Tag Archives: film analysis

Film Reviews: I Care a Lot. Kajillionaire. Amy. Tales From the Darkside. Strange Planet. Across the Universe. Return to Horror High. R.L. Stine Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls. The Expecting

20 Thursday May 2021

Posted by in Julianne Moore, movies, Rachel Griffiths

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I Care a Lot

This could easily be mistaken for a sequel to Gone Girl. Rosamund sounds a lot like Geena Davis in this film. Pike has been in so many good movies since I first saw her in Pride and Prejudice. I was also surprised to see Alicia Witt in a non-Hallmark movie. I didn’t know being a legal guardian is an actual job, or that someone could be a legal guardian of someone they don’t know personally. Maybe we should all consider it.

‘You’re my guardian robber!’

8/10

Kajillionaire

I would watch more than fourteen episodes of Jane the Virgin if it was this gay. Seeing characters who cannot afford to shower never have greasy hair is one of my biggest pet peeves.

This is the 5000th film l’ve logged on Letterboxd!

7/10

Amy

This is touching, funny and very Australian. The script is flawed, the last 30 min has two extemely random and unnecessary plots, a drunk chasing the girl and random youth trying to kidnap her. I have now seen almost everything Rachel Griffiths has been in.

7/10

Tales from the Darkside

I’ve been watching reruns of Tales from the Darkside and thought I’d re-watch this in between. Julianne Moore stars and shines in the first 40 minutes of the film. While some stories are clearly better than others, it’s still an entertaining ride.

6/10

Strange Planet

I tried buying this on DVD five or six years ago, I got it on Ebay and the film I received was a different title (it was Next with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore, which I already had on DVD). I never complained, because I only paid a couple of quid, but it took me this long to reach for the film again.

6/10

Across the Universe

Some songs worked better than others, the film’s version of Come Together worked extremely well. The film looses its plot, literally, and turns into an abstract piece no one asked for. The differences between the US and the UK are jarring. Who would want to live in our tiny semi-detached UK houses, when there’s all that space in America? When this came out, my middle school English teacher spent a good month telling us about this film, and yet it took me 14 years to watch it.

6/10

Return to Horror High

This randomly played on TV and it seemed exactly like something I would have loved as a teenager. I loved 80s slashers, so I decided to watch this. Young George Clooney stars in a tiny role and his character is the first person to die. I was expecting something similar to Slaughter High, but got a very average horror instead. It still made me want to check out the first Horror High though.

5/10

R.L. Stine Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls

There are three Fear Street movies coming to Netflix this summer and I’m looking forward to them. Goosebumps was my life as a kid, both the TV show and books. I have about 30 books somewhere in my parents’ house I will never give away. Letterboxd doesn’t even credit R.L Stine with writing the novel this was based on and I completely forgot this existed until it appeared on Netflix earlier this week. I will forever watch anything R.L. Stine. I remember watching the Haunted Mask and Slappy episodes of Goosebumps, among many others, like it was yesterday.

6/10

The Expecting

This was directed by Mary Harron, who directed American Psycho? I never would have guessed. I also would not have guessed that this is the role AnnaSophia Robb shaved her head for. The scene in the bathroom with blood dripping down AnnaSophia’s legs reminded me of the scene with Hilary Swank noticing blood dripping down AnnaSophia’s legs in The Reaping, 14 years ago. Also, Cassie from Skins is also in this.

First and last Quibi original I’ll ever watch. RIP, Quibi.

4/10

Film Reviews: Seaspiracy. Shoplifters. Quick Change. Unfaithful. Chef. Cape Fear. Red River. Fatal Honeymoon. A Week Away

18 Tuesday May 2021

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Seaspiracy

I’ve been vegan for 11 years and since then I’ve been trying to educate my parents on the disastrous effects of animal consumption, sadly without success. I’ve asked them to watch this with me today and they were left shocked, but I don’t think this will affect their eating habits. We’re watching Cowspiracy tomorrow.

8/10

Shoplifters

I watched Our Little Sister last year and loved it, and finally got the chance to watch Shoplifters. My dad said it was too slow for him, but I absolutely love Yasujiro Ozu’s films and this has a similar structure and slow pace.

