Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004): There are few movies which prove that people can watch mainstream movies that don’t feel like mainstream movies. Eternal Sunshine is one of them. Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry have created an irreverent, wholly relatable story about one of the cycles of life that most of us are guaranteed to come across at least several times while we’re around – falling in and out of love with someone. And the inevitability of being attracted to the same kinds of people, if not literally the same people, for better and for worse. It’s tough to put labels on ESotSM, because it’s romantic, it’s fatalistic, it’s nihilistic and it’s silly. I always felt the silliness it so readily embraces is its one weakness, but at the same time it is a testament to how magically calibrated everything is, that it just…works. Rewatching the movie after so many years, I still felt the same emotions from more than twenty years ago, suffering alongside Clem and Joel. I was also surprised by how unfamiliar its structure and plot beats are, which to me means that Eternal Sunshine demands your attention and your presence. So un-mainstream, in way that makes one proud to identify as a lover of the vaguely unfamiliar familiar. I’m babbling. I love it. Great stuff. 9
Slanted (2025): I’m really not sure how to feel about this one. A body horror with some complicated entrapments about the way society handles identity politics. Yet, it’s never particularly exciting, nor is it hard-hitting in its moral posturing, or even its observational insights. The idea is that Joan (Shirley Chen) has always wanted to feel like she belongs, but as an immigrant it wasn’t easy. Her dream of becoming prom queen is tied into her (in)ability to becoming the primal blonde archetype that is expected. While her parents have a two-person unit that keeps them centered, Joan is adrift – until she is found by a mysterious medical facility that offers, essentially, ethnic transitions. You can kind of imagine the rest. Still, I think there’s enough here to warrant a watch, given that it has been on my mind for a while. 6
Cold Storage (2026): A movie with Return of the Living Dead throwback vibes (and many other movies of the time), Cold Storage doesn’t quite know how funny it wants to be. As it stands, it’s a bit amusing, in an otherwise familiar body snatchers situation. Having Liam Neeson in is part of its trouble/mystique, especially since Neeson’s own recent positioning as an action-hero-cum-comedian. Which is not to say that Cold Storage doesn’t have its charm, thanks to both its cast (Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell in the leads) and some over-the-top moments. All in all, most likely one of the genre fans than anything else. 6
Itch! (2024): A zombie-adjacent scenario with strong B-movie vibes, this indie flick is expectedly flawed, but still rewarding for genre fans. It’s all familiar characters and set-up with distinctly average acting, aided by decent sound design and a gritty look. We’ve got a widowed dad who’s struggling with his daughter, who refuses to talk. The dad is played by Bari Kang, who also wrote and directed the film. What should be a banal day at work in New York quickly turns into something different, as reports of a viral itch start to dominate the news. The handful of people who end up sheltered in our ailing dad’s convenience store struggle to get along and there’s this distinct feeling that everyone’s time will come. Been there, done that, but I got the sense that there were a few surprisingly honest and authentic moment sprinkled in. Very much a decent fare. 6
Can’t Hardly Wait (1998): This one falls into the category of funny “why does everything feel so familiar” territory. I was certain I hadn’t seen it, but apparently I forgot I had a bit of a crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt when I was a teenager and this is one of her referential works. To be fair, the whole cast of CHW is impressive, with Lauren Ambrose, Seth Green, Peter Facinelli, Ethan Embry, Donald Faizon, Freddy Rodriguez, Jason Segel, Clea DuVall, Jerry O’Connell and Breckin Meyer making appearances. Sorry, that was more than a handful. The plot takes us along the emotional exploits of Preston (Embry), who is trying really hard to act on his obsession over Amanda (Hewitt), as she is dumped at the end of high-school by her jock boyfriend (Facinelli). It’s all very much a movie of its time, which I definitely disliked when I first saw it. Now, there’s that tinge of nostalgia that makes everything a tiny bit more tolerable, whether it’s CHW of George W. 5
tributary stu 
Leave a comment