The Red Balloon, 1956 - ★★★★

Always nice when a film turns out to be as good as you expect it to be. Actually forgot I'd already seen it.

June 22, 2015 at 10:16PM

Anna Karenina, 2012 - ★★½

The staging is always fascinating but the story failed to engage.

June 22, 2015 at 11:03AM

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2011 - ★★★

I wasn't a fan of the original film, I thought it was an uninteresting story told in a very televisual way with nothing apart from graphic scenes giving it reason to be on the big screen. I kept forgetting that David Fincher directed this remake and put off watching it for quite some time. Fincher can't do much to improve the story but at least this version is interesting to look at.

June 22, 2015 at 11:00AM

Jurassic World, 2015 - ★★★★

It's often (correctly) claimed that Jaws isn't about a shark and it follows that Jurassic Park probably isn't about dinosaurs. Jurassic World is about the dinosaurs and the theme park created to contain them. In fact, the film itself is more like a theme park ride than anything else and whilst it's an incredibly fun and exciting ride it never feels like it's going to stand the test of time like Spielberg's classics. Despite that, Colin Trevorrow deserves a huge amount of credit for directing something this big and enjoyable as only his second feature length film (after the excellent Safety Not Guaranteed).

Early on we learn that dinosaurs are now considered passé and although they are kept off screen for while there is no fanfare when they are revealed. However the new Indominus rex is kept in the shadows and slowly revealed just like any good monster should be. It may be CGI but for a lot of the film it is treated as a physical creation. It was a relief to see that the CGI had significantly improved from the early trailers and throughout the film it's mostly handled well. There is one sequence that doesn't really work, let down by poor CGI and trying to show too much; it could be playing homage to a Hitchcock film but a similar sequence was far scarier in the 1960s.

There's no denying that the film becomes increasingly ridiculous throughout but this never took anything away from my enjoyment. It's hard to defend the many things wrong with the film and I really wish that either the script or characters were a lot smarter. The biggest problem however, is that there was one moment that really stood out and I thought this is definitely going on my scenes of the year list, but the next day I couldn't think what it was. Perhaps I am just getting old but it's more likely that this is just mostly forgettable fun.

June 17, 2015 at 11:42PM

True Romance, 1993 - ★★★★½

With the video release of Reservoir Dogs held up by the BBFC it was True Romance that was my first introduction to Tarantino. At a time when I was really getting into film it felt important to me and feels familiar although that is probably more to do with the screenplay which was given away with a film magazine at the time.

More than 20 years later this still feels like Tarantino's film but it looks like a Tony Scott one. That's not necessarily a bad thing but the 80s style direction does frequently hold back the forward thinking vision of Tarantino's voice that would go on to redefine cinema.

Great performances, great actors, funny, action packed, wonderful costumes and music. I can't help but wonder how the non-linear script would have turned out but to quote Marty McFly "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it."

June 07, 2015 at 09:43AM

8½, 1963 - ★★★

Another one to admire rather than actually enjoy. It was a relief to overhear people and see other reviewers who didn't "get" it and claim it was a "hard" film. Individual moments are great but as a whole it doesn't hang together. Often it feels self indulgent and lacks any control, this should be a good thing but sometimes artists need to be told what isn't working.

Earlier this week after seeing A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence I wondered if that material would be better suited to a series of short films rather than a feature. Despite that, Pigeon held my interest throughout in a way 8½ just couldn't.

Perhaps seeing it in a fresher state rather than at the end of a difficult week (or even just a second time) my thoughts would be different but on this viewing was a disappointment.

June 07, 2015 at 09:28AM

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, 2014 - ★★★★

Finally I watch a Roy Andersson film in the right mood and it all clicks into place. As with the other films in the trilogy there are moments that work better than others. This time I felt there was more of a connecting path through the vignettes which helped maintain interest. I'm still not sure if a feature length film is the best way to present this material but individual components are surreal, funny, strange and sad and quite often wonderful.

June 02, 2015 at 11:34PM

Mad Max: Fury Road, 2015 - ★★★½

I kept waiting for this film I've been hearing so many great things about to start but I'm not sure if it ever did. That's not to say it's not enjoyable experience because it absolutely is. I just found the first half to be noisy; not just in volume but having no real idea why anything was happening. Once the plot takes a literal u-turn and the objectives are clearer I did enjoy it a lot more.

It is incredibly well put together and even though I've now read lots about how important the physical effects and stunts are I still thought there was too much distracting CG (but perhaps it wasn't CG after all). Ditto for the 3D, a few superfluous shots appear to be there only for the 3D version.

Today my memory of the film is better than my actual experience watching it. When I watched this montage of "The General" with Junkie XL's score it made me want to watch Fury Road again.

Next time I do watch Mad Max without expectations I think I'll like it a lot more.

June 02, 2015 at 11:06PM

Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981 - ★★★★★

The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon in the cinema. In fact it's the perfect way to spend any two hours. Every bit as good as I remembered and this may be the first time I've seen it in the cinema (sadly not the 70mm print that was promised). There isn't a wasted moment, everything is either setting something up for later or delivering the goods.

