Seen in March
(Lots of online film festivals this month!)
Dirty Computer : Don’t know what I was expecting from a short film made up of music videos, but I found out that it’s not my thing.
Supernova : A wonderful romance film that you’ll have to get the tissues out for (Tissues for crying! You pervert!).
Jumbo : Doesn’t do enough with its concept I think.The whole point of the film is to show the absurdity of a woman falling in love with an inanimate object. Only, it’s not that bizarre, because the object is actually sentient in the film. The whole bizarreness of the situation would’ve been way more compelling if the object was actually inanimate, I think.
To the Moon : A collage film made up of clips from films that showcase/talk about the moon with no references at all to space travel or the moon landing. Very unique idea and well made, but just wasn’t my thing.
Hold Your Breath (1924) : Alright comedy about a woman climbing on a building Harold Loyd style.
Another Round : Wonderful tragic comedy, can’t wait to see it again.
The Crazy Ray : Probably not the director’s intention, but this film is a f*cking nightmare for anyone afraid of heights: There’s scenes where characters are just ideally sitting on the edges of the Eiffel Tower and it's terrifying.
Gunda : If Béla Tarr made a nature documentary. An incredibly meditative film that really takes its time. The ten minute long take at the end is simultaneously boring and heart-wrenching.
Boys from County Hell : Has some funny moments and good effects, but the plot points are so predictable that I’m fully convinced it was written by an algorithm.
Source Code : An overall solid film that has one issue that I’m probably the only person in the world that cares about.
WARNING: spoilers below
At the end, the main character steals a man’s life and goes off with his girlfriend. That’s incredibly deranged but it’s depicted as a happy ending
At the end, the main character steals a man’s life and goes off with his girlfriend. That’s incredibly deranged but it’s depicted as a happy ending
Lapsis : Really like the first half where there’s a great sense of mystery and exploration in this unique sci-fi world, but in the last 30 minutes the mystery is swiftly resoled and it becomes a different type of film. Would loved it if it stayed with the tone of the first half.
Pulse (2001) : The first half is really good and has some of the most effective scary scenes I’ve seen in quite a while, but it lost me in the second half when it veered off in to a very different plot direction.
Lost in La Mancha : Quite incredible that a film can go so badly so fast.
He Dreams of Giants : Sequel to Lost in La Mancha. Repeats the same concepts of the craziness of the filmmaking environment but has a more positive tone.
The Butcher Boy : A really sad dramedy about a boy going insane. Very good child acting.
Body and Soul (1925) : Starts out really slow, but soon picks up steam with some great acting.
Police Story 2 : Not as funny or action packed as the first one, but still good.
Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life : Interesting documentary about a group of people I never heard about before.
Beauty Prize (1930) : The version I watched has an extremely clever use of transitioning from silent to sound, but I just wish the film was shorter.
A Kiss from Mary Pickford : Some of the jokes were really funny and the actual cameo from Mary Pickford was cool, but I found it forgettable.
Delicatessen : Love the style, love the comedy, love the action scenes. I need to see more from this director.
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929) : Solid gothic tale that unfortunately has a few reels missing from it.
A Star is Born (1954 : A bit too long, but the songs are amazing and the emotional beats are really effective.
Simone ?: An sort of bad sci-fi comedy that I fully expected to go into Southland Tales/Under the silver Lake levels of entertainment, but it gets too sentimental towards the end and the characters are not at all interesting.