TIFF has started a retrospective dedicated to the work of John Sayles, so my whole weekend will be full of his movies. Not like I have much else to add about Sayles, other than being one of the greatest American filmmakers – but I’ve got more coming up over the next while or so. One of my most anticipated films of the year opens this weekend, which is none other than Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day. Hopefully, I’ll have a lot more to write there, because I miss being able to do it so frequently after going through more bouts of depression and burnout. We’ve all been there, right?
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: The Brother from Another Planet (1984, John Sayles)
If you watched this because that title made it sound like a blaxploitation movie, you’re not alone – that was my impression of The Brother from Another Planet. Yet, John Sayles works with these familiar genre conventions in order to bring out what’s maybe one of the most telling things about Sayles off the bat. He’s making a film that reflects the immigrant experience in the United States, from how the Brother interacts with people to him being chased by bounty hunters which could just as well be ICE agents today. I underestimated this one, putting it lightly.
#2: Exotica (1994, Atom Egoyan)
Arguably the greatest Canadian film ever made? I’m hardly the first person to make such an assertion. It’s one of a handful of movies I can think of that really shows Toronto for what it really is: a place where so many people have their own secrets. So it only feels appropriate that the titular strip club is where many of them come out, and it’s also where Egoyan makes what’s arguably his most empathetic film to date.
#3: Hairspray (1988, John Waters)
John Waters knows that he’s embracing a “corny” look for Hairspray, especially when he has a character whose name is Corny Collins. Though that artifice might be essential towards understanding a portrait of the United States’s materialism, moving from one era to the next. In a way, it feels like this is Waters’s own response to the Ronald Reagan years: in that he’s reminding the audiences that it was all so tacky at one point. Alas, that’s the perfect room for him to push forth exactly what he believes in. Hard to argue against any of it as we’re seeing here.
#4: Toy Story (1995, John Lasseter)
I’m going through this series in preparation for the new one; and I have another article in the works that might talk more about my connection to these films on the whole. Frankly, I don’t think the Toy Story movies really need an introduction, especially when they’re maybe among the most widely seen movies off the top of my head. Yet if you asked me to pick just one, my heart belongs to the first one – mostly because it’s the sharpest one in my eyes. And it’s a simple enough template that works, but with it being a film that was as innovative as it was for the time, it’s also why we have some more great animated films in its wake. They owe a lot to this one.
#5: Vive L’Amour (1994, Tsai Ming-liang)
This ending shot of Vive L’Amour is a hard one to forget. But I think that it also serves as the perfect statement about director Tsai Ming-liang’s own career. For that reason, it might even be my favourite of his work, especially because it encapsulates the result of a fruitless search for love, in places that seem familiar to us. And we’re left in this state of an unending sadness, only to be shrouded in that loneliness for a long time.
The Complete Day-by-Day Log
First time watches are denoted with bold text. Scores are on a ½ to ✯✯✯✯✯ basis.
Friday
Troy (2004, Wolfgang Petersen) - ✯✯
Erin’s Guide to Kissing Girls (2022, Julianna Notten) - ✯✯✯✯
Mārama (2025, Toa Stappard) - ✯✯✯½
Saturday
Evil Cat (1987, Dennis Yu Wan-Kwong) - ✯✯✯
Attachment (2022, Gabriel Bier Gislason) - ✯✯✯½
Exiled (2006, Johnnie To) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Vive L’Amour (1994, Tsai Ming-liang) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Sunday
Toy Story (1995, John Lasseter) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Wildhood (2021, Bretten Hannam) - ✯✯✯✯½
Exotica (1994, Atom Egoyan) - ✯✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Medusa (2021, Anita Rocha da Silveira) - ✯✯✯½
Monday
Toy Story 2 (1999, John Lasseter) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Daughter’s Daughter (2024, Huang Xi) - ✯✯✯½
Blackhat (2015, Michael Mann) - ✯✯✯✯½
Tuesday
A Nightmare Wakes (2020, Nora Unkel) - ✯✯
Hairspray (1988, John Waters) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Portrait of a Lady (1996, Jane Campion) - ✯✯✯✯, watched on 35mm
Toy Story 3 (2010, Lee Unkrich) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Wednesday
Satranic Panic (2023, Alice Maio Mackay) - ✯✯✯✯
Paris, Texas (1984, Wim Wenders) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Trainspotting (1996, Danny Boyle) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Hard Boiled (1992, John Woo) - ✯✯✯✯✯
Thursday
Killer Nun (1979, Giulio Berruti) - ✯✯✯
Toy Story 4 (2019, Josh Cooley) - ✯✯✯✯
Shanghai Blues (1984, Tsui Hark) - ✯✯✯✯✯
The Brother from Another Planet (1984, John Sayles) - ✯✯✯✯½, watched on 35mm
Battle Beyond the Stars (1980, Jimmy T. Murakami) - ✯✯
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