Rate the Last Film you Watched 2: Electric Boogaloo

[djw180 6,990]

The Thing (1982) dir John Carpenter

 

A classic John Carpenter horror, a remake of the 1950s The Thing From Outer Space. A group of scientists stranded at an Antarctic research station are attacked by an alien parasite that takes over the body of it's victims and attempts to create a new creature based on the host so it can remain undetected. The scientists don't know who is still human and who has been taken over by the alien. Kurt Russel stars and the score is by Ennio Morricone. It's not really my sort of thing, a bit too gory and gruesome and over-the-top with the special effects, but it's meant to be like that. Kurt Russel is fine but some of the support actors are not. There's a few flaws in the plot, like why does a team of scientists have access to so many flame throwers and other weapons, but it's not meant to be taken too seriously so you have to forgive that. It's good at what it is supposed to be. The score is quite subtle, not one of Morricone's epics that you might listen to on it's own, but it adds to the atmosphere of the film.

7 / 10

 

 

The Invitation (2022) dir Jessica Thompson

 

 

 

Nathalie Emmanuel stars in modern day gothic horror. She plays Evie, a young woman from New York who discovers she has some very rich relatives in England and accepts an invitation to a wedding at a country estate. She and the owner fall for each other but the mansion is also home to a monster. I won't say exactly what sort of monster, although the trailer probably gives it away. The interior is gothic style with spooky statues, sealed off rooms and dark corridors. Some of the waitresses hired for the wedding start to disappear. There's clear references to other types of story. Evie actually says at one point something like that she is in a Jane Austin story. Then there's references to Dracula, not only the basic story and style of he interior of the mansion but it is supposed to be set near Whitby. It's sort of done like a modern day Jane Austen story that half way through switches to horror, a bit like how From Dusk to Dawn suddenly becomes a vampire film. But this has a few horror elements earlier on too, and those are not very well done. They are a bit too cliched and not really that scary. One of them also makes no sense given how the story pans out with the monster almost revealing itself too soon, as if it / the film makers could not resist it reaching out a spooky clawed hand to tap Evie on the shoulder. The acting is fine but the script is a little unimaginative at times. The sets are OK but the exterior of the mansion looks nothing like anything you would find in England, because it's not English, as the film was mainly shot in Hungary. Also the mansion looks very new rather than the hundreds of year's old it was supposed to be. Also with respect to the setting, it's supposed to be in Yorkshire, where Whitby is, yet there is not one Yorkshire accent to be heard. That's fair enough for the lord of the manor, his aristocratic friends and other wedding guests, but you would think at least one of the staff, caterers or people in the nearby village would have an authentic accent.

 

5 / 10

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What I Watched This Week #147 (Oct 21-27)

Green Room
dir. Jeremy Saulnier/2015/1h35m 

Punk band The Ain't Rights take a last minute gig while touring but unfortunately the club, located in the middle of nowhere, is run and frequented by neo-n*zi skinheads led by a malevolent Patrick Stewart as Darcy, playing very much against type.  After antagonising the crowd by playing the classic Dead Kennedys song n*zi Punks f*ck Off and seeing something they shouldn't they end up in a siege situation, locked in the green room.  This is a taut and tense thriller that treats the situation realistically, making the threat seem even greater.  If you've seen the director's revenge film Blue Ruin then this has a similar tone and approach to the material.  Scenes of violence are quick, sloppy and unspectacular making the consequences impactful.  Stewart is excellent here, playing his role with a calm menace that always feels threatening.  Out of the rest of the cast the standout is Anton Yelchin as the band's guitarist Pat.  Like all the best punk songs this is a brutal assault on the senses.  8.5/10

The Miu Miu Affair
dir. Laura Citarella/2024/30m 

 

This short film is a companion piece to the director's over four hour feature Trenque Lauquen , sharing similar themes and the same cast playing different characters.  Luxury clothing brand Miu Miu, part of Prada, are hosting a show in a small town in the Argentinian countryside, Trenque Lauquen, when one of their models goes missing – the search for a mysteriously vanished woman also being the main plot thread of the feature.  The search is conducted by world weary detective Maria Jose (Veronica Llinas) and her clairvoyant assistant Lidia (Laura Parades).  This is a film that is playful with its wry humour but always retains an enigmatic, mysterious atmosphere.  Citarella's two films in the Trenque universe remind me in places of the world of Twin Peaks just less surreal.  The two lead performances are both great and the character types juxtapose really well with each other.  I hope I get the chance to visit this world again sooner rather than later.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Terrifier 2
dir. Damien Leone/2022/2h18m 

Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is back in time for Halloween, this time hunting down teenage girl Sienna (Lauren LaVera) who is the only person in the world who can kill him thanks to a prophetic vision and magic sword from her comic book artist father.  So one of my biggest gripes with the first Terrifier is that there are no characters and no story.  Here, Leone has gone too far in the other direction because this has way too much story and it's all stupid, as are the characters.  This is nearly two and a half hours long and for a film that tries so hard to be edgy and shocking the main thing I felt during this was boredom.  There's one notorious scene in this film that I thought was overly malicious and not fun to watch.  Not that I was offended, it was just trying too hard, and the longer it went on it became less shocking because of it.  The practical effects are very effective but sometimes you should go for the whole less-is-more thing.  Like the first film, what saves this is Thornton's performance.  He's very compelling to watch but again, like the gore, the more there is the less scary it becomes and I think we spend too much time with him.  Imagine spending half of the Halloween film following around Michael Myers.  By the end he'd be just some guy.  3/10

High Tension
dir. Alexandre Aja/2003/1h31m 

High Tension is a French slasher about two young women, Marie and Alex (Cecile de France, Maiwenn), spending time at Alex's parent's country house when it is invaded by a man (Phillipe Nahon) who kills Alex's family and abducts her, with Marie spending the rest of the film trying to save her.   The two lead performances are solid enough, and Nahon has a menacing presence, but the big twist towards the end didn't really work for me.  This would've worked better as a straight-forward slasher, but it tries to be too clever.  The first act, which is basically a home invasion film. is well done with some very tense scenes and quick, violent bursts of brutality but the rest of the film can't match that atmosphere.  5.5/10

Witchfinder General
dir. Michael Reeves/1968/1h27m 

Vincent Price stars as real historical figure Matthew Hopkins who was responsible for hundreds of witch hangings during the English Civil War in the mid 17th century.  This film follows Hopkins and his brutish right hand man John Stearne (Robert Russell) as the conduct one of their hunts.  Although not totally historically accurate, especially the ending, this has the ring of authenticity to it, in large part thanks to Price's performance.  He plays Hopkins without any of his usual camp theatricality, making him monstrously methodical and cold.  There's a calmness to him in the torture and execution scenes that is chilling.  Next to him Russell feels like he's overacting a little but his character is a good contrast to Hopkins.  The low budget is evident and none of the supporting cast really stand out, not that they're bad, but this is still a suitably bloody account of one of the darkest parts of England's history.  7/10 

