Anatomy of a Film

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    • 12 Days of Recapsmas 2025, Day 2

      The 12 Days of Recapsmas continues! For the uninitiated: over the last few years, I have kept a list of my 4 favorite first-time watches for every month of the year, and end up with a great way of seeing my favorite 48 movies of that year. This will be a recurring series on Anatomy of a Film, where I break down my favorite discoveries for the year. Let the 2025 recap continue with our four favorites from February 2025! You can view the full list by clicking the image below.

      The 4 Favorites from February, via @huntercalley on Letterboxd

      1. Blue Velvet (1986)

      Where to begin with David Lynch’s Blue Velvet…

      The first time I watched this movie, I truly was appalled at how graphic the content was. By the time I got to Blue Velvet this year, I already had a few Lynch movies under my belt such as Dune (1984), Eraserhead (1977), and Mulholland Drive (2001). Lynch was still, in my mind, an unapproachable auteur who made insane films. 2025 as a whole definitely changed my perspective on Lynch following his death, and it all started with Blue Velvet. I now see Lynch as one of my all time favorite directors, up there with Ishiro Honda, Cronenberg, and Kubrick. The toughest part of the movie for me, and probably most people, is when Frank Booth (portrayed by Dennis Hopper) shows up at Dorothy Vallens’ (portrayed by Isabella Rossellini) apartment and sexually assaults her. After that moment, I felt paralyzed with terror any time he was on screen. It’s a movie that became frozen in my mind for days after the first time I watched it, and ended up revisiting it about 2 weeks after my first viewing.

      via @huntercalley on Letterboxd

      The film jumped from 4 stars (which I gave it for how uncomfortable and hollow I felt after seeing it for the first time) to 5 stars due to having built up some shielding for the psychic damage this movie intends on inflicting the viewer with the first time. Now, Dennis Hopper’s performance is one of my favorites from any Lynch project. Frank Booth is one of my favorite villains in cinema now due to his chaotic nature and how sickly hilarious he is. The film also features Kyle MacLachlan’s home-from-college voyeuristic psycho Jeffrey Beaumont, Laura Dern’s teenage optimistic dreamer Sandy Williams, and the woman of the evening, Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy Vallens. Rossellini goes through so much throughout this film as Dorothy and delivers one of the most devastating performances put to film. This is the movie that finally made Lynch and his particular writing style click with me, and start both my wife and me down a wonderful David Lynch journey throughout the year. I’ll be writing more about Lynch in a different Recapsmas 2025 post, so keep an eye out.

      Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth, Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy Vallens, Blue Velvet (1986)

      2. Cure (1997)

      Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure is another movie that wormed its way into my head and still hasn’t left after that first viewing. It’s a Japanese horror-mystery-psychological thriller that builds such a tense atmosphere that the film genuinely feels dangerous to watch. At any moment, you feel like you can fall under Mamiya’s spell. It’s a fantastic horror movie that you should watch while knowing as little as possible about it. Koji Yashuko (portraying Detective Takabe) delivers an absolute knockout performance alongside Masato Hagiwara (portraying Kunio Mamiya) who is terrifying any time he is on screen.

      Koji Yashuko as Detective Kenichi Takabe, Cure (1997)

      3. Vertigo (1958)

      We are back on day 2 of Recapsmas 2025 with another Hitchcock! I don’t have anything new to say about this movie at all, but I will say that I couldn’t have had a more incorrect assumption about this movie than when I was first watching it, which was that this was Hitchcocks worst romance in a film so far. That was until Kim Novak’s Madeline said “If you lose me you’ll know that I loved you and wanted to keep on loving you.” Her delivery on that line just floored me. It’s Vertigo! I don’t know how it took me 25 years to finally watch this masterpiece.

      James Stewart as Detective John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson, Kim Novak as Madeline Elster / Judy Barton, Vertigo (1958)

      4. I’m Still Here (2024)

      We have finally arrived at what was my number one for movie of the entire decade for most of this year. Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here stands instead now as one of the most underrated movies of the decade, as conversations around it seem to have fully stopped after the Oscars aired this year. This was a powerful yet shattering biopic about the Paiva family during the 70s fascist dictatorship in Brazil. Rubens Paiva (portrayed by Selton Mello) was a former politician who was disappeared by military death squads. The story follows what happens to the Paiva family before, during, and after his disappearance, from the perspective of Eunice Paiva (portrayed by Fernanda Torres). I have only seen this movie once, and am not sure how I would handle a rewatch. It is a heartbreaking film, and couldn’t be more relevant today. The current Trump regime is currently engaging in the same fascist disappearance tactics seen in this film. You follow Eunice into hell and back trying to find out what happened to her husband. Walter Salles captures spiritual torment like no other, and Fernanda Torres delivers a performance that is guaranteed to make you sob. This should have swept every award this year.

      The Paiva Family, I’m Still Here (2024)

      Well, that caps off day 2 of Recapsmas! Tomorrow will be a full day of watching movies with Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, so expect day 3 later on in the week. Thanks for reading!

