Hands Off the Loot
@handsofftheloot.bsky.social
Born in Flames (1983): A punk rock vision on film, this is both a document of its era and pointedly relevant today. Like punk music at its best, this film demonstrates that attitude, emotion, and authenticity are far more important than any supposed shortcomings in technique.📽️
November 1, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Born in Flames (1983): A punk rock vision on film, this is both a document of its era and pointedly relevant today. Like punk music at its best, this film demonstrates that attitude, emotion, and authenticity are far more important than any supposed shortcomings in technique.📽️
A Prairie Home Companion (2006): A masterful final film from Robert Altman, this wasn't filmed so much as it just happened. Wistful and very, very funny, if anything can be taken away from this film, it's that it's okay to let things go. This film is highly recommended.📽️
October 1, 2025 at 9:32 PM
A Prairie Home Companion (2006): A masterful final film from Robert Altman, this wasn't filmed so much as it just happened. Wistful and very, very funny, if anything can be taken away from this film, it's that it's okay to let things go. This film is highly recommended.📽️
One Battle After Another (2025): Starts as an almost too-timely commentary on current events, as it unfolds it becomes much more. With skillfully-handled tonal shifts, it's at times a wicked satire, a suspense film, and, surprisingly, an effective action movie. This is a great film.📽️
September 26, 2025 at 10:01 PM
One Battle After Another (2025): Starts as an almost too-timely commentary on current events, as it unfolds it becomes much more. With skillfully-handled tonal shifts, it's at times a wicked satire, a suspense film, and, surprisingly, an effective action movie. This is a great film.📽️
Barry Lyndon (1975): A film of great depth and sumptuous images, it reveals its mysteries only sparingly. Or not - this film is very much open to interpretation. A period piece, much of it can be relatable to modern viewers. This is a film that definitely earned its epilogue - and another viewing.📽️
September 12, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Barry Lyndon (1975): A film of great depth and sumptuous images, it reveals its mysteries only sparingly. Or not - this film is very much open to interpretation. A period piece, much of it can be relatable to modern viewers. This is a film that definitely earned its epilogue - and another viewing.📽️
Fargo (1996): A remarkable film. Replete with quirky, funny characters, and at its core, a very tightly-scripted morality play. The world of Fargo is one of chaos, and the most trivial transgression can cascade to tragic consequences.📽️
July 11, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Fargo (1996): A remarkable film. Replete with quirky, funny characters, and at its core, a very tightly-scripted morality play. The world of Fargo is one of chaos, and the most trivial transgression can cascade to tragic consequences.📽️
Touch of Evil (1958): A story of sleaze and corruption in a border town. It would've been a good movie with even an unremarkable director. With Orson Welles, it is a great film, with inspired direction. In particular, the opening scene is one of the greatest ever filmed.📽️
July 6, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Touch of Evil (1958): A story of sleaze and corruption in a border town. It would've been a good movie with even an unremarkable director. With Orson Welles, it is a great film, with inspired direction. In particular, the opening scene is one of the greatest ever filmed.📽️
O (2001): "O" is one of the more effective Shakespeare adaptations around. Rather than attempting to graft the original language to a modern setting, it uses modern dialogue in a modern setting, while retaining the core of the story.📽️
July 4, 2025 at 7:55 PM
O (2001): "O" is one of the more effective Shakespeare adaptations around. Rather than attempting to graft the original language to a modern setting, it uses modern dialogue in a modern setting, while retaining the core of the story.📽️
Nanook of the North (1922): Looking back at this classic documentary with modern eyes, it can seem a bit dated, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that at least parts of it were staged. Still, the focus on the day-to-day lives of the subjects is rather fascinating.📽️
June 22, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Nanook of the North (1922): Looking back at this classic documentary with modern eyes, it can seem a bit dated, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out that at least parts of it were staged. Still, the focus on the day-to-day lives of the subjects is rather fascinating.📽️
28 Years Later (2025): The latest film in the series fleshes out the world it created in a very satisfying and imaginative manner. There's enough here to take this series in any number of directions. And, unexpectedly, for all the gore and violence, this film offers a real moment of grace.📽️
June 20, 2025 at 8:38 PM
