Movie Tab II

At Land (Maya Deren, 1944) [Short]

Interesting artistic short, easy to see the influence on directors such as Lynch and Bergman.

The House of Small Cubes (Kunio Kato, 2008) [Short]

Subtle yet moving film that slowly builds up emotional power, great animation too.

Hotel Chevalier (Wes Anderson, 2007) [Short]

A more adult Anderson film that focusses more on human emotion, I didn't think I would like this at first, but it won me round and I felt moved by the end.

Foxcatcher (Bennett Miller, 2014)

-

Greatly made film with fantastic performances at the heart of it. Dark and intense, it has an impending sense of doom throughout. Some narrative problems as its difficult to fit in characters and themes into a narrative some times.

Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947)

The Set-Up (Robert Wise, 1949)

The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955)

+

Thoughts in the Noir Hall of Fame thread for these three.

Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)

+

A fantastic achievement, I can understand why some people would dislike this. Being brought up mainly by my mother and having recently left home for University, I felt really connected to this, extremely moving in its subtlety that somehow captures the wonders of human life.

Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014)

I wasn't sure whether I would love or hate this. Feels like a song, with the beat never stopping, fantastic performances, my favourite would be Edward Norton's very dark and funny character. Could turn into a favourite.

The Drop (Michaël R. Roskam, 2014)

+

Nice little crime film. Good performances from all involved. Very bleak and depressing though.

Chef (Jon Favreau, 2014)

A wonderful little film. A great cast that isn't overused, and seem really great feel good moments. Add to that some mouthwatering food scenes, and the best use of social media in a film I've seen, and you've got yourself a real good time.

The Interview (Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen, 2014)

+

Funny in parts, but a lot of the laughs and repetitive jokes didn't work for me. I liked the ending though, I think I would enjoy this more with friends.

Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)

+

One note film. Sure it knows how to be powerful with certain moments, but past two performances and a message that's drummed (lol) into our head every single moment, there's not much here. The concept is good but the narrative structure is more, the relationship angle was weird too.

The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014)

-

Absolutely filled with about every movie cliché you could imagine. But it manages to be quite moving in parts.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)

One of the most powerful, moving films I have ever seen. I love Casablanca as the male is the innocent victim who has to make hard decisions for himself, and it's imilar in here. The end was so uplifting but so heartbreaking at the same time.

The Lunch Date (Adam Davidson, 1989) [Short]

Lovely little short recommended to me by Cobpyth, shows how a successful film can be made on a simple idea. Left a smile on my face.

Bob le Flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)

Classic crime film with loads of fantastic elements. Loved the old central character that somehow has a lot of depth given to him in such a short amount of time, the dialogue and supporting characters are great, it's wonderfully shot, and I'm a sucker for a good heist movie.

Permanent Vacation (Jim Jarmusch, 1980)

Not much happens here but it's interesting to see where Jarmusch started out, some of the parts are interesting and feel uplifting in a personal way. I liked the focus on character, the search for 'something' and the music used.

The Sweeney (Nick Love, 2012)

-

British crime film that wasn't as bad as it could have been, but wasn't particularly good either. Far too many twists and turns, but it's shot well.

Live and Let Die (Guy Hamilton, 1973)

+

One of my guilty pleasures, this Bond film is one of the most stupid at times, but one of the best at others. Perhaps I'm underrated, it has a great Bond girl and one of my favourite endings on the train.

American Sniper (Clint Eastwood, 2014)

+

Very good film, that does a good job of portraying someone struggling with warfare. I especially enjoyed the first half, and was a bit annoyed at all the typical Hollywood bits like the villain they added to give it a clearer narrative in the second half. Extremely powerful ending, the audience sat in silence for the credits, it was like nothing I had seen before. Great direction, love the sense of control you get with Eastwood films.