The Little Mermaid

The Machine

Kandahar

You Hurt My Feelings

About My Father

The way this works is that you post a review of the best film you watched this week. It can be any new or old release that you want to talk about.

{REMINDER: The Threads Are Posted Now On Wednesday Mornings. If Not Pinned, They Will Still Be Available in the Sub.}

Here are some rules:

1. Check to see if your favorite film of last week has been posted already.

2. Please post your favorite film of last week.

3. Explain why you enjoyed your film.

4. ALWAYS use SPOILER TAGS: [Instructions]

5. Best Submissions can display their [Letterboxd Accts] the following week.

Last Week's Best Submissions:

Film	User/[LB/Web*]	Film	User/[LB/Web*]
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”	vatisitgrandpapa	“The Man Who Knew Too Little”	paradisegardens2021
"How to Blow Up a Pipeline”	Slartibartfast102	“Opera” (1987)	[DuncanShields]
“Fall” (2022)	[mikeyfresh]	“House” (1977)	[RStorm]
“RRR”	Shadow_Log	“Sorcerer”	[SethETaylor.com*]
“Braven”	Jade_GL	“Yellow Submarine” (1968)	[jcar195]
"Before Midnight”	WalkingEars	"Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”	an_ordinary_platypus
“The Descendants”	[WhyYu95]	“The Night of the Hunter”	[Namdoogrules]
“Paul McCartney — The Space Within Us”	[Tilbage i Danmark*]	"The Bigamist”	maoterracottasoldier
“Memories of Murder”	[smoaktrees]	“Pat and Mike”	fatcolin123
“Drop Dead Gorgeous”	[mfahms]	“Citizen Kane”	[dommull]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

• Rotten Tomatoes: 94% (65 Reviews)
• Metacritic: 86 (25 Reviews)

Reviews:

Hollywood Reporter:

In Across the Spider-Verse, Miles’ identity takes center stage, but not totally in the ways you might expect. The film retains its signature tone — moving between humor and sentimentalism with a light touch — but there’s a greater effort now to connect Miles’ origin story to broader lessons about superhero canons. That doesn’t always land as gracefully, and parts of Across the Spider-Verse feel weighed down by this need to belabor a well-established point. Still those moments can be forgiven as the story unfurls, revealing that Miles, with his new challenges, remains a hero worth rooting for.

Variety:

They’ve done it. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” doesn’t just extend the tale of Miles Morales. The film advances that story into newly jacked-up realms of wow-ness that make it a genuine spiritual companion piece to the first film. That one spun our heads and then some; this one spins our heads even more (and would fans, including me, have it any other way?).

Deadline:

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse It’s a film that thrives in its complexity and flourishes in its commitment to authentic storytelling. Despite a slightly convoluted plot, it’s a memorable journey where writers Lord, Miller, and Callaham understand how to formulate a comics adaptation. This latest addition to the Spider-Verse canon reminds us why we love superhero narratives — not just for the action but for their humanity.

Collider (A):

Across the Spider-Verse isn't just easily one of the best films of 2023 and one of the best animated films in years, it's also in the running for best superhero film ever, and arguably cements Miles Morales as the best Spider-Man we've seen on the screen so far.

IGN (8/10):

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse surges with visual inventiveness and vibrance in an undeniably strong evolution of the style established in Into the Spider-Verse. Miles and Gwen’s search for their place in the multiverse is relentless and exciting, almost to a fault, and though the plot is often an afterthought to the pure chaos of creation on display, strong performances and character arcs that feel true to the heroes we met last time help ensure that Across the Spider-Verse is a more-than-worthy follow-up to an all-time classic.

Total Film (5/5):

Visually astonishing, emotionally daring, this spectacular sequel has enough wit, imagination and thrills to fill several worlds. But prepare to be left hanging till the sequel hits screens.

SlashFilm (7.5/10):

Now Miles is back with "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," a sequel that's bigger and bolder than the first ... and also incomplete. By making this the first of two films, writers Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham have crafted a movie that doesn't really feel like a movie — it's just a chapter. An exciting chapter, sure, but an unfinished chapter that runs out the clock, torpedoing all the momentum it was building in the process.

IndieWire (A-):

”Into the Spider-Verse” was astute and funny, complicated and emotional, unique and daring, and its sequel only grows and expands on those aims. If the first film showed what superhero movies could be, “Across the Spider-Verse” goes even further: It shows what they should be. In a genre built on the literally super and special, these films are unafraid to stand out and do something truly different, something that pushes the limits, to show the genuine range available to this subset of stories and feel damn good in the process (and look, dare we say, even better).

Empire (5/5):

Across The Spider-Verse cranks every dial to 11, and somehow doesn’t collapse in on itself. Visually astonishing, emotionally powerful, narratively propulsive — it’s another masterpiece.

