The Handmaiden

Unfortunately I let a lot of time lapse before writing a review of this film. I wish I'd sat down and written my thoughts as soon as I'd watched it.

Golly. What a ride it is! It's beautifully shot, and it has a very immersive plot and extremely absorbing characters.

I was impressed with how well the Korean actors spoke Japanese – I read that some of them learnt Japanese especially for the film. All of their accents and pronunciation were spot on, which was nice to see.

Apparently this is based on a British book by Sarah Waters. I loved the idea of re-telling it in colonial Korea. Brilliant.

Really enjoyed this. 9/10

Waiting for Guffman

This was OK. 6/10

The Neon Demon

One of the worst films I have ever seen. No joke.

Lesbian necrophilia? No thanks.

Absolute stinker. 0/10

The Drop

Another good film (two days in a row!)

This was James Gandolfini's last film before he died. He was a great actor and it would've been nice to see more of his work. I suppose that's just the way of the world.

Tom Hardy was good in this, but perhaps he needs to stop mumbling so much (like in The Revenant, too).

I saw in the end credits that this was written by Dennis Lehane (Shutter Island, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), and it struck me that there was something familiar to the feel of the film while I was watching it. I enjoy the way he tells a story.

This film said a lot to me about Good vs Evil, and how life is a struggle between the two. 8/10

Under the Shadow

I really enjoyed this. Not a film I'd heard anything about (my viewing partner picked it out), but then again, it's always good to have things recommended.

The thing I liked about the film was that although it was horror (a genre I'm not normally so interested in) it made use of the idea that the djinn could represent other things.

Taking place in the midst of a war zone, the supernatural element of the film could quite easily stand in for any kind of theme: war, trauma, fear, ourselves.

Nice film. 8/10

Green Room

I'd heard so many good things about this film, but it really didn't live up to the hype. I found it a bit unbelievable, and over the top (just to shock).

The characters spoke too quickly to each other, and didn't seem to be actually talking or interacting with each other. It was more like a performance, just to be impressive.

They also did all the wrong things, which seems to be a trope for these kinds of horror/thriller types of films, but it just ends up annoying me. I would've got out of that Green Room a hell of a lot faster than they did.

One thing I did like about the film was the way it slowly drip fed information to us, so in a sense it was well written, and I did find myself wanting to know what was going on. I give it a 6/10.

My viewing partner hated it, thought it was too violent, and gave it a zero.

Bad Neighbours

This film was so shitty I stopped watching it after 20 minutes. 0/10

Neruda

Went to see this at the cinema this evening. It was a late showing, and I was feeling pretty sleepy, but the film kept my attention all the way through.

It was beautifully shot, and I liked the aesthetic – it was processed to look like a desaturated old film, and this fit in nicely with the background scenery of classic cars, old books and typewriters. I wasn't such a fan of the gratuitous lens flare though...

The film was bizarre and confusing, and I think at times didn't have as strong a hold over itself as it wanted the viewer to believe. I'm fine with all this the narrator woke up and he was just a metaphor thing, but I didn't think it was as well executed as it could've been.

It was interesting to find out more about a period in time, and a political climate that I know nothing about. There were also some bizarrely funny parts that had me and my viewing partner laughing out loud. 6/10

Under the Skin

Couldn't find a decent poster for this film, so I found this alternative one, which I like a lot.

The first part of the film was genuinely terrifying, as was the ending. It freaked me out so much I think I might have nightmares. Seriously. At my age.

It was very unsettling and the music made me feel trapped and claustrophobic.

My criticism of the film would be that I had to get my viewing partner to explain parts to me, and I felt a similarity to the 2001: A Space Odyssey film whereby if you haven't read the book, a lot of what is going on remains a tiny bit too cryptic.

Still, very well shot, and entertaining. 7/10

Manchester by the Sea

I enjoyed this. Possibly not as much as You Can Count on Me, which I just watched. Perhaps I felt this film a bit too slow in pace? It didn't move as quickly, and dwelt too much on some parts which were just slowed down to music (and hence lacked the great dialogue).

