Few things in life comfort me like time spent watching a good movie. I don’t necessarily condone escapism in the face of difficulty, but movies can produce a microdosed effect of ease. Life, as is often the case, has presented me with some difficulties recently that have boosted my stress. I have a mind that runs like a freight train when I get worked up; unable to stop until an inevitable crash which, as the saying goes, people would be unable to take their eyes off of.
Although it gets tiresome to write about discomfort and anxiety sometimes, it remains very cathartic for me to jot down my thoughts and post them. To me, it gives the feeling of watching a fall-colored leaf drift down a stream. Pointed red, yellow, and orange flakes of the season lazily floating with the slow-moving current of water underneath it. And on top of that leaf is an anxious thought which I happily placed there and waved goodbye to. Acknowledge, feel, and let go. That’s the routine I try to follow with any anxieties I have.
This is all easier said than done, as I become inundated with responsibilities and situations which seem tailor-made to drive my heart rate through the roof. But, like I said, I always have movies. And the unique joy that I feel when I watch a good movie is something I just want to share with everyone.
Sinners (2025)
This isn’t going to be a think-piece about Sinners, I’ll leave that to the wonderful YouTubers who write and film video essays with such informative insights that I wonder how they even began to formulate such ideas.
Just know that this movie is it. If you want sexy, this film has it. If you want action, this film’s third act may interest you. If you want layered, nuanced writing with plotlines steeped in history, Ryan Coogler is your guy. If you want epic performances and dialogue dripping with life and realism, the cast of Sinners has you covered.
My shoutouts here are going to be for Miles Caton and Jack O’Connell.
What an absolutely stunning debut for Miles Caton. I actually can’t think of a better acting debut in recent memory. There is something so relatable and realistic in his character, the way he acts is a product of both the burden placed on his shoulders by his father and his aspirations for greatness. He chases after the shadows of his cousins, Smoke and Stack, and ends up the only one of the three characters who lives a long and full life. Through trial and hardship, he forges his own path through life. And the singing. Wow. If you search Miles Caton on Spotify, his only available song prior to Sinners is, funnily, a sort of PartyNextDoor RnB emulation with autotune and sticky rap beats. I won’t disparage that at all, it’s a good song, but get rid of that autotune and put a guitar in his hand and you’ve got a bona fide blues musician. With the voice of an angel to boot. He will undoubtedly have a fantastic career with his skills.
And Jack O’Connell, I was not familiar with your game. I haven’t seen Skins, but his performance in Sinners is both haunting and hilarious. He carries the brunt of brutality and violence in this movie, and does it with gusto and a happy-go-lucky attitude that is so magnetizing. And making him Irish, a historically oppressed and culturally displaced people, was a stroke of genius on the part of Ryan Coogler. Anyone who didn’t like the culturally homogenized and brainwashed Irish jig scene probably has no joy or love of movies in their heart. Jack O’Connell, who is having the career surge of a lifetime, may be popping up later in this very essay.
Sunshine (2007)
This movie has certainly grown in my estimation since I watched it earlier this month. A mid aughts sci-fi written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle. While rough around the edges, and featuring Alex Garland’s signature style of dialogue which is alienating to some, the major themes of the film are worth the consideration that the plot gives them.
Featuring what many would consider a disastrous third act, the hallmarks of the plot leading into that “train wreck” are human frailty and faith versus science. To demonstrate these ideas, the ensemble cast does a lot of legwork in their subtle actions, facial expressions, and dialogue. I won’t spoil the plot because this one is worth watching blind, if only for the sole reason of experiencing the novelty of the set and sound design, which are stupendous. It’s in the vein of Star Wars and now Dune, which have such unique-looking technology and iconic sounds that stick in your head. And yet, these aspects that seem to pop off the screen and take residence in the fold of your brain merely belie a unique character study of a small crew on a spacecraft hurtling towards the sun.
What does it mean to be human? What are our responsibilities to our fellow person? How far will science carry us? Can we band together to save ourselves, or will we be ripped apart by intrinsic conflict?
Sunshine is worth the watch if you enjoy sci-fi, and a movie that makes you think.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Just because I put a movie on this list does not mean it’s for everyone. And just because I put a movie on this list does not mean it’s a feel-good movie. Requiem for a Dream is one such example of this.
Obscenely alienating. Crushingly depressing. Terribly disgusting. And yet, of the movies on this list, this is probably the one that has occupied the most of my brain. The plight of the characters being on such prominent display in four separate storylines borders on sadism for almost the entirety of the film. And no one, not a single main character, gets a happy ending. If you are squeamish, or don’t particularly delight in the downfall of fictional characters, do yourself a favor and skip this one because you will end up emotionally shattered.
So you may be asking why I would include Requiem in this particular list. From a writing and story plotting perspective, this film has the intangible sauce that just elevates it to another level for me. In a clear, symbolic structure like this one which plots the lives of the four main characters onto the seasons of the year, it would be difficult for an inexperienced director to innovate and surprise the audience. The inventiveness comes from the dexterity with which these four characters are intertwined and yet experience their own story arc. In 100 minutes, a rise and fall is shown for every character, melding and morphing by the end of the film to become just a monstrously heartbreaking, collective collapse of the plot. And each actor is fucking good. Even Jared “Morbius” Leto got me to genuinely fret over his character’s demise. There is uniqueness and subtlety to each character that lends to their specific fall.
And the editing is just one of those things that you either love or you don’t. Quick, incongruent shots with incongruent, cartoonish sounds are meant to symbolize the quickness with which life is experienced and wasted. Drugs are bad, stealing is bad, we are all doomed to fail at the hands of our vices. Still, there is a tenderly emotional aspect to the plot. We all just want to form connections. We all want to love and feel loved. We will all do things that may be frowned upon in pursuit of interpersonal bonds.
I may or may not watch this film ever again, but I do still love it.
28 Years Later (2025)
This one may actually qualify as feel-good depending on how you interpret the plot, specifically the second half. 28 Years Later definitely does not qualify as a film for everyone, though.
Since this one is still relatively new, I will avoid talking about the plot like I’m allergic. All I can say is to go watch it. Form your own opinions. Don’t fall into the trap of closing yourself off to any movie because of what other people say.
This one watches like an ancient, yet futuristic text. Steeped in 28 years of lore, where humanity has simultaneously halted and kept going. It’s not a nostalgia-fest like many legacy sequels are. It instead sets a meticulously-placed table, complete with silver cutlery and a starched white table cloth, only to rip the cloth away and leave the spilled feast to be picked up by the audience.
The ending of this movie is so, legitimately bonkers that if I wrote it down here you wouldn’t believe it. But don’t judge the ending based on the confusing face value, do your own research and consider what this ending might mean to a British filmmaker. For my money, this may be the most bold, daring, and absurd ending to a summer blockbuster I’ve ever seen. Even better, that absurdity is also steeped in 28 years of lore, and even further back than that. AND even better than that, is that we are supposed to get two more movies to explore this fascinating world.
No one will argue with me when I say that life is hard. Every person on Earth will experience hardship at some point in their lives. Thus, each of us needs to decide how we will react to hardship, to sadness, to anxiety, to depression, to loss, to disappointment.
My advice: Don’t allow your hardship to define your entire life. Don’t allow sadness in one part of your life seep into and infect the rest. Acknowledge your hardship, place it on the leaf, and wave goodbye to it. And while you’re at it, engage with art that you enjoy to garner more freedom and happiness from life.
Thanks for reading. Love ya.
-Spencer Harvey