      Letterboxd Reviews:

      Blue Velvet

      Cure

      Vertigo

      I’m Still Here

    • 12 Days of Recapsmas 2025, Day 1

      For the last few years, I have kept a list of my 4 favorite first-time watches for every month of the year, and end up with a great way of seeing my favorite 48 movies of that year. This will be a recurring series on Anatomy of a Film, where I break down my favorite discoveries for the year. Let the 2025 recap begin with our four favorites from January 2025! You can view the full list by clicking the image below.

      The 4 Favorites from January, via @huntercalley on Letterboxd

      1. Dragon Inn (1967)

      King Hu’s Dragon Inn is one of my all time favorite kung-fu movies. Though my understanding of wuxia films (Chinese historical fantasy) still needs to grow, from what I have seen thus far this is one of the most fully realized and fleshed out films I have seen in the genre. My first exposure to Dragon Inn came via the Criterion Channel 24/7 stream. I got home late one night from a grueling shift at Mattress Firm, and had left the channel on for my cat to watch. I was just starting to get into kung-fu at the time and had really only seen movies like Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and was stunned by the final 20 minutes of Dragon Inn. I was entranced by the mystical soundtrack and vast, serene landscapes. It felt daunting to try and approach the rest of the movie after that, so I put it off until I could get some more kung-fu movies under my belt. Catching the end of this movie truly fostered the love I have for the genre now, and I was not disappointed in the slightest by the full film. It is definitely more of a slow burn with bursts of energy here and there, but it is never a boring film. The action really leans into the martial arts fantasy aspect of wuxia films, and is always such a joy to watch. Though I went on my own self-imposed martial arts journey before attempting to approach this absolute beast of a film, that wouldn’t be necessary for someone just getting into the genre.

      Polly Shang-Kuan Ling-Feng, Dragon Inn (1967)

      2. Rear Window (1954)

      What more needs to be said about Hitchcock’s Rear Window? My wife and I sat down to watch this on a freezing Sunday morning, and it immediately became one of our favorite mystery movies. We had both fallen in love with James Stewart after having seen It’s A Wonderful Life for the first time in the theater a month prior to this, and as mystery genre fans, we went in with extremely high expectations. We were certainly not disappointed. Hitchcock’s restraint when it comes to violence throughout the film is what stood out to me the most in this movie, because when the violent act of throwing Jeffries out of the finally window comes, it chilled me to the bone. That sickening feeling that hit as he was being dangled out of the window immediately cemented this as one of the best movies I have seen. Also, Grace Kelly delivers an excellent performance as Lisa Fremont and was an excellent foil to Stewart’s no-nonsense Jeffries. This one is an all-timer.

      James Stewart and Grace Kelly, Rear Window (1954)

      3. The Brutalist (2024)

      When The Brutalist was finally hitting theaters, my wife and I were in a rush to see this before the Oscars. It didn’t hit our area until 2025 unfortunately, but are we grateful to have seen this in the theater! Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist landed at number 6 in the top 10 of my favorite movies from 2024. This is my favorite Adrien Brody performance, but Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce also put on masterclass performances as well. Everything about the film feels monumental, coming in at 215 minutes with an in-theater intermission, but it is certainly difficult to watch at times, including a truly shocking rape scene. This is a movie full of complicated and broken characters who struggle with vices such as drug addiction and PTSD. My favorite moments of the movie include the Statue of Liberty intro, the library reveal, the monologue from Orazio (portrayed by Salvatore Sansone) in the Italian marble quarry, the showcase of the community center after its completion, and the final scene. Orazio’s monologue specifically has stayed in my head since that viewing.

      “I will never leave this place. I have left only once in 20 years to go to Giulino, Azzano, to beat the corpse of Mussolini with my own hands. Those of us here, my colleagues, we are anarchists. We were part of the Resistance. No one knows the quarries like us. We fought and captured many members of the National Republican Army. We trapped them in these caves. And we dropped these very same stones on them.”

      The Brutalist (2024)

      4. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

      I am a sucker for a good old heartstring tugging rom-com. Upon a first time viewing, Nora Ephron’s Sleepless In Seattle quickly became one of my favorites in the genre. The journey you go on between Meg Ryan and Tom Hank’s characters is such a wild and fun ride. To me, this movie contains some of the best dialogue I have seen in a romance film. Standout moments of dialogue for me include Tom Hanks asking Rob Reiner for dating advice over lunch, and Meg Ryan’s conversation with Dennis Hyde Pierce about subconscious attraction and cold-feet before a wedding. The unconventional approach of this movie is part of why I find it so compelling. Our two leads barely interact with each other until the final shot of the movie, which dramatically takes place on the top of the Empire State Building. Of the other movies listed above, this is definitely the feel-good film of the bunch. Now I want to re-watch it after writing about it!

      Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

      And that caps off our first day of Recapsmas! Stay tuned for the February recap!

      You can see my Letterboxd reviews for the following movies here:

      Dragon Inn

      Rear Window

      The Brutalist

      Sleepless in Seattle

    • Godzilla: Final Wars – 21 Years Later

      Godzilla: Final Wars – 21 Years Later

      The end of the Millennium Era and one of the more divisive yet memorable Godzilla films, “Godzilla: Final Wars” turns 21 years old today. This will mostly be spoiler-free.