I felt it did have similarities to You Can Count on Me in terms of plot – both films were essentially about people from small towns who experience tragedy, then it looks at characters who choose to run away from it, and those who choose to live with it (that is, the tragedy).

It's funny, because I've read other reviews on the net where people say it's a two-hour slit-your-wrists fest. But I really disagree. There were some hilarious bits of dialogue in this. I'm a big fan of generational friendships – it's great to see an estranged uncle and nephew learning to get along together like they used to.

I also loved how these grumpy Massachusetts people speak to each other. There's a certain humour behind their gruffness that just cracks me up. Compared to the positive hippies on the West Coast, they just seem so brutal (a lot like the cold climate they live in). And that's refreshing. It just goes to show how vast and different America is.

Not a bad film. 7/10

You Can Count on Me

I started this film yesterday (late) so it only just finished in the early hours of the next day (today).

Good film. Not perfect, but very good.

The characters were great, and the dialogue was brilliant. So many nice little dynamics operating between multiple characters – really nice writing. I liked seeing Mark Ruffalo playing a slightly edgier character than the types he plays these days (I think he's sort of started to just play himself in every film recently). This guy was a bit of a fuck up, but also had a certain childish affability to him.

I liked Laura Linney a lot in it too. And my main man, Matthew Broderick.

Good stuff. 8/10

The King of Kong

What an awesome documentary!

I saw this off the back of Man vs Snake (which I watched yesterday) and it was great to see some of the familiar characters popping up again.

All in all, this was a better documentary than Man vs Snake, mainly because of the conflict between those involved, and the style of the storytelling. I feel like a sucker, because I thought Billy Mitchell was an alright guy after seeing the other film first. Now I see him for the kind of person he really is. I just couldn't help feel sorry for Steve Wiebe, and it was painful to see how that weird little clique treated him.  Makes you wonder how many other high scorers get shut out of their dumb little club.

Was good to see the weirdo guru man again. I got the feeling he's not such a bad guy – possibly just a bit of a pushover.

I won't spoil the ending by saying what happens. 8/10

Homo Sapiens

Hmmm...

What to say about this one? Not as much watching paint dry as watching paint crumble from the walls and decay to dust.

The concept of the film was footage of abandoned parts of the world where humans no longer dwelt. I was excited to see this because not only am I into photography, but I also love looking at haikyo photos. Haikyo is a term used amongst photographers which refers to photos taken inside abandoned buildings. The word comes from the Japanese word for "ruins".

It wasn't bad, exactly, and there were some parts of it I really enjoyed (like the frogs, the birds, and the bits on Gunkanjima in Japan) but overall I felt like the film was badly edited. Why did it dwell an equal amount of time on every single shot? Why did it fade to black so often? I felt like the film itself could have been cut down, shaving off time in some sections, and lengthening time spent in others. That was my major problem with it - the editing.

Some of the shots could've been better composed as well. Cutting off the tops of trees and things like that really frustrates me.

Great concept though. 5/10

Man vs Snake

After watching Indie Game: Life After I felt in the mood for another documentary about video games. This one did not disappoint.

I thought the overall message of the film was great: never give up on your ambitions, even if you have to fail many times before succeeding. (And be aware that success may never come).

I loved the weirdo guru dude who used to run the arcade. What a character. Sometimes these documentaries throw out funnier characters than fiction. 8/10

Indie Game: Life After

I enjoyed the original film a lot, so I thought it worth checking this out. I'm glad I did, because there was some interesting additional stuff in this (although I wouldn't recommend watching this unless you've seen the actual film)*

I'm fascinated by these people and their approaches to creativity and hard work. I seriously think they should be recognised more for what they do – they are artists in every sense of the word.

So much in here that you can take away and apply to anything in life you are passionate about. 7/10

*And if you didn't like the actual film, don't bother watching this.