Best First Watches: February 2022

Apr 30

Hello! Welcome back to my journey of spending the entirety of 2022 only watching movies I haven’t seen before. You can take a look at what I loved in January here.

The Clouds of Sils Maria

This movie is essentially just a feature-length adaptation of Taylor Swift’s “Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” mixed with Kristen Stewart saying, “fuck you, I was good in Twilight.” I LOVED IT.

Double Indemnity

Last month, I included Body Heat on my list of best first watches. Not for any intelligent reasons, but simply because Kathleen Turner can like…get it. Body Heat was inspired by Double Indemnity, so it made sense to go back to the original. While not as wild as its glossy, sweaty, ’80s-erotic-thriller sibling, Double Indemnity is an absolute blast. As glossy, sweaty, and erotic-thriller-y as things could be in 1944.

Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

A documentary made from newly found archival footage of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Over 40 hours were filmed during the six-week-long festival and featured musical acts like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Nina Simone, and tons of other famous acts. The festival was forgotten and the recordings were lost until the early 2000s. Getting to see the 5th Dimension sing “Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In” was pure magic.

Goodfellas

My dad and I went through a brief mobster movie phase. And by brief, I mean we watched The Godfather and Goodfellas. Probably a hot take, but I didn’t like The Godfather at all. Everything The Godfather attempted to do, Goodfellas did better. And Goodfellas did it with Joe Pesci and without a weird horse head in a bed.

Thumbsucker

I am a Mike Mills fan first and a human being second. Thumbsucker, his directorial debut, has been on my list for ages, but it’s been impossible to find on a streaming service. Shoutout to my local library for having a DVD copy so I could finally see it. While not my favorite Mills movie, I do appreciate it as his beginning for feature-length stories. It lacks his distinct style and voice (possibly because it’s his only adaptation), but it does have some really special moments. Also, there has not been a more perfect role for Keanu Reeves than hippie dentist.

Llamageddon

Nothing but respect for the debut of a new star: Louie the Llama.

Cyrano

A last-minute addition to this list as I just saw it on Sunday. Let me tell you, this movie felt like it was plucked from my wildest dreams. Music by The National, Joe Wright returning to his woman-in-a-flowy-dress period piece movie, the yearning. This was a $30 million movie made for me and probably like four other people. I have more eloquent thoughts here, but if you enjoyed Atonement or Pride and Prejudice (2005), give this one a go.

That’s it for this month! A special shoutout to Marry Me because I cannot get that song out of my brain. Another special shoutout to The Lure for being absolutely wild, but I simply cannot in good conscience recommend it. A final shoutout to The Sixth Sense because I finally know who was dead the entire time. FINALLY.

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cyranollamageddonthumbsuckergoodfellassummer of souldouble indemnitythe clouds of sils maria

Tina Kakadelis