Starve Acre
dir. Daniel Kokotajlo/2023/1h38m 

Starve Acre is a British folk horror starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark as Richard and Juliette, a couple grieving the death of their son while staying at Richard's father's farm, which he recently inherited.  A local folk tale and a dead rabbit are just the first signs of something evil haunting the land.  This is a slow burn of a film that spends a lot of time establishing character, particularly that of Richard who is an archaeologist - that connection with the land being an important theme here.  There's a great use of the beautifully bleak Yorkshire countryside, the landscapes dominating the film at times.  The slow introduction of supernatural elements is done so that it could be read as part of their trauma before they totally take over in the final act.  Smith and Clark are good here, their pain and grief coming across are real and painful.  As folk horrors go this is pretty standard fare with nothing especially unique – my measuring stick in this genre being the incredible Enys Men – but it's well made and worth watching.  7.5/10

Slay
dir. Jem Garrard/2024/1h39m 

Priscilla Queen of the Desert meets From Dusk Till Dawn when four drag queens – Trinity the Tuck, Heidi N Closet, Crystal Methyd, Cara Melle – are accidentally booked to perform in a biker bar that they soon have to help defend against a horde of vampires.  This is a fun and campy film that knows exactly what it is and plays to its strengths by remaining consistently silly.  The four leads are great with each having a distinct role in the group, but I thought that most of the supporting characters were just annoying, especially one called Sheila (Robyn Scott), but I did like the owner/bartender Dusty (Neil Sandilands) who gets a fabulous final act costume change.  This is another film where the low budget is obvious but it does well to pull off a grungy yet glittery feel.  This is most definitely more a comedy than a horror, and they really pack in the jokes here.  Sadly a lot of them are misses, even more if you don't like the overly theatrical drag queen style, but the occasional hits are hilarious.  Not amazing but this is still some decent light hearted fun for spooky season.  6.5/10

[djw180 6,990]

The Bad Sleep Well (1960) dir Akira Kurosawa

 

 

 

A film inspired by the William Shakespeare play Hamlet. But its not the story of Hamlet simply transposed to a mid twentieth century Japanese setting, rather it shares some of the same plot elements. If I hadn't known in advance this was inspired by Hamlet I am not sure I would have picked up on that. I certainly would not call this an adaptation of Hamlet. It's not like how The Magnificent Seven is The Seven Samurai or Cruel Intentions is Dangerous Liaisons, in different settings. It's much more subtle. What is similar is either something you could find in many stories or is changed from what was in Hamlet. There is a man seeking revenge for the death of this father and a brother being very protective of his sister, but those are hardly unique Shakespearian plot elements. Then there are things like a “ghost” appearing, except in this case its not a ghost but a man thought to be dead who is not, or a situation set up to make an accusation in a way that only those guilty are going to understand, but done differently and at a completely different point in the story to when that happens in Hamlet.

 

But all that takes nothing away from the film itself, which is very good. It stars Toshiro Mifune as Koichi Nishi, a young man, marrying into the family of the wealthy CEO of a big corporation, accused of financial and other crimes. Nishi's father was killed (forced to take his own life) some years earlier so that he would appear to take the blame for one of the corporation's misdemeanours. Nishi's existence was not known to the company as he was the son of his father's mistress and never publicly acknowledged. So now he has taken a new identity, befriended the son of the CEO and married the daughter, getting a job as the CEO's PA. He is as respectful to his new wife as he can be. He knows he has deceived her and because of that does not sleep with her. It starts at their wedding, which is interrupted by the police come of arrest one of the company managers and it becomes clear the detectives are after the CEO too, but don't yet have enough evidence. Nishi's job goes further than being a PA and he is tasked with ensuring another company fall guy commits suicide, so he is clearly highly trusted by his boss. It's now just a matter of putting in motion the final parts of his plan to bring down those who killed his father. It's well made and acted and the story progresses nicely. There are some good scenes of Nishi and his wife. She clearly loves her husband and he is clearly torn between pursuing his goals and the guilt he feels towards her. It doesn't go too far in terms of action, no chase scenes, no big shoot-outs or anything like that. It's about the story telling.

 

8 / 10

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What I Watched This Week #148 (Oct 28-Nov 3)

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person 
dir. Ariane Louis-Seize/2023/1h30m 

Sasha (Sara Montpetit) is a teenage vampire who, much to the exasperation of her parents, refuses to kill as she has too much empathy, a decision that is slowly killing her.  She meets suicidal Paul (Felix-Antoine Benard) and he offers his life for hers, but over the course of the night the two form a bond and find a reason to live.  Deadpan humour and charmingly awkward teenage romance add a lightness to what is a very deep emotional drama that is more complex than it at first seems.  This put me in mind of a strange mix between A Girl Walked Home Alone at Night and Napoleon Dynamite.  There's a beautifully staged scene where the two listen to an old record and, without a word, nervously steal looks at each other for an unbroken three minutes and it has more depth and meaning than most films manage in an hour and a half.  You really get the feeling that you're caught up in that dramatic first flush of love where you feel like Romeo and Juliet.  The two lead performances are extraordinary, especially Montpetit, and the direction has a real warmth to it despite being set mostly during the night.  I loved this.  10/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Jigsaw
dir. Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig/2017/1h31m 

Most of the time while I was watching this I was thinking “have I seen this one before..?  No.  No, I haven't.  Wait, have I?  I have!  No?  Oh, yeah I have”.  I think this is the eighth film in the Saw franchise, and by this point they all just kind of blur into one homogenous mess.  It's a shame because I think the original is a really good, tense thriller with a great, if ridiculous, twist.  2/10

Terrifier 3
dir. Damien Leone/2024/2h5m 

It's Christmastime and, five years after the events of the last film, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) is back playing Santa and everyone is on the naughty list, especially Sienna (Lauren LaVera) who bested him the last time they met.  Not as long as Terrifier 2, this is still bloated and full of ridiculous bits of lore that makes the whole thing feel like a parody at times, I actually found myself invested in the character of Sienna here.  I think LaVera does a decent job in portraying the trauma and PTSD she's suffering after the last film.  Again, the gore here is very well done but so gross that it becomes banal.  The best thing about this film, as is the case with the others, is Thornton's performance as Art who manages to be both creepy and funny.  4/10

