I’m saddened to see for Kbin was the first instance I signed up on.

The worst movie of this week’s list if watched in many of the previous weeks would have been situated at the top; what a lineup!

My Dinner with Andre (1981)
My god. This enchanting, verisimilitudinous evening had me so spellbound, I desired to be a fly on the wall for every future conversation. Malle masterfully navigates the treacherous straits, avoiding both pretentiousness and the shallows of pseudo-intellectuals. It’s a film composited of the now rare authentic discourse without a hint of artifice or speciousness. There is no grand message being proselytized, just a stark tête-à-tête of two minds shown in this perfectly imperfect cinematic marvel.

Naked (1993)
A ravaging, unflinching descent into societal decay embodied by a loquacious nihilist known simply as Johnny who verbally eviscerates the perceived vacuities around him like a feral, intellectual schoolyard bully. This is a raw, ugly world, a X-ray exposing the festering wound of our collective spiritual homelessness. Johnny isn’t just lost; he’s the furious, articulate symptom of a world that discarded him, and which he, in turn, discards with vicious futility. The supporting cast is likewise absolutely brilliant. My singular gripe is the Machiavellian Jeremy subplot did not come to a head yet it barely dims this bleak, brilliant, essential mirror.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
“We are infinite.” Rarely does a tagline resonate with such aptness. This beautiful coming-of-age tale flirts with familiar clichés yet endearingly embraces and transforms into a poignant film of self-discovery and healing. While the climatic revelation stumbles slightly, it does not diminish the film’s hopeful tone.

A Man Escaped (1956)
This film strips prison escape to its stark, exacting essence, unclad of superfluity, with every sound purposeful, shots only necessary, dialogue and voiceover laconic. The palpable tension stems not from visible villains, but from the solitary, agonizing precision of the attempt. The antithesis of Michael Bay, a symphony of restraint where silence screams louder than any explosion.

Harold and Maude (1971)
Young Harold, morbidly fixated on death finds unlikely kinship in ancient Maude’s - possibly cinema’s eldest manic pixie dream girl - vitalic whimsy. Eccentric, hopeful absurdism is its crux and its deliberate juxtaposition has a certain charm that earns its cult status. Understandably divisive, undeniably unique.

I unabashedly spent the most amount of time writing this week’s reviews, hopefully doing justice to these marvellous films.

That’s sad to hear. I most enjoyed the weekly movie thread where I could write review snippets and peruse (and find) new movies to add to the list.

That explains why I haven’t seen your reviews in a while. I am sure you’ve heard countless platitudes during this time so I’ll only add that I am truly sorry for yours and his family’s loss.

Blue Valentine (2010)
This beautifully raw film looks at a relationship in stages juxtapositional. It’s euphoric, passionate, morose, and hopeful. It’s the nature of love in real life and for most of us, will cut close to the heart. It’s glorious.

That Thing You Do! (1996)
A classic tale of the 50-60s music industry done in the typical fun biopic style so much that I believed it was a real band. It is romanticist light fun and better than most biopics.

Terrified (2017)
An admirable attempt at the genre but falls to the classic pitfalls by the midpoint and logic goes out the window. The lingering scenes with the child was a clear high point of the film.
@[email protected] I finally watched it.

Vikram Vedha (2017)
I was recommended this as a film that tackles morality. It did not fulfill the promise as its characters and lessons are juvenile but it is an average action film with above par story for Kollywood (and Bollywood).

Elevation (2024)
Remove believable characters, modify the script, and you are now watching a (very) poor version of A Quiet Place. It fails on all fronts and is filled with tropes done poorly, which saddens me as I like Morena Baccarin.

It’s using global numbers so it would actually be #4 after Ne Zha 2, Détective Chinatown 1900, and Captain America: Brave New World. It is #2 domestic though.