![the textbook approach of Gandhi (1982), Richard Attenborough [2/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_1bf84f2cf4f84dfcb5c385f3f806da3d~mv2.webp/v1/fill/w_739,h_302,al_c,lg_1,q_90,enc_auto/55d865_1bf84f2cf4f84dfcb5c385f3f806da3d~mv2.webp)
![the triumph of tech over art in Jurassic Punk (2022) [3.5/5 stars]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_81454044c5dd477e8bff8a56c99e2fbe~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_3760,h_1644,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_81454044c5dd477e8bff8a56c99e2fbe~mv2.png)
![the wasteland texture of Escape from New York (1981), John Carpenter [4/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_2e2d752af45c43c1940bf35b1fc8cb84~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1920,h_839,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_2e2d752af45c43c1940bf35b1fc8cb84~mv2.png)
![Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023), Christopher McQuarrie [3/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_efdede2fa78246e09280df7bcdb3aa00~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1581,h_691,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_efdede2fa78246e09280df7bcdb3aa00~mv2.png)
![Ronin (1998), John Frankenheimer [3/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_f342fff863974a90b4c61fc1ad08baf0~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_3448,h_1453,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_f342fff863974a90b4c61fc1ad08baf0~mv2.png)
![Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), Tsai Ming-liang [4/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_72bd885aa8b6464e8a4693824839dc61~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1600,h_700,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_72bd885aa8b6464e8a4693824839dc61~mv2.png)
![Z (1969), Costa-Gavras [4.5/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_b41a8a844fa34d22becfff849b9ece01~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1600,h_700,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_b41a8a844fa34d22becfff849b9ece01~mv2.png)
![Ambulance (2022), Michael Bay [3/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_f51385206e7d408d81e2c2ec7f23ea70~mv2.webp/v1/fill/w_739,h_308,al_c,lg_1,q_90,enc_auto/55d865_f51385206e7d408d81e2c2ec7f23ea70~mv2.webp)
![The Square (2017), Ruben Östlund [3/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_2d3f4488328f4ab185aa88a8b036a872~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_2048,h_895,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_2d3f4488328f4ab185aa88a8b036a872~mv2.png)
![R.M.N. (2022), directed by Cristian Mungiu [4/5] - HIFF](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_27f7aa9af28f4f6a8be782ea96ef5f50~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_960,h_420,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_27f7aa9af28f4f6a8be782ea96ef5f50~mv2.png)
![The Exiles (2022), Violet Columbus & Ben Klein [4/5] - HIFF](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_872339bc38244d2a9594bd50c79c1967~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1945,h_850,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/55d865_872339bc38244d2a9594bd50c79c1967~mv2.jpg)
![Don't Worry Darling (2022), Olivia Wilde [2/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_bcce4aa320f946bdb9321871f38206f1~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_1426,h_593,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/55d865_bcce4aa320f946bdb9321871f38206f1~mv2.jpeg)
![Barbarian (2022), Zach Cregger [4/5]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/55d865_27aa71e4505a42668bca9603d2e5522e~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1600,h_700,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/55d865_27aa71e4505a42668bca9603d2e5522e~mv2.png)
my taste in movies
I love the moody vérité style of Cassavetes, the minimalist noir of Jean-Pierre Melville, the epic scope of Lean, and that mix of post-60s hippie auteurs and film school movie brats that formed New Hollywood. For directors working today, I like Claire Denis, the Safdie Brothers, Paolo Sorrentino, Emma Seligman, David Cronenberg, Cristian Mungiu, Nicolas Winding Refn, Hong Sang-soo.
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At Columbia I took up media studies and cultural criticism. Here I was exposed to the great 20th C. cultural critics: Susan Sontag, Pauline Kael, Paul Schrader, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Robert B. Ray. Although I disagree with many of their takes, Sontag’s "Against Interpretation" formalism and Kael’s rejection of sappy moralism and eye for creative "trash" became the bedrock of my critical lens for movies.
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In 2022, I watched and reviewed a new movie every single day. I'm a writer and producer in TV now but log new movies + reviews often. The posts below fall into three categories: my quick takes, full film reviews, and essays. Read more on my Letterboxd: @msxviii