Immaculate
dir. Michael Mohan/2024/1h29m 

Sydney Sweeney plays Sister Cecilia, an American nun recently arrived at a remote Italian convent.  Things take a sinister turn when she becomes pregnant despite being a v*rgin and she starts to think that all is not so holy at the convent.  This religious horror doesn't do anything new and owes a huge debt to the likes of Rosemary's Baby but it does do a very good job of ramping up the tension and supernatural elements at a deliberate pace until it's ready to go for broke in the final act.  There are a couple of unexpectedly gruesome moments that shocked me more then anything in the Terrifier films precisely because they are so unexpected.  Sweeney gives a good performance as a true believer who must become a fighter in order to survive, and there are a couple of memorable supporting performances from Dora Romano as the Mother Superiour and Alvaro Morte as the charismatic Father Tedeschi.  A well made, if uninspiring, thriller with a memorable smash cut to black ending, emphasis on the smash.  7/10

Joker: Folie a Deux  
dir. Todd Phillips/2024/2h18m 

This sequel to 2019's Joker picks up from the end of that film with Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in prison awaiting his trial for multiple murders.  While inside he meets and forms a relationship with Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), the two seeming to make the perfect couple.  The first film was a well made rip off of Scorsese's The King of Comedy elevated by an incredible performance from Phoenix that didn't need a sequel.  Thankfully this isn't taking the predictable route of charting Fleck as he wreaks havoc as the crown prince of crime but instead does something interesting and sees him try to face his many mental health problems while struggling to break free of his anarchic alter ego.  This hasn't gone down well with comic book fans as it strays far from the source material, but not being a big comic book guy myself that isn't an issue for me.  Phoenix is once again excellent, really giving his all in his performance.  Gaga is also good and I liked how her character became a kind of antagonist in always pushing Arthur to be Joker.  Brendon Gleeson has a supporting role as the lead prison guard and as much as I like him, and he does give a good performance with what he's given here, his character is too much of a caricature, one scene even implying that he and some other guards r*pe Arthur.  Steve Coogan also pops up in one scene as a television reporter interviewing Arthur and it just came across as Alan Partridge doing a bad American accent to me.  I haven't mentioned it yet but this film is also a musical - another sticking point for a lot of people – and I think it works well at portraying Arthur's mental state.  I loved the moments where we go full fantasy and Arthur and Lee are singing and dancing on an old school style soundstage like a musical from the 40s and 50s.  But I am a musical fan so I'm probably biased.  Don't believe the anti-hype, not everything here works but it's going for something different and for that alone it should be commended, and I honestly think it's better than the original.  8.5/10

Piece by Piece
dir. Morgan Neville/2024/1h34m 

Piece by Piece is a hybrid biopic/documentary about the life and career of musician and producer Pharrell Williams starring the man himself and featuring appearances by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Timbaland, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake.  The gimmick here is that the whole film is animated with Lego.  This makes for a playful, vibrant and imaginative film that matches Williams' method for creating music, putting it together piece by piece until you have something new.  This is also a very funny film, making full use of the medium and the absurdity of everything being Lego to make some hilarious visual gags.  Being a family friendly film this does smooth off some of the rough edges of his story but I still found Williams to be an open and honest subject not afraid to discuss his shortcomings.  I love it when the style and form of a film like this matches its subject – Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and the David Bowie doc Moonage Daydream come to mind – and Piece by Piece does just that with its eclectic and imaginative presentation.  9/10

Strange World
dir. Don Hall, Qui Nguyen/2022/1h42m 

 

Farmer Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal), son of legendary explorer Jaeger (Dennis Quaid), must go on his own adventure deep beneath the surface of the planet when his crops, which also acts as the planet's energy source, start to die.  The plot here is quite simple but it has an excellent third act twist that I though worked really well and fits in with the environmental themes and message of the film.  What works best here is the look of the world beneath the surface, populated by really well designed creatures that feel truly alien, as do the environments.  Not quite as good is the family drama between Jaeger and Searcher and between Searcher and his son Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White).  It's the classic case of simply sitting down and talking to each other would solve all their problems, but then there'd be no film.  The performances are all good, with Quaid's bombastic 50s b-movie style bravado standing out to me.  This won't go down as a Disney classic but there are some really good ideas here alongside some gorgeous animation.  7/10

@djw180 The Bad Sleep Well is the least faithful of his Shakespeare films, the other two are much more recognisable.  

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Throne of Blood (1957) dir Akira Kurosawa

 

 

This is Kurosawa's version of Macbeth. It's not like the more usual Shakespearian adaptations that use the original lines, rather it's the same basic story with different lines in a different setting; medieval Japan. It's unmistakeably Macbeth right from the start as the camera pans across a misty, mysterious, highland landscape. Toshirô Mifune stars Washizu (i.e. Macbeth), initially a soldier (I guess you would say Samurai, although I am not totally sure of the correct usage of that) in the army of the local lord (i.e. King Duncan). Washizu and another soldier, Miki (i.e. Macduff), are on the way back from a victorious battle to their lord's castle. They get lost in forest and come across a spirit (equivalent of the witches) who foretells their promotion and that eventually Washizu will be the new lord but it will be Miki's son who succeeds him. They are promoted, Washizu tells his wife (Lady Macbeth, obviously) about the prophecy and it is she who encourages him on the path of deceit, betrayal and murder that will see him full-fill the rest of the prophecy but attempt to change it so that a son of his own succeeds him. One thing I did find slightly odd, and funny, is that whereas in Shakespeare's original (and the historical facts it is based on) Macbeth becomes King of Scotland, here Washizu becomes Lord of Spider's Web Castle. I am assuming that in Japanese “Spider's Web Castle” sounds more impressive than it does in English.

It is very well made, of course, and the actors are good, particularly Isuzu Yamada as Lady Washizu. Like Olivier's Shakespeare adaptions it does not seem dated, and I think the Shakespearian style is what helps there. There is some very impressive cinematography, both of the landscapes and some of the castle interior scenes. One that sticks in my mind is when Lady Washizu hatches one of her plans we see her walk into another room, that is pitch black and then emerge shortly after carrying some bottles of drugged saki. The camera stays fixed for all of this, with the doorway to the dark room in the centre so it's almost like she disappears and then reappears, as if using magic.

Definitely well worth watching if you are into Shakespeare or Samurai films.

