Letterboxd — Your life in film

My belated viewing of The Father was contrived with the context of its awards success, and I think it’s safe to say that Hopkins’ Oscar win was no farce, he is incredible in The Father. Both Hopkins and Colman give two of the best, most empathetic performances of the last few years. Hopkins was entirely believable, and really abetted what could’ve been an entirely theatrical character. 

Zeller’s work here is laudable, not only the casting but the framing, set design…

Clementine is an underfed, airy and fairly dense mood piece which provides more questions than it’s willing to answer. 

At the centre of the film we have a friendship which is believably adorned through the chemistry of Otmara Marrero and Sydney Sweeney. Unfortunately their agreeable partnership has very little else going for it, the two characters are badly underwritten, their relationship lacks suspense for the amount of time that was spent on them and the lack of narrative substance makes…

No Time to Die is a fairly convoluted but earnest goodbye to the Craig era. 

This often felt like it was struggling to contain all of the build-up from Craig’s previous outings, the plot felt quite congested but ultimately the films existence is one of closure and it succeeds emotionally and aesthetically. Fukunaga has great stature and his handling of the action sequences in particular was very strong. I found Rami Malek and most of the villainous characters to be…

After we collided is marginally less excruciating than its predecessor and a lot more drowsy. These films are pretty hilarious to watch, they are entirely inconceivable, mindless and embarrassingly acted and make for fairly entertaining ironic viewing.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out this film was written by a couple of unfledged 12 year olds, the dialogue is hilariously bad. It’s filled with lazy writing and plot progression, so much so that the plot line that develops in…

Directors Mick Davis and Phillipe Martinez, notable separately for their recent work on the most recent Jeremy Piven Christmas film and Steven Seagal’s most recent outing respectively, bring us a Christmas film barely fit for the bottom of the hallmark movie barrel. 

“Father Christmas is Back” is as half-baked as it’s lethargic title, Kelsey Grammar and John Cleese are uncomfortably phoned-in but thankfully the rest of the cast do their best to make the two look better by giving even…

My eagerness to go into this as blind as possible also left me pretty oblivious to the discordant general reception. After seeing the film I’m not surprised by the split in reaction. It’s certainly deviating from the norms of Edgar Wright but at the same time his archetype is the backbone of the film.

It’s a fairly dissident film in nature, the modern elements subdue the grand 60s set pieces. The films is at its best when exploring the two…

Nia DaCosta effectively builds on the Candyman lore while providing a more contemporary rendition of the quintessential thrills of the original. 

There’s a lot that sets this apart from the 1992 predecessor but not a lot that it necessarily improves on. I enjoyed the films animated touch, the colour, transitions and cinematography are all beautiful. Technically it’s more than ample, the kills are very thoughtfully set-up  and visually impressive. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is given a lot to work with and…

As expected Villeneuve delivers, Dune is an incredibly immersive big screen experience with huge spectacle and stunning cinematography. Appropriately Hanz Zimmer’s score is otherworldly and the sound design is sublime. 

For such a large story with such detailed mythology Villeneuve paces the film well, it doesn’t feel rushed or drawn out, taking its time to present ideas while not lingering for too long. However the film does sustain a lot of lore, so much so that the first half of…

One of the more engaging Oscar hopeful biopics that we can expect to see in the next few months, The Eyes of Tammy Faye is a quick, lively but flawed piece from Michael Showalter. 

Jessica Chastain gives a pretty defiant performance as Tammy Faye, her presence was always alluring and her empathy is adorned well on screen. It’s unsurprising that Tammy Faye makes an interest protagonist for a biopic, however her character often feels heavy handed and it’s difficult to…

Halloween Kills is amusing enough aesthetically, the kills are sound, the exploration of Haddonfield is as good as ever and Gordon Green’s infatuation of this material is strong. However the film suffers more so than its 2018 predecessor from its narrative positioning, as the second film in a trilogy. 

The film inherently feels empty, like it is holding off from anything remotely overwhelming or conclusive. The open-ended story is to be expected but it’s made worse by being attached to…

A refreshingly delicate lead performance from Clint Eastwood can’t save a film that unfortunately recesses in coherence and escalates into an underwhelming gushy conclusion.

I quite admire Eastwood’s more destitute storytelling here, the simplistic narrative is admirable, his character feels much more grounded than in some of his recent outings. His character and more importantly his relationship with Rafo played by Eduardo Minett is accessible, despite the commencement of the story being rushed it was easy to appreciate. This is…

Prisoners of the Ghostland is a visually appealing yet inaccessible platform for some enjoyable Nicolas Cage antics.

 This is probably not the appropriate introduction to the work of Sion Sono, but I certainly got a taste of his style. I struggle to imagine that this film would ever exist in this form without an actor like Nicolas Cage, his commitment is indisputable, however the film doesn’t hold a whole lot of value past the inclusion of Cage’s allure. Sofia Boutella is…