·
The Cell
(2000), Tarsem Singh – Tarsem Singh is a genius, but a warped one at that. This
intriguingly structured serial killer flick is an extremely disturbing watch.
The literal journey into the mind of a serial killer allows Tarsem’s mind to
run wild and you receive full evidence of why he is possibly the most visually
arresting filmmaker alive. Vince Vaughan reminds you how fantastic a dramatic
actor he is, whilst Vincent D’Onofrio is chilling.
·
Grizzly
Man (2005), Werner Herzog – This doco tells the tale of an incredibly
individual dude, Timothy Treadwell who spends half his year living with bears
in Alaska. The portrait Herzog crafts shows us a man who doesn’t just like
bears but wants to be one (or even thinks he is one?) The film, complete with
Herzogian voiceover, reminds you how great a documentarian the German is. The
film takes a broad view of the subject, considering the spiritual side, ecological
side and criticisms of Treadwell. A confronting movie.
·
Carnage
(2011), Roman Polanski – To be clear, this is more a competently filmed and
well acted conversation than a film. The characters start off as symbolic
constructions rather than fully formed characters. Evolves nicely into a better
second half, where Cristoph Waltz takes the acting honours. And finishes on one
of the great closing shots of recent times.
·
Take the
Money and Run (1969), Woody Allen – A highly amusing early Allen film. Like
most slapstick, this delivers jokes at a very rapid rate and not all of them
work. But enough of them are inspired that the film breezes by, as Allen’s
bumbling hero attempts and fails to lead a life of crime.
·
The Fall (2006),
Tarsem Singh – This is a film that is totally visually focused. A man,
befriended in hospital by a young girl with a broken arm, spins a fairy tale to
gain her favour. In reality this is an anti-fairy tale with a cowardly hero and
themes of despondency and suicide. A funny, classic adventure story which looks
truly spellbinding.
·
A
Separation (2011), Asghar Farhadi – This awards darling conveys a society
far removed from the one I live in. A society where religion and ‘norms’
pervade every aspect of daily life. It is masterfully made and evolves into a
detective yarn like nothing you have every seen before. There is richness and
nuance here, in the narrative but also in the father-daughter and
mother-daughter relationships.
·
Immortals (2011),
Tarsem Singh – Tarsem brings his indescribable visual flair to what otherwise
could have been standard studio fare, and also tacks on some of his former
works hyper-violence. There is a lot of poor acting, but this romp set in the
world of Greek mythology so successfully combines the gritty realist with the fantastical
in its visual presentation that it is really worth checking out.
·
John
Carter (2012), Andrew Stanton – Mainstream sci-fi silliness, but managed
with enough charm to outstrip its faults. The story, a civil-war veteran
transported to Mars where he finds himself in the middle of another civil war,
is inspired. And the creation of the various creatures is impressive visually.
Also sports an incredibly cute alien pet dog.
·
21 Jump
Street (2012), Phil Lord & Chris Miller – I am in no way familiar with
the original T.V series. But this is a cracker of a mainstream comedy. Jonah
Hill is hilarious, returning to his broad comedy roots, whilst perhaps a little
surprisingly he is matched by the comic timing of his offsider Channing Tatum.
Hopefully there can be a few more comedic gems like this to help forget the
tepid comedy output of 2011.
·
Jurassic
Park III (2001), Joe Johnston– Sam Neill returns to the third entry in this
iconic series. For me, one word sells the film – Pterodactyls. These flying
creatures really do elevate the action in this, the silliest but possibly most
fun entry in the series. A lean running time ensures this is a great fun
contemporary B-schlock film.
·
Creature
from the Haunted Sea (1961), Roger Corman – Incredible animated opening
credits give way to an inspired, hilarious opening half which skewers James
Bond and monster films. It’s all wonderfully absurd (especially once the
monster appears) and could easily be a Peter Sellers or early Woody Allen film.
But as good as the first half is, the second half is just weird, spiralling
down into a nonsensical, exceedingly awkward multifaceted love story
·
The Hunger
Games (2012), Gary Ross – A great, but far from original premise, results
in a film that is far from great, but engaging enough. This is mainly due to a
cast in fine form. Lawrence is good as the new teen heroine, Stanley Tucci is
wildly over the top and both Woody Harrelson and surprisingly Lenny Kravitz add
a lot. Yes, the film could have been more action packed, more violent etc, but
what is here is appealing enough.
·
Alias
Season 5 (2005), J.J. Abrams
– Can’t shake a general sense of frustration at the overarching storyline
across all seasons. Seems it had not been thought out in advance. The up and
down flip flopping of the character of Sloane is a prime example. A tame
conclusion to a series that started out so much better.
If you only have time to watch one Grizzly Man
Avoid at all costs Alias
Season 5
