ScarletLion's Movie Log

A very difficult watch. The troubles of a group of youngsters in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraq / Turk border during the US "liberation" of Iraq. One of the most solemn, melancholic movies I've ever seen. It truly captures the horrors of being an isolated, nomadic group of people that have no place in their country, or any country, due to conflict and prejudice. This film has left it's mark on me, and anybody who doesn't "get" why refugees should be housed not hated should regard this as required viewing. One warning: there's not many payoffs here.

8/10

'Anvil: The Story of Anvil'



Emotional, heartbreaking/heartwarming documentary about the continuing struggles of the band Anvil to hit the big time. Highly recommended.

Christopher Smith's 'Triangle' (2009) was a beast of a movie which interwove time / space and the psyche together. This is another film of his that explores life decisions and morality although not quite with the same levels of mindf***ery.

Tye Sherdian is ample as the lead who struggles with feelings of blame and guilt for his mother's condition in hospital. The movie is good at keeping you guessing but ultimately has a few characters that don't nail their roles and a few bits of dialogue that aren't as sharp as they could be.

Overall it's an enjoyable crime / thriller romp with some beautiful photography, some flaws and not enough to keep you thinking about it after he credits roll. There's a nice nod to Paul Newman's 'Harper' in it too.

Not heard of this but I liked Triangle so will give it a go.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

I watched Shawn Christensen's short film "Curfew" a few years back and really enjoyed it. This movie is his feature length version. It doesn't translate quite as well as the short, and has a few issues around the dialogue. But it is a very nice, quaint adaptation. It reminds me a bit of 'Half Nelson' in the way that there are characters with struggles, the female involved and a youngster looking for guidance. Worth a watch for sure.

7/10

I was absolutely captivated from start to finish. A fantastic piece of cinema that explores the "fakeness" of what we would call our normal, routine, secure lives via gender roles, marriage, and family pressures. The final scene seemed a bit melodramatic but I can understand why the Director wanted to show us the different reactions to the situation. I'll be thinking about this for a long time.

I watched this film because I liked the Blu-Ray cover. It's inspired by the Washington "beltway" sniper attacks in 2002 and the 2 individuals that wreaked havoc.

It's an intriguing film but a really frustrating one. There is no real emotion involved. The characters are slightly robotic in their decisions and actions. This is mostly down to the script. If it was a tad more expressive and showed the turmoil that the 2 leads were going through and also the fear that they must have caused, then it might have been a better film. As an audience we're not really sure what we are supposed to think about these 2 characters. Pity? Anger? Disgust? Maybe all 3. That said, Isiah Washington gives a very, very good performance in this. The guy can clearly act. It's just a shame he didn't have more to work with. Nice Blu-Ray cover though.

6/10

'Heaven Knows what' (2014)



An extremely well made, unsettling, authentic portrayal of drug addiction and homelessness. It's almost a hyper-realism piece as the acting feels more like a fly on the wall documentary at times, which isn't surprising when you learn the backgrounds of the cast.

There's no real solution to some of the problems posed and not many pay offs here, but then that's because this is just about how life is for some people.

Well worth a watch if extremely grim

7.5/10

'The Tree of Life' (2011)



Remarkable piece of work from Malick. The whole aesthetic, atmosphere and experience is quite ethereal. It's almost indescribable as a movie, save to say that it covers life, death faith and almost everything inbetween.

Props for liking Tree of Life!!! Wuhuuu

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I still haven't seen Tree of Life shame on me!

Haven't seen Tree of Life either, the only post Thin Red Line Malick i've seen is Song To Song. Like both Anvil and Force Majeure quite a bit.

You gotta see Tree of Life, @Camo... You just gotta...

It's pretty much the epitome of new-era-Malick. Read my review - maybe it will encourage you https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/...e-of-life.html

Will definitely, just haven't found the time. I'll read your review after i see it want to go in as blind as possible.

That is a fantastic review MM, one of the best I've seen on this site.

It's such an elegant, dreamlike film. Some of the final scenes were just mesmerizing.
In a small way, I could see that David Lowery's 'A Ghost Story' might have been inspired by it. Jessica Chastain is very good. Not one for those who like their movies structured like the average the popcorn flick.

Thank you so much for those kind words. Means a lot to me.

And it really is... a very unique film; there is nothing like it really.

Beautiful film. On first reflection I was disappointed by the ending, and lack of "closure". But having thought more about it, the way the loop wasn't closed is a more realistic portrayal of how desperate times call for desperate measures. The father son relationship and paternal pressures are explored very well and the music throughout is terrific. I wouldn't call it a perfect film, but can understand why it's revered almost universally.

Sort of like if Ken Loach made a boxing film. Gritty British drama mixed in with an underdog boxing story. I normally don't get on with sports films, or Ray Winstone, but this film had both elements and it just worked. This is largely due to a very tight script and 2 great performances ; Johnny Harris is the lead and also main scriptwriter, and Michael Smiley (has he ever been less than average in anything?) plays the boxing coach.

Harris is Jimmy, a former boxing pro who has demons to battle. Winstone and Smiley work at the boxing gym and reluctantly try and help Jimmy get back on his feet after being down on his luck too many times. This is the type of film that could have gone badly wrong as the core content seems so derivative. But due to the script (Harris' debut I think) it excels.

How can a movie about planet earth's apocalypse, cannibalistic murder, suicide and the inability of the human race to be sustainable be so god damn beautiful, charming, funny and spellbinding?

I never fail to be in awe of Jean Pierre Jeunet.

'Baby Driver' (2017)



I did not like this movie.