Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, 2019)
Adam Driver is one of my favourite modern actors but this film's entire being seemed to rely on over-dramatic dialogue sequences, rather than through telling an interesting story cinematically as the first few minutes promisingly suggest it might (through a combination of editing, voice-over etc.). I'm not surprised to see that it's getting a lot of praised with very committed performances but this wasn't for me.
Loveless (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2017)
A fairly straightforward story of a child gone missing, but through the way the director frames spaces and actors he is able to generate a great feeling of suspense whilst also sharing some of his thoughts on the modern human way of life.
Logan (James Mangold, 2017)
A "superhero" film that instead of aiming to conform to a larger canon, opts to tell a more singular story with its own life. Reminiscent in some ways of some of cinema's most classic hero/anti-hero stories, almost as a modern Western. Very enjoyable.
Burning Cane (Phillip Youmans, 2019)
Remarkable to believe that this has been made by a 19 years old filmmaker. Although far from perfect, the director creates images of great depth, painting a rich, considered slice of American life. Mature beyond his years, and hopefully the start of an exciting cinematic career.
A Serious Man (Coen Brothers, 2009)
The only Coen Brothers' film that I had not seen and very enjoyable in a lot of similar ways to their other works. An interesting exploration of life and its weird idiosyncrasies, what guides our choices and being, but not as non-stop enjoyable or gripping for me as some of their other stuff.
A Woman is a Woman (Jean-Luc Godard, 1961)
I watched this the night before Anna Karina passed away, which was quite a sad coincidence. She is absolutely wonderful as usual. This film was just so delightful for me, very playful, combining various cinematic elements to create a compelling story that had me smiling and laughing throughout. My brother, who also watched
Breathless for the first time a few weeks ago, really enjoyed this too.
Velvet Buzzsaw (Dan Gilroy, 2019)
Absolute load of rubbish. Not scary, not funny, not interesting, but worst of all is that it seems like it is trying to be something, a ridiculous attempt at some type of satire that in the end just really really bored me. I almost fell asleep and just wanted it to end. Like some weird mix between
Nocturnal Animals and
Maps to the Stars but without any life at all to make it compelling.
The Guilty (Gustav Möller, 2018)
Like the very good
Locke, this is a film set in one location focussing on one character that manages through dialogue (most of the talking takes place over the phone) to be compelling and suspenseful. Ultimately with such a film there are also limitations as to where the plot can go and some elements do seem slightly contrived, and some of the directorial choices (wide screen camera) seemed a little odd - but overall solid and interesting.
Wind River (Taylor Sheridan, 2017)
A plot full of clichés, every character and action just seemed like something I had seen before. With the environment that the film takes place in, you'd expect some type of suspense or great cinematic moments, but for me everything fell flat.
Hold The Dark whilst flawed, was a much stronger film.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (J.J. Abrams, 2019)
Went into this with really low expectations as I saw some poor reviews and also hated Episode 8, but was pleasantly surprised. The plot is full of some ridiculous moments and coincidences but I was happy to accept most of them and go along with it, as Abrams recovered the heart of the story. Instead of focussing on weird characters or uninteresting subplots, the main characters are actually put back together and this manages to create some great emotional moments. The film flies by yet never feels disorientating with some superbly shot sequences.
A Most Violent Year (J.C. Chandor, 2014)
A very well constructed tale that largely hinges on a very good performance from Oscar Isaac. An interesting look at capitalism and the various roles that people play, as well as the different ethical and moral implications of the decisions we make. I liked this and really liked
All Is Lost from Chandor, who manages to create compelling stories with limited elements.
A Simple Plan (Sam Raimi, 1998)
Raimi has a go at emulating his friends the Coen Brothers, and for me whilst the result isn't as memorably cinematic, the greatest success of this film is how through its plot it becomes a fascinating and moving character study. Billy Bob Thornton is particularly strong and affecting in his role.
The Curse of the Cat People (Robert Wise & Gunther von Fritsch, 1944)
Absolutely nothing like
Cat People but still a decent film. More of a child's fantasy film, probably more similar to
The Spirit of the Beehive than anything else I have seen. I enjoyed it but it lacked any really strong cinematic moments to be anything better than good for me.
Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1945)
My first time seeing this classic Romance and it smashed my expectations. Lean obviously famously went on to direct more epic sprawling works like
Lawrence of Arabia but here is direction is different but still wonderful and really elevates the story. The camera moves softly, simply, with care, the editing stitches everything together with great balance that gives the film a dreamlike fluidity. The two main performances are dramatic but they work and make the story extremely powerful.