Letterboxd 4 Wednesday - 5/8
Hi everyone, and welcome back to another edition of Letterboxd 4 Wednesday. The series where I look at the films that are in my top 4 of Letterboxd in a given week (most notably 4 of my favorite films) and I give some mini thoughts on them. So lets dive in and take a look at this weeks picks.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman
I mean what I am supposed to say about this film that hasn’t been said by everyone else before me? This film is a miracle across the board, and one of the few comic book films that actually feels like its a comic book come to literal life and a perfect love letter to Spider-Man in general. Which is no short part thanks to the visually stimming animation that throws so many details into the movements, world, and overall design that keeps you wanting more everytime you go and revisit it, action sequences that are out of this world, a perfect balance of tone that ranges from funny to dramatic to intense to exciting in every aspect imaginable, characters that are rich in personality and emotional depth (especially from Miles and his journey of self discovery), and rich themes of responsibility, choice, self-worth, connection, and defining your own density that connects back to Spider-Man as a character and as an icon in the most beautiful and loving ways imaginable. What else is there to add?
Grave of the Fireflies (1988), dir. Issao Takahata
Man, even talking about this makes me want to cry. Because this is one of the most emotionally heavy, strikingly beautiful, and insanely powerful films that I ever seen that saying anything about it will do this film a complete disservice to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. All I can say that please go and seek this masterpiece in any capacity that you can, regardless if you have seen it or not. It’s a film that will break you into a million pieces after you experience it. So please do so if you haven’t already.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), dir. Celine Sciamma
I recently just finished a Women in Cinema class this past semester in college, and out of all the films we watched for that class, this was my favorite of that bunch, even tho we watched a good amount of great films in that class. Every time I go back and re visit Céline Sciamma’s masterpiece, I feel a sense of authenticity, and realness, and true beauty within every second of this film from the first second to the last. All of which is owed to the fantastic chemistry between Noémie Merland and Adèle Haenel, the stunning cinematography that literally feels like a painting leaped out of the screen with its constant use of yellows, greens, and oranges in terms of its lighting and composition, and the overall space and vibe that feels lived in and makes you think of those times where you had a special connection with someone in that space before that time had to come to an end. It’s the definition of Beautiful Art and one that you should all watch if you haven’t already (or if you haven’t watched it in a long time).
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), dir. Matt Reeves
With the release of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes coming out at the time of writing this, it’s only fitting that I would include a film from the pervious Apes trilogy on here and after re watching all 3 of them in preparation for the new film, Dawn is easily my favorite of the bunch (even though all 3 are great). Matt Reeves really crafted the ideal blockbuster and one that so many blockbusters today should take note on. One that provides the same amount of thrills and excitement like your topical great action film with stunning action sequences and a huge scale to boast it up, and one that provides on the same amount of compelling and authentic approach within its story, characters, and themes like your topical great drama. When you have these two sides of the same coin working together in harmony, you get something truly magical and that’s what this film is. Magical.
That’s 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.