I'm still not completely convinced by the ending (which is also the only time the film shows it's age) but not enough to spoil my enjoyment in any way.

May 31, 2015 at 06:55PM

You, the Living, 2007 - ★★★

As I'm hoping to see Pigeon... soon and only recently saw Songs From The Second Floor this felt like a good time to catch up with the middle part of the trilogy. I wasn't completely hooked by Songs and liked this more, but my enjoyment and appreciation varied quite a bit from one segment to the next. I suspect Pigeon will be more of the same but that's necessarily a bad thing.

May 31, 2015 at 06:43PM

Girlhood, 2014 - ★★★★

Another film that covers familiar themes and yet manages to feel entirely fresh. It already feels like it will stand the test of time and be just as watchable in 20 years, which isn't the only thing it shares with La Haine (which still felt fresh when I saw it earlier this year).

Marieme's search for identity feels incredibly authentic and ends up being one of the better coming of age tales. The Rihanna moment is simply amazing and works surprisingly well in context and the scene following "let's do something new" offers plenty to laugh at amongst all the harshness.

I seem to remember liking Tomboy more but over the last few days my appreciate for Girlhood has grown.

May 31, 2015 at 06:37PM

Compliance, 2012 - ★★★★½

A terrifying experience that's so unbelievable you know that it must be based on a true story. The first 30 minutes feel a lot longer and I wondered what else could happen in the next hour but then things only got worse. It's a shame that the ending feels rushed and introduces some ideas that are then not explored.

I understand some of the criticisms that there is nothing apart from the title cards to suggest this could have actually happened but this didn't bother me.

The two most extreme moments felt oddly edited and I wondered if the version shown on film4 had been cut for television.

May 28, 2015 at 09:47PM

Spellbound, 1945 - ★★★½

There are lots of stylish and memorable moments that help the mostly implausible story.

(I was full of cold and tired when I watched this so it's quite possible that it's better than I thought)

May 26, 2015 at 09:18PM

Coalition, 2015 - ★★★½

An enjoyable look into those dark rooms discussions that took place after the 2010 general election.

May 26, 2015 at 09:05PM

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, 2014 - ★★★

Slow moving but always stylish. Sometimes scary, sometimes strange and surprisingly funny in places. I should have liked this more but for some reason it didn't quite work for me.

May 26, 2015 at 08:52PM

MacGruber, 2010 - ★

Deeply unfunny, crude and offensive. I really can't understand how this has got any credibility as a spoof or even as a film (but it does).

May 24, 2015 at 03:35PM

Le Havre, 2011 - ★★★½

A simple old fashioned film with a wonderful colour palette that means every shot looks beautiful. I had to check when the film was made and set (both around 2011) because it really did feel from another time.

May 24, 2015 at 03:33PM

The C-Word, 2015 - ★★½

Putting aside the real life story which is inspirational and moving this version suffers in the same way that many films portraying writers often do. Lisa Lynch's words never manage to escape the blog (or page) in an effective way and it all feels like a poor version of Sex And The City. When not focussed on the writing, of which there is less towards the end, it works better. Sheridan Smith and the rest of the cast are all really good but from what I saw on Twitter when this aired I was expecting it to be a lot better.

May 24, 2015 at 03:31PM

Roald Dahl's Esio Trot, 2014 - ★★★

A TV film elevated by the involvement of Hoffman, Dench and Richard Curtis on writing duties. There isn't anything that special but it is quite charming and has a lovely warm visual style.

May 24, 2015 at 03:21PM

Au revoir les enfants, 1987 - ★★½

I do hate it when this happens: a well respected and (universally) admired film that does nothing for me. I start to question what sort of philistine I must be before realising that not everybody is going to like everything. I'm afraid I just found this boring with nothing interesting to say and nothing remarkable about how it was made. The ending was the only part that had any impact but not enough to change my opinion of the rest of the experience.

May 18, 2015 at 11:40PM

20,000 Days on Earth, 2014 - ★★★½

I'm not exactly what I just saw. It felt like a Nick Cave mockumentary directed by somebody like Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee or Peter Serafinowicz and I mean that as a compliment.

May 17, 2015 at 12:01PM

Love Is All, 2015 - ★★★½

Some parts are not as effective as others but when it works it really is quite beautiful.

May 04, 2015 at 10:00PM

The Punk Singer, 2013 - ★★★

There's nothing special about the documentary but Hanna's story is still incredibly interesting.

May 04, 2015 at 09:56PM

The Sitter, 2011 - ★★★½

Another one of those David Gordon Green films but this one just about works. I felt it had the touch of John Hughes so it was surprising to only see negative reviews here on Letterboxd.

May 04, 2015 at 09:54PM

Rise of the Guardians, 2012 - ★★★★

One of the better non-Pixar animations. It looks wonderful and manages to combine fairy tales and superheroes into an effective premise. It works more successfully as an origins and assembly story than many of the Marvel films so it's disappointing to hear it didn't perform well and isn't that loved.

May 04, 2015 at 09:51PM