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Topics - Matt2112

#21
Moving Pictures / The Northman
May 13, 2022, 11:28:23 AM
When the first sentence of a review of mine contains the phrase, "I was really looking forward to this..." it usually indicates disappointment and, unfortunately, that was the case here.

My first visit to Halifax Square Chapel Art Centre's Copper Auditorium began auspiciously: the building itself inside and out looks and feels resplendent after its substantial renovation along with the adjacent Piece Hall, with amiable staff and surely the most pristinely clean and fragrantly-scented public toilets in Halifax (yes, leading with my chin there, I know).

However, the screening auditorium itself is more of a multi-purpose performance and exhibition space, hence a far cry from the bespoke boutique style screening room I anticipated. The film played on a temporary screen, which during dark scenes suffered from some light pollution from the emergency exit illumination and revealed kinks in the material.  However, the screen itself was large enough and the sound rig punchy enough to override the shortcomings.

I'm very mindful I'm at risk of discussing the actual visit to see the film more than the film itself, but then this can be taken as a measure of my disappointment.

The Northman is directed and co-written by Robert Eggers, who made the superbly eerie and deranged The Lighthouse (and the just-okay folk-horror The Witch), so I came to this with high hopes.

Unfortunately, this sort of arthouse Game Of Thrones underwhelmed; it's as technically accomplished as you'd expect from the formidable talent involved, but the actual story from which everything else pivots just isn't terribly gripping. It's a standard revenge tale with a pinch of mysticism set in grim, brutal times that left me shrugging my shoulders in the end.

Rating: **
#22
Moving Pictures / Midnight Movie Club: Censor
April 23, 2022, 05:49:42 PM
I was really, really looking forward to this greatly hyped, low-budget British horror; it has a terrific premise, where a film censor in the age of 80s video nasties seems to let her personal demons manifest themselves via the medium of the films she is tasked with evaluating.

Unfortunately, I was ultimately very disappointed; a kind of obtuse strangeness prevails in place of a genuine sense of the uncanny, and everything the likes of the highly recommended and far superior Saint Maud got right - also a debut feature from a female British director - this seems to mangle cack-handedly to bathetic effect (btw, I noticed Saint Maud writer-director Rose Glass thanked in the credits).

So, I'd suggest watching - or re-watching - something superior of this sort of ilk like the aforementioned Saint Maud, or perhaps Possum instead; films that crawl under your skin and fester there. :)

Rating: **
#23
With new episodes dropping of the final season (Season 6) of Better Call Saul, I'm working through season 5 again since it's been so long since I watched it - a 15 minute re-cap video on YouTube just seemed wholly inadequate.

And once season 6 is done of this absolutely outstanding show I'm going to re-watch Breaking Bad, if only to see if I can decide which one is better.
#24
Moving Pictures / The Bad Guys
April 19, 2022, 10:52:27 AM
An Easter holiday visit with the little 'un to the flicks.

Yes, it's unlikely my friends here will be hurrying to see this unless it's with their grand-kids or something, but I'm posting for the record anyway.  :)

This Dreamworks animation is good, solid family fun, essentially a slickly-executed knockabout kid-friendly crime caper and redemption tale, but with a level of sophistication that credits its primary school-aged audience with plenty of intelligence.

Sam Rockwell heads the voice cast and does an excellent job as principal character Wolf, channelling George Clooney-as-Danny-Ocean's charming rogue routine pretty much faultlessly ("Clooney" is even used as a verb at one point).  And that's one of a number of enjoyable references to classic crime thrillers that film-savvy parents will notice amongst the frenetic slapstick and set-pieces.

So while this isn't quite in the same league as the best Pixar movies, and is certainly no Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, this is nonetheless 100 engaging minutes of quality popcorn fun.

Rating: ***   

#25
Okay, maybe this doesn't strictly fall under the classic definition of "Midnight Movie", but I plead some license given Wes Anderson is generally regarded as a cult film director and a quick internet search demonstrates this film does have "midnight" screenings. :)

I was aware this is very much a fan favourite and has earned pretty much universal critical praise,  but otherwise approached this with a fairly clean slate.

And what a blast of fun it is! I loved the quirky humour that infused pretty much every single scene of this hugely entertaining yarn and Ralph Fiennes is superb in the principal role.

Yet another film I've seen recently which made me wonder why I left it so long.

Rating: ****
#26
Moving Pictures / Midnight Movie Club: Near Dark
April 10, 2022, 12:24:31 PM
Had an overdue undisturbed evening of watching a film from my Cinema Paradiso subscription; the next on my list was a film from the horror/cult genre - which includes films often regarded as "Midnight Movies": Kathryn Bigelow's 1987 vampire flick Near Dark, seen for the first time.

For the first half of its 95 minutes, I found it difficult to become engaged in the story of a small-town farmer's son who reluctantly falls in with a bunch of vampires, dividing his loyalty to his family.

But then comes...the bar scene, which elevates things spectacularly.  This sequence struck me as brilliantly Tarantino-esque, although it comes some half a decade before anyone would know of his name.

Although generally Near Dark is not without its flaws, there are some very intriguing themes at work which elevates this from the norm, as it were.  Well worth a look.

Rating: ***