28 Years Later (2025): The latest film in the series fleshes out the world it created in a very satisfying and imaginative manner. There's enough here to take this series in any number of directions. And, unexpectedly, for all the gore and violence, this film offers a real moment of grace.📽️
The Life of Chuck (2024): This could be thought of as a small film. But, it contains multitudes, like the title character (or, really, any person). It starts as one thing, and becomes something completely different. How it does so is best left to discover on one's own. This is a special film.📽️
June 13, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The Life of Chuck (2024): This could be thought of as a small film. But, it contains multitudes, like the title character (or, really, any person). It starts as one thing, and becomes something completely different. How it does so is best left to discover on one's own. This is a special film.📽️
Johnny Guitar (1954): Like many of Nicholas Ray's films, this plays with the conventions of the form just enough to present a slightly off-kilter look at the darker corners of society. Rich with subtext, it offers a subtle skewering of Americanism, and also presenting some darker universal truths.📽️
June 8, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Johnny Guitar (1954): Like many of Nicholas Ray's films, this plays with the conventions of the form just enough to present a slightly off-kilter look at the darker corners of society. Rich with subtext, it offers a subtle skewering of Americanism, and also presenting some darker universal truths.📽️
JFK (1991): As a film, JFK is a superb technical achievement, well crafted with a superb cast. As a work of history, it's an abomination. The best way to view this film is as a document of a uniquely American strain of paranoia in public life. It's definitely worth watching, but not believing.📽️
June 5, 2025 at 10:06 PM
JFK (1991): As a film, JFK is a superb technical achievement, well crafted with a superb cast. As a work of history, it's an abomination. The best way to view this film is as a document of a uniquely American strain of paranoia in public life. It's definitely worth watching, but not believing.📽️
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025): This is an absurd film, in the same entertaining sense that the John Wick films are absurd. The demise of the characters is engineered with enough suspense and humor that one can appreciate the skill with which it's accomplished.📽️
May 17, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025): This is an absurd film, in the same entertaining sense that the John Wick films are absurd. The demise of the characters is engineered with enough suspense and humor that one can appreciate the skill with which it's accomplished.📽️
I, Tonya (2017): A look back at the Tonya Harding saga with the benefit of time, this film does an excellent job of placing those events within the proper cultural context. The highlight is a powerhouse performance from Margot Robbie. Between this and Barbie, she demonstrates remarkable range.📽️
May 11, 2025 at 6:28 PM
I, Tonya (2017): A look back at the Tonya Harding saga with the benefit of time, this film does an excellent job of placing those events within the proper cultural context. The highlight is a powerhouse performance from Margot Robbie. Between this and Barbie, she demonstrates remarkable range.📽️
It Comes at Night (2017): One of the better plague movies around, this film demonstrates that horror movies don't have to rely on gore or jump scares to be effective. A family struggling to survive societal breakdown can't overcome its nightmares and paranoia when confronted with something new.📽️
May 9, 2025 at 11:32 PM
It Comes at Night (2017): One of the better plague movies around, this film demonstrates that horror movies don't have to rely on gore or jump scares to be effective. A family struggling to survive societal breakdown can't overcome its nightmares and paranoia when confronted with something new.📽️
Dancer in the Dark (2000): Watching a film requires a certain suspension of disbelief; a musical, even more so. But, this film works, in large part because that suspension of disbelief is very central to the theme of the movie. A recognizably Lars von Trier, with a singular performance by Björk.📽️
May 4, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Dancer in the Dark (2000): Watching a film requires a certain suspension of disbelief; a musical, even more so. But, this film works, in large part because that suspension of disbelief is very central to the theme of the movie. A recognizably Lars von Trier, with a singular performance by Björk.📽️
Sweet Charity (1969): Entertaining, yet uneven film from the late '60s that doesn't quite resolve the tension between the currents sweeping cinema at the time and the conventions of Hollywood musicals. However, Bob Fosse did so with his next film, one of the greatest musicals ever made.📽️
May 3, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Sweet Charity (1969): Entertaining, yet uneven film from the late '60s that doesn't quite resolve the tension between the currents sweeping cinema at the time and the conventions of Hollywood musicals. However, Bob Fosse did so with his next film, one of the greatest musicals ever made.📽️
