Licorice Pizza

I have been a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson since I watched Magnolia 13 years ago, and I love every single feature film of his. I didn’t realise what good friends Anderson and the Haim sisters were until I watched this film. Licorice Pizza is a beautiful coming of age story about a young woman drifting between careers, struggling to find her place in the world, and a teenager hopelessly in love with her.

9/10

Spencer

My last discounted Showcase Cinemas ticket expires tomorrow and I decided to use it on Spencer, as it was the only good film my local Odeon wasn’t showing. The eating disorder portrayal was on point (even though it should have been researched more thoroughly), and so was the gay longing subplot, but the self-harm storyline needed more development. However, a middle aged lady behind me screamed during the self-harm scene, so even though it seemed very random, it clearly did a good job at scaring this lady. Also continuity wise, the wound wasn’t visible in the following scene, but her self-harm is later commented on by another character, so it wasn’t yet another thing she imagined. My favourite scene is the one when everyone, including the Queen stares at her not eating soup, before she devours it. I can’t say it was better that season 4 of The Crown, but it was a step up from Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Diana, even though I must say I preferred Naomi Watts as Lady Di over Kirsten Stewart. I loved her acting during the aforementioned dinner scene, and there was another scene I really liked her in that I can’t recall now, but overall I just couldn’t buy this portrayal. Speak remains my favourite film starring Stewart. I loved the book and that interpretation so much. I related to both a lot as a young teen.

For a better portrayal of bulimia, go see Sharing the Secret, for a better portrayal of self-harm go see Suicide Room or Sharp Objects.

7/10

King Richard

I’m glad I saw it at the movies, because I would not have paid as much attention to it as I did. It’s wonderful, and I cried at least three times. It was a bit too long though, 145 min is a lot. When I left the cinema at 11pm, the floor of the car park where I parked my car was empty and then out of nowhere some guy showed up and I overheard him say to someone on his phone that his girfriend is a bitch and he will punish her by fucking one of her friends. Well, good luck mate.

7/10

Scream

Scream has been my favourite horror franchise for over 20 years. I still remember the first time a kid version of me watched the first two films in the late 90s in an absolute awe of what was happening on screen. I was upset when I heard they were making a 5th one without Wes. Wes Craven was the heart of this series and my favourite director. I ended up writing my Extended Essay in my last year of high school on his work, because I just loved his movies that much. I struggled to get over his death for a long time as the original The Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs and Scream were some of my most favourite films. He was the one director I dreamed of working with one day, in whatever capacity. It took me until a second viewing to write this because I was too much of a mess to write anything last week. They dedicated this movie to Wes, and didn’t ruin the franchise like I was worried they would, so I’m thankful for that. And I must say this one is better than the third one, so that’s an accomplishment and my two favourite characters made it out alive and that counts for something too. I still think they should have named it Scream 5 though.

7/10

Suzhou River

I’m Polish, so naturally Bison Grass Vodka has always been my favourite drink. I think this nod to my culture is what helped me stay engaged with the story a bit more. I didn’t like the first twenty or so minutes of the film, but when they introduced Mardar’s story, I was intrigued. I’m not sure why absolutely all shots had to be handheld, surely only Meimei’s story could have been shot that way, but other than that, I did enjoy this film a lot.

8/10

Beijing Bicycle

I didn’t expect this to be as good as Bicycle Thieves, but I certainly expected more than this. At least the desperation was on point.

7/10

The Rescue

While I remember seeing pictures of the boys once they were first discovered, I did not know how gruelling and traumatising the process to get them out was. You can watch this intriguing National Geographic documentary on Disney+.

7/10

Country Strong

Just because it has Tim McGraw in it, doesn’t mean it’s ‘country strong’. Watch Nashville, the TV show instead.

4/10

Gwen Stefani: You Make It Feel Like Christmas

It’s a shame Secret Santa is only on the Deluxe version of the album, it’s been my favourite Christmas song since it came out. This album is all I listen to every December, especially the 9 original songs. I’ve been a fan of Gwen since her No Doubt days, so naturally I love this special and re-watch it every Christmas. My favourite part may still be how nervous Gwen looks when her youngest describes the family’s coolest Christmas tradition. Bless her. I don’t understand the random choice of most guests, apart from Blake and Chelsea that is, and I’m not exactly happy with whatever the backup dancers were doing half the time, but YMIFLC is a great Christmas album and this special is always a pleasure to re-visit.

9/10