9/10

Quick Change

I loved every minute of this and I only learned of its existence yesterday. And I’m so glad I did, Geena Davis and Bill Murray are great and the film is truly funny.

‘Since when is illegal to run for a bus?’

7/10

Unfaithful

In my middle school music room the teacher had a giant poster of this film on the wall, distracting the students. 13 year old girls would swoon over Richard Gere and others would laugh at the poster. Many seemed to know this film, I didn’t. I finally watched it today and it’s everything I thought it would be, and that’s not a compliment. Also there is a rape that turns into a consexual sex that is just repulsive. Actually all of the sex scenes in the film are.

3.5/10

Chef

A friend has been telling me about the 1 Second Everyday app for a while now and I remember their website saying ‘as seen in Chef’ and yes, the film promotes different apps, mostly focusing on Twitter. The father-son relationship is charming and the film shows working working in a family business well. Whenever I think of food trucks, my mind automatically goes to Switched at Birth and Daphne getting a food truck from her estranged biological father.

6/10

Cape Fear

I just really felt like rewatching this today. Also, I don’t think I’ve noticed it before, but Jessica Lange is rocking that short haircut. Juliet Lewis and Robert DeNiro share an extremely gross kiss and have both been nominated for Oscars for their roles.

9/10

Red River

You know it’s a bank holiday If I’m suddenly logging a lot of westerns watched with my dad or romcoms and TV movies watched with my mom. This western was directed by Howard Hawks and stars John Wayne. This must not have been easy to film with the hundreds of animals running around. This film also made me want to check out other films Joanne Dru has been in and I haven’t heard of her before watching this film.

7/10

Fatal Honeymoon

I’ve heard of this case before and this was a good enough and typical for Lifetime recreation of events. Harvey Keitel stars as Tina’s father. I also really miss living in Queensland and think of Australia almost every day.

6/10

A Week Away

So this is Camp Rock for hardcore Christians? My family only made it through 30 min.

2/10

Film Reviews: Demi Lovato: Dancing With The Devil. Umberto D. Mommy. High Life. Ambush at Cimarron Pass. Big Sky. Dark Angel. Fallen Hearts. Gates of Paradise

06 Tuesday Apr 2021

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Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil

Much better and more honest than the previous two documentaries. Daddy Issues, Games, Concentrate, Lonely, Sorry and Tell Me You Love Me are all amazing songs that kept me company on many night shifts of 2017 and 2018. I still remember when Demi left rehab for the first time back in 2011, and that her team conveniently only revealed her struggles with eating disorders, self harm and bipolar disorder, and failed to mention drug or alcohol addiction. Fast forward a decade and Demi’s finally revealed everything. Her family and friends seem worried, but also have accepted her decision to drink and smoke weed in moderation. Elton John is the only person in the doc who expresses his disapproval of using in moderation. I think for many viewers the most shocking moment of this documentary is not Demi revealing she has been raped twice, but her admission that she has had sex with her rapists since, in order to take the power back from her abusers. In the first three episodes, Demi lists a few serious mistakes she’s made, ones that could easily be classed as bipolar episodes, only to reveal in the last ten minutes of the documentary, that she has been misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder, and never suffered from it, and that the mistakes she’s made were just a part of growing up.

8/10

Umberto D.

How predictable of me to watch another example of my favourite, Italian neorealism. A beautiful film directed by Vittorio De Sica. The train scene at the very end is nerve wrecking.

9/10

Mommy

They seriously failed by not calling this film MILF. My favourite part is when Oasis’ song plays and the screen streches from the obnoxious 1:1 aspect ratio to the cinema screen ratio for a few seconds. The montage is also pretty, but too much of it is blurry, and gives me a headache. I love the last ten seconds and that the film ends with a Lana Del Rey song. I rewatched this on Mubi, while watching today’s football matches with my dad. Also, I cannot figure out whether I like this or We Need to Talk About Kevin more.

9/10

High Life

How many utterly weird films has Juliette Binoche been in? I can name quite a few. The person who wrote this was definitely high, alright. I actually loved how messed up this was, but I have a few questions, starting with, why were some of the women tied to their beds, but others and all men weren’t? Even though this film was in my Mubi watchlist, I watched it by accidentally mistaking it for Terrence Malick’s A Hidden Life.

