Get Shorty (Re-watch)

Never gets old. 8/10

Misery (Re-watch)

Classic hobbling. 9/10

Phantom Thread

Great film. 9/10

My Best Fiend

I'd seen bits of this documentary before, but I decided to watch it all from start to finish. It's a fascinating watch.

Klaus Kinski strikes me as just being a plain dickhead. Apologies and everything, but I just don't see him as a great actor. In fact, I find his performances too over-the-top and silly.

But what I really do love, is that Werner Herzog can make a film about making a film with this shithead. It's so funny and disturbing in parts, and just a really great study of the man and his craft.

I love how Werner Herzog starts riffing on stuff in such a misanthropic way. There's this one bit where he reacts to how Kinski used to describe the jungle as "erotic", and then Herzog goes off on one of his wicked rants about, "When I look around the jungle all I see is death and decay, cannibalism and obscenity." Some shit like that, and then he's all like, "But I love it. Klaus didn't, despite his claims that he did."

And that's his way of stitching Kinski up -- he shows his absurdity, his disconnection with reality, and his hypocrisy, whereas Herzog's view of things is equally manic, but more in touch with reality, and more realistic. Or something.

There's love for Kinski in there too. And he doesn't just focus on the overblown, exaggerated elements of Kinski's outbursts on set. He tries to paint an entire picture of the man. 9/10

Erased

Don't usually add series to my blog, but this one was really enjoyable. I liked the atmosphere and the gripping storyline a lot.

It was nice to watch something in Japanese again too. For my reference, the Japanese title was 僕だけがいない街 (boku dake ga inai machi - The town where only I am).

I liked it a lot – good characters and fun plot. The ending scene on the bridge with the fireworks was a little cheesy, but overall it was great. 8/10

Get Out

See -- this is how bad I've neglected this blog recently.

I completely forgot to add this amazing film I saw!

Will write more soon. 9/10

In Bruges (Re-watch)

I was re-watching this one because my viewing partner hadn't seen it.

Dark, disturbing, intelligent, funny, sad, moving.

I'm pleased to report that it went down well. 9/10

The Big Sick

Well aren't I a big sappy shithead.

Because I enjoyed this film. A lot.

I was recovering from sickness myself when I watched it, and I think I just wanted something lighthearted that would distract me from how I was feeling.

Romantic comedies are usually a bit sickly (no pun intended), but this one dealt with a wide range of issues in a very neat and refreshing way. I thought the premise was good and the comedy toed a very nice line between normal everyday people trying to be funny, and actually being unfunny.

I was pleasantly surprised to see in the credits at the end that it's based on a true story and was written by Kumail and his actual partner in real life.

Awwwwwwwwww. I might have to be sick now. 8/10

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

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

Withnail and I (Re-watch)

I forget how many times I've seen this film. I think the last time I saw it was at the cinema in Kichijoji, Tokyo. I have a vague memory that the art house cinema in Kichijoji was closing down, and allowed its visitors to vote which films they would like to see in the run up to its closure. This was one of the films they chose, and I love that the film has as much of a strong following in Tokyo as it does in the UK.

I won't drone on about how much I love this film, but I'll just say that I think it's one of the best endings to a film ever made. It never fails to resonate emotionally with me.

Such a sad and funny film. 9/10

Paprika (Re-watch)

I must've watched this originally in 2006 (the year it came out), and I remember being slightly underwhelmed, but I would say mostly confused.

And I suppose this is a perfect example of why I should always revisit films, even if I didn't get on with them the first time. Sometimes I get things completely wrong.

What a drastically different experience it was watching for the second time! I'd got the urge to re-watch the film after I'd seen this incredible YouTuber who posts video essays on films. He goes by the name Every Frame a Painting, and I would definitely recommend taking a look at his YouTube channel here.

I'd watched one video in particular analysing the works of the anime director Kon Satoshi here and seeing how Kon Satoshi had influenced Christopher Nolan and Darren Aronofsky so much (with actual scenes being completely recreated in their films as homage to Kon), I decided Paprika deserved one more, closer, watch.

On a side note, I watched another film by Kon called Tokyo Godfathers last summer as research for the book I'm writing at the moment. It was great – a film about three homeless friends in Tokyo trying to carve out a life for themselves, all running away from their pasts. Unfortunately I watched it before I started this blog, so I don't have a review for it, but would recommend it.

