Do you ever wake in the middle of the night, hear a sound in your home and become convinced that there's someone downstairs? Your heart starts to beat faster, the hairs on your arm begin to stand, your breathing quickens.
This film is that sound in the night.
This film is that feeling in your bones.
This film is that person in your home.
Raging Bull is currently being re-released as a 4k restoration in cinemas, and what an experience it is to see it on the big screen. I had seen this film twice before. The first time was in my mid teens and I didn't really enjoy it; I think I probably went into it expecting something along the lines of Rocky so that was never going to end well. The second time was in my early twenties and although I appreciated…
What a feeling it is to be loved and seen and supported by someone.
Master Schrader continues to blow me away with his late period work. While the majority of his contemporaries have wilted away, he is still blossoming and blooming in new and interesting ways, plucking away at weeds that grow in our subconscious, leaving room for change and healing and growth in an unforgiving world.
I went into this expecting it to be relatively decent given that I had heard Sean Fennessey (on The Big Picture podcast) give it a strong recommendation, and yet it still somehow managed to exceed my expectations.
I loved the documentary style, it felt in conversation with some great films from the past while still feeling fresh and authentic; like a mixture of The Office, Steve Jobs, Moneyball and The Social Network.
Howerton's performance is easily one of the best…
This film radiates evil. It seeps out of the screen and infects the air around you.
I had forgotten how well it builds tension. From the opening text crawl onwards something just seems......off
Surprisingly it doesn't rely on gore to generate its scares, it earns it in other ways; through its decrepit locations and the constant sense of dread. It almost feels like a snuff film - the scene where Sally flees leatherface at night might be the most genuinely…
I enjoyed the first 3 John Wick movies but I didn't love any of them. I felt they took elements from better action movies - The Raid 1 and 2 primarily (the best fight choreography), Mission Impossible (the best stunts, globe hopping, and the all round best action films), and a dash of Bond (the suave, mysterious main character and worldwide factions) - and added it all together into something that didn't feel fully whole.
The first felt a bit…
