Metropolis isn't difficult me to review. It was clearly a great achievement for its time and has been very influential. Still, I connect much better to other sign with films like those of Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd. This was my first time watching the full 2 and 1/2 hour version and I think that definitely helps.

The Lives of Others packs a wallop today, probably even more so than in 2006. The reminder of what an effective Western police state is like is needed by many, though the horrors of the Iron Curtain are probably fading from memory. I doubt that more than 10% of Americans under 40 recognize the word "Stasi", let alone realize how closely East Germany in 1984 resembled the book 1984. While it is a slow burn, its multiple part epilogue pays off unreasonably well. "To think that people like you ruled a country." And they do again my friend. They do again.

Match Point was both pretty good and didn't feel very Woody Allen. The fact that it was classified as a thriller felt-spoilery, since the tone just felt like a romantic drama until about 90 minutes. Jonathan Rhys Meyers had trouble carrying the movie. Scarlett Johansson and Emily Mortimer were good. It was fun to Brian Cox playing a nicer version of his Succession character. Overall, it was fine.

Seven Psychopaths did not work for me. It was a mess. The highlight for me was realizing that I have face-blindness for Sam Rockwell. I have probably seen him in a dozen movies, but each time I have to figure out who he is, by process of elimination.