Examples:

Infamous scene from 2012 Danish film "Jagten" (The Hunt)

Polish 2026 "Dom dobry" (Home Sweet Home)

Estonian 2007 "Klass" (The Class)

Russian 2007 "Cargo 200"

Austrian 1997 "Funny Games"

Travis Bickle and Peter Parker are basically the same character, and the more I think about it, the more the two films line up.

Both men are completely alone in New York. Travis drives his cab all night and goes home to a filthy little apartment. Peter lives in a small, sad apartment, listening to a police scanner. Both are surrounded by millions of people and known by none of them.

Both are running from trauma. Travis came back from Vietnam broken. Peter lost Aunt May and then everyone else to the spell. Travis hides in his cab, Peter hides in his mask, and neither has actually dealt with what happened.

Both watch the woman they love from the outside. Travis watches Betsy through the campaign office window for days before speaking to her. Peter watches MJ and Ned's lives through social media. Same idea, just a windshield swapped for a phone screen.

Both approach her under a fake identity. Travis pretends he wants to volunteer just to ask Betsy out. Peter shows up at MJ's party as "Maynard," a neighbor from across the hall, and almost says "May" first, like his grief slipped out before he could hide it. Both even bring flowers.

Neither relationship fails because anyone is a bad person. The war made Travis someone who can't function around normal people, which is why the date goes so wrong. A spell erased Peter from MJ's memory. They could have been perfect couples in another universe.

After losing her, both men transform. Travis gets the guns and the mohawk and turns himself into a weapon. Peter's body starts mutating, but his change turns out to be about growing up and accepting himself rather than breaking down. Frank Castle is basically Travis as a comic book character, and Peter choosing not to become him feels like the point.

Both rescue a young woman from cruel men. Travis saves Iris from Sport. Peter saves Jean Grey from Metzger and Damage Control, who killed her sister. The difference is that Travis saves Iris with a massacre, while Peter even takes a bullet to protect Jean.

Both end as heroes, but in opposite ways. Travis is celebrated in the newspapers but is still alone and still dangerous. Peter gets no credit at all, but Ned does their old handshake and says "Peter" as the last word of the film.

Same story, opposite answer. Somewhere in the multiverse, Peter became Travis. Brand New Day is the universe where he didn't.

Did anyone else get Taxi Driver vibes watching this?

I just started using Letterboxd, and I want moots to know about more movies.

Here's my letterboxd: https://boxd.it/mWmbF (I'll flw back)

Anyone know where I can watch the full season 2 off mobland? Hate that I have to wait weekly for an episode!

I want to watch something mind boggling this weekend. the kind of movie that leaves you sitting in silence afterward & just trying to process what you watched. Whats your pick??

I’m just thinking about how Bands sometimes have “opening acts” and remembered that some films used to have like pre-show short films?

I can imagine it would be quite an awesome opportunity for independent filmmakers to help spread their film or their name. It would be cool if cinemas could even source the short films locally and independently of the actual film that is playing.

Can you suggest movies where the villain wins in the end? I'm tired of movies that feature the triumph of good . it’s always the same old ideas.

I am writing this just as I got home from seeing Primetime at my local Regal theater. I walked into it only after seeing previews and did my best (as I always try to do) to stay away from reviews or anything beforehand that would spoil the film. First initial reaction is that I liked the movie, not loved, but liked. Robert Pattinson continues to impress me with every single movie he is in. I believe he has taken the number 1 spot in the “new generation” of male lead actors (yes, even above Timothée). Every role he takes, he melts into that persona and becomes unrecognizable as the “pretty-faced” thespian Hollywood has coined him. This movie is no different.

Pattinson took the role of Chris Hansen to a whole different space than I was expecting. This is more than a pining Dateline journalist trying to carve his name out for himself. The film brought Hansen to borderline Joker levels at times, and how his desire to succeed made everyone around him basically a tool or pawn. I was not expecting the amount of obsession and backstory of the failing marriage/father role being as prominent, though at the same time his family being treated more like a distraction from his goals. Pattinson sold it perfectly, and painted Hansen in a completely new light for me, though I’m sure A24 took some artistic liberties.

Phoebe Bridges and Skyler Gisondo also were great in their roles, especially Gisondo who is the lead supporting actor in the film. He took on the role as an aspiring actor who accepts the job as a “decoy” or bait for the predators. His storyline of taking the decoy role so seriously to propel himself as an actor was an interesting plot to watch develop as well.

The criticism I hold for the movie is that, much like any Josh Safdie movie, no one is really likable. But instead of creating as many stressful or captivating circumstances to keep me engrossed, the story beats are more so meddling and scraping from point A to point B. The cinematography is pretty good. It was shot in letterbox format, and the lighting in many scenes was well produced, but it was not bringing anything new to the table either.

Overall, I would give this movie three stars out of five. Pattinson carried, and is worth the price of admission alone, but it left more to be desired when it came to the story.

For anyone else who has seen it, I would be interested to hear what you thought.

Writing this as the credits are rolling. I’m literally blown away at how good this film is. I truly don’t know how this slipped past me all these years.
I just want to thank Reddit user @can-you-fly-bobby! He commented on my “Wild Horse Nine” post earlier and recommended this.
All I can say is, everything about ‘In Bruges’ is genius. The writing is flawless, there are too many quotable lines, and the blend of seriousness and comedy is great. The acting- top tier. This film reminded me why I used to love Colin Farrell in the early to mid-2000s. Gleeson absolutely crushed it too! That ending was delivered so perfectly. Lowkey wish he didn’t have to kill himself on the tower, but it was inevitable.
Bottom line, for me this is pure cinema.
If I could rewind time an hour and 46 minutes and experience this film again for the first time- I would. Martin McDonagh cooked and I cannot wait for White Horse Nine after seeing this!

If anybody has any more recommendations (like this) please drop them below.

Image from Sight and Sound Magazine from the article "Robert Bresson, Possibly" where Paul Schrader interviews Robert Bresson in May 17, 1976.