7/10

Ambush at Cimarron Pass

What can I say, my dad and I are big Clint Eastwood fans, so here we are. We have watched this among five other Clint Eastwood films over one weekend.

5/10

Big Sky

My dad and I watched this because we loved the first season of Big Sky, so we wanted to see if this is also based on the Highway book series, and it is not. This is abysmal and we laughed a lot. Middle-of-nowhere horror is my favourite kind, so I can’t say this is unwatchable. It is laughable, but watchable.

3/10

Dark Angel

Whoever at Lifetime decided to adapt all of V. C. Andrews’ novels into films, deserves a raise. I remember when Sweet Audrina came out and transfered me back to my childhood. I loved those gothic novels growing up. Lifetime also adapted the Flowers in the Attic series, then Heaven and as I’ve learned yesterday, they’ve now adapted the Ruby Landry series, which was written after Virginia’s death by her ghostwriter, Andrew Neiderman. I haven’t read the Landry series, so I’m looking forward to it. I watched Heaven, the first part of the Casteel series when it came out, but gave it up and never watched the other four films, until now. While I thought Sweet Audrina was a good adaptation, especially for a TV movie, the Casteel films aren’t.

5/10

Fallen Hearts

I didn’t remember there being a lion attack in the book, but then again I read it 15 years ago. Just as all V. C. Andrews’ books, this film is full of incest, rape and family drama. Heaven’s sister is so annoying she makes this film almost unwatchable.

3/10

Gates of Paradise

So Hallmark and Lifetime share Johannah Newmarch any time they need to cast a 40 year old redhead? How many productions has she been in? There is also a Melrose Place reunion in this one.

3/10

Film Reviews: Promising Young Woman. The Map of Tiny Perfect Things. The Croods: New Age. Music. The Out of Towners. Red Sorghum. To Live. Suffragette. Sweet Nothing In My Ear

14 Sunday Feb 2021

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Promising Young Woman

Rape and revenge has always been one of my favourite genres. I could relate to the scene where Jennifer Coolidge’s character has a meltdown because her thirty year old daughter still lives at home and hasn’t accomplished enough for her to brag about to her friends. Also, I loved the ending.

9/10

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things

Kathryn Newton has been in so many projects since being cast as Reese Witherspoon’s older daughter in Big Little Lies. My favourite one is Freaky. This is Groundhog Day for teens and the pink cotton candy colour grading gets annoying real quick.

3/10

The Croods: A New Age

I knew nothing about this film before going in, but recognised Cage, Stone and Mann’s voices straight away. I’ve never seen the first film, even though my family bought it on DVD for 1£ a few years ago, so I will watch it eventually. I enjoyed the first half of The Croods 2 until they introduced the big monkey and everyone started fighting.

5/10

Music

I’ve fast-forwarded through most of it, especially all of the singing parts. This film clearly didn’t have anything to say about the autism community, so it should have been just about Kate Hudson’s character’s struggle to stay sober. Hudson shaved her head for this role thinking this would be a good film. In a couple of scenes she wears a T-shirt that says ‘I’m not old, I’m a recycled teenager’ which is the only thing I found intriguing in this film. This was filmed in 2017 and only got a release now? Geez, I wonder why.

2/10

The Out of Towners

Did I laugh when the airport employee dragged this poor old lady from the shitter mistaking her for Goldie Hawn, shouting the lady is refusing to go? You bet your ass I did. Did I laugh when Steve Martin climbed the baggage claim carousel, then proceeded to have a conversation with the baggage claim chute, got hit with a bag and fell on his head, while Goldie shouted that’s the wrong bag? I did indeed. I laughed at most of the slapstick scenes, and yes, some parts of the film are outdated, not tolerant or funny, but I enjoyed it just as much as the original film from 1970 starring Jack Lemmon.

6/10

Red Sorghum

A nearly perfect film that also happens to be Zhang Yimou’s first feature. It’s almost as visually stunning (if not blinding) as Raise the Red Lantern. Red Sorghum would get five stars from me, if not for the child nudity and if it had less scenes of characters urinating. The scalping scene on the other hand, may be one of my favourite of Yimou’s.

9/10

To Live

A more realistic masterpiece from Zhang Yimou that follows a family extremely short on luck and their lives starting from before the Chinese Communist Revolution up to the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 60s and 70s. I think I’ve finally found my goal for 2021, and that is to watch Yimou’s entire filmography. Also I may have watched this film twice in one weekend.