No Country for Old Men (2007): A chase film, anchored by a sheriff who is following the carnage, and seems overwhelmed by the violence of a country that he no longer recognizes. Set in 1980, I wonder if that is a deliberate choice. If so, that could lead to some very interesting questions.📽️
April 26, 2025 at 10:56 AM
No Country for Old Men (2007): A chase film, anchored by a sheriff who is following the carnage, and seems overwhelmed by the violence of a country that he no longer recognizes. Set in 1980, I wonder if that is a deliberate choice. If so, that could lead to some very interesting questions.📽️
It All Starts Today (1999): A teacher in a poor town, struggles against a system that seems inclined to throw obstacles in the way of educating the children, is not exactly an original plot. This film rises above that, and taps into something that crosses cultural bounds.📽️
April 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM
It All Starts Today (1999): A teacher in a poor town, struggles against a system that seems inclined to throw obstacles in the way of educating the children, is not exactly an original plot. This film rises above that, and taps into something that crosses cultural bounds.📽️
Paris, Texas (1984): Sometimes the best American films are the ones that find a small corner of this very large country, and tells a very personal story. It's all that more remarkable that a German is able to make such a great American movie. Harry Dean Stanton gives a standout performance.📽️
April 12, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Paris, Texas (1984): Sometimes the best American films are the ones that find a small corner of this very large country, and tells a very personal story. It's all that more remarkable that a German is able to make such a great American movie. Harry Dean Stanton gives a standout performance.📽️
Blazing Saddles (1974): Mel Brooks will do anything for a laugh, and in Blazing Saddles he turns everything into a laugh. He turns the Western genre into an anarchic tale of a trickster turned sheriff, and along the way skewers racial attitudes and everything else he can get his hands on.📽️
March 27, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Blazing Saddles (1974): Mel Brooks will do anything for a laugh, and in Blazing Saddles he turns everything into a laugh. He turns the Western genre into an anarchic tale of a trickster turned sheriff, and along the way skewers racial attitudes and everything else he can get his hands on.📽️
The Wages of Fear (1953): With an implicit critique of capitalism, this film about four men attempting to escape desperate circumstances expertly sustains the tension throughout its runtime. Even in the quiet moments, it's still there, lurking. This film is highly recommended.📽️
March 26, 2025 at 9:45 PM
The Wages of Fear (1953): With an implicit critique of capitalism, this film about four men attempting to escape desperate circumstances expertly sustains the tension throughout its runtime. Even in the quiet moments, it's still there, lurking. This film is highly recommended.📽️
In Vanda's Room (2000): While a fiction film, tjos feels very much like the viewer is watching actual events, as they unfold. In that way, it's very much like a Frederick Wiseman documentary. Shows the lives of people in desperate circumstances, while the world slowly crashes down around them.📽️
March 23, 2025 at 2:12 PM
In Vanda's Room (2000): While a fiction film, tjos feels very much like the viewer is watching actual events, as they unfold. In that way, it's very much like a Frederick Wiseman documentary. Shows the lives of people in desperate circumstances, while the world slowly crashes down around them.📽️
Black Bag (2025): Steven Soderbergh is one of the most talented and versatile directors alive, and he proves it once again with the spy thriller Black Bag. The script is tightly written, and Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett lead a stellar cast. This is a movie made by adults for adults.📽️
March 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Black Bag (2025): Steven Soderbergh is one of the most talented and versatile directors alive, and he proves it once again with the spy thriller Black Bag. The script is tightly written, and Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett lead a stellar cast. This is a movie made by adults for adults.📽️
Chinatown (1974): Chinatown is one of the best written, best directed, and best acted films ever made. The intricate plot takes time to reveal itself, yet comes to a very satisfying, though cynical, conclusion. Jack Nicholson was in the midst of one of the greatest runs that any actor ever had.📽️
March 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Chinatown (1974): Chinatown is one of the best written, best directed, and best acted films ever made. The intricate plot takes time to reveal itself, yet comes to a very satisfying, though cynical, conclusion. Jack Nicholson was in the midst of one of the greatest runs that any actor ever had.📽️