What Classics Did You See Last Week (January 4–January 10)
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Rufus-T — 2 months ago(January 14, 2026 07:35 PM)
One reviewer called
One Battle After Another
pretentious and bloated. The problem with the long film may not be the length, but its quality. If it is a good movie, time doesn't matter.
I remember when watching 3 1/2 hours of
The Right Stuff
or
Titanic
in the cinema, it went by so fast. Whereas,
Sinners
and
One Battle After Another
and many recently highly praised movies, there were parts that were ordeal to get through. So much fluff in the modern movies. The problem piled up when getting up there in age and patience is getting thin.
Fanny and Alexander
was an outstanding film. It didn't feel long at all. There are many other outstanding long films. Martin Scorsese made two recently, T
he Irishman
and
Killers of the Flower Moon
.
The Brutalist
was on the way to be great, but the 2nd half I started to notice time. There are many 2 hours films from recent years that felt like 4 hours. I know many love
Nomadland
. Watching that to me felt like an eternity. I am somewhat cautious about the upcoming highly anticipated
The Odyssey
releasing this summer. -
spiderwort — 2 months ago(January 15, 2026 01:56 AM)
I think we are basically in complete agreement, although I confess that I chose not to watch
The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon
and
The Brutalist
because of their lengths (obviously didn't nominate or vote those years). And my screenwriter friend felt the same way you did about
The Brutalist
, so I'm glad I didn't waste my time with that. And I also felt that
Nomadland
went on too long. You're so right: it comes down to the script, which is what my writer friend keeps complaining about. If the script works, the film works. But so many of the scripts these days just don't. -
spiderwort — 2 months ago(January 19, 2026 07:50 PM)
Thanks, Rufus. I plan to get to
Killers of the Flower Moon
one of these days. I have paternal Native American ancestry, so I have a particular interest in that subject. I just got put off by its length that year. The older I get the harder it is for me to watch a long film. But that's an amazing rating from you, to say the least, so I'll give it a go whenever it becomes available to me again. Thanks for your input. -
spiderwort — 2 months ago(January 12, 2026 01:23 PM)
First viewings, all new ones for my DGA Awards consideration:
Marty Supreme / Josh Safdie
(2025) “Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.” The script would have been better if it had been a half hour shorter (a major problem with too many films these days), but Timothée Chalamet gives a superb performance. I’m sure he’ll get an Oscar nomination for it and may win. And Safdie’s direction was excellent. (Only in theaters right now.)
My Father’s Shadow / Akinola Davies
(2025). A beautiful semi-autobiographical film by director Davies set in 1993 Nigeria, in which two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during a Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city's magnitude and their father's daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home. All the performances are wonderful, including the two young boys playing the sons. It’s the first Nigerian film I’ve seen, and I’m so glad I did see it. It’s a powerful and deeply moving story, the first Nigerian film to premier at the Cannes Film Festival. I was able to see it because it was sent to me by the DGA for my awards consideration, but if you get a chance to see it in a theatre wherever you are I highly recommend that you do. It’s a real beauty.
The Sinners / Ryan Coogler
(2025). “Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.” Michael B. Jordan gives an outstanding performance playing both brothers and there are other stellar performances, too. And Coogler's direction is excellent. But I hated the script. It was long, rambling and simply couldn’t raise my willing suspension of disbelief about the vampire part of the plot. And I hated the disgusting non-stop profanity, sex scenes, and glorified violence — lazy, lazy writing! I almost stopped watching it because of that, but felt I had to finish in order to vote honestly in the awards. But it was a major disappointment. (On Max)
Frankenstein / Guillermo del Toro
(2025). A skillful re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s classic tale, turning a familiar story into a haunting meditation on beauty, loneliness, and the cost of creation. There are many virtues to this del Toro version, especially in the relationship between the one who creates and the one who is created, and the redemption that’s born out of that. Also, it’s rich in all the cinematic elements, with exceptional art direction, cinematography, and costume design, as well all its outstanding performances, especially by Jacob Elordi as the Creature. Personally, I still prefer the 1931 James Whale version, but there are many merits to be found in this version, too. (On Netflix)
Hamnet / Chloé Zhao
(2025). "After losing their son Hamnet to plague, Agnes and William Shakespeare grapple with grief in 16th-century England." This is another with a script that's too long, but it's nevertheless a beautiful film with marvelous performances by its great cast under the outstanding direction of Chloé Zhao. Jessie Buckley is sure to get an Oscar nomination and will probably win. And the third act is monumental. (I saw this last week, but for some reason forgot to post it.)
