All Posts By

Josh Matthews

Movie Reviews

Thirst (Ingmar Bergman)

Thirst 1949 ★★½ Bergman's "Thirst" could've been a masterwork, yet it's a heap of a mess. Give him credit for trying to create an all-time art object worth the attention of the coming centuries. He's trying to tackle that persistent problem in human affairs: romantic relationships.…
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December 23, 2020
Movie Reviews

Wonder Woman 1984

Wonder Woman 1984 2020 ★★ Watched Dec 22, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: Blockbuster-attending audiences in 2020 have been waiting long for good eye candy. With its movie poster filled with candy colors, you'd think "Wonder Woman 1984," the sequel to the hit "Wonder Woman," would deliver. It does, but…
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December 23, 2020
AnimatedMovie Reviews

Wolfwalkers

Wolfwalkers 2020 ★★½ Watched Nov 13, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: To preface this review's coming negativity, this movie's animation stuns, delights, inspires, and awes at times. It could be, arguably, one of the best animated movies ever, just in terms of its visuals -- including compositions, colors, framing,…
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December 22, 2020
Movie Reviews

On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront 1954 ★★★★★ Rewatched Nov 12, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: Strong anti-mob, maybe pro-Catholic movie about a dock worker, or longshoreman, who works for the American mob in NYC. The mob controls the longshoremen's union.  The waterfront's a spot of high corruption, therefore, yet a passionate…
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December 22, 2020
Movie ReviewsWar

The Deer Hunter

The Deer Hunter 1978 ½ Rewatched Dec 21, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: This review may contain spoilers. I object to this film as a fraud, conjuring up the wrong emotions. It asks us to sentimentalize the Vietnam experience via small-town characters traumatized by it.  "The Deer Hunter" is an…
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December 22, 2020
Movie Reviews

It’s a Wonderful Life

It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 ★★★★ Watched Nov 17, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: Probably there has no movie that argues for small-town American bourgeoisie lifestyle more than "It's a Wonderful Life." Too bad it is paired with hokey theology. The entire movie, a riff on "A Christmas Carol," depends…
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December 22, 2020
Movie Reviews

Burning

Burning 2018 ★★★ Watched Nov 19, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: One problem with watching a movie about disaffected young people who think they are just like the characters in "The Great Gatsby" is that, if you're a middle-age bourgeois guy like me, you see them as sort of…
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December 22, 2020
Movie Reviews

La Haine

La Haine 1995 ★★★ Rewatched Nov 20, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: Two points of view for this movie. One POV is the cinematography, watching just for that. An astounding work, so many great shots, plus editing. Probably because this is black-and-white, which makes everything better, generally, it's higher…
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December 22, 2020
Uncategorized

Eyes Without a Face

Eyes Without a Face 1960 ★½ Watched Nov 21, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: Possibly the most overrated "underrated" movie ever, "Eyes Without a Face" is one single premise with little development of it, stretched (pun!) over 90 minutes. Think about "The Twilight Zone." What that show coudl do…
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December 22, 2020
Uncategorized

Heaven’s Gate

Heaven’s Gate 1980 ★★½ Watched Nov 23, 2020 joshmatthews’s review published on Letterboxd: The goal for all viewers of a film, I think, is to find the right ways to watch it. Of course, not all movies are linear, obvious, beautiful, or clear. Probably the promise of Heaven's Gate, that…
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December 22, 2020