Death on the Nile (Kenneth Branagh, 2022)
Decent enough popcorn entertainment. The first half drags a bit but I was surprised by how effective - and even slightly emotional - the finale was.
Sabotage (Alfred Hitchcock, 1936)
Really solid classic Hitchcock thriller, including one of his most suspenseful sequences.
Out of Sight (Steven Soderbergh, 1998)
Interesting story and great casting, Clooney and Lopez are electric together. Soderbergh's direction is just so underwhelming for me, like shot on a cheap digital camera, nothing memorable.
12 Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)
Knew what to expect having seen
La Jetée but still found myself immersed and engaged, Gilliam a really good fit for the story.
The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
Knew I was not going to enjoy this after about five minutes. Camera move, camera zoom in, camera zoom out, cut, cut, cut. Couldn't enjoy it and I also found the political messages confusing especially when bookended between two overt statements that don't match the nuance of what's in between.
Ball of Fire (Howard Hawks, 1941)
Really enjoyable Hawks comedy but a little overlong and not quite at the level of
Bringing Up Baby or
His Girl Friday.
A Farewall to Arms (Frank Borzage, 1932)
Incredible film, so many beautifully shot scenes. The war montage in the second half is almost a masterpiece in itself. Simple yet stunning, very moving.
The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston, 1975)
Really fun good old-fashioned adventure made well.
Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
Not really a horror film, but instead a really quite sad coming-of-age romance sort of film. Really well done.
The Batman (Matt Reeves, 2022)
Really enjoyed this. Casting is absolutely spot on, easy to say now but almost choice-for-choice who I would choose for each role. Kravitz is the star of the show, love the score, falls down a bit by a formulaic third act. Looking forward to more. Done a review for this for a local magazine which I'll post soon.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (Jon Watts, 2021)
Love
Spider-Man 2 but was trepidatious following the public gushing over this and my fears were confirmed. But for nostalgia, there's not much here. Once well-written characters are reduced to cartoon, the plot is flimsy as hell and the Marvel humour/zeitgest really isn't for me. The ending and logic of almost all of it made no sense to me either.
They Live (John Carpenter, 1988)
Another awesome John Carpenter film, the man just makes cool movies. Had a lot of fun with this, despite the absolutely ridiculous fight scene.
On the Town (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, 1949)
Really fun musical but the plot is a bit simple and repetitive, not reaching the heights of something like
Singin' in the Rain.
The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)
Incredible performances that feels full of feeling from the off, captures sensual moments in such a powerful way. I'll have to watch more Campion because I enjoyed
Power of the Dog too.
The Northman (Robert Eggers, 2022)
Starts off great and I was expecting like some Viking epic but it really isn't that. Was a little bit disappointed to be honest, there's an hour in this that's so repetitive and dull. So much opportunity for excitement, romance etc. but instead we get a really subdued Hamlet on a farm.
Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (Richard Linklater, 2022)
Linklater has made a career capturing the nuances of the human condition and like Waking Life which explored human consciousness and dreaming, Apollo uses animation joyfully to illustrate the power of memory. The film works as a moving examination of how and why we remember experiences in our life as well as a playful history lesson in Western culture that us grown-ups can’t help but yearn for. Loved it.
Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
Enjoyable enough film with interesting characters but not beyond that in terms of filmmaking. Definitely influenced Tarantino a lot.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Jason Reitman, 2021)
Just unbelievably dull, didn't find it interesting at all and didn't laugh once. Sorry fans.
Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986)
First-time watch in preparation for
Maverick. Didn't have high expectations and knew it was gonna be pure cheese but I really enjoyed it. Why show a story in two and half hours in nuance when you can get your point across with a few scenes and some extremely on-the-nose song choices? The film oozes style and Tom Cruise is awesome. Not ashamed.
The Stranger (Orson Welles, 1946)
The plot is a lot more simple and restrained than other Welles works I've seen, almost works as like a companion piece to
Shadow of a Doubt. Elevated by Welles confident handling of direction, in particular the lighting and editing.
The Souvenir: Part II (Joanna Hogg, 2021)
Absolute adore
The Souvenir which I found incredibly moving but this was disappointing. Tries to be too clever and came across as cold and artificial to me. Interesting enough to be decent overall and had some really creative sequences, but didn't pack any punch.