#AprilMovieChallenge - a critic My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) This is such a fun movie with a killer soundtrack. Julianne is a New York City food critic.  @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - cheese A Grand Day Out (1989) Wallace and Gromit’s first film remains a classic. Clever, charming and funny. Cheese isn’t just a random detail, it’s the entire motivation for the story. @januarymovie.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - farm animal #AprilMovieChallenge - someone befriends an animal Babe (1995) A simple story about strength through empathy and nonviolence. Should be requiredi viewing for those in power. @januarymovie.bsky.social @omacolt.bsky.social

The famous Andor line is that "tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle." Here is a perfect example of that through malicious compliance: Idaho forced the city of Boise to remove its Pride flags. So the city painted rainbows everywhere else.

#AprilMovieChallenge - someone surrenders  Les Miserables  (1934) Jean Valjean decides to give himself up to Javert to save someone who has been mistaken for him. Yes it’s almost 5 hours, but it’s the best of the many adaptations of Hugo’s 1862 novel.  @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallengr - antique The Red Violin (1998) An extremely valuable old violin passes through time and across the world, usually underestimated. Intelligent and artistic with a beautiful score. @januarymovie.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge- children #AprilMovieChallenge- British prime minister HP & The Deathly Hollows Pt 2 (2011) After Voldemort’s defeat, Kingsley Shacklebolt becomes the new minister of magic. He reforms it & makes it more just and inclusive @januarymovie.bsky.social @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge -health #AprilMovieChallenge -a communist The Miracle Worker (1962) Deaf and blind due to illness, Helen Keller (who was a supporter of the Bolshevik revolution), is taught by Anne Sullivan. Bancroft is brilliant. @januarymovie.bsky.social @omacolt.bsky.social

Emilio Estevez on making Maximum Overdrive

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - astronomer Asteroid City (2023) I both admire this film and felt disconnected by it. It’s emotionally distant and not a top 5 Anderson, but ultimately I’d give it a thumbs up. Always good Tilda Swinton is astronomer Dr Hickenlooper. @januarymovie.bsky.social

#AprilMovieChallenge - followers of a religious group Starship Troopers (1997) A group of fundamentalist mormons settle Port Joe Smith to escape federation control. Unfortunately it’s deep inside arachnoid territory. 😳 @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge -road map #AprilMovieChallenge -basketball player The Muppets (2011) The muppets save time by traveling by map. Actors John Kransinski and Jason Segal are both reasonably tall athletes who played basketball in high school. @januarymovie.bsky.social @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - comedian Aladdin (1992) Robin Williams was a great dramatic actor, but for me his opus magnum is his role as Genie, which is as close as it gets to the  explosive energy and improvisation he showed in his stand up comedy acts.  @januarymovie.bsky.social

#AprilMovieChallenge - civil rights leader The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) I show my students this documentary when I teach constitutional law. It’s more engaging than the biographical drama Milk, and its educational value is strong. 10/10 ⭐️s @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - stress #AprilMovieChallenge -cordless phone Scream (1996) Craven takes a simple call and turns it into a prolonged, stressful opening scene. He kills off the biggest star in the film and lets us know we are in for a ride. @januarymovie.bsky.social @omacolt.bsky.social

#AprilMovieChallenge - smoking / organized crime Johnny Dangerously (1984) Young Johnny gives Ma Kelly an ashtray. She is so grateful she decides to take up smoking. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - burrito Mitchells vs the Machines (2021) The robots want order but they don’t get that it’s the chaos of humans that provide value. Including wrapping breakfast food in a burrito. @januarymovie.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - a letter Wicked (2024) “Dearest, darlingest Momsie and Popsical My dear Father There's been some confusion over rooming here at Shiz . . .” @januarymovie.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - favorite Giallo Cemetery Man (1994) I don’t think I’ve seen a single Giallo. Cemetery Man is Italian cult classic horror, if a bit confusing. So I’ll cheat and call it Giallo adjacent.

#MarchMovieChallenge - Eiffel Tower Ratatouille (2007) I can make an argument that this is the best of the Pixar movies. Thanks for a fun month @omacolt.bsky.social

#MarchMovieChallenge - writes with a pencil A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) “Dear Santa, how have you been? Did you have a nice summer? How’s your wife?” I love Sally’s letter to Santa. Snoopy dictates typed letters. But all other Peanut’s characters write with pencils. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - Alaska Grizzly Man (2005) Herzog is a fascinating filmmaker both with his fiction and documentaries like Grizzly Man. This one is powerful and tragic but you can’t look away. @fredforthemets

When my dad died I didn’t want any physical possessions. I’m pretty extreme in my minimalism. But somehow I ended up with this, his copper hose nozzle. It’s decades old and works like new. Whenever I water the garden it triggers nostalgia. Miss my pops.

My wish for you (yes I’m specifically talking to you) is the same wish Edward Abbey made, that the folks at B terminal Salt Lake International Airport reminds us of.

