A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

I love Tom Hanks and Matthew Rhys and yet this still managed to disappoint me. I watched ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor?’ earlier this year and it was one of the best documentaries I’ve seen all year. I wish it was still available on Netflix, so I could rewatch it now.

7/10

Offside

I cannot believe that apart from the ‘temporary jail’ scenes, the film was shot on the day of the football match! I loved every minute of it.

10/10

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

I finished reading book last month, after meaning to do so for the last 15+ years. Sadly one of the things I learned is that my favourite character from the film dies tragically in the book. My favourite quote from the book:

‘I can’t wipe the razorblade scars off your wrists, or the cigarette burns off the back of your hands.’

‘Jesus, I mean, you guys do nothing but complain about how you can’t stand it in this place here and you don’t have the guts just to walk out? What do you think you are, for Chrissake, crazy or somethin’? Well you’re not! You’re not! You’re no crazier than the average asshole out walkin’ around on the streets and that’s it.’

‘Is that crazy enough for ya’? Want me to take a shit on the floor?’

10/10

The Notorious Betty Page

This would have been so much better if they continued the story past the 50s. There’s nothing here about her nervous breakdown and assaulting her landlord that ended with a decade long stay at a psychiatric hospital. The film suggests that all the sado-maso modelling was a result of Betty’s PTSD after years of sexual abuse and another unrelated attack. In one of the scenes Sarah Paulson tells Gretchen Mol ‘I believe the female form can stand on its own’ when Betty takes out a racy corset, then proceeds to take topless photos of her.

6/10

Altitude

Greer Grammer struggled to find the toilet at the Hecks’ house on The Middle, but managed to carry a shitty Lifetime film. This aired on Filmbox Action at 2am.

3/10

Backdraft

I’ve read some really bad reviews for Ron Howard’s new film Hillbilly Eledgy, so I thought I’d give this Oscar Nominated film of his a shot instead, especially since it’s disappearing from Netflix tonight. Hans Zimmer successfully brought tears to my eyes as always, but the script failed to do the same.

6/10

Being John Malkovich

Let’s be honest, none of us expected it to suddenly turn gay. A wonderfully twisted mind game and insight into a character’s head. So original, it hurts. Last time I was this nicely surprised with a story was when I watched The Platform on Netflix.

9.5/10

Don’t Look Back

I’m a huge fan of Parenthood, the NBC TV series and Bob Dylan’s Forever Young played in the opening credits of every episode. I feel like I haven’t learned anything new about Dylan after watching this documentary. If you like Bob Dylan, you’ll love this. This is the first musical documentary of the film crew following an artist as they travel from city to city on a tour.

6/10

Rabbit

I watched this in my Intro to Animation class this morning, and It’s one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen. An extremely graphic short story of greedy children brutally killing animals to get extra points from a magical genie. The kids get just what they deserve as nature gets its revenge in this BBC animation.

6/10