What have you watched recently? 3D!

Triple Froniter (Netflix)

Enjoyed this. It's a very straightforward, but well made action film. Characters could have been a bit stronger and there seemed to be the barest hint of some subtext, but it basically stuck to the action. I was expecting a bit more from JC Chandor, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Under The Shadow (Netflix)

Mother and daughter in peril-type Iranian film. Draws a lot from The Babadook and Dark Water (and probably other films too). It's not as effective as those films , but creates an increasingly unsettling atmosphere inside the apartment. . Worth a look

The Devil and Father Amorth (Netflix)

Short (just over an hour) doc from William Friedkin about a real exorcism in Italy in 2017. Friedkin should have stayed behind the camera. Spends too much time showing him holding a camera filming someone else! The Exorcism itself is interesting, but then goes into crazy territory towards the end . Expected this to be a lot better from Friedkin, but seemed almost amateurish at times.

Teen Spirit with Elle Fanning. Pretty decent x factor type tale about a shy girl who wins a singing competition and... her journey (as they say).
Decent pop soundtrack too.

Saw Lina Wertmüller’s Love and Anarchy at the Science Gallery in Dublin this evening. What a mad, mad film. The director worked with Fellini - she was an AD on 8½ - and the influence is palpable. Her style has been called “operatic”, which is another way of saying “over the top”. The main character is a poor, fairly dim farmer whose friend dies in an attempt to assassinate Benito Mussolini, so our guy decides to try that too, getting mixed up with anarchists in Rome. His contact is a hooker in a Rome brothel, and much of the movie is set there. Things don’t go according to plan, with many shots of our hero just staring, overloaded by the Felliniesque life of the hookers.

PS: Lina is still working in theatre, and is to receive an Honourary Oscar later this year.

The Field last night on RTE 1. It was great watching it again.

^ Nice little write up on Don't Look Now. Everything in that film is hidden. I was baffled after I finished it, then did a bit of reading up and was stunned.


Shin Godzilla – 7/10

My first Japanese Godzilla film. Thoroughly enjoyed it. What becomes apparent extremely quickly is how ingrained Godzilla is with their culture. Not only does the film go into great depth on the political side of things, it also parodies how inept they have been at dealing with crisis in real life. In this case, they are clearly referencing the 2011 earthquake/Tsunami and how slow the government were to react. Godzilla is also thought of as a representation of the Nuclear attack on Hiroshima and we get to see him go full Nuclear and cause a tremendous amount of damage.

If you want a Godzilla film that explores what would happen if a monster this size really appeared on earth, this is the film for you. It is very well written and plotted out and it never goes off the rails. It sticks to its narrative and reaches a haunting conclusion. My only real gripe is that lack of relatable characters. There is no one to attach yourself to emotionally so , as a viewer, you very much feel like you’re on the periphery.


Killer Klowns from Outer Space – 6.5/10

One of the most effective, low budget, cult movies I’ve ever seen. They got so much bang for their buck on a tiny budget. On the surface, it’s a stupid farce full of cliché’s and terrible acting but delve a little deeper and you’ll see this does everything it sets out to do perfectly.

The Klown costumes look fantastic and the longer they are on screen, the more menacing they become. Clearly a lot of thought went into this absurd concept and they keep throwing surprises into the Klown mythology. Dodgy popcorn, killer shadow puppets, absurd balloon animal dogs… they clearly took the time to brainstorm all these great ideas and bought them to life effectively.

Great fun and at times I even found myself feeling a little freaked out.

Horrible Histories: The Move - Rotten Romans at the cinema yesterday. I thought it was very funny.

Apollo 11

That strange thing, a documentary that has to be seen in the cinema. I thought this was very impressive.

There’s no time wasting, just straight into launch day of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. I felt a sense of nervousness and excitement in the build up to the countdown.

This isn’t a ‘talking head’ interview type of documentary, just tightly edited archive footage propelling the story forward over a brisk 90 minutes. It was gripping stuff.

The footage looked amazing, the sound in the cinema was impressively loud.

I came away from it with a real appreciation of the achievement to put men on the moon in 1969 and bring them back safely.

Then Came You (2019)
A guy in his early 20's, introverted and shy, is befriended by a teenage girl that has a short time left to live and together they make plans for her to have a blast in her dying days.
Engaging characters, quirky and heart-warming story, I'd recommend it if you like films such as Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Fault in Our Stars, Five Feet Apart etc.

Watched some belters recently...


