Bam Bam Bigelow
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The Empty Man 2020
A genuine oddity - a movie made with studio resources and fluent in the language of studio product that keeps refusing to conform to studio formulas. It’s not that THE EMPTY MAN is original, exactly - it’s derivative of about a dozen well known horror movies, including several of your favourites- but the specific arrangement of elements and incidents is confident, uncompromising and finally extremely satisfying.
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Q & A 1990
Nick Nolte is a force of nature in this movie: even when Lumet films him at a distance, he seems to magnetize the camera, and one reason the ensemble acting is so good is because he gives everyone around him something to react to or against (or else his overwhelming presence accounts for their self-effacement). An entire movie centred on this performance would probably be unwatchable, so even though the stuff with Timothy Hutton in crisis-of-conscience mode is a lot weaker, it's a relief and a necessity.
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No Country for Old Men 2007
People like to talk about watching a movie with the sound off so you can study editing and composition; this one basically does it for you, very convenient. (Of course the sound design is layered, present, crucial, etc but my point stands, I wrote a whole book about these guys, moving on [bangs gavel]).
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The Little Mermaid 1989
Lea is deep in the throes of an Ursula obsession and she asks for “Poor Unfortunate Souls” once per day. Which is fine because it’s a banger.
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