9 / 10

 

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What I Watched This Week #149 (Nov 4-10)

And Then There Were None
dir. Rene Clair/1945/1h38m 

Adapted from the Agatha Christie novel – the world's best selling mystery book, which has a rather unfortunate original title that you'll have to Google for yourself – this tells the story of ten strangers invited to an island off the English coast by an unknown host.  There they discover that they are all responsible for somebody's death, and soon they start dropping off one by one.  This setup sounds clichéd now but you can't make that argument here as this story invented that cliché.  What I like here is how playful and light the direction is, giving the film a macabre sense of humour.  This is also true of the performances, particularly those of Barry Fitzgerald as Judge Quinncannon and Walter Huston as Dr. Armstrong.  The mystery itself is a good one and had me guessing up to the reveal.  I don't think this is as good as the Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple films of the 60s, or the Peter Ustinov's Poirot films from the 70s, but if you're a fan of a good murder mystery then you will enjoy this.  7.5/10

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
dir. Ang Lee/2000/2h 

This fantasy martial arts film stars Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-fat as two master warriors, Yu Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai, who must work together to track down a powerful sword that was stolen by a young thief, Jen (Zhang Ziyi), who is also the daughter of a nobleman.  This is a gorgeous looking film full of vibrant colours that is famous for its spectacular wire work that sees the characters float and fly through the air.  This makes for some unique fight sequences where they hop along rooftops or duel high up in a bamboo forest.  The two leads are both great, especially in the scenes they share where they have to deal with their repressed feelings for each other.  I did feel like there were some pacing issues early on, and the story becomes slightly convoluted just for the sake of creating more drama, but it does tie up quite nicely at the end where Jen is able to find some freedom and an identity of her own that isn't defined by anyone else, that is if you take it symbolically.  8/10

A Quiet Place
dir. John Krasinski/2018/1h31m 

Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (who also directs) are the parents of three young children living in a world populated by blind creatures that hunt by sound, forcing them to live silently.  Adding a ticking clock to proceedings is the fact that Blunt's character is pregnant.  This film has a brilliantly tense atmosphere that is sustained through the entire runtime with a couple of standout set pieces that had me on the edge of my seat.  I'm not a huge fan of the design of the creatures and I feel like we see them too much but the always feel like a threat.  Blunt and Krasinski both do a good job and have a natural chemistry which is to be expected as they are married in real life, but the real star of the film is Millicent Simmonds as their daughter Regan who is deaf (as is Simmonds).  This feeds nicely into the film as it allows them to communicate by sign language, something very useful in a world like this, and also has other ramifications later on.  8/10

Heroes Shed No Tears
dir. John Woo/1986/1h33m 

Heroes Shed No Tears is John Woo's first proper action film and he cements his reputation for b*lls to the wall mayhem and org*es of explosions right out of the gate – although I didn't see any doves.  Eddy Ko Hung stars as Chan Chung, leader of a group of Chinese mercenaries hired by the Thai government to kidnap a druglord.  That's the easy part, getting out alive is the hard part, especially with an insane General (Bruce Jang Il-Sik) hunting them down.  This film is relentless with hardly a few minutes passing before a shoot out or something blows up, with those gaps filled with an entertainingly dramatic narrative that veers into melodrama as Chung's wife and young son are caught up in the action.  It does feel somewhat disjointed at times, with one particularly long gambling scene there just for comedic relief.  Not as polished as his later works, that rough and ready vibe gives it charm, and a supporting cast of likeable characters make this a fun watch.  8/10

Firebrand
dir. Karim Ainouz/2023/2h 

Firebrand is a historical drama about Katherine Parr (Alicia Vikander), the sixth and final wife of King Henry VIII (Jude Law).  Anyone paying attention in history class will recall the method for remembering the fates of his wives – divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived – so we know she doesn't meet a bloody end, so the film does an excellent job of building the tension and sense of threat in their relationship.  At this point Henry is getting sicker and sicker from an infected wound in his leg and his increasing paranoia makes him a volatile character.  Law does a brilliant job here, managing to go from a pathetic, weak figure to an imposing monster, often in the same scene.  This may be the best performance he's ever given.  Vikander is equally impressive.  Her Parr is a powerful woman – she was made regent while Henry was abroad fighting – but aware that her life is always on the line.  An excellent supporting cast including Eddie Marsan as Edward Seymour and Simon Russell Beale as the scheming Bishop Gardiner, and vivid period costumes and production design round out an enthralling film.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

Respect
dir. Benoit Forgeard/2011/14m 

This short film is about a man, Steph (Thibault Sauvaige) having an argument with his partner over breakfast, only that his partner is Flippy, an anthropomorphic bear mascot for a breakfast cereal.  Flippy is a controlling *sshole who is physically and verbally abusive to Steph, who wants to leave to go to ninja school.  There's a sense of absurdity and playfulness here that is let down by the blandness of the production.  Everything about it feels flat, the direction, lighting and performances, with none of it matching the tone of the story.  But there is something about the concept that piqued my interest enough to check out another of the director's films.  5/10

f*ck UK
dir. Benoit Forgeard/2012/13m 

Another absurd short from Benoit Forgeard, f*ck UK follows the exploits of Michel (Gaspard Proust), leader of a fringe group that hates the UK and wants to wipe every trace of anything British from France.  But it turns out that this is all because he's in love with an English woman, Jane (Julia Vandoorne), who he is angry at - “I am French, you are strange.  I will never come to your country of sh*t”.  The direction is much better here than in Respect with a nice use of montage, and this film is actually funny with some laugh out loud moments.  More of a sketch than a film this also benefits from a solid performance from Proust as the surly and childishly petulant Brit hater.  7/10

10 Rillington Place
dir. Richard Fleischer/1971/1h46m 

Based on a true story, 10 Rillington Place stars Richard Attenborough as John Christie, a softly spoken middle aged man who rents out flats at the titular address in which he also lives in late 40s London.  He also happens to be a serial killer.  When he rents out a flat to simple, trusting Timothy Evans (John Hurt) and his wife Beryl (Judy Geeson) he finds another target, and someone to take the blame.  This is a thriller that is chilling in its restraint, building up the tension masterfully.  This is all down to the performance from Attenborough who manages to channel the menace he showed in Brighton Rock as an angry young man and suppress it all internally as an older man who now knows how to focus his rage.  A young Hurt is also good, giving a very sympathetic performance as an innocent man in way over his head and accused of a crime he didn't commit, though he does come across as a bit too naïve at times.  The film also has a epilogue that isn't really needed.  Sure, it's nice to know that Christie eventually went on to face justice, but there's a much better ending place, narratively speaking, a few minutes earlier.  8.5/10

Austin Powers in Goldmember
dir. Jay Roach/2002/1h34m 

 

