickly and just awesome in general ofc.

Favorite junk food? I mean… pizza.

Do you like your height? Yeah, I mentioned that somewhere above. I used to think I was super tall cause I was a big kid, ahead of the growth curve or whatever, but now I think I’m kinda average. About 5’7’’ I think? I’d like to be taller but… it’s okay LOL

Apples or oranges? Mmmm, apples. But oranges are yummy too.

Do you like salad? Yes!! It’s certainly grown on me as I’ve gotten older, especially with yummy fresh veggies, cheese, and croutons. And dressing. Don’t skimp on the dressing.

What person inspires you the most? My family and my music professors. And that’s definitely more than one person. Sorry.

What is a song that has made you cry? Oof. On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter. It’s most hard-hitting in the movie Arrival but it still packs a punch on its own ❤️

Thank you for this, my friend!! 😃 I’m sorry I’m so supremely uninteresting!! 😂 I’m gonna tag @ihaveyoulizzington, @james-baeder, @strawberry-pills​, @codewordpumpkin​, and @theythinkimabitch​!! 😀 And anyone else who wants to, of course!! 😊 Much love guys!! ❤️

[kyukurator-blog]

THE LAST POST

This is the last post of Follow The Thread. 

I say that with a mixture of sadness and relief.  Over the course of three years, Elma and I have researched, curated and written 152 posts, covering nearly 900 films, documentaries and TV shows.

We did it because we loved it.  Each week we’d unearth a complex web of threads connecting current titles to the massive online library that we are all blessed to have at our fingertips.  Some of the connections were obvious, some were obscure.  Some resonant, some just fun.  

The process was always delightful.  And, it was a tremendous amount of work.    

But what I’ll especially miss are all the juicy and culty titles we would discover – or, in some cases, re-discover – in the course of our detective work. 

So for this last post, I’ve pulled together a fast, long and extremely biased list of some of discoveries Elma and I have made over the last three years, stretching back to August 2014. 

Thanks for reading.  Arrivaderci!                                                                                                               *Each title is followed by the date of the post*

Afternoon Delight (2013) 5/18/17 Jill Soloway’s 2013 first film.  Kathryn Hahn is a frustrated LA Mom who opens up her home to a homeless young exotic dancer (Juno Temple).    

A Field in England (2013) 4/20/17 Hot UK team Ben Wheatley and wife Amy Jump’s low-budget, anti-romantic account of the 17th Century civil wars, complete with psychedelic mushrooms.

Belle du Jour (1967) 3/23/17 Luis Bunuel’s amoral anti-bourgeois meditation on erotic fulfilment starring 23-year-old Catherine Deneuve.

Welcome to The Rileys (2010) 3/9/17 Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini in an unexpected fable of a bereaved father.

Orange Sunshine (2016) 1/12/17 Acclaimed doc maker William Kirkley tells the story of Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a mystical/altruistic band of surfer hippies out of Laguna Beach who manufactured and sold 100 million hits of LSD.  

The Jackie Show – Televised Tour of the White House (1962) 12/8/16 80 million people watched as the breathy, beautiful and slightly distant young First Lady showed off her White House restoration on live TV.   

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009) 12/1/16 Damien Chazelle’s Harvard Thesis film is a jazz musical warm-up for La La Land, scored by his  collaborator Justin Hurwitz. 

Margaret (2007/10) 11/17/16 Kenneth Lonergan’s uneasy maybe-masterpiece starring Anna Paquin (pre-True Blood) as a magnetically unlikeable New York teen trying to work out her place in the universe. 

Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus (2013) 11/3/16 Sebastian Silva’s story of a feckless American (Michael Cera) who sets off in search of psychedelic cactus.  He and Chilean friends are joined by spacey, free-spirited Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman).  The trip becomes the trip.   

400 Blows (1959) 10/27/16 Autobiographical childhood film from 27-year-old critic Francois Truffaut that exploded him into the front ranks of the New Wave.  We’d never seen it before! 

Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015) 10/6/16 Scary black men with rifles on the steps of the California State House.  The amazing story told definitively in this PBS doc from Stanley Nelson. 

