ScarletLion's Movie Log

Pawel Pawlikowski returns to the black and white 4:3 aspect ratio that worked so well with 'Ida'. This is a stunning film. Joanna Kulig gives a brilliant performance as one half of a couple faced with decisions and adversity in post war communist Poland. Based loosely on the Director's own parents, it's a devastatingly captivating love story involving music, tragedy and politics. Spanning 15 years, the film uses music to evolve the story and the phenomenal set design / ambience of the film really captures the state of flux that Europe was in at the time. Lukasz Zal's cinematography will live long in the memory. I need a few days to digest this one but I can't see it being beaten on my best movies of 2018 list.

This sounds weird but seeing this advertised a while back, I immediately knew you would love it! I was actually planning on seeing this but someone told me to watch Ida first, which I did and loved.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

Yeah I thought I'd like it before I saw it, but it still exceeded my expectations. I just loved the way the audience had to fill in the gaps. There wee bombshells that happenned off screen. Let me know what you think of it.

The lead actress from Cold War is in Ida too.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think both mine actors were great - Kulig and Kot. The story is very good and as you wrote music is additionally "bite".

I'm quite curious what foreigners think about Pawlikowsi movies as I think he is much more appreciated abroad than in his homeland.

Only seen Ida so far but I loved it. I'll be looking for his work.

Creepy, unsettling moody British horror film with very good sound editing. It's not going to be for everybody as it requires a bit of guesswork, but I found it very intriguing.





Some of this is like Wes Anderson crossed with Napoleon Dynamite, Dazed and Confused, Takeshi Kitano and Spike Jonze. It's quirky, visceral and loud. It loses it's way a touch in the middle section but looks gorgeous and is a lovely way to spend 85 minutes. There's at least 3 different sets of twins in it.

6.5/10

This was not good. The premise was fine and the plot could have worked on some level. But they just didn't pull it off. Some of the newscasting segments and voice overs were so poorly done. It was also massively choreographed.....the way a certain scene towards the beginning is filmed just gives away the entire twist of the movie. It treated the audience like they were complete dummies. Very disappointing to see.




This was exceptional. Peter Jackson and his team painstakingly took 100 year old archive footage and somehow rendered it into HD. An absolute triumph. Very emotional to hear what the soldiers were going through. Should be compulsory viewing in schools or something.

Originally titled 'La jaula de oro' which means 'The Gilded Cage' - Which seems far more of an appropriate title than the English language one it was given.

Director Diego Quemada-Díez apparently worked with Ken Loach on a couple of films and it shows in this movie - it's a very raw, real look at the lengths people in central America and Mexico will go to find a way to get across the border to the USA.

Amatuer actors Brandon López, Rodolfo Domínguez and Karen Martínez give 3 pretty memorable, ultra real performances as teenage acquaintances that are dreaming of a new life. The film is very good at stressing how cheap life is in certain parts of the world. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting the level of desperation and all round brutality of the film. Maybe because it has been described as a 'road movie', and films of that genre are normally more jovial and light hearted. It was anything but. Which made for a better film. as there are scenes of proper tension and stress.

The third act of the film really cranks it up as the whole journey comes to a resolution of sports. There is also a superb camera trick at this point which I had to rewind about 4 times as it was unexpected and so well done.

Overall the film is very impressive in it's own right but feels even more poignant and relevant in 2018 than perhaps it was on release.

Highly recommended. 8.5/10

'La jaula de oro' actually means 'The Golden Cage' which is more appropriate for the image you posted.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Cheers Mark. Have you seen the movie?

A low key drama about a troubled woman who thinks she may have been kidnapped as a 5 year old. It has a decent cast, all of which Andrea Riseborough outperforms but doesn't really get set alight at any point. The first half of the movie is a lot better than the second half. A little disappointing overall.

Where to start with The Rider……it’s good. It’s very good, but it is overly sentimental in parts. There are certain elements that just seem to be trying a little too hard to tweak emotions. But that’s the only bad thing I can say about it.

This is almost an experimental hyper real concept film. Real life South Dakotan Rodeo folk playing themselves, in a loose, fictionalized version of events that happened a few years ago. And it’s extraordinarily well done. I have absolutely no idea how Director Chloé Zhao got the actors to act like they did, other than to just be themselves I guess. Which is literally what they were doing. The story focuses on Brady, a talented Rodeo rider who is recovering from serious injury (played by Brady Jandreau). Then his father is played by his real life father (Tim Jandreau). His sister is played his actual sister…..and so on.

There are some heart-breaking scenes in which Brady goes to visit an old friend Lane Scott, played by….Lane Scott, who has some real life history of his own that probably needs looking up after you’ve watched the movie.

The plot and substance of the movie itself focuses on the tough lives of Rodeo communities in the Pine Ridge Reservation area. The harsh reality and pressures of life are shown as well as how important family and friendship is.

‘God’s Own Country’ was near the top of my movie list last year, and the same DoP Joshua James Richards nails it again here. There are some truly stunning shots of the landscape as well as some really tender moments showing Brady’s highs and lows. There is one particular scene where Brady breaks in a horse for a farmer that is hugely compelling. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen it was so real. At this early stage I’m tempted to rate it as a 9 out of 10 and it will be troubling ‘Cold War’ as the film of the year.
It is a huge achievement.

I thought I had but since I can't seem to find where or when, I have to say no, although I've seen plenty of recent similar films.

There's some typical Coen brothers wry comedy and some good dialogue. Certain parts of the film look very nice, especially the Tom Waits prospector segment which was a highlight. But the latter part of the film drags a bit and is not as engaging as the first 2 or 3 segments. There is also, unusually, some poor lip dubbing unless my eyes were deceiving me.

6.5/10

Big fan of the Coen Brothers but I have to wait to watch this one with family unfortunately. Cant wait to see it thought and I don't even realise Tom Waits was in it!

As usual let me know what you think.

Hailed as the movie of the year in some places, I was eager to see it. It's a mystery thriller set in South Korea. While it doesn't quite live up to the masterpiece tag I've seen in some reviews, there are some really great Hitchcockian moments and some glacial pacing. It's packed with metaphors of politics, guilt, betrayal, freedom, the class divide. There are also a few confusing scenes that just didn't make sense to me. Maybe they went over my head. I feel 2017s' Loveless' was a more concise look at a nation's state and the effect on its society.

Still good - but maybe I expected a bit too much.

7/10

It's pretty incredible that this is Director Jeremiah Zagar's first feature, which he also co wrote. The movie is based on a novel and focuses on Jonah the youngest of three brothers growing up in a volatile family environment. We follow Jonah's escapism into magical realism as he tries to forget the harshness of his surroundings. The dialogue and acting from all is brilliant, especially from the three young boys.

Cinematographer Zak Mulligan shot most of it on film and cites Ken Loach and the documentary 'Street Wise' as big influences on the movie. The grainy effect of film captures the nostalgic feel of the narrative and helps the viewer get into the 1980s vibe.

Most of the themes centre around your general coming of age type tropes (Peer pressure, belonging, family dynamics etc) but the real strength of the film is putting the viewer into the headspace of Jonah. Making us live those slices of time and fantasies that he does. There is one scene in particular where the camera swings round to complete a reveal that practically left my jaw on the floor it is done so well.

Fans of films like 'Moonlight', 'The Florida Project', 'Mud, 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' and of Directors like Andrea Arnold might enjoy this one.

Jonah's a young boy, a bit different from his brothers, trying to make sense of the world.

Great film.

It's a poignant, relevant take on America then and now, as well as being hugely anti Trump. The end segment is quite moving. But as a crime comedy thriller, it's not anything special at all.

6.5/10