July 2023 Favorite Watches

That month I had a Jarman-a-thon, saw some brilliant documentaries, and revisited a childhood favorite.

Top Ten Favorite Watches of the Month:

​​​One of Derek Jarman’s final films was this unconventional biopic about the troubled philosopher (aren’t they all?), Ludwig Wittgenstein, as he struggled to understand the pitfalls of human communication.

​With evocative impressionistic photography, Charlotte Wells’s feature debut is a subtle but deeply cutting coming-of-age drama about the malleability of memories and the things kids are too young to understand about their parents.

When he’s not going ham on the piano, Nils is going hammer on the electronics. A concert film that legit had me up and dancing.

One of the best documentaries I’ve seen this year, and at the center of it, a fascinating human and brilliant artist who deserves every drop of recognition he gets. RIP.

​​My favorite film from Jarman - where all the experimentation and singular artistry that made him such an icon came together and were at their best.

Firmly in the A-tier of style-over-substance horror films (no small feat). Not many filmmakers out there who’ve been better than Cosmatos at translating pure, uncut Lovecraftian horror onto the silver screen.

An absolute breeding ground of ideas, whether visual, conceptual, or philosophical. Fully lives up to the best parts of the original trilogy.

The type of blockbuster epic that makes you feel like a little kid. Movie magic.

More of a fever dream than a film - which is one of my favorite non-genre related movie categories. It takes the most absurd parts of children’s media from the 20th century, mixes it with endless references kids are far too young to understand, and crams it all into 105 minutes of chaos.

The previously mentioned Coda might be one of the best documentaries I’ve seen all year, but Faya Dayi is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in my life. Link in stories to my extended LB write-up.