Open Your Eyes (1997) 8/25/16 Alejandro Amenabar’s mindbending Spanish language parable about a young man whose lust captures him in an endless loop of subjective reality was the basis for Vanilla Sky. 

Summer with Monika (1953) 8/11/16 This remarkable early Bergman film about adolescent lovers who escape on a summer idyll has been cited as an influence by both John Waters and Woody Allen.  

A Woman Named Golda (1982) 7/28/16 You wouldn’t know that Ingrid Bergman was dying of cancer when she made this surprising portrait of the grandmotherly and iron-willed Israeli Prime Minister.  Leonard Nimoy plays her husband, Judy Davis is the young Golda.

A Most Wanted Man (2014) 7/7/16 A stark, chilling spy movie from Dutch directory Anton Corbijn, with Seymour Phillip Hoffman starring in his last leading role. 

The Source (1999) 6/30/16 Chuck Workman’s definitive documentary on The Beats.  Focuses on Ginsberg, Kerouac and Burroughs, with Dennis Hopper, Johnny Depp and John Turturro reading their works.

The Blue Room (2014) 6/23/16 A distinctively French and exceptionally erotic thriller from director Mathieu Amalric, based on a novel by Georges Simenon. 

Black Death (2010) 6/16/16 From horror director Chris Smith, “Dark Ages Pulp” — a horror/fable about the evils of religion and belief, with plenty of gore and a liberal dash of the supernatural.  With Sean Bean, aka Edard Stark, and Carice von Houten (GOT’s Melisandre).

I Am Love (2009) 5/5/16 In the third of Tilda Swinton’s ongoing string of collaborations with Italian director Luca Guadigno (Biggest Splash), she plays the Russian-born matriarch of a haute bourgeois Italian family that has fallen on rocky times.

Better Off Ted (2009-2010) 4/7/16 A “brilliant but cancelled” ABC office sitcom that is a more-accurate-than-most mirror of contemporary corporate life.

L’Atalante (1932) 3/10/16 This was the last of seminal French director Jean Viggo’s four films.  He died in his wife’s arms a few days after the film’s disastrous release.  Now it’s beloved, the exceptionally simple story of a girl from a river town who impulsively marries a barge captain.  

Labyrinthe (1986) 1/14/16 15-year-old Jennifer Connelly is a girl on the brink of womanhood whose fantasies come alive.  David Bowie is Jareth, the Ogre King, tempter and torturer in a glam rock wig and notoriously form-fitting tights. Cult fantasy collaboration from George Lucas and Jim (Muppet) Henson.   

99 Homes (2015) 12/11/15 Michael Shannon is a real estate shark who teaches Andrew Garfield how to save his family home – by preying on others.  The start of our obsession with chameleon Shannon. 

The Great Beauty (2013) 12/3/15 Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar winner about a famous journalist who blithely charms his way through the upper echelons of Roman culture – until, on his 65th birthday, his true love unexpectedly dies. 

What If (2014) 11/25/15 A frustratingly cliched romcom worth seeing for the singularly charming performance by post-Potter Daniel Radcliffe.  Also with Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis.    

Purple Noon (1960) 11/10/15 René Clément directs Alain Delon in this superior French version of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.  Recently remastered by Criterion, spoiled only by a wimped-out ending.

Animal Kingdom (2011) 9/24/15 Ben Mendelsohn plays a borerline psychopath in this Down Under reinvigoration of American gangster conventions.  Oscar nom for Jacki Weaver, career rebirth for Mendelsohn. 

Werner Von Braun: Missile to the Moon (2012) 9/3/15 Biography of the charismatic and photogenic ex-Nazi who led Germany’s V2 missile program, was forgiven, and became the face of the American lunar project in the 60���s.

The Maid (2009) 8/27/15 In this Chilean Sundance Grand Jury winner, a family retainer turns the tables when it looks like she’s going to be replaced by a younger woman.  Delicious evil star turn by famous actress Catalina Saavedra.

