🎬 Women Behind the Camera, Chasing Greatness

Celebrating standout films directed by women, spotlighting a haunting reader pick, and breaking down Kathryn Bigelow’s legendary Point Break chase scene.

🎯 Question of the Day
What’s your favorite movie directed by a woman?
Hollywood hasn’t always made space for women behind the camera, but that hasn’t stopped countless women from creating unforgettable films. From trailblazers like Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion to modern icons like Greta Gerwig and Chloé Zhao, who’s your favorite? Drop a title, drop a name—and tell us why it sticks with you.

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💬 Best Reader Response (from earlier this week)
Question: “What horror movie actually scared you?”
"Robert Wise’s 1963 film, “The Haunting”, based on Shirley Jackson’s novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House’, is still the scariest, most unsettling haunted house film I’ve ever seen.”

What was unsettling about it?

“The black and white film used, the setting of the large Victorian house in the middle of nowhere, the scene with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom terrorized in their bedroom during the night, Rosalie Crutchley’s repeated reference to things happening ‘in the night, in the dark.’ And most of all, the quote from Jackson’s novel: ‘We who walk here, walk alone.’ — Tom

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🎥 Hidden Gem Spotlight
You Were Never Really Here (2017) – dir. Lynne Ramsay
Joaquin Phoenix stars as a hammer-wielding loner in this brutal, poetic, and strangely tender thriller. Ramsay directs with precision and restraint, avoiding action movie clichés and instead focusing on trauma, memory, and silence. At just 90 minutes, it’s a masterclass in doing more with less. If you missed it, it’s time to fix that.

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📣 Coming Up for Paid Subs
We’re breaking down one of the most unforgettable scenes in 90s action: the backyard foot chase from Point Break (1991). Kathryn Bigelow directed the hell out of it. Think shaky cam before Bourne, real stunts over CGI, and Keanu chasing Swayze in a Reagan mask through alleyways, fences, and literal backyards. It's sweaty, chaotic, and iconic.

👉 Want to know why this scene still gets studied by filmmakers and copied in action movies today? Upgrade to paid for today’s bonus breakdown and get behind-the-scenes insights like this every week.