      As someone who be came a huge Godzilla fan later in life, Godzilla: Final Wars stands out as one of my all time favorite Godzilla films. This movie contains of the hardest-leaned-into sci-fi concepts in a Godzilla film since Destroy All Monsters (1968) and Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991), with aliens, mutants, monsters, mazer cannons, the Gotengo ship (as seen in Atragon (1963)), and United Nations leading the world. For as many old concepts and monsters that were brought into the fold here, it is a little sad that there wasn’t room for Android M-11 to make an appearance.

      via @NebsGoodTakes on Twitter

      This particular Godzilla movie is divisive among the community due to the fact that it is one of the most ridiculous Godzilla films ever made. Godzilla: Final Wars came off the heels of the more serious duology of the Kiryu saga, which explored the concept of a cursed Mechagodzilla built around the bones of the original 1954 Godzilla. Though the saga was planned to be a trilogy, Toho unceremoniously gave director Masaaki Tekuza the boot due to low ticket sales and opted for the controversial choice of hiring Ryûhei Kitsmara, who was best known for his film Versus (2000) for Godzillas 50th anniversary.

      Versus, via the Letterboxd app.

      Godzilla: Final Wars has been memed into oblivion in the last 2 decades, from the motorcycle chase to everything involving Captain Gordon, but I sincerely view it as the best love letter to the Godzilla franchise as a whole. Does it “rip off” (I hate that phrase) popular movies at the time like X-Men and The Matrix? Of course it does. Because those movies are cool! Versus is cool! It’s clear that Toho wanted to celebrate Godzilla’s 50th anniversary in a way that the fans found exciting while still honoring Godzilla and how far the franchise had come since 1954. The Heisei era of Godzilla capped off with, in my opinion, the greatest kaiju film of all time, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), but that was a sad, somber farewell to the King of the Monsters. Godzilla: Final Wars was meant to be the final film in the franchise for an extended amount of time, and they certainly went out with a bang.

      Godzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

      To prepare for this write up, I watched the movie over Discord with my wife, Katie, and good friend, Jess, as part of our regular Godzilla Fan Club meeting. I must have unmuted about 50 times to say how much I love this movie. I don’t actually want to spoil anything about the movie and give you a boring, milquetoast breakdown of the film itself. It is a movie that needs to be experienced with as many friends (and Godzilla fans) as possible. Instead, here’s a quick rundown of my favorite moments.

      1. Any Time Anguirus is on Screen

      I am and always have been a massive fan of Anguirus since I began this lifelong Godzilla journey. He has always been scrappy and had so much heart and personality to him. Besides Jet Jaguar, he is the kaiju that I feel the most personal kinship with. In Final Wars, however, they took him to an entirely new level. Final Wars was his first appearance in a Godzilla film since Godzilla vs Gigan in 1972. He thunders onto the screen as one of the first monsters we see in Godzilla: Final Wars, and he looks amazing. They absolutely perfected his suit design and moveset in this movie, and he gets to shine (albeit hilariously) in a battle straight from the Showa-era alongside Rodan, King Caesar, and of course the Big G himself. I am rooting for Anguirus’ eventual return in any possible form. My vote? Godzilla Minus Zero.

      Anguirus, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

      2. “Listen kid, there are two things you don’t know about the Earth…”

      This is, inarguably, one of the best quotes of the entire series. Everything about Captain Gordon immediately puts him in the top 3 Godzilla human characters ever, and the contrast between him and the Xilien Controller (yes, that is his actual name) leads to so many great moments.

      via GalvaTRION, YouTube

      3. The Final Battle (Spoilers Ahead)

      The final battle is one of the most memorable in the entire franchise. It is not only one of the best final kaiju battles, but the human-mutant story is compelling enough at the end to make for the final showdown between XC and Ozaki (and the whole team so far really) to be as ridiculous as it is to be believable in this world. As for the kaiju battle, Mothras defeat of Gigan by using his own nipple blades against him is one of my favorite Mothra moments in general. Of course, the real fun starts when Keizer Ghidorah arrives. I have to give special credit to the sound design team when Godzillas arms are bent backwards, I still cringe at that every time. Capping the movie off with Minilla was a great choice too, even if he looks like that. They certainly tried to remaster him like the other OG’s that returned. That being said though, this iteration of Godzilla was unstoppable until Minilla came along. The King of the Monsters, in all his glory, shows that even he has the capacity of love in his heart for the ugliest of creatures.

      Minilla, Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

      And that is what I have to say about Godzilla: Final Wars on its 21st birthday. Sit down, throw back some shots, and watch this absolute banger of a film and I promise you’ll have a great time.

      ★★★★★

    • Welcome to Anatomy of a Film!

      Welcome to the Anatomy of a Film blog! Expect to see some exciting content soon such as a recapping of my 4 favorite movie discoveries for each month in 2025, and an in-depth review of the new release of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair! In the meantime, you can check out my (mostly updated daily) Letterboxd here.