Mike Myers is back for the final time as the swinging 60s superspy, again battling Dr. Evil (also Myers), who this time has teamed up with 70s disco kingpin Goldmember (also also Myers) to hold the world hostage.  Powers is assisted by former girlfriend Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyoncé) and his father Nigel Powers (Michael Caine).  Also returning are Dr. Evil's henchmen Mini Me (Verne Troyer) and Fat b*stard (also also also Myers).  Opening with a spoof of a spoof that sees Tom Cruise play Powers in a Mission Impossible rip off directed by Steven Spielberg, this is a film that knows what it is and will make any stupid joke to get a laugh, with most of them landing.  The plot is basically pointless, with it being just a vehicle for Myers to play around and it's as much fun to watch as it must have been to make.  Caine is hilarious as the elder Powers getting good use of his under utilised talent for comedy and Goldmember might be my favourite one dimensional character in any comedy.  I also love that the ending of this comedy spoof of a Bond film was later used as an actual plot point for the actual Bond film Spectre.  Not as good as the original, I'd say that this and the second film are about equal and are still a lot of fun to watch.  7/10

Edited November 19 by LimeGreenLegend

[LimeGreenLegend 4,287]

Over the last couple of years I've been slowly making my way through every Disney animated feature film and, having recently watched Wish (which will be in my next batch of reviews) I've now seen all of them - that is until Moana 2 releases later this year.  

So I'm now presenting my official tier list which is the definitive ranking of all 62 Disney films (each tier goes from best to worst so it's all in order).

S Tier (10/10) - Beauty and the Beast / Fantasia / The Lion King / Pinocchio / Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

A Tier (8-9/10) - Aladdin / Sleeping Beauty / Lilo and Stitch / Alice in Wonderland / One Hundred and One Dalmatians / Tarzan / Fantasia 2000 / The Princess and the Frog / Bolt / The Jungle Book / Robin Hood / The Little Mermaid / The Rescuers / Hercules

B Tier (7/10) - Mulan / The Great Mouse Detective / Cinderella / Big Hero 6 / Zootopia / Tangled / Moana / The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh / Frozen / Brother Bear / The Rescuers Down Under / The Fox and the Hound / Pocahontas / Wreck It Ralph / Peter Pan / The Hunchback of Notre Dame / Treasure Planet / The Three Caballeros 

C Tier (5-6/10) - The Lady and the tr*mp / The Emperor's New Groove / The Aristocats / Bambi / Strange World / Encanto / Atlantis The Lost Empire / Oliver and Company / The Sword in the Stone / Winnie the Pooh / Ralph Breaks the Internet / Meet The Robinsons / Dumbo / Raya and the Last Dragon / Saludos Amigos / The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad / The Black Cauldron / Wish / Frozen 2

F Tier (sh*t) - Make Mine Music / Melody Time / Fun and Fancy Free / Dinosaur / Home on the Range / Chicken Little

Edited November 20 by LimeGreenLegend

[djw180 6,990]

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023) dir Radu Jude

 

 

From the director of Bad Luck Banging or Loon p*rn, another satire set in Bucharest, Romania. It's of a similar style; no unsimulated s*x in this one, but lots of sexually explicit language. It stars Ilinca Manolache as an overworked film production company PA, Angela. It's shot in a very unique way in 2 main parts. It's quite long, 2 hours 43 mins due to how the first part is presented. It all takes place in one day, starting with Angela getting up very early in the morning and finishing at night.

 

The first part.

Angela is auditioning people for health & safety film the company has been commissioned to make by the foreign owners of some Romanian factories. The client wants the film to feature someone who was badly injured telling the viewers how important it is to always wear the proper safety clothing (even though that clearly was not the reason they got injured). We follow Angela as she conducts four auditions and fits in other things she has to do that day. In between each audition or other activity there are sequences where we just watch Angela drive her car around Bucharest as if we were in the passenger seat looking at her. She gets lots of sexist abuse from various other drivers, because she's blonde and attractive. These two bits are shot in black and white. Also cut into this first section are two other types of scene, in colour. One of these follows a female taxi driver, also called Angela, in early the 1980s. The other is the modern-day film-PA Angela recording videos she later posts on Instagram using a filter that turns her face into that of man. In this alter-ego she gives out the sort of abuse she gets from some drivers but goes a lot, lot further, recounting various apparent s*xual conquests, one of which included a threes*me with King Charles III of Britain. If anyone is offended by swearing and sexually explicit language, you would not want to watch these bits. But they are very funny. The 1980s taxi-driving scenes are very cleverly done; according to the credits they took bits of an actual 1980s film and then added in more they shot for this film in authentic vehicles and locations, but you would not know which were which as they blend together seamlessly.  We also get a sort of interlude about a road with a very high rate of fatal accidents – this could be a short film on it's own.

The second part.

Then comes the final scene, the shooting of the actual health & safety film. This scene, maybe almost an hour long (not 100% sure) was clearly shot in one take with the camera in the same fixed position all the time. The injured former employee and his family, also featured in the film, have to endure multiple re-takes of what should just be a few minutes of film as the director and the client keep making changes, moving things that were in the background, changing the dialogue etc etc. Again this very funny but not in a laugh-out-loud way, just the ridiculous nature of what is going on.

 

It's not going to be for everyone, but I think this is truly brilliant film.

 

10 / 10

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,287]

What I Watched This Week #150 (Nov 11-17)

The African Queen
dir. John Huston/1951/1h45m 

The African Queen stars Katharine Hepburn as Rose, a missionary in Africa at the outbreak of WWI.  When her brother is killed by the Germans she persuades a drunken riverboat captain, Charlie (Humphrey Bogart), to take her down river and blow up a German gunboat.  This is a fun adventure movie with a large part of it shot on location, which was unusual for the time, making it stand out from other films of the era.  But what really makes this movie are the two lead performances and the chemistry between Hepburn and Bogart.  Hepburn is fantastic here as a woman who discovers her love of adventure after a life of quiet devotion to the lord.  One scene in particular stands out – as they are boating down some white water rapids she is laughing in delight even though she is also terrified, it perfectly captures her newfound lust for life.  The romance is predictable but done with real charm and affection that makes it work, and it culminates in one of the funniest wedding scenes I've seen.  8/10

