Chaplin feels like such an anachronistic character here, at no point does he feel like he belongs. The world quite literally breaks around him. I saw a great review from Comrade Yui about Gold Rush which describes the way Chaplin reminds us of a gentler past. There is a real innocence to this film, one that stayed with me long after the movie ended. Ironically enough, I went straight to my boring, brain-melting minimum wage job right after finishing it.…

Lola Montes is a figure immediately beset with movement, we are introduced to her as a lively character defined by vehicular interiority, insofar as her escapist tendencies presuppose an underlying avoidance. She attracts romance and fury alike, jeering crowds and wistful suitors. The world is at her feet as much as it nips at her heels. Ophuls' camera pans, but it never rushes. His frames opulent, careening towards excess but kept in perspective through the usage of personalized framing. Even…

A generational fall-off.

Bong Joon-ho goes from creating a defining film of the generation to dropping possibly the worst non-franchise movie of the decade. It's almost impressive how beyond terrible this is. The theater was DEAD silent during every joke. I shit you not, there was not a SINGLE joke that landed. When the movie ended nobody clapped, we all just sorta shuffled outta there; I was scratching my head wondering where I'd get my two and a half hours…