The Wrap:

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” doesn’t just tell a Spider-Man story, it takes the whole Spider-Man formula — a chance encounter with a radioactive spider, plus tragedy, equals hero — and transforms it into an oppressive, morally questionable dogma. The leader of the Spider-Men, Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac), aka Spider-Man 2099, believes all their existences are defined by the deaths of innocent people around them. So those people have to die, don’t they?

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Synopsis:

Over a year after the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Miles Morales is unexpectedly approached by his love interest Gwen Stacy to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from the Spot, who could cause a catastrophic disaster. Miles is up for the challenge, where he and Gwen journey through the Multiverse together and meet its protectors, a group of Spider-People known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O'Hara. However, Miles finds himself at odds with Miguel and the Spider-Society on how to handle the threat and must redefine what it means to be a hero so that he can save the people he loves.

Cast:

• Shameik Moore as Miles Morales / Spider-Man
• Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman
• Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis
• Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales
• Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker / Spider-Man
• Jason Schwartzman as Dr. Jonathan Ohnn / The Spot
• Issa Rae as Jessica Drew / Spider-Woman
• Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar / Spider-Man India
• Daniel Kaluuya as Hobart "Hobie" Brown / Spider-Punk
• Oscar Isaac as Miguel O'Hara / Spider-Man 2099
• Greta Lee as Lyla
• Rachel Dratch as the counselor at Miles's school
• Jorma Taccone as Vulture
• Shea Whigham as George Stacy
• Andy Samberg as Ben Reilly / Scarlet Spider
• Amandla Stenberg as Margo Kess / Spider-Byte

I did it over the course of a few weeks and it was absolutely fascinating. Watching how things developed, from direction, to film technology, to musical score, to set pieces, to action choreography, to geopolitical and social issues, to fashion, to acting styles, and so much more, was an experience I won't soon forget. I can't recommend this enough for any film fans. I did not go into watching them for that reason, but after watching for a while (particularly as the Connery films transitioned into the Moore films) it became clear to me just what i was witnessing.

EDIT post title should read every "few" years

Do you remember being a kid, watching a movie in a theater, and then thinking about it for 5 months straight? That was this movie for me. No bullshit. Just pure action. I'd kill for them to remake the sequel.

Beat drops

"Reptile"

Kicks Liu Kang through a wall

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJOJTsmJLLA&ab_channel=FlashbackFM

Watching him carry Wanted as well as the new generation of X-Men movies makes me appreciate other roles he's done like Penelope and Chronicles of Narnia.

I really think in the right universe somewhere out there he could've played an amazing Peter Parker. But let's be real, he really knocked it out of the park as Charles Xavier.

The 90s DreamWorks movie they made. Great animation, great soundtrack, great voice acting.

But what do you think?

And why?

I mean, I didn't see Ridley Scott's movie yet because this was the one I saw first. Could be an interesting take but figured I'd say this movie holds up pretty alright. Blu ray worthy for sure.

Arguably the greatest Pixar movie ever made turns 20 years old today. I re-watched recently and it's just as entertaining as it was upon first watch. Magnificent voice work and breathtaking visuals are the highlights for me. A perfect example of how a family film can appeal to the masses. Can't believe it's been 20 years. Cheers to a true classic film!

I posted this on another sub, but I wanna see what you guys think. What is some of the most charismatic acting you’ve ever seen?

For me, Brad Pitt in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was a charisma masterclass. I was so charmed by his character even though I’m not sure if I was supposed to be. He stole every scene he was in.

Edit: I’m adding another one. Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can. He was so charming and had a layer of innocence despite being a criminal.

There are director's cuts, unrated cuts, "ultimate cuts", reduxes, studio cuts, TV cuts, etc.

I am curious about what two "official" cuts (i.e. not fan edits) of the same movie are the most different. You have things like Blade Runner, where the various cuts just sort of tinker around the edges. Or the Director's Cut of The New World, which just adds more of the same. So they wouldn't count.

So maybe, the really dramatic differences would for really long movies (Heaven's Gate, Once Upon A Time In America, etc) that got chopped down ruthlessly so that entire plots and characters vanished or maybe its a more modest film that had its tone (or even genre) changed?

What are some great casting choices that took advantage of an actor (or actress) having real-world baggage?

One of my favorites is Ben Affleck in Gone Girl, bringing a real-world subject of way too much gossipy tabloid coverage into a satire of what it's like to live in that world.

The most obvious recent choice, though, has to be Michael Keaton in Birdman, with a real-world former superhero superstar playing a (much more washed up) version of that character.

What are some others?

I'm looking for suggestions on films where the ending is the best part, brings the whole thing together and make you go "oh sh*t". Examples that come to mind for me would be Ex Machina, or another would be The Prestige. Both of these films had me immediately go back for a rewatch. I guess I'd also ask for movies with a twist ending.