Charade (Stanley Donen, 1963)
Aside from the opening sequences which seem strangely shot as if they were done afterwards, this film is a very fun murder mystery, with plenty of twists and turns, strong performances and lots of humour.
Three Colours: Blue (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1993)
Well constructed film with a strong central performance, moving at times but not as powerful overall as I wanted it to be.
Uncut Gems (Benny Safdie & Joshua Safdie, 2019)
Style matching content perfectly, with the cinematography, editing and performances bringing a real energy that plunges you into the adrenaline filled lives of people enduring addiction.
1917 (Sam Mendes, 2019)
Went to the cinema to see this and was extremely disappointed. It felt like a video game to me, or an obstacle course. Everything seemed extremely contrived to the point of annoyance, deliberately dictated to sit around the one huge stylistic choice they made. Didn't move me at all.
Horse Feathers (Norman Z. McLeod, 1932)
A funny Marx Brothers film that I enjoyed, but not as much as some of their other stuff that I've seen so far.
Carnage (Roman Polanski, 2011)
Very interesting little film that is effectively a stage play relying on the four actors. They deliver their roles very well, and I found myself laughing quite a lot.
The Host (Bong Joon-ho, 2006) [rewatch]
When I watched this years ago I liked it but not too much, I think I saw it advertised on TV as a horror film so was confused by the strange humour. I wanted to revisit it as I love everything else from Bong, and I'm glad I did. This time the combination of genre horror elements with his sense of humour worked perfectly for me. What a great filmmaker.
Oh, Woe Is Me (Jean-Luc Godard, 1993)
I think that I have enjoyed every post 60s Godard film very much. This is a difficult film at times, but very rewarding. Lots to take in on a first viewing but absolutely fascinating to see Godard once again play around with the construction of cinema and in particular its relation to text and literature. I was particularly blown away by the use of colour and shot compositions in certain frames, which although quite simplistic and minimalistic manage to be extremely rich and powerful. I know he's not everyone's cup of tea but for me personally Godard is possibly
the most rewarding filmmaker ever. Challenging for sure, but I find myself immersed with his creativity in a way that is always gripping and leaves me thinking for days afterwards.
Our Town (Yūzō Kawashima, 1956)
My first film from a Japanese director I had never heard of before, but who certainly looks like a very strong filmmaker. This affectionate tale of a stubborn man who seems to inflict suffering upon all close to him, is extremely well constructed and manages to efficienticlly show the passing of time across decades in Japan. In many ways it reminded me of a John Ford Western, with the conservative individual having to cope with the ever changing landscape around him, focussing on values such as family and work.
Kiki's Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989)
This film lacks some of the ambition and subtext of the other Miyazaki films that I've seen, which seem to be filled with either more sadness, cynicism or even political messages, but wholly succeeds in being a heartwarming small story of a young girl finding her place in the world. Wonderful animation.
George Washington (David Gordon Green, 2000)
For a first feature film, the direction is handled with a lot of confidence using cinematography techniques reminiscent of early Malick and even mimicking the dreamlike voiceover from Badlands. The performances at the heart of the story make it an enjoyable and enduring tale, better than some of the more well-known coming of age stories that I can find too sentimental or overdone.
The Mystery of Picasso (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1956)
A fascinating documentary that sees cool camera techniques employed that allow us to watch the construction of some of Picasso's paintings. As the film progresses it gets more playful, in particular with the passage of time, colour and techniques Picasso uses. A very worthwhile watch for anyone interested in his artwork.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Park Chan-wook, 2002)
As a fan of
Oldboy and more recently
The Handmaiden I was looking forward to this film but was quite disappointed. It ironically lacks any sympathetic characters, and never manages to find a rhythm to connect the story in a cathartic way. Each violent scene seems to be there more for shock, rather than belonging to a connected whole. The second half in particular felt flat to me.
About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002)
From my previous watches of Payne's film I have found the director to be quite hit and miss, but
Nebraska is my favourite film of his and I thought this looked kind of similar so decided to check it out. Whilst I couldn't fall in love with it in the same way, I found this film to be very funny in parts and enjoyed Jack Nicholson's performance. The narrative with him sending off letters worked very well as a storytelling device and a way to bring humour to stitch the tale together.
Masculin Féminin (Jean-Luc Godard, 1966)
Probably the most well known 60s film from Godard that I hadn't yet seen, and this is full of stuff that I liked and found interesting. You can see that he is starting to play around with various different techniques, nothing too radical but the film works almost like a documentary and he looks at different ways of documenting thoughts and feelings from various character. Godard always seems interested in sex, cinema and politics, and often how they all work together. I often find his films express feelings of sadness and frustration, at cinema and at the world. Here it seems no different, with the camera capturing how certain characters are disconnected from a lot of what surrounds them in the world.
The Wild Goose Lake (Diao Yi'nan, 2019)
The first half of this film I enjoyed, very stylish with great use of colours to create compositions and environments that really captured the characters well. It starts with flashbacks, in traditional noir style, but once the flashbacks end and we get to present time I feel the film loses its mysterious style and suspense and becomes more of a chase film.
Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990)
Very strong performances in the film with a story that's interesting and suspenseful, but not much more past that. Reiner seems uninteresting in doing anything special with the camera, or elevating this past being a standard film. When I think of my favourite horrors I think of
Psycho and
The Shining which share similar elements but make much better use of various cinematic elements to tell their stories.
Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman, 1978)
One of, if not the most minimalistic of Bergman's films that I have seen so far, the film hinges on the two central performances that are absolutely magnificent. Two of the best performances I have seen, through their conversations Bergman builds up to a fairly explosive ending that reveals lifetimes of hurt and possibly regret. As a director Bergman is fabulous when it comes to showing the passing of time and capturing human emotions.
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