A King in New York
dir. Charlie Chaplin/1957/1h44m 

Chaplin's penultimate film sees him play King Shadov, deposed ruler of a fictional European country seeking refuge in New York where he soon becomes a celebrity.  But before long he is accused of being a Communist after helping out a Marx obsessed schoolboy, Rupert, played by his son Michael.  This is deeply personal for Chaplin as he was exiled from the USA in 1952 after being accused of being a Communist himself.  This gives the film a melancholic air as he truly loved America, the country that allowed him to make something of himself after his poverty stricken childhood in Victorian England.  Despite that he still managed to make a very funny film here, with the scene at the boy's school where he first meets Rupert being a highlight.  There are also glimpses of his physical comedy from his silent era, but being nearly 70 at this time he has lost a bit of the sharpness he once had.  Not on the level of his two masterpiece talkies, The Great Dictator and Limelight, this is still a great late film from one of the true geniuses of cinema.  8/10

Wish
dir. Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn/2023/1h35m 

The most recent Disney film at time of writing, Wish stars Ariana DeBose as Asha, a young woman in a magical land called Rosas where wishes have power.  One day she makes a wish so strong that it summons a star down from the sky and the two set out to topple the evil King Magnifico (Chris Pine).  The main thing that stands out about this film is the art style, with the backgrounds going for a hand painted look while the characters are cel shaded models that reminded me of the character style from the TellTale Walking Dead Games.  Taken on their own each is fine, with some quite beautiful work at times, but the two don't really mesh and makes the characters feel disconnected from the world.  This film's biggest sin is just being plain bland.  This was released in Disney's centenary year but it shares nothing with the companies best films.  If I was in charge of Disney I would have made a third Fantasia film with each segment representing the different periods and styles of the company for their 100th birthday, not this wet blanket of a film.  5/10

Two short films by Radu Jude:

Caricaturana
2021/9m (no videos of this)

Semiotic Plastic
2021/22m 

These two short films from Romanian director Radu Jude, who made the excellent Bad Luck Banging and Do Not Expect Too Much From The End of the World, both showcase his love for experimentation but feel very distinct from each other.  Caricaturana takes up an idea from Sergei Eisenstein by taking illustrations of a fictional French character and juxtaposing it with modern headlines, making him react to the headline “actress Gwyneth Paltrow sued as man claims v*gina-scented candle exploded”.  Semiotic Plastic takes children's dolls and toys and sets them up in various different tableaux, mostly quite infantile like a couple of Barbie dolls 69ing, but others seem to deal with war and famine, just all in an artificial, sanitised way.  Both of these films deal with modernity but I feel that Semiotic Plastic is more successful though it does seem overlong even at 22 minutes.  

Caricaturana – 5/10
Semiotic Plastic – 7/10

Kneecap 
dir. Rich Peppiatt/2024/1h45m 

Like The Village People film Can't Stop The Music, this film tells the fictional origin story of a real band, in this case the titular Kneecap, a Belfast based hip-hop trio who rap in Irish as a political act and a way to preserve the language.  When music teacher JJ O Dochartaigh is called in by the police to translate for someone who refuses to speak English he meets Liam Og O hAnnaidh, an angry young man who likes to write poems.  Seeing potential in him he lays down some beats and, along with Liam's friend Naoise O Caireallain, Kneecap is born (thankfully for any of us who don't speak Irish they also go under the names DJ Provai, Moglai Bap and Mo Chara).  This is a funny, vibrant, confrontational film that revels in the club scene these lads find an escape in, expressing themselves through music and copious amounts of drugs.  What really impressed me is how good they all are at acting despite this being their first film.  O Dochartaigh is the stand out bringing some real nuance to his role as the older of the trio, conflicted between his responsibilities and his calling as a balaclava clad DJ.  One of my favourite films from this year.  9/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

The Cabin in the Woods
dir. Drew Goddard/2011/1h35m 

A group of the most stereotypical teens you can imagine, including a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth, head out to a cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun.  However, after reading a Latin incantation from an old book they summon a family of torture obsessed zombies who start to hunt them down.  There's also a parallel storyline going on at the same time that I won't go into as it would spoil the best thing about this film.  It's hard to talk too much about it without giving anything away, but I'll say that everything seems clichéd for a reason.  I did find the dialogue to be pretty bad, having the typical Joss Whedon problem of everyone being snarky and witty making them pretty much indistinguishable from each other.  But I found the concept of this film really interesting, even if it does devolve into CGI ridiculousness by the end.  6/10

[LimeGreenLegend 4,287]

What I Watched This Week #151 (Nov 18-24)

Blackmail 
dir. Alfred Hitchcock/1929/1h26m 

This early Hitchcock film serves as both his last silent film and his first talkie, making two versions as many cinemas still weren't equipped for sound (I watched the talkie version).  It stars Anny Ondra as Alice, a woman who feels ignored by her boyfriend Frank (John Longden), a Scotland Yard detective, so she accepts a date from a charming artist (Cyril Ritchard).  When he tries to force himself on her she kills him in self defence.  Making things worse for her, not only has Frank been assigned to the case but there's someone out there who knows what she did.  Even at this stage in his career Hitchcock proves himself a master of building suspense and an oppressive sense of paranoia.  One scene stands out in particular – a throwaway conversation in the background that Alice overhears features the word knife prominently, and soon all the other words fade out until all she hears is “knife, knife, KNIFE, KNIFE”.  This also shows how he was always ready to experiment with new technology in service of telling a story.  The film does drag in the middle, and none of the performances really stand out, but this is still a really solid thriller that culminates in a fun chase through the British Museum adding some spectacle to proceedings.  7/10

The Wild Robot
dir. Chris Sanders/2024/1h42m 

The latest animated film from DreamWorks, The Wild Robot stars Lupita Nyong'o as Roz, a service robot shipwrecked on an island.  With no humans around to give her orders she looks for a task on her own, deciding to care for a gosling, Brightbill (Kit Connor), after accidentally killing his mother and destroying his nest.  This is a beautifully animated film with a nice distinction between the natural world and animals of the island and the metallic, manmade Roz.  The performances are all excellent.  Nyong'o doesn't have much dialogue but really brings warmth and emotion to Roz, and you can hear her evolving through the film as she becomes less of a machine.  The story is heartfelt without being saccharine, showing the difficulties of parenthood in a nuanced way.  I can't believe that a montage of a robot teaching a baby goose how to fly actually made me cry.  The supporting cast is stacked with the likes of Bill Nighy, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O'Hara, Matt Berry and Mark Hamill, and they all do a fantastic job.  9/10

The Substance
dir. Coralie Fargeat/2024/2h21m 

Demi Moore stars as Elisabeth Sparkle, a past-her-prime celebrity who takes an experimental drug that produces a younger version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley).  Despite being the same person the two soon come into conflict, with Elisabeth jealous of Sue's newfound fame and Sue disgusted by Elisabeth's gluttony.  This is a blunt force satire about the impossible beauty standards imposed on women, mostly by men – Dennis Quaid also features as Elisabeth's slimy agent Harvey, “pretty girls should always smile”.  There is nothing subtle about this film, but that matches the aesthetic of plastic superficiality of the world created here, a timeless place that could be the eighties or contemporary where everything is surface level.  The direction reminded me of a cross between Kubrick and Cronenberg, with some very Kubrickian shots of long corridors or sterile rooms mixed up with the f*cked up body horror of Cronenberg.  I'm not going to spoil anything here as I think you all need to watch this, but the last half hour of this is just a continuing escalation of what-the-f*ckness.  Moore is incredible here giving the best performance of the year.  One scene where she's trying to get ready for a date but has to keep putting on more and more makeup as she doesn't feel good enough was heart-breaking.  This is probably going to be my film of the year.  10/10 Lime's Film of the Week!

