Les #Lines - #Amateur (1994)

"Y’all~ this fuckin’ film. You ever hear about a film in some random reviews on Letterboxd, add it to your watchlist, and forget about it? Only to find it later thinking it’s something you’re hearing of for the first time, watch it, watch it again, play its score on loop, and keep thinking about it until you’ve realized just how well crafted dat shit was? Bruh, lemme introduce you to… Amateur."

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/616599760803168256/les-lines-amateur-1994

A #Response - The #Plagiarists (2019)

"Time for another essay, y’all! In this response, I will invest time and energy deconstructing another person’s entire argument. (...)

Let’s start here. Clip’s character is played by Michael “Clip” Payne, someone of a medium complexion. Now, I could be mistaken here, but I’m 90% certain that a medium-skinned brotha’s cheeks can turn just as red as his butt under the right circumstances (e.g.: smack attack, blushing, etc.)."
#Essay

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/614968276602306560/a-response-the-plagiarists-2019

Les Lines - The Plagiarists (2019)

"Buh~, saw this one on MUBI awhile ago and liked so much about it I should write a review. Probably won’t, though. What I will do is present my favorite set of lines in the film. There was just so much to this moment between the two main characters. So much was said. Ugh. I’m diggin’ it. To me, like a lot of the film, it just felt like a real conversation."

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/614517643786010624/les-lines-the-plagiarists-2019

#Quickie - My Father’s Tools: Quiet, Patient Woodworking (2016)

"There’s something magically special about the simplicity of this film’s… content matter. It’s… character. Hell, it’s presentation of these entirely. In hindsight, the crew and cast effectively immortalized a way of life. A tradition of basket making.

From standing tree (carefree and minding its own business) to woven basket (simplistically sturdy as fuck). (...)"

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/611622073689833472/quickie-my-fathers-tools-quiet-patient

#Quickie - Belladonna of Sadness (1973 | 2016)

I love this movie. So encapturing. So beautifully animated (with still watercolor paintings). Just so… 👌🏿. I spent a lot of time discussing it with others and thinking about it on my own, which is probably why it grew on me as the night went on.

Dat plot, tho. Y’all, this movie just went somewhere and kept it going. Then it went somewhere else and kept that going. Then it went somewhere else and kept dat shit going. (...)

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/611354095675228160/ozu-teapot-belladonna-of-sadness-eiichi

#Review - Suicide by Sunlight (2019)

"This is a very interesting concept presented in a nearly solid manner. That being said, the things it does well overshadow everything it does poorly. Some moments in editing, cinematography, and acting are just 👌🏿 while other moments are a bit poorly executed. I’m somewhat impressed by the daughters‘ performances. Maybe it’s their lack of lines causing the focus to be primarily body language and the lingering camerawork. (...)"

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/190920445944/review-suicide-by-sunlight-or-the-importance

#Quickie - Love & Basketball (2000)

"Oh gawd, YES! This FUCKING MOVIE. Such an important part of my childhood. I don’t even know why. The conflicts. The young-duby sexism. How much she just wasn’t takin’ dat crap. The parental conflicts. The closure.

There’s so much this film does right in regards to childhood romance, the realities of dating, the complexities of married life, and gender expectations.

Can we, like, appreciate how “ahead of its time” this was (...)"

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/190828721479/fourframesatatime-love-basketball-2000-dir

#Essay - #Parasite: Full of Drive and Lacking Empathy (2019)

"To me, this is a film that teaches the lower-class about staying comfortably in one’s place. Like Ugetsu (1953) before it, it portrays a family that, when faced with opportunity, finds itself dreaming big and striving to achieve more. (...) Nothing gets in the way of their plan, or lack thereof. Absolutely nothing but the sudden, overreaching, opportunistic Korean Dream of another—the main characters."

https://letamreviews.tumblr.com/post/190481027084/essay-parasite-full-of-drive-and-lacking