I'm starting a thread of movies I watch during my work-from-home/self-quarantine time. It's not all that different from my normal watching habits but this way I can keep track with a few thoughts along the way.

First up: de Palma's CARLITO'S WAY. I hadn't seen this in well over a decade and it still absolutely rips. One of Al's finest post-SCARFACE roles, bringing a little bit of everything that makes him unique.

Next I watched SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. As a longtime fan of Sega's mascot (I named my childhood dog Sonic), any nostalgic goodwill was nixed by a bogus script and horrendous product placement (`*~ZILLOW~*`). I expected very little and got just that.

For a little tonal whiplash I checked out 2011's ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA. A group of men search the Anatolian countryside for a body while having contemplative conversations. The film's muted, pastoral beauty felt mired in the meandering ideas of its characters.

I'm still grappling with Kelly Reichardt's NIGHT MOVES. Her ability to capture bleak futility in MEEK'S CUTOFF extends to this modern ecoterrorism thriller, but it spirals outward into a less satisfying second half than the excellent first. Eisenberg hits here, as does Fanning.

Ended the weekend by revisiting THE MASTER. PTA's deliberate ambiguity remains uncrackable, but no less poignant and moving thanks to its trio of incredible performances and masterful direction. I'll forever miss Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Everything I've seen from Elaine May has been gold, and A NEW LEAF is no exception. Her directing debut is wry, funny, and warm despite loathsome rich boy Walter Matthau's unlikely pairing with May's eccentric botanist. She'd be a perfect fit in a 00's quirky romcom.

Part 1 of many selections while reading Peter Biskind's "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls." Having the knowledge of hindsight it's a wonder how difficult it was for BONNIE AND CLYDE to get made. Fifty years on, I think you can still tell how cutting edge this was for an American film.

Last night I watched The Fab Four's second collaboration with director Richard Lester. A HARD DAY'S NIGHT this is not, with a little more focus on a story to prop up the comedy gags/musical numbers, but nevertheless silly and fun. Ringo has a face for deadpan.

Animal Crossing has taken up a lot of my time since Friday so I haven't watched as many movies the past few days. I did watch Alien, one of my absolute favorites. The production design--the alien, spaceships, interiors, everything--remains unmatched.

Whenever I rewatch ALIEN, its sequel is rarely far behind. While its predecessor is a stone-cold untouchable masterpiece, ALIENS certainly remains a classic of sci-fi action. I need to revisit 3 and Resurrection sooner than later.

I watched this Frank Oz coming out comedy from 1997 on a whim. Despite some unavoidably outdated humor I had a lot of fun with IN & OUT thanks to a great cast and warm heart in its central relationships.

I swung back into my typical movie-binging mode yesterday and watched some stone-cold classics. First up, a rewatch of Tarkovsky's SOLARIS. Chilling and dense as ever, its vision and philosophy remains so vital to science fiction filmmakers (see: Alex Garland)

WEEK-END centers around a truly despicable couple driven by vanity and material. It's great fodder for Godard, whose string of absurdist vignettes seem to look for social insight as much as a laugh. Plenty of horn honking, too...maybe too much.

I've long been looking forward to THE PARALLAX VIEW. Paluka's knack for the post-Watergate political thriller is evident, as Warren Beatty's general on-screen magnetism. Great stuff here, especially the film's layered intrigue involving the secret assassination cabal.

(continuing this thread after some depressive episodes because *gestures at everything*)

I continued to fill out Jonathan Demme's filmography with his remake of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. It didn't grab me and was predictable at all the typical moments. Denzel's not doing enough, and Meryl may be doing too much. Even with his hallmarks, a miss for all involved.

MACGRUBER: I don't know if this is even a hot take anymore, but I consider this not only one of the most underrated comedies of the past decade, but an all-time great of the "genre send-up comedies." KFBR 392

Another rewatch but one I could do anytime. Every frame of STOP MAKING SENSE contributes to Demme's sole goal of conveying the wonder of Talking Heads and their concerts, and the sheer joy of live performance in general. No one has captured said joy so completely since.

My first revisit since my (only) viewing in theaters. My lukewarm feelings from December haven't changed much; the less said, the better.

The premise of this--a group of friends throwing an orgy before their big Hamptons house gets sold--works to an extent and boasts some solid comedic prowess in the ensemble cast. It's a shame the weird pitch and comedian chops don't gel well enough to make this all that funny.

The Bogdanovich Canon, Part 1: Watching PB's early work alongside the Biskind book. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, his second, is a standout film; a moving, beautifully shot coming-of-age tale. A bridge between classic Hollywood filmmaking and the new generation entering its nascency.

ROLE MODELS, as you might imagine, has some very dated jokes and references. That said, it maintains the heart its always had thanks to the hilarious characters (SWS shines staying in his lane, but it's far from the best Rudd performance). The LARPing climax brings it all home.

MINORITY REPORT: my favorite of the 00's Spielbergs. His attention to background detail, action camp and kinetic pacing float the premise into a highly entertaining sci-fi mystery. Even with a number of good turns under his belt since, this is Cruise's best action performance.

SHAMPOO likely resonates less as a biting comedy now than it did in 1975. Maybe that's the reason Ashby's well-written, well-acted film wasn't all that funny to me. If anything, the vapid nature of its characters, and the twist ending, read more as drama than humor.

The Bogdanovich Canon, Part 2: No exaggeration, WHAT'S UP, DOC? is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a while. The premise is simple enough to follow, complex enough to spin out into absurdity. Barbra and Madeline Kahn are incredible (I truly envy O'Neal, that damn himbo).

The Bogdanovich Canon, Part 3: PAPER MOON, PB's fourth, feels like a hybrid of PICTURE SHOW and WHAT'S UP, DOC? in some curious ways. While it never reaches the heights of those films, the movie's pairing of innocence and cynicism during the Great Depression is poignant.