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Ethan Wolfe

Sunday Night Cinema

Ethan Wolfe (he/him)


A selection of five movies, each perfect for a lazy night at home.  


Human Traffic (1999) Music, Welsh  

A comedy about five friends in Cardiff, Wales, set over one weekend out. It’s a great window  into the music scene of the time, featuring great late 90s early 2000s fashion, and the best film  depiction of MDMA I’ve ever seen. It uses each character to tell touchingly human stories. Jip  and Lulu struggle with sexual hang-ups, Koop tries to sort out relationship jealousy, and Moff begins to deal with the consequences of his aimless, drug-fueled lifestyle. The real star though is  the soundtrack, a showcase of the many moods of UK electronic music.  


All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022) Documentary, Independent  

A documentary by photographer Nan Goldin, that covers both her personal life and career, as  well as her current activist efforts against the Sackler family, the creators of OxyContin. The part  covering her career delves into the pain of her personal life and the impact of it on her work,  which covers queer subculture and her personal relationships. The part on her activism shows her  efforts against pushing the Sackler family name out of the art world, a tactic they used to give  themselves a positive image, and her staggeringly effective results.  


Half Baked (1998) Comedy, Cult  

A great stoner comedy co-written by and starring Dave Chappelle, with cameos including Snoop  Dogg, Willie Nelson, John Stewart, and more. Dave Chappelle definitely carries the movie with  witty writing and great comedic timing, and he also managed to work in narration in a way that  doesn’t come off as obnoxious or lazy. When you want to get stoned and watch a movie, you  want something that’s entertaining and simple enough that you can enjoy it without having to  pay too much attention, while also including lots of little details and sequences for you to fixate  on. Half Baked walks that line perfectly, and unlike a lot of stoner movies, it’s still good if you’re  sober.  


A Scanner Darkly (2006) Sci-Fi, Animated  

A real odd-ball of a movie in a good way. Fronted by an all-star cast of Keanu Reeves, Winona  Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., and Woody Harrelson, based on a novel of the same name, and  covering some pretty heavy topics such as the war on drugs, rehab, and addiction. It’s set in the  not-too-distant future where the U.S. has lost the war on drugs and is being plagued by a new,  ultra-addictive drug called Substance D. It’s a sci-fi thriller that really keeps you guessing and  builds to a fantastic pay-off, and is definitely worth a watch for the one time.  


Trainspotting (1993) Drama, Scottish  

A film that seeks to answer questions that hopefully most of us will never find the answers to  through our own experience, such as: Why do people do heroin? Why do people continue to do  heroin? What is it like to get off of it? And what is it actually like to live as an addict? The film does this while also digging into the everyday relatable issues surrounding friends, relationships,  and trying to find your direction in life. It also includes some amazing comic relief and manages  to come off as a comedy, gritty crime film, inter-personal drama, and heist movie all rolled into  one.


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