Kicking and Screaming

Netflix has definitely been throwing a lot of Noah Baumbach my way.

I liked this film. It had a tender nostalgic feel to it, and I'm feeling pretty susceptible to nostalgia at the moment. I liked the quirkiness of the characters, and how they interacted. It wasn't laugh-out-loud funny, but it made me crack a few smiles here and there.

I like these coming-of-age tales, because they seem applicable to any time of life (as far as I can see). I also enjoyed the romantic plot – reminded me a bit of Before Sunrise etc.

Some of it felt a bit technically ropey, and the acting wasn't as good as it could've been. At times there were definitely audio issues, and characters talking over one another.

As things stand, I think The Squid and the Whale is still my favourite Baumbach film I've seen. There's something attractive about the dialogue and characterisation in all of his films. They're films about real people – even if they're sometimes idiots, they're real idiots. 7/10

Mother!

So, apparently this film has been pretty divisive.

But let me just make this clear right now: anyone who didn't like this film is WRONG. Yes, there is such a thing as an opinion, but it would most definitely be a WRONG opinion to not like this film.

It was brilliant. Don't read any spoilers. Just go watch it.

Absolutely incredible indictment of how shit humanity is. Beautifully shot, perfect pacing, intriguing plot.

I really want to write more about this film, but then I don't want to risk spoiling it for anyone. I'll say it again: just go watch it.

Loved it. 9/10

While We're Young

After enjoying The Squid and the Whale so much I decided to check this one out.

I found it to be quite an interesting premise, and I did enjoy the analysis and contrasting of the ageing technophile couple with the younger hipsters. I found the general exploration of hipsterdom pretty funny too.

But overall the film felt a bit weak. The dialogue wasn't bad, but perhaps some of the monologues didn't quite achieve what they set out to.

Not a bad way to kill time though. 6/10

Hard Eight

I'd been meaning to watch this one for a while, and finally got to it.

Not bad. But by no means to the standard of PTA's other films. In general, it was extremely well shot, and the acting was good. The story unfurled in an interesting way.

But there were inconsistencies in the plot, and I felt like characters didn't behave in the way they had been established earlier in the film. Afterwards I read that a portion of the film is a re-shoot of a short film PTA made with Philip Baker Hall called Cigarettes & Coffee and this possibly explains why parts of the film didn't mesh with the rest – it felt like things had been shoehorned in at times.

It was good to see Philip Seymour Hoffman in there, if only for one scene.

Not bad, but I'll give it a hard 7/10

The Squid and the Whale (Re-watch)

Well, this film is definitely a good example of why it's worth re-watching films.

My younger brother gave me this on DVD for my birthday many years ago, and I watched it straightaway, but really didn't get into it.

Watching it again now (after having done an MA in Creative Writing) I really, really, found this funny. The dad is just about the worst dad in the history of film. I found him amazingly funny for all the wrong reasons. He reminded me of Competitive Dad from The Fast Show (if you fancy a laugh, check that out here) and I just can't believe that people like him exist in reality. What an arsehole.

Yeah, I was definitely laughing out loud on this viewing – all of the characters are brilliant. 8/10