10/10

Suffragette

Emily Wilding Davison went to my uni, but dropped out before graduating due to her mother no longer being able to afford to send her there after Emily’s father’s death. Despite what many believed, Emily did not try to kill herself by throwing herself under the King’s horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby. She was trying to hang a Women’s Right to Vote flag on the King’s horse. She had been seen practising hanging the flag on other horses earlier that day. Emily thought she would have enough time to move aside, underestimating the speed of the horse. One thing I must give to the filmmakers is how exquisitely they recreated that incident. I’ve seen archival footage and all of the eeriest angles were recreated here. I think Suffragette would have been better if it focused on Emmeline Pankhurst. I also don’t think casting Meryl Streep for a 4 min monologue was necessary. The Suffragette is about the British women’s fight for the right to vote. American females’ fight is best portrayed in Iron Jawed Angels starring Hilary Swank. I recommend you watch that one first.

6/10

Sweet Nothing In My Ear

Why was Marlee Matlin’s voice dubbed? Couldn’t they just use subtitles? I watched this after rewatching Children of a Lesser God.

6/10

Film Reviews: Amore. Inside the Twin Towers. Candyman. Father of the Bride. What Women Want. Splash. Dead Husbands. The Straight Story. Noel

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

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Amore

I didn’t know this consisted of two short stories, the first one written by Jean Cocteau and the other by Federico Fellini, both directed by Roberto Rossellini! Could this get any better?

7/10

Inside the Twin Towers

I watched it on youtube today. Some of the stories and re-enactments are heartbreaking. I watched the part with a man encouraging a stranger to keep on walking down the stairs when he couldn’t walk anymore a couple of times. They both didn’t make it.

9/10

Candyman

That very long aerial shot of the highway from the opening credits is stunning. More filmmakers should use it. I haven’t seen this film since early 2000s, but since the remake is coming out this year, I thought I would rewatch it.

7/10

Father of the Bride 2

I’ve felt really shitty all day, but this helped tremendously by transferring me back to the 90s when I watched and rewatched this every couple of weeks.

7/10

What Women Want

I’m rewatching this right now and I completely forgot about the suicide arc, which is what makes this very average romcom, special.

6/10

Splash

Quality Controller of fruit and veg was my very first job and this seems to be Tom’s job in the film. John Candy plays Tom’s brother. The film had the potential to be good, if not for the mermaid nonsense.

4/10

Dead Husbands

This took Strangers on a Train to a whole new level. The funniest bit was when the police officer reads the rich ladies their rights and one of them can’t stop laughing when he says ‘if you can’t afford an attorney’. This was an entertaining tv movie, and it’s true that I only watched it, because I really miss Desperate Housewives.

6/10

The Straight Story

I’m just shocked to see Lynch direct a realistic story. He refrained from all his craziness and directed a truly heart-warming film.

8/10

Noel

This tastes even more bitter after Robin’s tragic death. In Noel Robin Williams’s character saves Susan Sarandon’s character from suicide. Everything else is a real mess and this poster is possibly the best thing about this film.

3/10

Film Reviews: The Glorias. Copycat. Pedestrian Subway. My Depression: The Up and Down and Up of It. Nightwalk. One Angry Juror. The Mirror. Strike. Vegas Vacation

21 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by in Julianne Moore, movies

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The Glorias

I’m a huge fan of both Julianne Moore and Gloria Steinem, so I’m the ideal audience for The Glorias. Sadly, the film ended up being a very average biopic, and 2.5h long at that. Gloria Steinem fully supported this project, unlike Mrs. America. She hated that the TV show put two successful women against each other.

‘I am one of those crazy women.’

6.5/10

Copycat

Copycat has been on my watchlist for 20 years and I finally got to see it today when they showed it on Filmbox! I really needed it today and it definitely made my day! This could only be better if they got together at the end.

8/10

Pedestrian Subway

Kieslowski has been my favourite director since I watched the Decalogue series as a kid, and I’m so happy I finally got to see this short! This has too many choker shots for my liking, but it’s still a wonderful short.