But Paprika was just spectacular though. I suppose I watched it before Inception was even made, but I have to state clearly Inception probably would not exist if Paprika hadn't been made. When I first watched Paprika, I don't think I followed the plot well, but this time I understood it better, and it really blew my mind. People diving down into sleep to experience shared dreams, a mass subconscious of a dreaming city becoming overcome with a common dream of modern consumer-driven madness. The shared dream involved an insane procession of religious and commercial items walking through the streets of Tokyo – Salarymen leaping to their deaths from the tops of buildings, films merging into dreams, dreams merging into films, the city itself fighting against nature, nature fighting back. Breathtaking.

I can't stress this highly enough. Go and watch this film. 9/10

Kedi

They need to make more films like this. A documentary following the lives of several cats who roam the streets of Istanbul, getting into adventures and forging relationships with humans.

I loved it.

The book I'm working on at the moment shares something with this documentary, so I was really excited to see it when I first saw the trailer. It really didn't let me down.

It could've been even longer and delved even deeper into the cat population of Istanbul, alongside the interesting people who look out for them, and live alongside them. The old man who went to feed the cats everyday because it helped him with his depression – these are the kinds of stories I like to hear about. People who take a moment to recognise the real beauty in life.

"You can love if your heart's eye is open," one man observes. "Everything is beautiful if you look at it with love. If you can enjoy the presence of a cat, a bird, a flower, all the world will be yours." And later, we hear, "A cat at your feet is life smiling at you."

Incredibly moving. 9/10

The Breakfast Club (Re-watch)

Sigh. Back when films were magical.

When they took chances – perhaps they didn't have the flashiness or the visual effects – hell maybe the dialogue even was a bit ropey here and there, but they tried to be engaging and deal with deep themes.

I've seen this film so many times, and there's not much I want to say about it really, other than the fact that I just wish there was a director like John Hughes around today, because what will the youth of today have to look up to in terms of art in the future.

Nothing but a culture of hedonistic materialism. 9/10

Like Father, Like Son (Re-watch)

This film is just fantastic.

So well written and filmed, with this deep layering in terms of themes, images, scenes and words. My favourite scene is still when the mother and son (?) are sitting on the train as it goes through tunnels making it darker and darker, meanwhile she suggests to the kid that they run away together. So well executed.

I think I've seen it four times now, but I see new things in it each time I watch. I mostly put it on because I wanted to show it to my viewing partner, who ended up enjoying it too.

So that was a success. 9/10

After the Storm

Well, this film was just perfect for me.

The Japanese title is 海よりもまだ深く (umi yori mo mada fukaku), which translates to something like 'Even deeper than the ocean'. After the Storm worked nicely as an English title though, and I'm glad that's what they went with. Although it did lose the nuance of the Japanese title, which makes a reference to a song that's playing on the radio, causing the grandmother to enter into a very touching monologue – perhaps the climax of the film. I found it very moving, for reasons I can't quite put into words. It's that wabisabi, monoaware side of Japanese art that deals so well with sadness and death. Absolutely beautiful.

I just love Koreeda's way of telling a story through simple, everyday character studies. These are real people, living real lives, and facing the kind of real drama that affects us all. His films resonate with life so much more than other directors' work out there right now.

He keeps it simple, and there's beauty in simplicity.

I was glad to see a return to form after the slightly disappointing Our Little Sister, which I watched in February. This film just had more to it, and I thought the actress who played the grandma (Kiki Kirin) really excelled herself in this film. I've seen her in a few other Koreeda films, and she tends to play bit parts, but here she had a chance to craft an interesting character.

I also thought Abe Hiroshi was brilliant in it. I've always found he treads the perfect line between comedy and tragedy, and he managed to depict a really loveable, if slightly infuriating protagonist. He really cracked me up several times with his delivery, and he almost made me cry a few times too.

I'm sure I'll watch this film again, and I'll just have to wait and see whether it withstands multiple viewings.

But sitting here writing this now after coming back from the cinema, I'm happy. 9/10

Moonlight

I just thought this film was so good. Sometimes I kick back against Oscar winners, but this film seriously deserves a lot of praise.

It managed to move me a great deal, without piling on the drama. There was something I really connected with in this idea of someone being trapped within their own prison.

Afterwards I read it had been shot on a really low budget - proof that you can make great films without pots of money.

Fantastic. 9/10

The Wind in the Willows (Re-watch)

I don't think I can rate this.

I've been watching this since I was two, and it still gets me.

Not to sound like a whinging grown up, but I don't think they really make children's entertainment like this anymore - with eloquent dialogue, darkness, and sadness.

I think it taught me a lot about narrative sensibility.

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

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