Colm Bairéad directs Carrie Crowley, Catherine Clinch and Andrew Bennett in this Irish drama where a young girl from a loveless family spends a summer with relatives.
Heart wrenching child’s point of view stuff. So many deeply true moments. Very good but very sad. Wonderfully bold yet simple framing from cinematographer Kate McCullough. Based on a Claire Keegan novella.
Kathryn Bigelow directs Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty in this Iraq war movie following a military bomb disposal unit with an unstable new sergeant.
Easily the best movie set in the second invasion of Iraq. The heat, dust and volatility of the occupation is immersive. Nobody does death wish intensity quite like Bigelow. She is one of my favourite directors based on the purity of her action filmography. More pessimistic than Cameron, grittier than a McTiernan, more poker faced than a Verhoeven. The first hour of this is take no prisoners set piece after set piece. The marathon sniper stand-off in the desert is as dangerous and as gripping as a sequence of peril can get. Do we get any further into the three protagonists mindset than war is bad / sad / pointless but addictive? No. But ultimately there isn’t much more to say about violence than it mutilates humans inside and out. For my money, one of the most entertaining 21st century Best Picture winners.
Brady Corbet directs Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones in this period saga following an émigré architect’s struggles to find work in post-war America.
Epic but intimate. A character study yet obtuse. Bristling with creative fervour and literary intent. You could never accuse a 215 minutes movie of biting off more than it can chew but Corbet’s admirable big swing certainly has a lot of aims and themes, many of which only truly emerge in the final half an hour. The first half “The Enigma of Arrival” is full of seductive, noble, optimistic struggle. That American Dream writ large, only pragmatically. Almost cynically, but not quite. “Part 2: The Hard Core of Beauty” is the grinding disillusionment, the crushing inevitability. It is harder to absorb on first viewing as, as some of Corbet’s intentions take true shape, they can feel… a bit on the nose after the more lyrical journey we have been on. Maybe we didn’t need some questions answered quite so bluntly, quite so obviously. Overall though this is really something special. Perfectly paced, beautifully filmed by Lol Crawley and with one of my favourite scores in a good long time… thank you Daniel Blumberg. Pearce and Jones do tremendous work with their complex characters and I would happily have spent another three hours plus in their abrasive company. Corbet builds on his enticing start with Childhood Of A Leader and Vox Lux to deliver his first truly great one. The Brutalist exists as such an exile among contemporary releases. Neither an algorithm dictated cash-in or the last indulgence from an old master. Set in the past, non genre, deeply intelligent, emotionally spellbinding. It gives me hope that someone might still tackle the unfilmed (and possibly “unfilmable”) favourites Mr Vertigo by Paul Auster or A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. If Corbet wanted to give either a punt I’d be very happy.
Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani directs Klaus Tange, Ursula Bedena and Joe Koener in this experimental homage to giallo.
A businessman returns home to find his wife missing and everyone in his apartment building with their own nightmarish tale to tell. Looks fantastic, some of the vignettes are memorable and unsettling. It is very anti narrative though and I was tired. The ending lost me.
Dennis Dugan directs Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams and Dylan & Cole Sprouse in this comedy where a loser finds himself fostering a five year old in NYC.
Originally written for Chris Farley which explains the title. Not classic Sandler but gently entertaining throughout. You couldn’t really fault it and the formula and ensemble is developing nicely. Best angry moment: Sandler throwing some nerd’s McDonald’s Extra Value Meal fries over his shoulder.
Adam Simon directs Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton and Bud Cort in this psychological horror-thriller where a neurosurgeon performs a risky operation on a paranoid mathematician, but soon faces a nightmare of his own.
Even this film’s Wikipedia entry essentially starts as “No, not that one…”. Incoherent blend of dream logic that recalls Jacob’s Ladder. Except for a couple of rental box image teasing the decent FX this is a cheap mess. The cult cast is always good value however.
Sofia Coppola directs Kirsten Dunst, James Woods and Josh Hartnett in this period teen drama following five beautiful daughters who commit suicide one summer and the community who could not know them.
Translucent. My first revisit to this since it was released at the cinemas. Back then it was a noteworthy debut. Now it is a cult classic with a die hard following. Still a bit too lightweight and insubstantial for me truly to get on board with. I know that is Coppola’s ultimate intent. She wants the girls’ inner lives and fates to be enigmas. That leaves the visuals to conjure up the clues, sadness and era. This will always be Coppola’s greatest strength, making the ethereal appear tactile and of some unfathomable import. Beauty is her currency.
John Ford directs Henry Fonda, Victor Mature and Walter Brennan in this mythical take on the old west recreating the gunfight at the OK corral.
Beautiful Monument Valley vistas. Fonda at his most relaxed. A compelling blend of light interaction and building threat. As with many takes on the Wyatt Earp legend there is plenty of white washing. As movie heroes go though the construct born out of history is damn near perfect. The set pieces where Earp out thinks the danger while still being a man of action are as muscular as anything made in the modern age of the blockbuster. Western heaven.
Roger Corman directs Vincent Price, Hazel Court and Jane Asher in this colourful Edgar Allen Poe adaptation where an European prince terrorizes the local peasantry while using his castle as a refuge against the “Red Death” plague that stalks the land.
Price. Poe. Corman. What a combination! Also though, what if Salo was a PG matinee set in medieval times? This is just vibrant with colour, Nic Roeg was the cinematographer. Red! Red! Red! Even if it were monochrome nothing could stop the relish with which Vincent Price chomps at his evil embracing antagonist role. A cult item, of its time, but really rather special.
Luc Besson directs Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen and Gilbert Melki in this modern day fairy tale where a slutty angel saves a hustler from killing himself in Paris.
Just as tonally off as I remember. Feels very sexist and misguided. What is the ultimate message? Love Luc Besson, his black & white visuals here are astounding… but also predictable. A poor taste misfire.
Bobby Carroll's Movie Diary 