Mary Bronstein's Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I’ve added the nine movies that Mary Bronstein picked in her Criterion Closet appearance:

  • Dance, Girl, Dance

  • Merrily We Go to Hell

  • Frownland

  • Daddy Longlegs

  • Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968-1978

  • Inland Empire

  • This Is Spinal Tap

  • Eric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales

  • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Mary Bronstein made two original picks: Merrily We Go to Hell, and Daddy Longlegs. She is apparently the wife of Ronald Bronstein. He made one of the grimmest movies of all time, Frownland, which I wouldn’t recommend to my worst enemy.

Identifying whether a pick is original or not is one reason why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.

My Monthly Expenses for January 2026

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Here are my expenses for January 2026. I may update it as I find more things I haven’t recorded.

Apparel

  • shoes and socks: $527.87

Charity

  • $850

Education

  • housing: $1,177.49

  • tuition: $12,700

Energy

  • gasoline: $182.26

  • propane: $1,028.86

Food

  • coffee beans: $239.30

  • eating out: $108.92

  • groceries: $2,175.10

Gifts

  • birthday: $97.49

  • to me from me: $36.79

Healthcare

  • dentist: $234

  • optometrist: $643

  • psychologist: $280

Household

  • $219.12

Insurance

  • auto: $1,152.19

Services

  • car and house cleaning: $365.00

  • DMV: $94.50

  • haircuts: $84.30

  • movie recommendations: $1.99

  • music service (Spotify): $19.99

  • printer ink subscription (HP): $8.63

Taxes

  • $11,499.43

Trading-related

  • book, consulting, data, software: $3,076.48

Utilities

  • cellphone: $74.29

  • electricity: $281.29

  • internet: $110

Worst Adverse Excursions in January 2026

Added on by C. Maoxian.

January started out very sweetly with a full week of large gains, but then everything changed starting on Monday, January 12. I once again grew too cocky and arrogant and even pulled my stop in EVTV as it ran up. This is the cardinal sin, and the market gods will punish you mightily if you EVER do this.

I believed that I had such a great “read” on the price action in EVTV that I could get away with pulling my stop, but of course it went much higher and I ended up puking out the full (and oversized) position after hours at the top tick, losing significantly more money than I had planned.

This began a sort of spiral as I took outsized losses in ROLR, SPHL and VERO that same week. Needless to say, I lost money day trading this month, and I got lucky to more or less miss the terrible Chinese-driven squeezes at the end of the month in TCGL, ELPW, and PHOE. Pulling one’s stop in any of those would have led to ruin.

Take your time and #shtudy last month’s example outlier moves below. Click to enlarge any of the charts. And don’t forget to look at the outlier moves in October 2025 (23), November 2025 (5), and December 2025 (6).

January 12: EVTV (USA)

January 14: ROLR (USA, scAMEX-listed),

January 15: SPHL (Singapore), CJMB

January 16: VERO (Canada)

January 21: PAVM (USA)

January 22: SXTP (USA)

January 29: TCGL (Singapore)

January 30: ELPW (China), PHOE (Hong Kong)

Movies Watched in January 2026

Added on by C. Maoxian.

One of my goals for 2026 is to watch 60 movies every month. I fell short in January with only 57 movies watched. Here they are, listed alphabetically:

