Don Hall 12/27/23 Don Hall 12/27/23

I Like to Watch | The Best Movies of 2023

In assessing my favorites for the year, I look at my initial reaction, how long the film sits with me, and whether or not I want to see it repeatedly after.

Don Hall 7/15/23 Don Hall 7/15/23

I Like to Watch | Films that Reflect My Reflection

I am on a loop of looking into my past as if there is no future worth thinking about like a self-involved accident victim, only able to see and feel the scars of yesterday.

Don Hall 4/27/23 Don Hall 4/27/23

I Like to Watch | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

It is rare to sit down to watch a beloved film that has sat upon the shelf out of sheer, numbing dread to view it again.

Don Hall 3/14/23 Don Hall 3/14/23

I Like to Watch | Oscars 95

What was different this time was I didn’t really care who won. For there to be a winner, there likewise must then be losers. Otherwise the prize has no meaning or value.

Don Hall 1/19/23 Don Hall 1/19/23

I Like to Watch | TÁR

The discovery of my years is that when you refuse to take sides in a dispute that has little to do with you, you present a litmus test for those with perceived skin in the game unintended.

Don Hall 1/5/23 Don Hall 1/5/23

I Like to Watch | Babylon (2022)

It's rare to meet a genius.

The term is overused like hero or trauma or dangerous. To meet a bona fide groundbreaker, a genius in his own right, someone who created something that history has dictated is important scientifically or culturally, is rare.

Don Hall 12/8/22 Don Hall 12/8/22

I Like to Watch | The Best and Worst of 2022

Doesn't Schrader know that there was a rogue wave that hit a cruise ship and pulled a woman overboard? Is he aware of the fact the democracy is ending... what? It didn't end? What the fuck?

Don Hall 11/26/22 Don Hall 11/26/22

I Like to Watch | Barbarian (2022)

This is a truly imaginative, risky film. The script is great, the performances (especially Campbell) are stellar, and nothing about this smart, idea-driven monster movie is anything but outside the box.

Don Hall 11/17/22 Don Hall 11/17/22

I Like to Watch | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

His leading actor died. Instead of replacing him or finding a convenient way to deal with it, Coogler embraced the death as a part of the narrative, effectively honoring both Boseman and T'Challa in one fell swoop. I'm so goddamned impressed with the depth of creativity and feeling.

Don Hall 10/6/22 Don Hall 10/6/22

I Like to Watch | Blonde (2022)

I mean, Jesus Christ, we can't appreciate the horrors of existence if they all blend together like a banal and mundane black parade.

Don Hall 10/1/22 Don Hall 10/1/22

I Like to Watch | The Streaming Stories That Prop Me Up Through Chaos

I couldn't find a single documentary or program or book that deals explicitly with a husband finding out his wife of a few years embarking on a nearly three-year campaign of infidelity with a lover plus a new vocation selling herself for sex to strangers so I do my best.

Contributing Writer 9/8/22 Contributing Writer 9/8/22

I Like to Watch | What Scares You

"What scares me is what scares you. We're all afraid of the same things. That's why horror is such a powerful genre."

Don Hall 7/21/22 Don Hall 7/21/22

I Like to Watch | Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

While the world may be oversaturated with too much MCU, I'm not. I am, however, thinking Waititi might need a break. He is almost the MCU Joel Schumacher.

Don Hall 7/14/22 Don Hall 7/14/22

I Like to Watch | Elvis (2022)

Like The Greatest Showman—a movie musical that completely reframes the huckster P.T. Barnum into an equity-chasing social justice type—this is not intended to be an accurate biopic. It is a meditation on the legend that was Elvis Presley.

Don Hall 7/5/22 Don Hall 7/5/22

I Like to Watch | Best Movies to Watch for a Recently Divorced Man

When a man goes through a divorce—especially one predicated by infidelity —he is need of a few reminders and narratives.

Don Hall 6/18/22 Don Hall 6/18/22

I Like to Watch | The Rocky Saga (1976 - 2006)

This is the wisdom of Stallone. The wisdom of someone had to fight like hell just to star in the movie he wrote for himself. The wisdom of someone looked down upon, laughed at, and ignored yet refused to give up. That's the legacy of Sylvester Stallone and it is most crystallized in his character most like himself.

Don Hall 3/17/22 Don Hall 3/17/22

I Like to Watch | Nostalgia Porn

As a GenXer, I've started to notice what can only be called Nostalgia Porn as it is the practice of taking cherished memories of movies and recreating them with the same actors playing the same roles with a fresher coat of technological paint.

Don Hall 3/2/22 Don Hall 3/2/22

Seven Things Learned from Taylor Sheridan's '1883'

1883 is the tale of the Dutton ancestors traveling along the Oregon Trail (just like the early video game most of us GenXers played on ancient home computers) on the way to Montana to settle the Yellowstone/Dutton ranch. Featuring Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Isabel May, I gained an appreciation for Sheridan's work (he is the sole writer of every episode) and just finished it last night.

Don Hall 2/20/22 Don Hall 2/20/22

I Like to Watch | Inventing Anna (2022)

Why did any of these people believe in her bullshit?

Because she didn't care if you liked her. Unlike everyone else among our affirmation-addicted bunch of apes, the Anna Delvey of Shondaland didn't give two shits what you thought of her or even if you bought her bullshit.

Don Hall 2/8/22 Don Hall 2/8/22

I Like to Watch | Magnolia (1999)

When I went to see Magnolia I discovered a film that captured this concept more clearly, more beautifully, than I could have ever conceived of myself. I was transcendent.