27 February 2017

20th Century Women, 2016 - ★★★★½

Just beautiful. I can't decide if it's life affirmingly brilliant or depressingly sad but it all feels so very real.

February 27, 2017 at 09:16PM

26 February 2017

The Lego Batman Movie, 2017 - ★★★★

Probably the best comic book film of recent years, definitely one of the better Batman (Batmen?) films. It's just a huge amount of fun from the opening studio logos to the closing credits. It occasionally threatens to become too schmaltzy but never crosses the line.

I can't wait to see it again.

There appeared to be no reason (apart from the end credits) to see this in 3D and I wonder if the 2D version also has weird background focussing.

February 26, 2017 at 04:08PM

22 February 2017

La La Land, 2016 - ★★★★

I thought I might like this more away from the expectation and after listening to the soundtrack so much over the last month. However I'm not sure if I did, I still think it's great and was happy to defend it when it didn't go down so well with a lot of the Keswick audience.

February 22, 2017 at 09:53PM

Toni Erdmann, 2016 - ★★★★

Appreciated this a lot more but can't buy the director's comments that we have to put up with so much tedium to be rewarded with the good stuff. The middle 90 minutes could easily be edited down, removing every other irrelevant scene to make a much slicker, leaner and altogether better film.

February 22, 2017 at 09:49PM

White Mischief, 1987 - ★★★

Quite a strange little film but also very enjoyable. Another Q&A with Greta Scacchi was a wonderful experience as well.

February 22, 2017 at 09:45PM

The Salesman, 2016 - ★★★

Festival fatigue set in early for this one, as I sat down I realised I hadn't eaten anything all day and suddenly felt really hungry. That might be the reason why I struggled to engage with this in any meaningful way. It looked like it was a much better film than I was experiencing and think it's one I need to give a second chance at some point in the future.

February 22, 2017 at 09:43PM

The Player, 1992 - ★★★½

I'm not sure how well this has aged. It's still impressively made and surprisingly (yet disappointingly) relevant though.

Followed by a Q&A with Greta Scacchi where she provided wonderful and entertaining insight into working with Robert Altman.

February 22, 2017 at 09:36PM

The Unknown Girl, 2016 - ★★★★

I'm still not sure how much sense any of this made but it didn't stop me enjoying it although that may have just been a result of developing a crush on Doctor Davin.

February 22, 2017 at 09:31PM

Manchester by the Sea, 2016 - ★★★★★

Part of the reason I liked the film so much the first time was the slow reveal behind all the grief. Knowing what happened from the start just made everything more devastating. When it got to the "I haven't got anything big to say" scene I wondered if I could actually sit through it again, I did and it's phenomenally good.

February 22, 2017 at 09:28PM

Tanna, 2015 - ★★★½

One of the reasons why I love film is getting to see parts of the world and cultures without all that travelling malarky. Tanna is a great example of this and it's great to see a glimpse of life on the titular island. Others have commented on how good the non-professional actors were but apart from the leads I thought they seemed a bit off (but that might have been a result of the sound sync problems in this screening). I have to mention the volcano shots just because they are stunning. I wish I hadn't seen the film compared to another famous story because that flagged up how the true story was going to turn out.

February 22, 2017 at 09:22PM

21 February 2017

Mahana, 2016 - ★★★

Great opening film for Keswick Film Festival. Manages to jump between light and dark moments and even makes sheep shearing exciting.

February 21, 2017 at 08:39PM

20 February 2017

The Films of the 18th Keswick Film Festival Ranked

All the films shown at the 18th Keswick Film Festival which I've seen but not necessarily at the festival.

  1. Casablanca
  2. Manchester by the Sea
  3. Son of Saul
  4. La La Land
  5. Arrival
  6. Toni Erdmann
  7. Paterson
  8. Life, Animated
  9. American Honey
  10. The Unknown Girl

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

February 20, 2017 at 06:34PM

My 18th Keswick Film Festival: Ranked

Everything I saw at the 18th Keswick Film Festival.

  1. Manchester by the Sea
  2. La La Land
  3. Toni Erdmann
  4. The Unknown Girl
  5. Raw
  6. Mahana
  7. Tanna
  8. The Player
  9. The Salesman
  10. White Mischief
February 20, 2017 at 06:23PM

16 February 2017

Prevenge, 2016 - ★★★★

A brilliant debut and a hugely satisfying dark horror comedy drama.

Introduced and Q&A with Alice Lowe.

February 16, 2017 at 02:27PM

13 February 2017

Loving, 2016 - ★★★★

I'm just going to agree with Mark Kermode's words "A very very impressively low key work".

February 13, 2017 at 09:46PM

12 February 2017

The Rack Pack, 2016 - ★★★

An entertaining but somewhat familiar rock biopic only with a snooker player (who I only knew from the Amsoft World Of Snooker computer game - which I was disappointed didn't feature)

February 12, 2017 at 06:26PM

07 February 2017

T2 Trainspotting, 2017 - ★★★½

It is Trainspotting but it's nae Trainspotting.

I wish I had liked it more, Danny Boyle is definitely one of my favourite directors but this just feels like it's trying too hard. Compared to the subtly of Steve Jobs the visual flairs really stand out here and the overuse of the freeze frame quickly becomes annoying. For me it never came together and feels too fragmented but I did enjoy it and there are many great moments.

February 07, 2017 at 10:49PM

05 February 2017

The Lady in the Van, 2015 - ★★★★

A lot better than I was expecting. It fumbles the ending(s) a bit but I'm willing to forgive that because I enjoyed everything that came before.

February 05, 2017 at 08:38PM

Trainspotting, 1996 - ★★★★★

Still just as good as it was twenty years ago. There isn't a wasted moment although I was surprised by the order in which things happened as I'd remembered it slightly differently.

I fear watching this again may have damaged my chances of liking the sequel.

February 05, 2017 at 08:33PM