  1. 49th Parallel, 1941

  2. Adam's Rib, 1949

  3. Army of Shadows, 1969

  4. Au hasard Balthazar, 1966

  5. Ballad of a Soldier, 1959

  6. Band of Outsiders, 1964

  7. Bicycle Thieves, 1948

  8. Big Deal on Madonna Street , 1958

  9. Blow-Up, 1966

  10. Boudu Saved from Drowning, 1932

  11. Breathless, 1960

  12. City Lights, 1931

  13. Cléo from 5 to 7, 1962

  14. Cool Hand Luke, 1967

  15. Crazed Fruit, 1956

  16. Cria Cuervos…, 1976

  17. Death is a Caress, 1949

  18. Death of a Cyclist, 1955

  19. Deep Cover, 1992

  20. Destroyer, 2018

  21. Double Suicide, 1969

  22. Following, 1999

  23. Framed, 1947

  24. Frankenstein, 1931

  25. Guilty Bystander, 1950

  26. Hidden in the Fog, 1953

  27. Le Million, 1931

  28. Les dames du Bois de Boulogne, 1945

  29. Louie Bluie, 1985

  30. Loves of a Blonde, 1965

  31. Meet Me in St. Louis, 1944

  32. Midnight Cowboy, 1969

  33. Mouchette, 1967

  34. My Left Foot, 1989

  35. Night of the Living Dead, 1968

  36. Overlord, 1975

  37. Persona, 1966

  38. Ran, 1985

  39. Sword of the Beast, 1965

  40. The Bank Dick , 1940

  41. The Big Sleep, 1946

  42. The Exorcist, 1973

  43. The Flowers of St. Francis, 1952

  44. The Graduate, 1967

  45. The Lady Vanishes, 1938

  46. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962

  47. The Man with the Golden Arm , 1955

  48. The Naked Spur, 1953

  49. The Only Son, 1936

  50. The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928

  51. The Taste of Others, 2000

  52. Tokyo Drifter, 1966

  53. Two Minutes Late, 1952

  54. Vampyr, 1932

  55. Vernon, Florida, 1981

  56. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, 1962

  57. Young Frankenstein, 1974

And here’s the list in chronological order by release year:

  1. The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928

  2. City Lights, 1931

  3. Frankenstein, 1931

  4. Le Million, 1931

  5. Boudu Saved from Drowning, 1932

  6. Vampyr, 1932

  7. The Only Son, 1936

  8. The Lady Vanishes, 1938

  9. The Bank Dick , 1940

  10. 49th Parallel, 1941

  11. Meet Me in St. Louis, 1944

  12. Les dames du Bois de Boulogne, 1945

  13. The Big Sleep, 1946

  14. Framed, 1947

  15. Bicycle Thieves, 1948

  16. Adam's Rib, 1949

  17. Death is a Caress, 1949

  18. Guilty Bystander, 1950

  19. The Flowers of St. Francis, 1952

  20. Two Minutes Late, 1952

  21. Hidden in the Fog, 1953

  22. The Naked Spur, 1953

  23. Death of a Cyclist, 1955

  24. The Man with the Golden Arm , 1955

  25. Crazed Fruit, 1956

  26. Big Deal on Madonna Street , 1958

  27. Ballad of a Soldier, 1959

  28. Breathless, 1960

  29. Cléo from 5 to 7, 1962

  30. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962

  31. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, 1962

  32. Band of Outsiders, 1964

  33. Loves of a Blonde, 1965

  34. Sword of the Beast, 1965

  35. Au hasard Balthazar, 1966

  36. Blow-Up, 1966

  37. Persona, 1966

  38. Tokyo Drifter, 1966

  39. Cool Hand Luke, 1967

  40. Mouchette, 1967

  41. The Graduate, 1967

  42. Night of the Living Dead, 1968

  43. Army of Shadows, 1969

  44. Double Suicide, 1969

  45. Midnight Cowboy, 1969

  46. The Exorcist, 1973

  47. Young Frankenstein, 1974

  48. Overlord, 1975

  49. Cria Cuervos…, 1976

  50. Vernon, Florida, 1981

  51. Louie Bluie, 1985

  52. Ran, 1985

  53. My Left Foot, 1989

  54. Deep Cover, 1992

  55. Following, 1999

  56. The Taste of Others, 2000

  57. Destroyer, 2018

The movies that I consider must-see among these are listed below; there are several more that are borderline must-see (e.g., The Passion of Joan of Arc, Midnight Cowboy, My Left Foot, etc.), but I’m still on the fence about upgrading them:

  1. Au hasard Balthazar, 1966

  2. Breathless, 1960

  3. City Lights, 1931

  4. Frankenstein, 1931

  5. The Graduate, 1967

  6. Young Frankenstein, 1974

Charlotte Emma Aitchison's Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I’ve added the four movies that Charlotte Emma Aitchison picked in her Criterion Closet appearance:

  • Celine and Julie Go Boating

  • The Shrouds

  • La Notte

  • Autumn Sonata

Charlotte Emma Aitchison made one original pick: The Shrouds. I have no idea who Charlotte Emma Aitchison is, but she’s apparently a musical artist.

Identifying whether a pick is original or not is one reason why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.

Maoxian's One a Day Playlist for January 2026

Added on by C. Maoxian.

