Perhaps the most remarkable thing about It's A Wonderful Life is not just that it stands up year in, year out but that on each viewing I see new things or things in a completely different way than I remembered.
Practically perfect.
It's always great hearing Scorsese speak, even more so when he's talking about great things he loves. I'm not that familiar with Elia Kazan and this film actually reveals more about Scorsese, but not in a bad self centred way.
The year's not over yet but it's time to start thinking about the ones that got away...
(Including things I want to see before the end of the year)
...plus 35 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.
Starts of slightly more engaging than the dated original but it's far too long and I lost interest long before things picked up again in the final hour.
Better than the other movies but still a bit of a mess.
Technical problems meant Wadjda couldn't be shown as planned and this was the replacement. I was slightly reluctant that a film I loved so much wouldn't stand up to a second viewing but it did. Some scenes I loved on the first viewing (such as the cemetery) perhaps didn't seem as good but the film's finale works so well.
Disappointing after the excellent "Life" and "Britain", this seems far more traditional and clichéd.
Quite interesting but most of the stories have already been told in the recent DVD extras.
A complete joy, it's hard to imagine how anyone could dislike this film. More than 70 years later, it still seems fresh and embarrasses most modern romantic comedies which share the ideas but lack the charm, warmth and heart portrayed here.
I'm now also curious to see You've Got Mail which I imagine is terrible but really shouldn't be.
There are some tender moments but it's mostly a harsh journey so it was a relief to find out that this wasn't based on a true story (although I'm sure such cases exist). I didn't know at the time of watching but using real prisons and prisoners added a level of authenticity for a great central performance.
I fear in the future that major studios will use computer software to create films without the need for pesky writers or directors. Battle LA feels like the result of algorithm provided with the keywords: alien, invasion, urban, military, LA. In this case the software should have thrown a TOO_MANY_CLICHES errors after the first 30 minutes and flagged up a problem. Not terrible just not particularly good either.
Probably the best pure comedy I've seen in a long time. The jokes just keep coming so any misfires are quickly forgotten about. The film slows down a bit in the final third to add some unnecessary character development but then makes up for it by going ridiculously over the top.
It was disappointing to find Brazil didn't live up to my memories of a great film. I'm not entirely sure why, perhaps the story doesn't quite pull together they way it should or the ridiculous romance is too distracting or maybe it was just my cold affecting my judgement.
There's no denying that it's still a crazy and amazing film to look at. Definitely of it's time but somehow simultaneously of all other times. It no longer feels futuristic, in fact it's quite scary just how prophetic Gilliam's vision was.
Great idea but suffers from the same problems of nearly all found footage films. Personally I found it far too distracting thinking that no batteries would last 3-4 days to film any of it.
Completely fascinating. And terrifying. And so much more.
I thought I'd heard good things about this at #LIFF27 so this was a big disappointment. Gloria is a great character and a great performance but the film is dull. A film about young love between old people which felt like it would work just as well whatever age the characters were and therefore offered nothing new (unless that was the point).
Great ending though.
The entire film may be completely illogical but it really doesn't matter because Gremlins is one of the great Spielberg era movies of the 80s. It was great to see this in the cinema with all the brutality and gore that I assume is missing from the television Christmas screenings. It's really dark in places (disappointingly, the younger audience burst into laughter at the conclusion of Kate's story - which I still find quite moving). Could something like this be made today to appeal to grown up audiences? I'm also really curious to learn much more about the making of the film - the discussions must have been great.
Some may say Spike Lee's remake of Oldboy is pointless but it's achieved one thing by making me want to watch the original again. I'm not especially against remakes; I don't see why somebody else shouldn't have a go, it's unlikely but they may make a better version. However when something is as good and accessible as the original Oldboy it's hard to justify Lee's choice.
Some of the impact may have been lost knowing the eventual outcome (although I struggled to fit my mixed up memories to what was unfolding on screen). It's also less brutal than I remember, although this version may have been edited for television.
I should clarify that I haven't seen the new film, just heard a lot about it and remakes lately. Seeing the bad reception and enjoying the original one so much, I doubt I'll bother.
Feels incredibly dated now but is also still engaging throughout.
Starts of slow but it's hard not to get caught up with the nostalgia of wanting to see Rocky/Stallone back in the ring. By mostly sticking to TV style footage the fight feels authentic and exciting. It's a shame that as the fight progresses it tries to be more visually adventurous because it feels horribly out of place.
There's a feeling throughout most of Saving Mr Banks that whenever it is doing well it's only doing so by riding on the coattails of Mary Poppins. The rehearsal room scenes are great and it's always a joy to hear even a snippet of the classic songs. Emma Thompson has received lots of praise and she's great but it's a role and a character that she could do in her sleep. Much more interesting and enjoyable are the trio of Jason Schwartzman, BJ Novak and Bradley Whitford as the Sherman brothers and screenwriter Don Da Gradi, and Paul Giamatti as the driver.
It feels like there are much better stories to be told either about making the film or the life of P.L Travers but we get stuck with the Disneyfied version of both. As a result not a lot really happens and the film rarely feels like it's directed, more pointing a camera at great actors. The real problem are the flashbacks which are clunky, heavy handed and dull but worse than that they constantly interrupt the flow of the film every time it's getting good.
A wonderful look at the creative process and gaming industry. As with any great documentary it should be as fascinating to those who know nothing about the subject, although it perhaps needed to make a few concessions to explain some unfamiliar things.
I regretting not seeing this in the cinema, especially when it went on to find a place in many end of year lists. Now that I've finally caught up with it I think my original instinct to skip it may have been right. There isn't really anything especially bad, apart from some dodgy CGI snow, but it also failed to connect with me. I kept hoping it would get better or something great would happen but it didn't.
With Williamson back on writing duties this should have been a return to form but it's just boring.