And this week the DGA Awards nominees were announced:
Paul Thomas Anderson -
One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler -
Sinners
Guillermo del Toro -
Frankenstein
Josh Safdie -
Marty Supreme
Chloé Zhao -
Hamnet
I seen all of them but Anderson's
One Battle After Another
, which I've been working on for two days now, starting and stopping, not liking it at all, even hating it, so I'll probably wait a day or two to finish it. Will post my review next week. -
sheetsadam1 — 2 months ago(January 12, 2026 08:57 PM)
I've not yet seen
Marty Supreme
, but I was very impressed with
Good Time
and
Uncut Gems
, two movies Josh Safdie co-directed with his brother.
I will unfortunately have to agree with you on
Sinners
. Interesting concept, but I felt that it went on far too long.
Agree with everything you say on
Frankenstein
.
I had mixed feelings on
One Battle After Another
. I really loved Sean Penn's performance, though.
Draft Barron Trump -
spiderwort — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 02:56 PM)
I think you'll like
Marty Supreme
. Other than going on a bit too long, I think it's really good, especially because of Timothée Chalamet's wonderful performance.
And I can agree with you about Penn's performance in
One Battle After Another
, but I still find the film to be profoundly offensive and just plain bad. I've got about 30 minutes left to finish it, but I can guarantee you that I'm not voting for it for the DGA Awards. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 2 months ago(January 12, 2026 05:45 PM)
Magical Mystery Tour
(1967) on January 4
Westward Ho the Wagons!
(1956) on January 5
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
(2024) on January 8
The Great Locomotive Chase
(1956) on January 10
These were all rewatches except for
The Great Locomotive Chase
. I hadn't seen the beginning of
Magical Mystery Tour
previously and I hadn't seen
Westward Ho the Wagons!
in decades. I find it disgraceful that classics such as
Westward Ho the Wagons!
and
The Great Locomotive Chase
are not to be found on Disney Plus and a person must pay to watch them elsewhere. -
spiderwort — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 03:07 PM)
The only one of these I've seen is
Magical Mystery Tour
, which I quite enjoyed back in the day.
And it's too bad you had to pay to see the others. That's incredibly frustrating, I know. But I see that
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
is on STARZ, which I have. What did you think of that one? I might give it a look, although I'm pretty overwhelmed with things to watch these days. -
CoriSCapnSkip — 2 months ago(January 13, 2026 05:50 PM)
I checked
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
out of the library so I didn't have to pay for it. It is a fantastic movie with only one flaw. It is a near exact copy of the book by Barbara Robinson, who died in 2013, so if her name was removed from the film it was not her doing, yet I have watched it twice now and not seen the book or the author credited. I wonder if I can possibly have missed this twice or if something else went on and if so what. Otherwise this is a perfect movie! -
MissMargoChanning — 2 months ago(January 14, 2026 10:41 PM)
And these two…
The Uninvited and The Unseen. Gail Russell stars in both. Not bad!
You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night! -
spiderwort — 2 months ago(January 15, 2026 02:05 AM)
Margo, I quite enjoyed
Lifeboat
and especially
The Uninvited
, which I think is rather special.
Haven't seen
The Unseen
, but I'm a fan of Gail Russell's, so I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the introduction. -
MissMargoChanning — 2 months ago(January 16, 2026 09:57 PM)
Haven't seen The Unseen, but I'm a fan of Gail Russell's, so I'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the introduction.
I believe that you might like it! The complete movie is on YouTube…
You asked a pretty question; I've given you the ugly answer.
Fasten Your Seatbelts….
It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night!