The first Spike joint I ever saw, and it still rips. Smart, fun and perfectly paced. I wish Clive coulda stuck around with great roles in the modern era, the way he handles a two-hander with Denzel.

Maybe it's the Spurs/Knicks excitement in the air, but I loved this so much. All the signatures are here. It's great when a Spike Lee joint feels and SOUNDS like a Spike Lee joint. And this time it's not even scored by Terence Blanchard or Bill Lee — it perfectly uses an Aaron Copland pre-comp. The Howard Drossin choice last year makes even less sense, now.

Pizza is more in demand than decency.

Hooptober 12 — 7/31

You know it's Hooptober season in Austin when multiple people are waitlisting Cat People at the library. I'll keep my copy for less than a day (library karma, to make whoever checked out Phantom of the Paradise over a month ago finally return it).

Oh yeah, the movie! Beautiful lighting. The shadows give their own performance. Early noir inspo.