You’ll recall that I recently posted a One a Day Playlist for 2025. The trouble with that list was that it was 365 songs long (duh) and clocked in at 21 hours and 10 minutes.

So in 2026 I’m going to post the One a Day Playlist every month, and here’s January’s, which is 31 songs long (duh) and clocks in at a more digestible 2 hours and 4 minutes.

The songs are sorted chronologically, latest to earliest. If you don’t like a song, skip to the next!

Music discovery is something that interests me. My musical taste is both eclectic and superlative, and I hope you find the monthly playlist useful.

  • Kali Uchis, All I Can Say

  • Star Feminine Band, Bowo Fun Obiri

  • JID, Glory

  • Trond Kallevag, Pretty Polly

  • Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek, Gunes

  • Emiliana Torrini, Miss Flower

  • Pearl & the Oysters, Side Quest

  • Kate Bollinger, J'aime les filles

  • Molly Tuttle, Helpless

  • Her's, Cool With You

  • Joy Kills Sorrow, Such Great Heights

  • Andrea Triana, Far Closer

  • Nouvelle Vague, Road to Nowhere

  • Blur, Clover Over Dover

  • Violent Femmes, Gone Daddy Gone

  • Stevie Ray Vaughan, Little Wing

  • David Bowie, Wild Is the Wind

  • Steely Dan,  Doctor Wu

  • Jerry Goldsmith, Love Theme from Chinatown

  • Barry White, Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up

  • Quincy Jones, Sandford & Son Theme

  • Bill Withers, Lean on Me

  • Cat Stevens, Morning Has Broken

  • Nolan Porter, If I Could Only Be Sure

  • Albert King, Finger on the Trigger

  • The Feminine Complex, Hold Me

  • Janis Joplin, Little Girl Blue

  • Jose Feliciano, California Dreamin'

  • Jimi Hendrix, Hey Joe

  • John Mayall, Hideaway

  • Dion, Runaround Sue

James Bond Movies Starring Sean Connery

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Everyone knows Sean Connery was the best Bond:

  1. Dr. No (1962)

  2. From Russia with Love (1963)

  3. Goldfinger (1964)

  4. Thunderball (1965)

  5. You Only Live Twice (1967)

  6. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

I’m not going to count the 1983 gag movie, Never Say Never Again, although Connery was a good sport to make that one.

Reginald Hudlin's Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I’ve added the eight movies that Reginald Hudlin picked in his Criterion Closet appearance:

  • Black Orpheus

  • Killer of Sheep

  • Menace II Society

  • Risky Business

  • Rouge

  • Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films

  • Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits

  • Essential Fellini

Reginald Hudlin made one original pick: Rouge. He made some very interesting comments about Fellini and working class Black America.

Identifying whether a pick is original or not is one reason why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.

Jodie Foster's Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I’ve added the ten movies that Jodie Foster picked in her Criterion Closet appearance:

  • Visions of Eight

  • Three Films by Mai Zetterling

  • Parasite

  • La Haine

  • La strada

  • Essential Fellini

  • Woman in the Dunes

  • Wings of Desire

  • Berlin Alexanderplatz

  • John Cassavetes: Five Films

Jodie Foster made two original picks: Visions of Eight, and Three Films by Mai Zetterling. Jodie Foster said she has been in the business for 60 years (born in 1962) … her first commercial was at age three (Coppertone).

She also mentioned The Lives of Others, which is not a Criterion movie (but is good), and “anything by Fassbinder.” My favorite Fassbinder movie is I Only Want You to Love Me. Jodie is a Yalie (class of ‘84). “I wasn’t smart enough, deep enough, or preppy enough to belong,” she said.

Identifying whether a pick is original or not is one reason why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.

Atom Egoyan's Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I’ve added the nine movies that Atom Egoyan picked in his Criterion Closet appearance:

  • Wings of Desire

  • Michael Haneke: Trilogy

  • Fat Girl

  • Working Girls

  • Teorama

  • Pasolini 101

  • The Night Porter

  • Walkabout

  • Ingmar Bergman's Cinema

Atom Egoyan made one original pick: Teorama. He also took the Pasolini box set. He came prepared and made a lot of good ccomments on all the movies he picked. Identifying whether a pick is original or not is one reason why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.