Who's That Knocking at My Door (Martin Scorsese, 1967)
Evidently a couple of ideas strangely edited into one for whatever reasons, but a lot of promise in the film. A great performance by Harvey Keitel, in particular in the religious relationship storyline.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese, 1967)
A stronger effort here, with a couple of great performances. Really interesting to see Scorsese tackle a strong female character at the centre of the film. Kris Kristofferson has such a strong screen presence, I could watch him all day.
The Color of Money (Martin Scorsese, 1986)
Really had high hopes for this as I am a massive pool fan and player (albeit British 8-ball, blackball rules), and love
The Hustler, so I was hoping this would be an underrated favourite. Unfortunately not, the characters including Newman's are just standard caricatures, and the plot and screenplay are very weak, the ending story and resolution left me very disappointed.
Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017) [Cinema]
Loved the cinematography of this film, the camerawork up close and personal. Lots of close-up and shots focussed on fine details and objects, and the movement of the camera between the various rooms and switching between characters helped build the power dynamics. It reminded me of Hitchcock in films like
Rebecca and
Notorious, and Max Ophuls too who has obviously had a big influence on Anderson. Another great Greenwood score too. The story was a bit weak I thought, and I never truly felt gripped or enthralled by it, I wish Anderson would make another
Boogie Nights.
Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017) [Cinema]
A film definitely worth the watch because of the two central performances. Chalamet and Hammer are absolutely superb. At the beginning I thought the plot could potentially irritate me, and its easy for films tackling subjects like this to come across as insincere, but through the two performances it was very believable and affecting, I completely bought their two characters. The intentions and thoughts of both of them did not need to be expressed through dialogue, but through their physicality and interactions, their thoughts, desires and concerns could be implicitly expressed.
I felt about an hour in the film started to meander and the director was not sure what direction to talk it. That's the difficulty with something so sensual, when you start to introduce more plot it can be difficult to know where to go. I didn't think the direction was overly interesting, there was nothing new or innovative to elevate the content, it was more like usual smart-modern stylistic art affair with flashy colours and pop music.
Araby (João Dumans and Affonso Uchoa, 2017)
Wonderful Brazilian film that my friend had kept recommending me. A look into working class Brazil, with a look into the life of Cristiano - a man with ups and downs, with love and loss. It was very reminiscent of Bresson in its use of light to create wonderful images, in its muted naturalistic performances and its heightened use of diegetic sound.
Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019) [Cinema]
I have heard great things about James Gray from a number of people online whose opinions I really respect on film, but I had not seen a film from him before this. Someone told me that he was one of few modern directors to understand "film spatiality" so I was curious as to how what approach this artistic director would bring to a mainstream marketed film.
Wow was I blown away. What a film. It might sound like hyperbole but I really do think this is one of the most beautiful films that I have ever seen. Every frame and scene is gorgeous, the use of space, colour, the editing, everything is perfect. There is nothing about the composition of the shots that I would change. Amazing to see such a considered film get a big budget and backing. I really was in awe throughout the whole film, I felt like I was watching it with my jaw wide open throughout. There are just so many stunning sequences but even the little scenes and moments are just perfect.
I've written a full review of the film here -
https://screen-hopping.co.uk/film-reviews/ad-astra/
Now I want to see more films from Gray!
Reply to Topic