@januarymovie.bsky.social #Bales2026MovieChallenge Play along with me in April!

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - baseball #MarchMovieChallenge - somebody reunited Field of Dreams (1989)   Baseball has inspired some truly great movies. Moonlight and Mann reunite with the past. Ray reunites with . . . No spoilers from me. 10/10 ⭐️stars @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - set in Spain Pan’s Labyrinth (2009) Powerful adult themes blended with childlike imagination. My introduction to del Toro remains my favorite del Toro.

#FebruaryMovieChallenge - Hollywood boulevard Sunset boulevard (1959) "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up When the Time Machine is invented I’m going to visit the glamour of old Hollywood. @omacolt.bsky.social

Want to feel old? Wishing the great Richard O'Brien a happy 84th birthday, 3/25/1942. If only I had half of Riff Raff's swagger...what could I have done with my life? So talented & forever immortalized in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. #filmsky 📽 #horrorsky

#MarchMovieChallenge - dance to Latin music Y tú mama también (2001) The 7 minute long single take beach bar dance scene is used as a way for the characters to loosen up emotionally and Verdú to connect with both boys. It’s executed naturally and brilliantly. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - Tarantino Inglorious Basterds (2009) Not the best Tarantino. But the opening scene is among the best 20 minutes of film ever made. A simple conversation becomes a masterclass in suspense. Dialogue is the weapon. Executed perfectly.

#Bales2026FilmChallenge -Middle East #MarchMovieChallenge -protests The seed of the sacred fig (2024) This sad war has me thinking about this brave and moving film about a family during the political protests in Iran against the authoritarian government. @omacolt.bsky.social

#MarchMovieChallenge - graduation ceremony St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) The Brat Pack grows up. They graduate in the first scene. It’s not very good but the soundtrack is. @omacolt

#Bales2026FilmChallenge - a labor movement  Billy Elliot (2000) The background is a glimpse of the 1984 miner’s strike and the impact on the poor of Thatcherism in general.  A government willing to use force to suppress dissent (expressed to London Calling).

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - infectious disease Princess Mononoke (1997) After his arm is infected by the cursed demon infection spreading throughout the population, Ashitaka searches for a cure. My introduction to Miyazaki remains one of my favorites.

#MarchMovieChallenge - magic trick Twilight Zone: the Movie (1983) In the “it’s a good life” segment, Anthony forces uncle Walt to pull a mutant rabbit out of a hat. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - elevator Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) Dahl disapproved of the 1971 film and this refused to grant rights to the sequel, Charlie and the great glass elevator. But we do glimpse the wonkavator at the end of the film.

#MarchMovieChallenge - someone says ok The Sound of Metal (2019) One of the best movies I saw this year. Rueben loses his hearing but accepts the impermanence of life and finds peace. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - a boat #MarchMovieChallenge - athletic women Nyad (2023) Gripping character driven underdog story of 60 yr old Diana Nyad’s swim from Florida to Cuba. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - prison #MarchMovieChallenge - goes looking for someone The Crying Game (1992) British soldier Jody is taken prisoner and may be executed if an IRA prisoner is not released from prison. He asks Fergus to look for his girlfriend if he dies. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - France #MarchMovieChallenge - under the weather I lost my body (2019) Naoufel suffers both mentally and physically as he tries to find connection in his life in France and his severed hand seeks to reunite with his body. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallengr - puppets #MarchMovieChallenge - casino Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) To match the way he looked in episode 5 Yoda is a puppet rather than CGI. Finn and Rose search for the code breaker (del Toro) at the casino Canto Bright. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - art Loving Vincent (1994) I love this love letter to Vincent Van Gough.

#MarchMovieChallenge - classic car Harold and Maude (1971) Harold gets my dream car for a birthday present and then turns it into a hearse. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - set in Ireland  #MarchMovieChallenge - someone Irish  The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) A magical mythical story, quiet but profound, told from the perspective of a child, but made for everyone. @omacolt.bsky.social

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - Jerry Lewis The King of Comedy (1982) I haven’t seen many Jerry Lewis films. I know he is a comedian but I like him as a serious and exhausted performer in this cult classic.

#MarchMovieChallenge - military academy The Lords of Discipline (1983) Intriguing premise, but ultimately not executed well. But its cast includes some who went on to bigger things. @omacolt.bsky.social

Finally finished each of the nominated films in the best animated category. None are bad films, but this has to be the worst year for animation in a long time. (Despite it being a strong year for film generally).

#Bales2026MovieChallenge - set in Italy The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) My favorite Ripley movie is a stylish feast for the eyes and it had me smiling for over 2 hours. Blanchett, Damon and Paltrow are excellent. But it’s Hoffman who takes the film to the next level.

#MarchMovieChallenge - set in Maine Wet Hot American Summer (2001) Misleading title for this comedy set in a Maine summer camp. It’s actually more sweet and silly than tawdry. But I don’t gets it’s cult following. It’s just ok. @omacolt.bsky.social