Raiders of the Lost Ark – 9/10

Arguably the quintessential adventure film. Spielberg at the height of his powers. Ford at his smouldering best and a shoot so dangerous it makes modern action films seem incredibly tame in comparison. As with most Spielberg films from that era, not a frame or line of dialogue is wasted. Exposition is delivered naturally without feeling at all contrived. Action set pieces are paced perfectly.

Two scenes really highlight how different the art of filmmaking was back then. The first being the punch up with a large Charles Bronson type which seems to take place within alarming proximity to live propeller blades. Surely this is camera trickery/forced perspective? No! They really did shoot that close to live blades. One slip or trip and either one of the actors is mincemeat.

The other scene being the snake pit. Over 8000 live snakes were used in this scene. Not a hint of CGI in sight but instead, strategic placement of mirrors to create the illusion that Indie really is having a stare off with a King Cobra within striking distance.
Perhaps the most astonishing thing about this is that it was all achieved on a budget of $30M.



Blue Brothers – 9/10

Another film that I had put off watching for years, that goes straight into my all-time greatest comedies list. Madcap filmmaking at its best. The stunt work is insane. The spontaneity of the musical numbers is infectious. Even the running time of the film is excessive despite a severe lack of plot.

Ackroyd and Belushi are both fantastic as Jake and Elwood. Ackroyd doesn’t get enough credit for what he did here and on SNL. He and Belushi form a believable bond and Ackroyd has said many times that John was his brother. The affection for one another is very palpable and most importantly, they gots the moves!

It is rumoured that cocaine was factored into the films production budget. Cast and crew were encouraged to use it to aid with the long days of shooting. Given the stories I’ve heard from the era, and from the involvement of the late John Belushi, I don’t find this difficult to believe.
Yet another timeless 80’s classic from John Landis and by far his most crazy piece of work. His films tend to hold up brilliantly and this is no different.



A Man Escaped – 8.5/10

Struggling to think of a film as old as this, that holds up as well as this, that I’ve enjoyed as much as this. Made in 1956, acclaimed director Robert Bresson crafts together a wholly authentic story about a captured French soldier who attempts to escape a German prison during the second world war.

This is a real filmmaker’s film and shows minimalist cinema at its finest. On the surface, it’s very stripped back and straightforward. The escape strategy is communicated in a way reminiscent of a step-by-step manual. Detailing every single aspect in minute detail and making no attempt to conceal the outcome. Crucial pieces of information are delivered in the past tense showing that the ending is not meant to surprise anyone, and the focus is the escape process itself.

Bresson uses a variety of techniques to create suspense and claustrophobia. Perhaps the most important aspect being his use of sound. The sound design here is incredibly important to the story. There are scratches, creaks, taps, knocks, footsteps and gunshots throughout, and they are all key to the plot. Some are cues to let you know the protagonist is in a heightened state of awareness. Others, such as the frequently heard gunfire, are to alert you of unseen dangers and drive home that sense of peril that permeates throughout the entire film.

As someone who has grown up with modern movies, I tend to expect grand finales that are loud and full of spectacle. The ending here is the complete antithesis of a modern-day blockbuster. At first it felt underwhelming but on reflection, I’d say it was simple and satisfying. An iconic piece of filmmaking history that should be celebrated more widely. Citizen Kane is frequently cited as being a masterclass in revolutionary story telling/film-making techniques. Surely, for 1956, this must have been equally ground-breaking?



Grave of the Fireflies – 10/10

Friday afternoon. I needed a film to pass the time and noticed this still in the cellophane on my shelf. At only 90mins in running time, this seemed like a good choice. I was aware that it was a war film, but it massively caught me off guard. I have never cried that much to a film in my life. I’ve seen many a gut-wrenching film in my time, but this was almost funeral levels of sobbing.

I’ve never seen a war film that cuts straight through the harshness of warfare and gets straight into the human suffering aspect as quickly as this. This is a film that sticks to the rails and never deviates from the core of the story, which is the relationship between two young siblings as they navigate their way through the living hell that is 1940’s Japan.

It offers a unique insight into the suffering of children during times of war. As with all Ghibli animations, it is beautiful but also shows grotesque detail and some very harrowing imagery. Even though this is a hand drawn cartoon, it is one of the most truthful films I have ever seen. It changes the way in which you think of war and offers a glimpse of the true tragedies that we never hear of. I thought Spirited Away was Ghibli’s masterpiece, but I was wrong.