Got any other Egoyan recommendations?
I’'ve only seen Chloe which was a bit naff and Calendar whbich I loved
I’ve got Exotica on DVD but no means to watch it…
Yep! I’ll put the ones I’ve seen in order:
Exotica
The Adjustor
The Sweet Hereafter
Speaking Parts
Calendar
Felicia’s Journey
Next of Kin
Exotica is your best starting point I think if you can manage to watch it.
I think there has been a massive tailing off in his work since the early 2000’s, so I’ve kind of avoided the likes of Chloe, etc. He’s got terrible reviews for this last few films, which I can actually see happening. He’s one of those directors who takes quite a lot of risks and when they pay off it’s fantastic, but I can imagine that when it goes wrong, it goes really wrong.
Excellent, thank you. I’ll have a gander!
Chloe’s okay but its just a late night channel 5 type thing with a starring cast. The Devil’s Knot was on FilmFour the other day, but I didnt catch it - didnt realise he directed it tbh either
I saw A Royal Affair last night which actually is dead good
rewatched Prisoners last night. great film.
At my flatmates request, we watched the latest Bourne. I’m sad to say that a film that starred Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander & Riz Ahmed, it was rather dull. Not that I was expecting much else…
Two cinema visits this weekend:
The Girl With All The Gifts - Literally baffled as to what the critics are seeing here, found it literally laughably bad. There was a good film in there somewhere trying to get out but my fucking God the execution was so bad. Awful performances all-round, the “hungries” themselves just looked silly rather than threatening and then when the feral children turned up I just lost it. Shame as it was an interesting premise and technically it was really well put-together but I really struggled. 3/10
Don’t Breathe - Did it’s job really, shitty manipulative jumps and scares were what we expected and what we got. Felt a bit unnecessarily gratuitous in the final third but I guess they had to make you work hard to be on the side of the people trying to rob a blind man. 5/10
Hail Caesar, was alright.
Watched Weiner (the documentary) yesterday evening. Felt so sorry for his wife Huma Abedin, he’s clearly got a terrible additction to sending pictures of his cock to his supporters.
Massive spoilers here - a cursory Googling suggests that Huma’s left him now after sexting a 15 year old girl. Fucking hell!
I watched Searching For Sugarman over the weekend. Was definitely worth watching. And makes sense of a conversation I once had with a probably-conversative, South African woman who I was car-sharing with. (I’d included the song Sugarman on a mixtape I’d made, but didn’t have any idea about its significance or the political context).
I went to see Search for the Wilderpeople yesterday - it was funny and lovely and I really liked it
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anyone else seen Lo And Behold yet?
Watched Tyrannosaur again on Saturday night - such a brilliant film.
Went to see Bridget Jones at the cinema yesterday…
I’m gonna go to see it tonight…slightly disturbed by the possibility that it’s basically an extended infomercial or something - does that come across when you watch it?
Quite enjoyed GWATG, agree that the “Hungries” weren’t all that but I quite like the moralistic struggles and the slightly unsettling vaguely Day of the Triffids vibe.
dunno but i really enjoyed it.
he crams so much stuff in, reckon there’s scope for a tv series
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Yeah, like I said there was a good film in there somewhere I think. The moral dilemma at the heart of it was really interesting but the girl just lacked the chops to pull off the inner turmoil unfortunately.
Seemed to borrow an awful lot from The Last of Us in terms of look (and plot to an extent) but The Last of Us was a masterpiece whereas this was very, very flawed IMO.
Some other folks made The Last of Us comparison too, I think, not entirely unlike Under the Skin, there’s nuances to TGWATG book, that aren’t included in the film and it almost entirely changes the story.
Gone Girl. I liked it. I can understand the criticisms of how it treated rape, though.
Elena
Very stylish Russian film about a housewife who eventually murders her second husband so that she can provide for her feckless first family. Enjoyed it a lot.
The Gallows.
Utterly awful horror film about kids trapped in a theatre. Makes no sense at all, it can’t work out whether it’s found footage or shaky cam and is terribly acted.
Hot Pursuit. Just 90 minutes of screeching.
Weird weekend for films…
Mike and Dave need wedding dates - Very average but it had it’s funny moments. Aubrey Plaza was fantastic as always. Would have liked more Stephen Root and Sam Richardson. 5/10
Swiss Army Man - Honestly Bizarre. Castaway shot like a music video but with dialogue that played like Terrence and Phillips ‘Asses of Fire’. The last half an hour was pretty good though ( I think). I was expecting it to be odd but urm yeah. FARTS/10
The Man Who Would Be King - It was on BBC4 last night whilst I was flicking through. I missed the beginning but it was great. Caine and Connery play some pretty despicable chaps and their accents aren’t toned down in the slightest. The ending was fantastic! 8/10