Accept No Substitutions.

I’m autistic. I’ve been into movies since I was twelve when I saw Kurosawa’s “Ran” at my uncle’s house (still a favorite). My taste in films has evolved from “serious” Hollywood filmmaking to art, classic and foreign films – and hey – even the occasional documentary!

I don’t watch rape or torture scenes (don’t recommend “Salo” to me).

I don’t care for Fellini but love “8 1/2” and “Satyricon”.

I like slow movies as long as they have a point. My theory is this: pace and duration can be cleansing – you can take a quick shower and get it over with, or you can soak in it and let it hypnotize you. I like to melt into the screen. Into the landscape, the people’s lives.

I’ll watch any new film from the following directors regardless of the reviews they get: Terrence Malick, Kelly Reichardt, Jim Jarmusch, Wes Anderson, Asghar Farhadi, Michael Haneke and Paul Thomas Anderson. I can’t think of any others who are living…

Top 10 favorites at the moment:
1. Ugetsu
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Seven Samurai
4. 8 1/2
5. Barry Lyndon
6. M. Hulot’s Holiday
7. Manhattan
8. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
9. Revanche
10. The New World
11. The Sacrifice

with:
Yi Yi: A One and a Two
The Tree of Life
Ran
Vampyr
A River Runs Through It
M
The Shining
Andrei Rublev
Gone with the Wind
My Man Godfrey

with special mention to:

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Amelie
Night of the Living Dead
Dont Look Back
Citizen Kane
The Phantom Carriage

My ratings system, modeled after a friend’s subjective system, is as follows:
5 – perfect, a masterpiece
4 – I would change some minor things, but very good
3 – I liked it more than I didn’t. There were major things that didn’t work for me
2 – I’m indifferent
1 – I hated it