PlayTime
dir. Jacques Tati/1967/1h55m 

PlayTime sees Jacques Tati return as his legendary comic creation, the perpetually perplexed Monsieur Hulot.  The film is loosely split into two parts.  The first is set in confusing glass and steel building where various gadgets are being sold, with Hulot getting lost looking for a business contact.  The second is set in a restaurant on opening night where everything that can go wrong does.  A gentle satire on modern life this washes over you like a wave, taking its time to build up the world with lots of little details and sight gags – one of my favourites being the doorman of the restaurant miming opening the door even after it has been destroyed, insisting that the guests wait for him to do so.  This is also a very dense film, at times the screen is filled with extras like insects milling through a hive, Hulot bumbling his way through the mass of humanity.  As well as being a comment on the hustle and bustle of modern life it really makes this feel like a living, breathing world.  Not a laugh out loud comedy, this is still a charming film that always had me smiling.  8.5/10

Megalopolis
dir. Francis Ford Coppola/2024/2h18m 

Francis Ford Coppola's passion project – on which he's been working for over forty years and funded with over a hundred million dollars of his own money – Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as Cesar Catalina, a genius architect with a grand vision for a utopian future.  He is opposed by Mayor Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito) whilst also falling in love with his daughter Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel).  This is a f*cking mess of a movie that feels disjointed with some bizarre acting choices bordering on the comedic by the entire cast, which also includes Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Aubrey Plaza who all have ridiculous names – Plaza's character is called Wow Platinum.  A modern fable mirroring the fall of the Roman Empire, this is pretentious in all the worst ways and makes you thank God that Coppola had producers overseeing him when he made The Godfather, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now etc.  At times it can be visually stunning, at times it looks like cheap greenscreen, but I do respect the originality, even if a lot of it doesn't work.  A swing and a miss, but at least it was a swing.  4/10 

Pusher
dir. Nicolas Winding Refn/1996/1h50m 

This Danish crime film is the debut from Nicolas Winding Refn and stars Kim Bodina as Frank, a small time Copenhagen drug dealer who gets in over his head when a deal goes wrong and he ends up owing a lot of money to Serbian drug lord Milo (Zlatko Buric).  This is such a snapshot of 90s cinema of the genre, things like Trainspotting, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels etc, handheld camerawork, pumping soundtrack, gritty characters.  Frank isn't a sympathetic character but Bodina does a decent job of making him feel real and grounded.  But the film is stolen by Mads Mikkelsen in his film debut as Frank's friend Tonny.  He brings some personality and chaotic energy to the film.  Visually this doesn't really share much DNA with Refn's later work, which is all cool, detached and neon soaked, and it feels like he's trying to copy someone else's style and not finding his own.  But this is still worth watching if you're a fan of gritty and brutal crime films.  7/10

Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall
dir. Bryan Gordon/1987/23m 

This Oscar winning comedy short stars Boyd Gaines as unemployed businessman Sam who discovers it's not what you know but who you know.  And the business elite of New York like to meet up at Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall to ballroom dance to the golden oldies whilst networking.  This is a dryly absurd satire that pokes fun at its subject but also doesn't take itself too seriously.  Gaines is a good lead, baffled at first but soon getting into the swing of things, and there are a couple of other familiar faces here too, including Fred Willard.  Charming and funny, I love anything that rips the p*ss out of the wealthy and elite.  8/10

[djw180 6,990]

The Untamed (2016) dir Amat Escalante

 

 

This is quite a strange, but interesting film. It was in the Sci-fi section on BFI player. Although it certainly has some Sci-fi in it I would not say that was it's main genre. It's basically a drama about a group of people in semi-rural Mexico, at least two of whom have a s*x with an alien – hence the Sci-fi element. The main characters are Alejandra (Ruth Ramos) and Veronica (Simone Bucio). Alejandra is stuck in an unhappy marriage. Her brother introduces her to Veronica who already knows the alien, which she was apparently drawn to and found as if some mysterious force was guiding her to it. The alien's appearance is slowly revealed as the film goes on. At first all we see is a tentacle, so it's clearly not a human-like alien. It's largely left to your imagination what the alien looks like and how it has s*x with humans. Whilst there are a few explicit scenes, they tend to be quite short and I would say only two are particularly graphic. There's some nice cinematography, sometimes shot from unusual places, some nicely set against the landscape. There's not much in the way of special effects, but when we do get to the see the alien fully those are quite good. The music is good including some modern, not very melodic, orchestral pieces, adding to the atmosphere. I think the plot is a bit lacking in detail at times, for example some people who visit the alien get injured, or worse, and why that is was not clear to me.

 

7 / 10

 

@LimeGreenLegend I was planning on watching Ran this week, but it's not available as part of my BFI subscription, only as a rental. So when my subscription ends I'll either rent it on there or see if I can get a cheap second hand DVD copy.

 

[LimeGreenLegend 4,287]

@djw180 that sucks.  It is on the Studio Canal service through Amazon, which I'm sure there's a free trial of.  

