Last Night in Soho

The first part of the film is much more artsy and visually stunning than anything Edgar Wright has done so far. While neon lights give us Suspiria (1977) vibes, I would never want to sleep in a room with lights flashing through the window all night long. I’ve seen most projects Thomasin McKenzie has been in since Leave No Trace, and she shows her best acting here in the scene outside of the pub when she’s telling her grandma she’s okay, even though she clearly isn’t. The plot twist is quite predictable, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. I enjoyed this film a lot, I was worried it would be pretentious with all it’s talk about how great London is, but it was acually a really nice surprise.

8/10

Dear Evan Hansen

I’m a huge fan of Julianne Moore, so naturally I had to see this at the cinema. I heard people say a lot of bad things about it, but it is not that bad. I haven’t seen the musical, but the storyline left me thinking about it for a day or two. If you enjoyed season one of Thirteen Reasons Why, as you should, you will like this. The film stars Amy Adams and SVU’s Danny Pino as Ben Platt’s parents. I really liked the little montage of Connor’s family walking through the halls, trying to go on with their daily lives: his father at work, his mother at the grocery store and his sister at school, before one of them coming home early and having a breakdown. I think I’ve seen every film and TV show Kaitlyn Dever has been in and she is really good here too. They didn’t show this film at my local cinema, but thankfully I still had a Showcase Cinemas voucher that expired during the pandemic that I was able to use.

5/10

Halloween Kills

I’ve been a fan of the original since I first watched it in 2004 and I am grateful to John Carpenter for resurrecting this series, and most importantly, not ending it yet. Halloween Kills is not as good as its predecessor, but it is still hella entertaining. Original characters are brought back, and some of them, just like some of the new ones, do not make it out alive. There is a very depressing subplot of an innocent man being chased down by a mob of angry people that is quite tense and just painful to watch. There was a couple sitting behind me that were jumping with every single scare, saying ‘no, keep running, stupid’ and laughing at all the jokes, making my viewing even more pleasant. And fun fact, I have a Halloween (1978) phone case on my phone right now, just like every year, because it is the season after all.

6/10

The Addams Family 2

I was not expecting there to be a Jaws reference, including the dolly zoom shot! I’ve always loved the Addams Family, the films, the TV shows, the musical, so here I am, watching this animated sequel. The Adams Family 2 feels more like a National Lampoon instalment, than an Addams Family film, and maybe that’s why it is a lot more entertaining than the first animated film. While I fell asleep at the cinema during the first one, I was wide awake today. The sequel takes a very dark turn quite quickly and I’m sure kids will have a lot of questions parents may not feel comfortable answering. Wednesday still remains one of the most relatable characters out there, as at one point she refuses to be hugged by a character and says:

I’ve been social distancing since birth.

6/10

In the Mood for Love

I watched this on Kanopy today for my Chinese Cinema class. I have been putting this one off for a long time, but can’t really explain why. I do like films about people having emotional affairs that never turn sexual, so I enjoyed it quite a lot. Also, it helps that it’s visually stunning. I must admit I haven’t seen anything from this director apart from My Blueberry Nights, but now I really want to.

8/10

Cloudy Mountain

An awesome Chinese disaster movie I chose to watch at my local Odeon over the new Bond film. They should have stuck with Danny Boyle’s vision and his casting of Tomasz Kot as the villian and I would have been there. Cloudy Mountain is an entertaining watch, it features some amazing cinematography choices and it’s the most depressing film I’ve seen this month.

7/10

Suspiria

‘Tis the season to re-watch Suspiria and be blinded by the pretty lights all over again. Living in a boarding school has never been scarier. Is this really everyone’s favourite Argento? I like Deep Red more.

7/10

Thirst

There are so many visually intriguing shots in this film, one of the first ones is of the character playing the recorder and then vomitting blood into it. So simple, yet effective. It sets the tone of the film. I loved The Handmaiden, Stoker and Oldboy, so naturally I had to watch this. If you like vampire films, check it out on Mubi this spooky season!

6/10

Batman Returns

The first 40 minutes were great and anyone watching would know it’s a Tim Burton film, but after the cemetery scene, it turns to any other superhero movie, and those just aren’t for me.

Also, did her eyesight fix itself when she came back from the dead?

6/10