7/10

My Depression: The Up and Down and Up of It

So Sigourney Weaver narrates my life? They got everything right, down to red hair and 24h Law and Order marathons. This was cute and I will have the ‘Suicide Mobile’ song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

6/10

Nightwalk

Malgorzata Szumowska liked working with Raffey Cassidy on The Other Lamb so much she invited her to Warsaw to shoot this beautiful short? Michal Englert’s cinematography never disappoints.

9/10

One Angry Juror

This is based on a true story? I’ve been selected for jury duty and that’s my excuse for watching this random Lifetime jury duty movie starring Jessica Capshaw. Actually, that’s a lie. I miss Arizona, she should have never been written off Greys.

4/10

The Mirror

I just read that the second half of the film was all fiction just as much as the first. Apparently the first little actress they picked, quit in the middle of shooting, and Panahi, who was already considering this idea all along, decided to mimic it. Mind-blowing.

8/10

Strike

One of the most important films of Eisenstein, a director and film theorist known as Father of Montage. My favourite example of montage has to be when they introduce the undercover agents and show why they resemble their animal nicknames. Strongly against the drastic scenes of child and animal abuse. Everything else is perfect.

8/10

Vegas Vacation

They had me at Good Vibrations, but then the film turned out to be much worse than the other films from the series so this one is a no from me.

3/10

Film Reviews: The Towering Inferno. Happiest Season. Little Fires Everywhere. Two Women. The City of Your Final Destination. Cafe. Peter’s Forest. The Christmas Chronicles 2. The Secret Garden

09 Saturday Jan 2021

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The Towering Inferno

This was an uncomfortable re-watch post 9/11 and the Grenfell tragedy. This film clearly contributed to many questioning why no helicopters were used in the evacuation of the Twin Towers and the Grenfell Tower.

7.5/10

Happiest Season

I’ve seen a lot of Christmas films and none of them focused on a same sex couple. I think the fact that I could relate to it automatically prevented me from hating this film, even if multiple scenes annoyed me. Lauren Lapkus playing a security guard gave me Orange is the New Black feels. I loved the way Stewart delivered the ‘They also think, that… I’m straight.’ line. And that Clea Duvall cameo.

‘That lifestyle choice.’
‘Such a shame.’

‘They’re my parents and I’m scared that if I tell them who I really am, I will lose them.’

7/10

Little Fires Everywhere

I’ve just rewatched this with the family today and it’s still a great mini-series. I probably enjoyed it more now, as my family was so into the story, they pleaded we watch another episode even though it was already 4am. What stroke me the most while I rewatched this was AnnaSophia Robb’s portrayal of Reese Witherspoon’s younger version. I’ve been following her career since Bridge to Terabithia, so I know apart from The Carrie Diaries, she’s had many roles in many small and very average projects. She gives a wonderful performance here and is a better Elena than Reese herself.

10/10

Two Women

The middle parts were a bit slow and uneventful, but the last ten minutes are brutal and compelling.

7/10

The City of Your Final Destination

I’m taking a break from watching shitty Christmas films with my family to dive into my favourite, Italian neorealism. I watched this for Laura Linney. It reminded me of Youth, but it wasn’t quite as good.

5/10

Cafe

This reminded me of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s abusive husband arc on 911. This average TV movie dips its fingers in numerous genres including psychological, sci-fi, mystery, fantasy and drama. It’s not for me, but my pre-teen self would surely appreciate The Sims reference.

5/10

Peter’s Forest

This reminded me of that Grey’s Anatomy episode back in season 3 I believe, when a person with HPV came in and he was covered in warts that looked like tree branches. Here, someone has their tree branch arm chopped off at one point.

5/10

The Christmas Chronicles 2

The first film was fun, but even the Back to the Future twist didn’t help the sequel. Also, It’s hard to believe Chris Columbus wrote and directed this film.

5/10

The Secret Garden

Is this a remake of The Secret Garden or Bridge to Terabithia? Out of all the recent remakes, I knew from the minute I saw the trailer, this was going to be the most pointless one. Why would you remake Agnieszka Holland’s timeless classic? Because special effects are so advanced nowadays? The Secret Garden doesn’t need them.

4/10

Film Reviews: A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Offside. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The Notorious Betty Page. Altitude. Backdraft. Being John Malkovich. Don’t Look Back. Rabbit

05 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by in movies, sarah paulson

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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