Mother (2009) 7/23/15 From Korean director Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer) – a devoted and deceptively innocuous mother stops at nothing to get her murderous son out of prison.

Freedom on My Mind (1994) 6/25/15 Oscar-nominated doc traces the violent, courageous and ultimately triumphant struggle for voter rights in 60’s Mississippi.  

Infinitely Polar Bear (2015) 6/18/15 Mark Ruffalo is in top form as a crazy but caring dad in this honest and winning first film by veteran producer Maya Forbes.

Dogtooth (2009) 6/11/15 A typically idiosyncratic festival favorite from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster).  A father protects his teenage children from the world by confining them to the family estate. 

Control (2007) 6/4/15 This atypically moody rock n roll biopic about Ian Curtis, lead singer for Joy Division paints him as a doomed poet.  Impeccable performances by Sam Riley and Samantha Morton as his wife.  Black and white, directed by Joy Division photographer Anton Corbijn.   

Maggie (2015) 5/7/15 Arnold Schwarzenegger gives an surprisingly excellent, dialed-back performance as a father whose daughter is infected with a zombie virus and faces unbearable.  Post-apocalyptic, but not an action film.  

The Internet’s Own Boy: The Life of Aaron Schwartz (2014) 4/9/15 Digital-focused doc maker Brian Knappenberger hones on in programming prodigy Schwartz, who was instrumental in developing RSS, Creative Commons and Reddit, but was hounded to death after he successfully defeated the corporation-backed Stop Online Piracy Act.

Hustle & Flow (2004) 3/18/15 This Sundance breakout stars Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson as a pimp and his girlfriend trying to rap their way out of the ghetto, showing a lot of chemistry and foreshadowing Empire.

Claudine (1974) 2/19/15 In the heyday of Blaxploitation, Diahann Carroll got an Oscar nomination for this story of a single welfare mother who falls in love with a garbage man, played by James Earl Jones.  Music by Curtis Mayfield.

The Music of Chance (1993) 2/5/15 James Spader donned a black wig and moustache to play a hustling gambler.  But it’s not what you think.  The director is Peter Haas who went on to do Angels and Insects.  Mandy Patinkin, Charles Durning, Joel Grey. 

The Babadook (2014) 1/22/15 Mind-twisting Freudian study cloaked in a meticulously crafted horror film about a widowed mother and her troubled/troublesome 7-year-old, from first-time Aussie director Jennifer Kent.

Red Riding (2009) 1/15/15 A pre-breakout Andrew Garfield is outstanding in this unique UK TV project based on David Pearce’s serial killer novels.  Three novels, three films, three great directors, three years, three different looks (16mm; 35mm; digital) – all pulled together by screenwriter Tony Grisoni.  

Headhunters (1991) 11/20/14 From director Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) highest grossing Norwegian film ever.  A short and pathologically ambitious headhunter moonlights as an art thief to support his trophy wife.  Things go wrong.

Following (1998) 11/6/14 Great time to revisit Christopher Nolan’s first film.  A black and white low-budget creeper that interweaves three stories from three different time frames. 

Brothers of the Head (2006) 10/8/14 Remarkably authentic and intentionally unfunny mockumentary by the makers of LOST IN LA MANCHA follows a pair of conjoined twins who become punk rockers in 1970’s England.  

Ace in the Hole (1951) 9/25/14 Neglected and prescient film from Billy Wilder.  Kirk Douglas plays a corrupt, disgraced reporter who seizes an opportunity to go big when a smalltown man is trapped in a cave.  First time Wilder was writer, producer and director.

Stuck on You (2003) 9/18/14 Farrelly brothers cast Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear as conjoined twins who go to Hollywood.  Loaded with cameos – Cher, Nicholson, Leno, Streep.

The Devil’s Backbone (2001) 9/4/14 Early Guillermo de Toro evolving his signature mix of tenderness and phantasm.  Gothic horror set in an orphanage during the Spanish Civil War.    

Dark City (1998) 8/21/14 A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember. Brilliant gothic labyrinth from Alex Proyas (The Crow; I, Robot).

THE LAST POST was originally published on FollowTheThread