David Lynch, 1946 – 2025.


RIP David Lynch.

Though I knew this day would come, I’m still very sad. I can’t calculate the effect that seeing the very first episode of Twin Peaks had on me when I was only 14, except that it quite literally altered the course of my life. It opened up completely new worlds to me, completely fresh ways of seeing and experiencing life. Lynch’s films eventually led me to the work of Barry Gifford, which in turn led me towards making Roy’s World: Barry Gifford’s Chicago. And it was the thrill of my life when Barry shared my film with “Dave” and the word came back that he loved it.

As long as human beings are still watching cinema, his films will be there to inspire, perplex, and thrill.

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3 things about Brady Corbet’s THE BRUTALIST

The Brutalist [2024]

1. “Everything that is ugly…”
2. He lays his cheek upon the marble and exhales.
3. The jazz club scene–echoes of I Am Cuba?

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3 things about Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker’s AIRPLANE!

Airplane! [1980]

1. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen anything like this since the Anita Bryant concert.”
2. Instruments.
3. Maureen McGovern as the nun!

3 other things.

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3 things about Anna Kendrick’s WOMAN OF THE HOUR

Woman of the Hour [2024]

1. “What is a girl for?”
2. The sounds of the room disappear; suddenly they’re the only customers left in the bar.
3. She takes refuge at the Last Chance Diner.

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3 things about Sean Charmatz’s ORION AND THE DARK

Orion and the Dark [2024]

1. “I don’t think we have time for David Foster Wallace tonight.”
2. We can no longer see the stars outside at night so we have to go to the planetarium.
3. Light as a surfer dude.

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3 things about George Pollock’s MURDER AHOY

Murder Ahoy [1964]

1. A smashed bottle of Plymouth gin.
2. Intercepted message.
3. Swordplay with Margaret.

3 other things.

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3 things about Errol Morris’s THE PIGEON TUNNEL

The Pigeon Tunnel [2023]

1. The joy of self-imposed schizophrenia.
2. “I really don’t think any artist, whether he’s a writer, a painter, or anybody else, I don’t think he has to explain his work beyond a certain point. If it’s raised those questions in you, you’re already having a good time.”
3. George Smiley as the father he never had.

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3 things about David Cronenberg’s NAKED LUNCH

Naked Lunch [1991]

1. “If you look carefully at my lips, you’ll realize that I’m actually saying something else. I’m not actually telling you about the several ways I’m gradually murdering Joan.”
2. A basket of dried centipedes.
3. Sleeping half-buried in the sand.

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A selected inventory of 2024.

By the numbers …

221: feature films I watched in 2024 (24 of which I viewed in a theater)
42: books I read in 2024
31: pizzas we ordered from The Art of Pizza
16: pizzas we ordered from other pizzerias
131: mystery green statistic

Happy New Year!

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What I Watched in 2024: My 11 Favorite Films

ALL OF US STRANGERS [2023, directed by Andrew Haigh]
THE BEAST [2023, directed by Bertrand Bonello]
OTHER PEOPLE [2016, directed by Chris Kelly]
THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS [1949, directed by David Lean]
PERFECT DAYS [2023, directed by Wim Wenders]
QUEER [2024, directed by Luca Guadagnino]
SAM NOW [2022, directed by Reed Harkness]
THE SEA WOLF [1941, directed by Michael Curtiz]
20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL [2023, directed by Mstyslav Chernov]
VENGEANCE IS MINE [1984, directed by Michael Roemer]
THE ZONE OF INTEREST [2023, directed by Jonathan Glazer]

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