July comes to an end, and the Christopher Nolan retrospective continues. That said, this last week gave me one of my favourite new watches of the year: a blind buy that I took a chance on after seeing it on the shelf of my go-to video store for so long. You’ll find it here, alongside a few more familiar favourites down below. In addition, I got my acceptance letter as part of TIFF’s media team, so I look forward to sharing more from the festival this year once again.
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: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, John Carpenter)
Basically a horror movie, because that’s about what you expect from the great John Carpenter. It’s also a movie that’s made more fun because of how much he’s able to mine from the enclosed space. All the anger just bottles up, especially as these people with nothing in common are made to band together against an oppressive force. Given that Carpenter is taking his notes from both Night of the Living Dead and Rio Bravo, he’s also created a world that seems dystopian – which starts with a horrifying image within the film’s start.
#2: A Better Tomorrow (1986, John Woo)
One of the greatest action movies ever made, I don’t think there’s much else you can really say about A Better Tomorrow. Yet, it’s a movie that just gives me the same burst of energy that I would hope to get from watching any of John Woo’s movies. Considering this was also his real breakthrough film (and turned Chow Yun-fat into a major star), everything about A Better Tomorrow feels perfect. It’s perfect, especially as a story about brotherhood, but every action scene is just dazzling. It’s just a great vibe from start to finish.
#3: The Ogre of Athens (1958, Nikos Koundouros)
On one hand, a perfect comedy about mistaken identity. Yet that’s also where the brilliance of The Ogre of Athens unveils many layers, because this film also captures the sting of living under authoritarian rule, especially with a serial killer on the loose. The state of mass hysteria that constantly follows Thomas around as he’s mistaken for the titular killer, but it’s also made more frightening because we’re seeing that his new identity makes it easy to manipulate the public. With everyone in such a state where they can quickly turn against each other, allowing authoritarian rule to permeate through the world.
#4: Safe (1995, Todd Haynes)
This has been my favourite Todd Haynes film for a very long time, but it all stems from how the United States has been so quick to toss out people afflicted with AIDS. Julianne Moore has never been better than she has been in here, especially given how she captures that sense of suffering: because it’s not something so easily spread, let alone felt by many others around her. In the days when COVID-19 first hit, I think there’s only ever been a greater resonance to Safe, because of how it captures a sense of what we lose from the isolation thanks to a then-unknown disease.
#5: Stray Dog (1949, Akira Kurosawa)
I had this one underrated in my own Akira Kurosawa ranking for some time; though now I feel more confident in calling this one of his best. In part because of how Kurosawa moves through war-torn Japan to examine the blurring lines between cop and criminal, for a rookie detective weaves through this world like a stray dog after losing his gun. There’s one wordless sequence midway through the film that best sums up the kind of world that Kurosawa has painted in Stray Dog, which perhaps best captures what wounds Japan has only felt ever since their defeat in WWII.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on a ½ to ✯✯✯✯✯ basis.
Friday
Blackout (2023, Larry Fessenden) - ✯✯✯
Thumbsucker (2005, Mike Mills) - ✯✯✯✯
Deaf (1986, Frederick Wiseman) - ✯✯✯✯½
Saturday
Saccharine (2026, Natalie Erika James) - ✯✯
The Heroic Trio (1993, Johnnie To) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Inception (2010, Christopher Nolan) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
A Better Tomorrow (1986, John Woo) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Sunday
Someone’s Daughter (2026, Wiebke von Carolsfeld) - ✯✯½
Her Private Hell (2026, Nicolas Winding Refn) - ✯✯
Assault on Precinct 13 (1976, John Carpenter) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974, Michael Cimino) - ✯✯✯✯½
Monday
The Ogre of Athens (1958, Nikos Koundouros) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Matapanki (2025, Diego “Mapache” Fuentes) - ✯✯✯✯
Safe (1995, Todd Haynes) - ✯✯✯✯✯
20th Century Women (2016, Mike Mills) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Beginners (2010, Mike Mills) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Tuesday
C’mon C’mon (2021, Mike Mills) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Insomnia (2002, Christopher Nolan) - ✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
A Useful Ghost (2025, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke) - ✯✯✯✯
Wednesday
You Are the Film (2026, Makoto Ueda) - ✯✯✯½
A Moment of Romance (1990, Benny Chan) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Premium Rush (2012, David Koepp) - ✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
The First Slam Dunk (2022, Takehiko Inoue) - ✯✯✯✯½
Thursday
Stray Dog (1949, Akira Kurosawa) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Rosa la rose, fille publique (1986, Paul Vecchiali) - ✯✯✯✯✯
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