Christmas season is upon us, so I feel obligated to do the usual rewatches of It’s a Wonderful Life or Die Hard among many. This is where I’ve also found I’m forcing myself to be more productive, especially with my need to manage Cinema from the Spectrum at the same time. Which, in the meantime, I’m also setting up a Patreon goal over there soon, in order to ensure that we can turn our writing there into something we can properly live off of. It might be a bit of a reach, but that’s the one thing I’d hope for this Christmas, especially while the team there gets bigger. Individual subscriptions towards myself are still deeply appreciated too. And I thank you all for your patience.
Without further ado, these are Friday’s Five Films. If you like what you’re seeing here, remember to subscribe for a whole lot more.
#1: American Psycho (2000, Mary Harron)
Caught a screening of this movie with director Mary Harron in attendance for a Q&A. To put things lightly, I have never really been able to get myself through Bret Easton Ellis’s book, although the fact that it reads like a manifesto perhaps is a testament to its power. Mary Harron and Guinevere Turner’s deliberate exaggeration of such qualities are evident in this film adaptation of American Psycho. As such, this film doesn’t just retain the same satirical approach towards masculinity, but the neoliberal values touted during the Ronald Reagan years. Yet it’s also a movie all about how people who believe they have everything live a life of complete vanity, especially someone like Patrick Bateman. There’s also something very funny about seeing a man be so easily threatened by a business card looking more attractive than your own (supposedly, they all look the same to me).
#2: The Blue Sky Maiden (1957, Yasuzo Masumura)
I think this might be my new favourite Yasuzo Masumura film. I think it’s his best, because it emphasizes the beauty of modern life, without ever shying away from just how harsh things can get. This is perhaps something that I really love about the works of filmmakers like Yasujirō Ozu or Mikio Naruse, so to see something of this ilk being made by Yasuzo Masumura caught me off guard. And I think this is a film that I’ll be coming back to again in the days to come. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.
#3: Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2006, Quentin Tarantino)
When I was 14 years old, I think that Kill Bill: Vol. 1 hit me as the coolest thing ever. I’m 27 now, and I’ve also seen much of the same films that Quentin Tarantino has been cribbing from (and I also don’t like him nearly as much these days, with the Paul Dano comments being the last thing that gets me). Of course, I could never pass up the opportunity to see Kill Bill the way that Tarantino himself had wanted it to be seen, especially on a 70mm print. I think that this duology perhaps plays better as one massive epic, with the first portion being a collection of everything Tarantino loves in one film. And then the second being like a snap back to reality: where everything seeming so appealing needs you to reconcile with the darkness it leaves behind.
#4: North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)
Not quite one of my top five Alfred Hitchcock movies. And yet it’s a masterpiece, that I don’t think anyone can dispute. It’s a movie that perhaps encapsulates distrust in a broken government, especially when ordinary people get roped into a spy plot after having everything so conveniently laid out for them. At a certain point, you just can’t help but ask, who do you even believe when no one’s willing to be truthful in your face? Alfred Hitchcock has always been the best when it came to keeping you on your toes, and I find that North by Northwest is just among the most fun entries in an impressive body of work filled with undisputed classics. And seeing something like this on 70mm is truly a sight to behold.
#5: Prison on Fire (1987, Ringo Lam)
Ringo Lam was one of the best Hong Kong filmmakers, perhaps because he doesn’t make action movies in the same way that John Woo or Tsui Hark did. He’s angrier than both of them ever were, even while showing he can guarantee a good time out of what you’re watching. Prison on Fire may be where you’d find Ringo Lam at his angriest, especially given how much he’s willing to engage with how a broken prison system can effectively become a front for rampant human rights abuses that go unquestioned. Yet there’s also a point we realize a revolution is in the making here, and that’s where Prison on Fire becomes so exciting.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on a ½ to ✯✯✯✯✯ basis.
Friday
Good Boy (2025, Ben Leonberg) - ✯½
Prison on Fire (1987, Ringo Lam) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Fata Morgana (1971, Werner Herzog) - ✯✯✯✯½
American Psycho (2000, Mary Harron) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Saturday
Eyes Wide Shut (1999, Stanley Kubrick) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Killer of Sheep (1978, Charles Burnett) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Amélie (2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet) - ✯✯✯✯
Black Christmas (1974, Bob Clark) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Oh. What. Fun. (2025, Michael Showalter) - ✯✯✯
Sunday
The Advent Calendar (2021, Patrick Ridremont) - ✯✯✯
Home for the Holidays (1995, Jodie Foster) - ✯✯✯
Wife (1953, Mikio Naruse) - ✯✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
Shivers (1975, David Cronenberg) - ✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
The Organizer (1963, Mario Monicelli) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Monday
Ran (1985, Akira Kurosawa) - ✯✯✯✯✯
One Night Stand (1997, Mike Figgis) - ✯✯✯½
The Blue Sky Maiden (1957, Yasuzo Masumura) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Behind the Green Door (1972, Jim and Artie Mitchell) - ✯✯✯✯
Eyes Wide Shut (1999, Stanley Kubrick) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Tuesday
The Sacrifice Game (2023, Jenn Wexler) - ✯✯✯
Predators (2025, David Osit) - ✯✯✯½
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2006, Quentin Tarantino) - ✯✯✯✯✯, wached on 70mm
Meditation Park (2017, Mina Shum) - ✯✯✯½
Wednesday
The Oily Maniac (1976, Ho Meng-Hua) - ✯✯✯½
Prison on Fire II (1991, Ringo Lam) - ✯✯✯✯½
North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 70mm
New Rose Hotel (1998, Abel Ferrara) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Thursday
Doberman Cop (1977, Kinji Fukasaku) - ✯✯✯½
Predator: Badlands (2025, Dan Trachtenberg) - ✯✯✯
Late Chrysanthemums (1954, Mikio Naruse) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Demon of the Lute (1983, Tang Tak-Cheung) - ✯✯✯✯½
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