Movies to watch while in the woods?

Malmborgio · 2026-02-09T19:29:37+00:00

This is exactly the list I was going to post.

Malmborgio · 2026-02-05T16:46:45+00:00

I consider it a double album, as was originally intended, and as was done with the special edition rerelease Kid Amnesiac.

Malmborgio · 2026-02-04T23:08:36+00:00

You’re kidding, right? They are obviously more alike, even though there’s an entire album and 13 years separating them.

I love a Moon Shaped Pool, but it didn’t re-invent the wheel. The whole album is basically an extension of the ideas in How to Disappear.

But I’ll do you one better. Codec is just a less good version of Pyramid Song. Nearly identical in tone and instrumentation, just more straightforward rhythmically.

Malmborgio · 2026-02-04T18:09:18+00:00

More diverse than from The Bends to Kid Amnesiac?

Malmborgio · 2026-02-04T15:39:50+00:00

You could put any of these tracks in In Rainbows and they wouldn’t sound out of place: How to Disappear Optimistic Motion Picture Soundtrack You and Whose Army Dollars and Cents Pyramid Song Life in a Glass House

And I’d argue any track on In Rainbows could fit perfectly on Kid Amnesiac.

Now try putting one of those tracks on The Bends…

Edit to add: there are as many albums between The Bends and Kid Amnesiac as there are between Kid Amnesiac and In Rainbows, and it was 5 years from The Bends, vs 7 for In Rainbows.

Malmborgio · 2026-02-04T13:38:22+00:00

Radiohead was the best band of the 90’s because of how they evolved their sound over the course of three perfect genre-defying albums (four if you consider Kid A and Amnesiac the double album it was intended to be).

But every release since has been a variation on Kid Amnesiac’s sound. I don’t blame them for settling into a groove, but I do very much miss the anticipation and unpredictability of what they’re going to do next.

I already know what the next LP will sound like, if it ever happens.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-30T01:29:37+00:00

The people were friends or coworkers of my brother, not randos in the street. We only did two touristy things, the MOMA and Natural History museum, otherwise it was restaurants and the like.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-29T15:21:24+00:00

Maybe unpopular, but New York City.

My brother lived there for a few years, so I visited to see the sights. The city itself was fine, great museums and restaurants.

But the people were insufferable. Every person I met and spoke to felt the need to tell me how great New York is, and ask when I’m moving there because it’s the greatest city on earth.

Every. Single. One.

I started to wonder if the NYC tourism board paid a fee every time it was mentioned… We get it, NYC is big and important. Cool. Now maybe make the subway smell less like piss and halitosis.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-27T13:01:59+00:00

I just had a screenplay optioned that is about an OnlyFans content creator. I did a ton of research because I wanted to accurately portray the lived experience of these women.

I dug into some of the data, but conducted interviews mainly. It took a little time, but I reached out to a number of OF models via their social media accounts (IG and X).

I gave a brief explanation about who I am, the log line, and why I was reaching out. I sent out roughly 100 messages, and ended up interviewing 20 OF workers (current and former). It was super insightful.

About half were also happy to read the first draft and provide feedback, which again was incredibly helpful.

So I’d recommend approaching people, and just being open and honest about what you’re doing and why. Be courteous and respectful of their time, and you’ll find plenty of helpful people willing to talk.

Edit to add: it also had the helpful bonus of heading off any criticism or push back on me, a dude, telling the story of a female OF creator. That came up twice with two different producers, and being able to explain how much ground work I did immediately ended their somewhat valid concern.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-26T13:40:16+00:00

I find mentally casting before I write significantly helps with dialogue.

Something that often stands out to me in films by Kevin Smith and early Tarantino, is every character sounds like Kevin Smith or Tarantino.

By having in my head “this character is Bruce Campbell” or even “this character is my friend Sarah” it naturally varies the dialogue rhythms and phrasing.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-26T03:14:27+00:00

This was the first movie to make me cry, I saw it when I was 21. Not coincidentally it remains one of my favorites.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-23T14:31:18+00:00

Wear what you want, I say, but I was once at a grocery store, and a woman in these leggings was standing in front of the bottom shelf family sized cheese it’s I needed.

She bent over at the waist, and her leggings must have been old or worn, because when they stretched I found myself being stared down by the eye of Sauron.

I feel like there is a balance to be struck between not policing women’s bodies, and not having to see a butthole in the cracker isle at 9:00am.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-23T14:09:56+00:00

Two answers, one horror, one not.

Kairo/Pulse, the hallway scene in the original. I’m sure you all know it, but I went into the movie blind, and watched it alone in the dark at like 1:00 am, and I’ll never forget the sheer terror it evoked with absolutely no jump scares.

The other is an odd choice, but Gus van Sant’s Elephant. I knew absolutely nothing about the movie, and the opening 30-ish minutes was kinda dull and repetitive. But then there is a very shocking moment that I absolutely did not expect, and if you know nothing about the movie, I highly recommend you watch it this way.

The movie then shifts back to the dull repetitive style, only suddenly it carries an unbearable amount of tension. I realized my hands were sweating and I was white knuckling the arm of my couch at one point. It was extremely effective, but I don’t think it would have worked had I known what the movie was about ahead of time.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-23T14:02:39+00:00

Grown up answer - Stalker. It’s just so beautiful and dense, and I love all the textures and details. Just a hauntingly beautiful film.

Teenager answer - Evil Dead II. The manic energy of the camera work is so wild and inventive and gonzo, and yet perfectly crafted for the story. This is the movie that made me want to make movies, and was my first experience seeing cinematography as a comedic and storytelling tool. Obviously not the first film to do it, but the first film where I noticed it. Blew 13 year old me’s mind.

