Letterboxd 4 Wednesday - 5/1
Hey everyone. So I want to do a series on here called “Letterboxd 4 Wednesday”, in where I go over what’s my top 4 films on my letterboxd page each Wednesday (which you should go and follow it if you haven’t already). Now this isn’t exactly my top 4 favorites of all time, it’s just 4 films that are on my 4 picks in a given week, since they often change depend on mood or season and such. The top 4 are based around 4 films I would consider to be personal favorites of mine and I want to share mini thoughts about them (some of them I might give in depth thoughts in a dedicated review one day) in the hopes you would check them out if you haven’t already. So without further ado, lets see what’s my top Letterboxd 4 for this week.
Spider-Man 3 (2007), dir. Sam Raimi
First off, we have he final installment of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and despite of the mixed reactions it has gotten (which has seen a strong positive reprisal over the years), I honestly love it. Yes the film is a bit of a mess and it can be overstuffed in certain areas (which you can thank the studio inference for that) and overall it doesn’t quite patch things in a perfect bow as the first two (especially when the second film is my favorite film of all time), but I adore it nonetheless. Sam Raimi and company really went out of their way to make this final installment something truly special, insanely entertaining, and fully sincere both in terms of the filmmaking on display and the emotional weight behind its story, characters, and themes. Even with its messiness and silly/cheesy factors, you can’t be in awe with how this film tackles the themes of anger, pride, ego, revenge, forgiveness, and rediscovering empathy and compassion within yourself in the most raw, authentic and emotionally honest ways imaginable, and one makes you remember that we don’t get big tentpole blockbusters like this anymore. An incredible film that I love it flaws and all, not to mention it hits way too deep for me in some areas.
Chungking Express (1994), dir. Wong Kar-wai
Consider that May 1st lands this week, it’s only fitting that I would include this masterpiece in my Letterboxd top 4 for this week. Wong Kar-wai’s melancholic romance is one of the most dazzling and breathtaking pictures I ever grace my eyes towards. Capturing the sense of loneliness and the longing for a deep connection with someone in the most spectacular ways imaginable, filled with some of the most visually stunning cinematography and color plates ever to be put on film that makes you feel like you’re apart of the same world as the characters inhabited in, excellent directing and editing that keeps the pacing and flow feel natural and authentic as you watch it, and terrific performances that gives these characters so much life and authenticity that you connect to them on an emotional level and start to experience the same feelings as they do. This is one of those films in you watch it, you start to feel like you’re a dream of sorts. A dream that features '“California Dreamin” on an endless loop (ha no pun intended) and its a dream that you never want to leave once you enter it.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), dir. Francis Lawrence
That’s right, I have this film in my Letterboxd top 4 for this week. It’s that good, and truly one of the few sequels that surpasses the original in every regard. It takes everything that made the first film good and expanding upon it, but also fixing many of its criticisms like the overlying on its shaky cam and certain plot elements that weren’t full fleshed out for an overall better, more exciting, more intense, and emotionally satisfying experience. This is a sequel that really puts our characters (particularly with Katniss) in more stressful and uneasy situations that challenges the choices they make and how they go abound with what’s throwing at them between the evil dictatorship of the Capital and the revival of The Hunger Games themselves, and all of which extremely captivating and interesting to watch and get emotionally attached towards. Which is no short it’s excellent wirting, directing, performances, cinematography, editing, scale (especially with the Hunger Games portion of the film being shot entirely with IMAX cameras), and many political ideas and thematic depth that explored in very interesting ways that’s not hard to connect it to everything that’s going on in the world today (which I might do a dedicated essay on one of these days). Truly a peak in the YA genre and a film so great that makes you wished the other films in the series (and many in the YA genre in general) were on the same level as this. Also this film introduced Johana Masson, aka the best character in the whole series, and that’s another reason why this is peak cinema.
The Dark Knight (2008), dir. Christopher Nolan
I mean I don’t even need to explain why this film is in my Letterboxd top 4 for this week, because if you have seen this film, you know why. It’s one of the most culturally significant and impactful films to come out in the 21st century, and the film that (for better or worse) has changed comic book films forever. The second installment in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is a film that grabs the audience’s attention and never lets go for the entirey its 2 hour and 32 min runtime, and it’s partly owed to having the stakes in this film both external and internal remain on an insanely high level that not only affects the world of Gotham City (which the way Nolan imagines Gotham across the trilogy, especially in this film is nothing short of spectacular), but also every character living in it that makes them question their moral ethics and responsibilities to the roles they’re committed to throughout it all. Making the big shifts in their arcs, the way every action set piece being in service to the plot and characters, and the way it explores themes of chaos, morality, choice, anarchy, and the temptation within oneself so compelling and dramatically intense as a great a character driven drama should as it is entertaining and popcorn fun as a great blockbuster should. And of course, I would feel demised if I didn’t mention the all time great material worthy like performance from the late Heath Ledger as the Joker that can never be recaptured no matter how hard many people tried. There’s so much greatness about this film that I can also give this a whole review of sorts, but honestly, what’s even the point since most of you can agree that this film is a masterpiece and has aged beautifully in the landscape of the superhero landscape we’re still in to this day.
So yeah. That’s what is my “Letterboxd 4 Wednesday” for this week. I hope you guys enjoy reading my picks for this week, and let me know what’s your top 4 on Letterboxd for this week. As always, thank you so much for reading, please remember to subscribe to this newsletter if you more awesome content like this, and have a great rest of your day.