[LimeGreenLegend 4,287]

What I Watched This Week #152 (Nov 25-Dec 1)

Radiohead: In Rainbows - From the Basement
dir. David Barnard/2008/1h3m 

This concert film sees Radiohead play most of their In Rainbows album, plus a few select other songs, in Maida Vale Studios in London.  The setting, and the fact that there is no audience, makes for an incredibly intimate experience and allows you to fully focus on the musicianship of each of the band members.  Thom Yorke is an entrancing frontman – and excellent dancer if you've seen Paul Thomas Anderson's short film Anima – with his idiosyncratic twitching and distinctive wailing voice.  I also liked how, thanks to the close proximity this films gives us, I was able to see the chord choices he makes when playing guitar.  It's not something that the casual viewer would catch, but as a dabbler in guitar myself I really appreciated it.  It was also fascinating to see lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood at work, his corner of the studio like a lab as he not only plays guitar but also keyboards and synths and at one point he's programming beats on a laptop.  An up close and personal look at one of the best bands ever at work.  10/10

Harakiri
dir. Masaki Kobayashi/1962/2h15m 

A depressed ronin – a samurai without a master – Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) comes to the house of Iyi looking for a place to commit honourable seppuku – ritual suicide – and a worthy swordsman to act as his assistant.  The lord's chief counsellor Kageyu Saito (Rentaro Mikuni) questions him, as not long before a young man came to their house with a similar request.  The film is made up of two stories that collide, that of the young man, Motome Chijiwa (Akira Ishihama), and Tsugumo's life story.  This is an incredibly crafted film with some absolutely gorgeous cinematography and a perfectly paced plot that always keeps you hooked.  It explores the samurai codes of honour and whether they are actually worth anything when challenged, and the differences between honour and respect as you can act with honour but no respect, as is the case in this film.  What really drives this film forwards is the amazing performance by Nakadai in the lead role.  He is the picture of absolute resolve, his one goal left in life to expose the hypocrisies of his fellow samurai.  Even though this is made up of mostly conversations between Tsugumo and Saito I was still on the edge of my seat, with this story being one of the most enthralling I've ever seen.  This is an absolute masterpiece in every way.  10/10 Lime's Film of the Week! 

Toy Story 
dir. John Lasseter/1995/1h21m 

Pixar's first feature length film is a genuine landmark in the history of cinema as it is the first fully computer animated film, ushering in a new age for animation like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs did nearly sixty years earlier.  Expanding on their short film Tin Toy, Toy Story imagines a world where toys come to life when no one is watching.  Tom Hanks stars as cowboy Woody, the favourite toy of young Andy (John Morris).  Life is good until Andy's birthday when he gets the brand new flashy toy, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and feels like he's being replaced.  Apart from the textures looking very flat, though at the time they set the high bar in the industry, and the human characters looking frankly grotesque – though nowhere near as nightmare inducing as the baby from Tin Toy – this is as close to perfect as you can get.  The script is hilarious and also hits some big emotional beats, the characters all have real depth and personality, and the songs by Randy Newman capture the charm and whimsy of the film perfectly.  In my opinion this is the defining role of Hanks' career, and he makes an iconic duo with Allen's egotistical space ranger.  The supporting cast is also full of instantly iconic characters with performances that all match their personalities, with John Ratzenberger as Hamm the know-it-all piggy bank being my favourite.  Arguably the best, and most revolutionary, animated film ever made.  10/10

Killer's Kiss
dir. Stanley Kubrick/1955/1h8m 

This early Kubrick stars Jamie Smith as Davey Gordon, a boxer at the tail end of his career who falls in love with dancer Gloria (Irene Kane).  But their relationship is threatened by Gloria's boss, club owner and violent criminal Vincent Rapallo (Frank Silvera).  The best thing about this film is the moody, almost noir-like, black and white photography.  The New York City locations all feel seedy and lived-in, giving the film tons of atmosphere.  The boxing scenes are also very well shot, echoing his earlier documentary short Day of the Fight.  Sadly the rest of the film is distinctly average.  Apart from Silvera who gives a good turn as a sleazy gangster the performances are pretty flat and the story is predictable and drags even though it's barely an hour long.  This is an improvement on his debut feature film, Fear and Desire, but it won't be until his next two films, The Killing and Paths of Glory, that he really hits his stride as a filmmaker.  This isn't a bad film, but it's really only worth seeking out if you're aiming to watch all of Kubrick's rather slim filmography.  5/10

Dark Star
dir. John Carpenter/1974/1h23m 

John Carpenter's debut feature length film tells the story of four working class astronauts on a decades long mission travelling through the galaxy destroying unstable planets, readying the universe for colonisation.  One of the astronauts is played by Dan O'Bannon who also co-wrote the script with Carpenter and would go on to write Alien, another sci-fi film about blue collar workers in deep space, but unlike that film this is full of humour, at times it's almost a full blown comedy.  One protracted scene sees O'Bannon's character chase the ships alien mascot around, the alien being what looks like a beach ball with feet.  They also get into a philosophical argument with one of their thermonuclear bombs, which honestly put me in mind of Talkie Toaster from the British sitcom Red Dwarf.  Actually, a lot of this reminded me of Red Dwarf, low ranking technicians stuck on a space ship bored out of their minds and looking for something to pass the time.  Because it started out as a student film the budget is practically non-existent and none of the performances really stand out, but I really like the concept and there are lots of interesting ideas here.  Not what I was expecting from a John Carpenter sci-fi film, but worth watching all the same.  7/10

Emilia Perez
dir. Jacques Audiard/2024/2h12m 

Zoe Saldana stars as Mexico City lawyer Rita who is kidnapped by a the leader of a cartel, Manitas (Karla Sofia Gascon), who asks for her help in transitioning to a woman, becoming the titular Emilia Perez (Sofia Gascon is a trans woman herself).  What sounds like a heavy drama is given the melodramatic treatment of a soap opera, and is also a musical (the vaginoplasty song being a highlight).  Sadly this only undercuts the seriousness of the subject matter and at points comes off like a joke.  I've read reviews that say this does nothing to help trans representation and having no lived experience of that I couldn't say, but Perez as a character does come off as a selfish *sshole who I couldn't sympathise with at all, and none of it has anything to do with her gender identity.  The performances from the two leads are good, and they really invest themselves in their characters, as does Selena Gomez as Perez's ex-wife Jessi, and they really help sell the more sincere moments here.  Well intentioned but off target, there are some decent moments here but the wildly inconsistent tone throws it all off.  5/10

First Man
dir. Damien Chazelle/2018/2h21m 

First Man is a biopic of astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) covering his life from his time as a test pilot in the early 60s up to the moment he became the First Man on the moon in July 1969.  As well as his professional life we also see his personal life with wife Janet (Claire Foy).  The film presents Armstrong's stoic, isolated, obsessive personality as his way of dealing with grief, and makes his time on the moon imbued with even more meaning than it already has thanks to this.  Gosling's performance is all under the surface but you can always feel his sadness, motivating him or maybe he's trying to run away from it.  All of the launches and scenes in space make it feel suitably terrifying, with lots of close ups of all the bolts and rivets holding their ship together as they creak and groan.  It's also mostly filmed from inside the ships during these scenes, no glossy shots of rockets gliding through space, so you feel like you're there with them.  More of an emotional than informative biopic, if you're looking for a Wikipedia entry then you'll be disappointed, this is a very humane take on humanities greatest achievement.  8.5/10