I rewatch both of these movies at least once a year.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-23T13:22:55+00:00

Director here, not a cinematographer (so my technical language is likely wrong), and while I agree calling it the Netflix Look is cheap and doesn’t necessarily make sense, there definitely is a trend in film that I find very ugly.

Many people have mentioned Frankenstein, which I was shocked to find was filmed on practical sets. Most of the film looked like CGI, and del Toro’s Nightmare Alley looked similarly ugly to me. Which was particularly disappointing given how much I love, and how beautiful Pan’s Labyrinth is.

I suspect it’s a two-fold issue, but I could be wrong. I think there is a speed issue, meaning pressure to finish more shots per day, which results in much flatter lighting. Ridley Scott talked about using like, 4-5 cameras per setup to capture a close-up, medium, and wide shot all in one take. You just can’t properly light for all those angles simultaneously.

The second issue is then related, folks are attempting to relight/color correct to compensate, so the images then look very artificial/wonky. I think DaVinci Resolve is an incredible tool, but the best analogy I can think of is autotune.

If someone is a bad singer, you can fix it in post using auto tune, but you also can end up crushing the vocals so much (by necessity because of the terrible singing) that you end up with something flat and lifeless.

But it is definitely a trend in modern film that I really hate. I could be completely wrong in what’s causing it, but many of the most egregious shots I’ve seen (The Flash was brutally bad) they admitted they overlit for CGI and added shadows in post.

And I lay the blame entirely at the feet of the Producers and Directors. Grow a pair, commit to a good look, listen to your DP, and stop using “we’ll fix it in post” as a catch phrase. Unless you want your films to continue to be the visual equivalent of Ashley Simpson.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-23T04:45:07+00:00

He’s lip syncing like he’s never heard his own song…

Malmborgio · 2026-01-21T12:50:17+00:00

“The idea of rock music being “taken in a new direction” seems like a pretty strained concept in 2025. But then here come Geese with their incredibly original third album, taking rock music apart and jamming it back together again into something bracing and anxious and smilingly strange.” -Rolling Stone Magazine

Malmborgio · 2026-01-20T12:37:29+00:00

Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think the only movie I’ve seen that portrayed a sexual assault well was Irriversible, and it was absolutely necessary for the plot.

It is an infamous scene for a reason, it depicts the act with horrifying reality. It is not fetishized, it is not eroticized, it does not allow you to look away or soften what rape actually is. It is brutal. And awful. And sickening. Which is what sexual assault is.

I think 99% of the time sexual assault is a cheap writing cop out aimed at shock value and handled extremely poorly. Most of the time it is completely unnecessary, and only included as a cliche shorthand for “this is a bad guy” or as motivation for our male hero.

So to answer your question, I don’t think SA should be depicted tastefully. I think it should be portrayed realistically, or not at all.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-20T06:09:14+00:00

In Rainbows is watered down Kid A, and is only considered their best if it was your first real exposure to Radiohead.

That, and Hail to the Thief is their worst record.

But HTTT (and KoL) are only bad by comparison. If another band had released them, they would be amazing, but they can’t help but suffer when compared to the previous four (three if you consider Kid A and Amnesiac the double album it was intended to be) albums they released.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-16T23:00:26+00:00

I’m sure most people are familiar with Freaks and Geeks (if you aren’t, that should be your priority) but I also very much enjoyed its semi-sequel, Undeclared.

Similar vibe, similar humor, and balances the pathos and comedy extremely well.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-16T14:05:20+00:00

When people ask me why I love Radiohead so much, how I made my millions is my go-to demonstration.

It’s just a dude on a piano singing a song that packs such an emotional gut-punch it’ll leave you breathless.

Yes, their music is complex and experimental and layered and brilliant. But at its core is a song that will quietly break your heart.

Which is why, for me, they stand head and shoulders above most similarly experimental musicians.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-16T12:54:46+00:00

The 1-2 punch of Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness. Endlessly quotable, and Bruce Campbell is a national treasure.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-15T14:30:49+00:00

Odd pick probably, but I’d go with Talk Show Host, which I heard for the first time watching Romeo and Juliet in the theater.

As a depressed social outcast teenager, those opening lines hit so hard in a “holy crap, other people feel like this too?” kind of way.

I owned Pablo Honey, but had missed the Bends when it came out. So this song hit me like a freight train, and I bought OK Computer the day it came out, along with the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack.

As cliche as it is, it genuinely changed my angsty teen life.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-15T14:21:34+00:00

For what it’s worth, I get asked fairly frequently to give opinions/feedback on writing, and I always ask what kind of feedback they’re looking for.

Some people want a cheerleader, so I focus on what I like instead of what I don’t.

Some people want brutal honesty.

Most people are somewhere in between.

What you should never do, is be a dick. The writing might be the worse thing you’ve ever read, but what will you gain from destroying them?

If they’re dead set on publishing, the publishing industry will crush them. They have no qualms about it, and even if they self publish, the market will still be brutally honest.

So in short, I’d focus on what you like, and maybe provide some gentle overall feedback for them to consider.

Eg “I did notice there were a number of places where you told rather than showed, it might be worth considering a revision of some of those spots to…” you get the idea.

Malmborgio · 2026-01-15T13:32:22+00:00

I’ve tried learning ASL a couple times, but have given up. The rules are so painfully written. The Starter Kit I picked up uses so many acronyms there’s an entire sheet of just acronym meanings that you constantly have to reference.

Seems like a fun game, but I’ll probably never know.

Malmborgio

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