Now, onto the Journey. I've decided to stop copy-and-pasting my Letterboxd reviews as it felt a bit lazy. It also wreaks havoc with the new blog layout. From now on, I'll simply sum up my thoughts in a sentence or three.
Anomalisa (2015)Directed by: Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson
Thoughts: Not as good as Adaptation or Synecdoche, New York, but still a deserving five star film with a lot to say about the human condition. The stop motion animation by Johnson is absolutely stunning and this is an easy recommend for me.
Score: 5/5
Being John Malkovich (1999)Directed by: Spike Jonze
Thoughts: Still good, but a huge step down from all of the works from both Kaufman and Jonze I've seen. I found the characters quite irritating at points (with the exception of the main man Malkovich, playing himself) and the ethical dilemma of the film not well-explored at all. Easily the weakest film I've seen from both auteurs. That being said, I have to give it points for a fantastic premise and some spellbinding sequences.
Score: 3.5/5
Manhattan (1979)Directed by: Woody Allen
Thoughts: Some fantastic dialogue and great cinematography. The premise is a little creepy given the current political landscape. It utilises the black-and-white very well and has some good performances. Ultimately, though, I wasn't especially invested in the characters, so this 4/5 is more of a technical score than anything else.
Score: 4/5
Zodiac (2007)Directed by: David Fincher
Thoughts: A truly masterful crime thriller. This is my favourite of the three Fincher films that I've seen (the other two being The Social Network and Alien Cubed). It features excellent performances by Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey, Jr. and Mark Ruffalo and some spectacular cinematography in which Fincher proves he is a true master at using CGI as an enhancement rather than the main feature. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I highly recommend this video essay on YouTube. It definitely helped my viewing experience that I knew next-to-nothing about the Zodiac killings going in, so the film was much more tense for me than it would be for other, more knowledgeable people. If you know nothing about the historical context, don't Google it, just watch the film. It'll make the experience much more rewarding.
Score: 5/5
Jackie Brown (1997)Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Thoughts: This is hugely underrated. It's not as fast moving or as violent as Tarantino's other work, which is probably what throws people off, but this is still a fantastic piece of cinema with Tarantino's trademark dialogue, some great performances and a standout scene in which the same heist is played a few different times, each from a different perspective. Admittedly, I would have cut off maybe ten minutes or so from the first act to keep things moving but that is only a blot on what is, for this film, a pretty spotless record.
Score: 4.5/5
Some Like it Hot (1959)Directed by: Billy Wilder
Thoughts: Look, I really tried to like this one but I have to conclude that it really wasn't for me. I didn't find it all that funny (apart from a couple of hilarious gags, specifically some of the double entendres - which appealed to my dirty mindedness - and the classic line 'I'm a man!' 'Well, nobody's perfect', which was the funniest bit of the whole comedy) and the plot was filled with conveniences and character actions which kind of baffled me. I can appreciate its historic relevance (probably one of the first films to include cross-dressing over an extended period of time), but overall it was just too long and not as funny as it thinks it is.
Score: 3/5
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Thoughts: The first of two foreign language films I watched this month is a spellbinding, dark fairy tale that manages to be both whimsical and tense over a well-paced runtime that never overstays its welcome. The scene with the Pale Man is, in one opinion, one of the scariest in cinema history, relying on pure suspense rather than jumpscares. There are several distinctive and memorable characters. The production design is probably among the best I've ever seen in a film. My only complaint is that I would have liked del Toro to try to connect the fantasy and real worlds a bit more. I understand that he was trying to make a contrast but it kind of feels like two great films rather than a single masterpiece.
Score: 4.5/5
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)Directed by: Joel and Ethan Coen
Thoughts: This might just be my new favourite Coen Brothers movie. It's difficult to put something above Fargo but this absolutely knocked it out of the park. The best thing about it (other than the writing) is Oscar Isaac's powerhouse performance as the titular character. Expect to see this on my 'best of decade' list at the end of the year (while we're on the subject, why has IndieWire already posted it's 100 Best Movies of the Decade? The decade's not even over yet! What if Cats is the best movie ever?!?).
Score: 5/5
Mulholland Drive (2001)Directed by: David Lynch
Thoughts: Honestly, if I could give this six stars I would. I watched it almost a month ago and I still think about it every day, trying to unravel the mystery. It was a surreal, dream-like, totally transcendent film experience I will never forget. I loved every single minute of this, even the ones that didn't make sense (especially the ones that didn't make sense). Each time I think about it, each time I read someone else's interpretation, it climbs a little bit higher on my favourite films of all time list. It is scratching on the door of my top ten and I wouldn't be surprised if it kicked it down. This is maybe my second best first time watch of the year, and it could climb even higher than that.
Score: 5/5
Inglourious Basterds (2009)Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Thoughts: Yes, I realise how bad it looks that I gave out three five stars in a row, but come on. Llewyn Davis, Mulholland Drive and Inglourious Basterds? If you've ever had a better one-two-three punch of first-time watches, please tell me. Anyway, Basterds is a masterful piece of cinema from Tarantino, with great writing, cinematography, acting (particularly Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz) and what might be my new favourite closing line of a movie. I'm struggling to decide whether I like it more than Django Unchained, but either way I loved it.
Score: 5/5
The Seventh Seal (1957)Directed by: Ingmar Bergman
Thoughts: The last movie I watched in July. Like Some Like it Hot, this is another black-and-white film from the late-'50s that just didn't really click for me. I can appreciate a lot of Bergman's directing prowess and much of his clever dialogue, but the story and characters just didn't click for me. I thought the character of Death had a fantastic screen presence but overall I expected more from this supposed classic.
Score: 3/5
Ranking:
11. Some Like it Hot
10. The Seventh Seal
9. Being John Malkovich
8. Manhattan
7. Pan's Labyrinth
6. Jackie Brown
5. Anomalisa
4. Inside Llewyn Davis
3. Zodiac
2. Inglourious Basterds
1. Mulholland Drive
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