The Constant Gardener

I rewatched it on the 7^th of March this year, as I couldn’t stop myself from watching it on Rachel Weisz’s birthday. Happy to report I now own it on DVD. Same thoughts as 14 years ago, I certainly would have preferred if they showed us the murders.

9/10

The Godfather

According to Letterboxd I have now seen 3000 films (that I can remember), and I thought that called for a rewatch of one of the classics. Since all of the Godfathers are leaving HBO Go tomorrow, I thought I’d rewatch Part I. I’ll probably rewatch Part II tomorrow, too.

9/10

Us

People leaving the cinema said it was creepy, but not scary, and it’s true, but I will never look at scissors the same again. Also fantastic use of the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations!

8/10

Ransom

No parent would risk their child’s life and do what Mel Gibson does in this thriller directed by Ron Howard.

6/10

Five Feet Apart

Movies usually make me cry, especially the ones I see at the cinema. Heck, sometimes even trailers do. Yet this film, starring Columbus and The Edge of Seventeen’s Haley Lu Richardson, despite being a drama, didn’t. I wasn’t invested in this storyline at all. Also, I’ve never been a fan of Birdy, yet I recognised her voice straight away.

I watched this film again, now with my family, and it’s a little bit better at second viewing, or maybe my opinion shifted a bit, because my family loved it.

My dad for example, said it was good, but depressing as fuck.

4/10

When I Knew

All these stories are absolutely beautiful, it’s really sad but also incredible to think that so many generations of gays had to stay in the closet, being afraid of the stigma and what their families and friends would say and the current generation of teenagers seems to have it so much easier, as the stigma of teens being gay today does not seem to be that big, mostly because of how many gay characters we’ve had in films and TV shows. I remember how hard kids had it 10 years ago when I was in school, and I was speaking to one of my friend’s younger sibling who’s been out since they were 15 and learned that they never get funny looks from anyone under 60 and that they actually discuss homosexuality in school and teachers say experimenting is normal. Anyway here are some of my favorite:

‘Maybe one day, when I knew and coming out will be the same thing’.

‘She told me that she kissed a boy with her tongue and I burst into tears. Because I just couldn’t image that she could have betrayed me in that way.’- Chrissy Mahan

‘I was 17 years old and I had a best friend that I kept wondering why I was so obsessed with her. I would hang out with her and I would want to kiss her the entire time we were hanging out. I remember sitting and watching The Lost Boys and we took the pillows off the back of the couch and we just like, I think we were that close to kissing and I remember that now just like ahhhh, like it was so forbidden but it was so like exactly what I wanted, but I couldn’t quite have it. And then I was actually driving on the way to her house thinking about us being friends and what not and that Goo Goo Dolls song, it was really big at the time and for some reason it triggered something in me. ‘And I don’t want the world to see me, cause I don’t think that they’d understand’. So many times I tried to  push it down, I didn’t want it to be true, but right then, right there, I had to pull the car over and I started balling and I was like oh my god, I’m not just best friends with her, I’m in love with her.’

‘In the first grade, every time I got the chance to sit next to this is cute little blond girl, I got a funny tingling feeling in my stomach.’

‘I would date women he was done with as a way to be closer to him.’

‘The way other boys were looking at girls, that very same process was occurring for me, but I focused on other boys.’

‘I was introduced to my new teacher. I wanted to do everything I could, to make sure he knew that I was there for him.’

‘I would fantasise about her caressing me and doing whatever.’

‘I was looking at the stars and wondering why I felt so empty, why I couldn’t get over this one girl. I couldn’t understand why friendship, a broken friendship could cause me so much heartache and loss. And then it was kind of like this wave hit me, like duh, you’re being pretty stupid, because you love her. It was like this big relief, and this big excitement at the same time. When you have that moment of discovery, it’s kind of like time stands still, and you feel so good, and then you get so scared, because God, you don’t know how people are gonna respond. When I came out, it was one of the worst days of my life, It was so hateful between my mother and I. My dad said to me if we knew you were gay, we would try to fix you and we hope your son is not gonna be gay.’

9/10

Return to Sender

This may as well have been a sequel to Gone Girl and we all know it. A much weaker sequel, but aren’t they always? I loved the father-daughter relationship and hated the psycho vibe between the rapist and the vicitm. As much as I love rape and revenge genre, You don’t create this sicko pseudo relationship with your rapist to maybe eventually get your revenge. What is this, Elle?

5/10

The Bourne Legacy

There was material in his department that indicates he had an unusual fixation with you. Photographs, journal entries, they found several articles of clothing.

Who can blame him, have you seen Rachel?

5/10

Open Water 3: Cage Dive

43 Meters Down had more cage action than this. Much more. The kids in Cage Dive, also known as Open Water 3 are only in the titled cage for 5 minutes. I liked the first film and the fun ridiculousness of the second one much more than this tiny budget found footage one. And you’re telling me the shark didn’t try to swallow that tiny camera, because, what? It didn’t fit in its jaw?

4/10

Beksinscy: Album Wideofoniczny

Beksinski was one of my favorite artists and his murder shocked me. This video diary brought tears to my eyes and I have spent the last 7 years thinking of life’s fragility, and this documentary really made me realize how short life is.

9/10

An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Stong

The end credits song ruined this very average family movie, which is just a primary school version of The Odd Girl Out. I’ve seen 4 American Girl films, and I’m only ashamed of watching one of them, and it’s not this one. The ones starring pre-teen AnnaSophia Robb and Abigail Breslin were alright for a kids film as well. Good film for a weekly family viewing at my household. My dad would have hated it, my mom sort of loved it.

4/10