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What's up everyone, been a few good months since I posted so I decided to drop by once again.
I've been watching at least one film a day since June 23rd and haven't stopped yetyes I need help, I'm up to 110 consecutive ones so far for a total of 176 this year, sheesh.
I'll stop the daily thing sometime this week since I've gotten way ahead of myself and know I can easily get to 200 before the end of the year, still have a big film festival to look forward to a month from now as well so yeah (expecting to see the bigger hits of the year like The Whale, Bones & All, etc.).
Anyways time for some quick thoughts/recommendations on what I've been seeing:
~
The Summit of the Gods: highly recommended french anime film adapting a japanese manga. I was very, very skeptic knowing the film was entirely in french, but boy did this one surprise me. Absolutely, incredibly made when it comes to visuals but also especially sound design. Great (voice) acting as well, for sure one of the best animated films of the year, not to be missed;
The Whaler Boy: liked it a lot, one of those films that's incredibly well shot, taking place in a corner of the world you might not be extremely familiar with, that you never know where the next scene will take you.
Reprise and Oslo, 31st August: finally got around to watching the first films by Joachim Trier, easy "best of the year" entries for me. Good, hard-hitting, really realistic dramas with a script that really hits hard.
Crimes of the future: really disappointing. Had avoided the trailer for this one, was really interested in it based on what everyone had been saying. By the time I thought to myself "ok this is getting interesting now, wonder what-", the movie ended. So... yeah.
Dual: if you like weird stilted stuff like Yorgos Lanthimos usually does (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), you might enjoy this one. This is not something I'd usually recommend, but it's one of those where the ending just has you going around and desperately trying to find people to talk with about it. THIS is a film that took a simple concept and actually managed to do something interesting with it, as opposed to the other film mentioned above.
Mass: really well done, takes place mostly in a single room with 4 characters, entirely dialogue-driven plot. Go in as blind as you possibly can.
Morvern Callar: I had no idea what I was getting into. Stomach-churning, nauseating even (if just a little). Doesn't quite stick the landing but does leave an impression for sure.
Nitram: ended up enjoying this one as well. Same as Mass; the less you know about it, the better.
Stop-Zemlia: a favorite, a really unexpected good film, also a 1st feature by the director, someone to keep an eye on. It's a very simple film but I don't know, there was something about how it seemed to genuinely catch "reality", if that makes any sense.
We're All Going To The World's Fair: not what I was expecting, at all, and yet it still managed to seriously creep me out in a few instances. This is definitely a different breed of horror than what I thought I was getting into. Glad to see the director is already gearing up for another film. It wasn't perfect especially at the end, but I get what they were going for. Unsettling nonetheless.
Thirteen Lives: if you don't know/remember how the Thailand rescue went down a few years ago, B-R-U-H, watch this and don't read up on anything (and/or watch the documentary which is seemingly just as good, but this movie's cast is pretty good, and despite the long runtime, it flies by).
Vengeance: gave off Thunder Road vibes (director/writer also being the main actor, etc), not as impactful, I think, but it's doing its own thing, was an alright watch.
The entire filmography of Wong Kar-wai: I think I'd list As Tears Go By and Fallen Angels as my favorites. I hate that I was dozing off in some of them because I was really enjoying everything, it's just that the dreamy, slow mood of some of them just lulled you to sleep sometimes. I didn't see his one film in english, but out of all of them I think I'd rank Days of Being Wild as my least favorite. Still, it was worth it to finally check out his films and see what it was all about. A little disappointing in some cases, like with Chungking Express which I had heard much about and had greater expectations, but oh well.
Prisoners: finally got around to watching this Villeneuve film. Sadly I had already seen/heard about how the movie ends, but this did not take away any of my enjoyment. Solid film.
Speak no Evil: fucking brutal.
All My Friends Hate Me: good fun watch (it's a dark comedy), worth going into it blind.
The Fool (2014): 1st movie I saw from this director (I saw another one of his the following day, "The Guard"). Just fucking brutal, pessimist, cynical, negative, almost hopeless Russian film. I really want to check out his other films but my god, I know it's just a film but then you look at everything going on and IRL and you can't help but think "welp, that explains a lot". Felt almost the exact same way after watching "Donbass" as well as "My Joy" very recently from Loznitsa. Just absolutely unrelenting.
Beauty and the Dogs: also one of the most horrifying and infuriating (in a "good" way) films I've seen recently. Based on real events (and a very real, sad reality nowadays, especially with what is happening in some countries right now, extremely relevant).
Earwig: weird film, I liked it, "story" doesn't really go anywhere but the mood, atmosphere, weirdness of it all, very good. Wish I had waited for a better copy, I believe it'll be available online in a few weeks.
Vortex: new Gaspar Noé film. Different than what he usually does but man, just as fucking rough. I didn't struggle to watch it but it really makes you feel sad and uncomfortable throughout. Can really be tough to watch for some, given the subject matter.
Athena, which I just finished before coming here: finally a worthwhile film after the director's previous, disappointing one. Worth the watch, really well made, so many one-take sequences with so much going on, the prep must've been hellish for this one. It's somewhat similar to 2019's "Les Misérables", and in fact, the director of that one is a co-writer of Athena. Really fucking intense from start to finish (it's on Netflix).
Stuff I'll be seeing soon/before the end of the year (kinda been saving these as potentially best for last I guess):
- Triangle of Sadness (seeing it next week, I wasn't much of a fan of The Square, hope this will be better)
- Broker (newest by Hirokazu Koreeda)
- Decision to Leave (newest by Park Chan-wook)
- Fast and Feel Love (newest by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit whose films I've absolutely loved until now)
- Memoria
- Reflection (by the director of "Atlantis" (2019), both extremely relevant nowadays, made before the whole conflict going on which makes the content of these movies all the more scarier).
And hopefully a dozen or so good films I hope to be seeing at a festival in November, we'll see.
Guess this will be it for now, hope everyone is doing well
(forgot to add/recommend:
- How to save a dead friend: a very hard-hitting moving documentary
- Convenience Store (dir. Mikhail Borodin) )
I've been watching at least one film a day since June 23rd and haven't stopped yet
I'll stop the daily thing sometime this week since I've gotten way ahead of myself and know I can easily get to 200 before the end of the year, still have a big film festival to look forward to a month from now as well so yeah (expecting to see the bigger hits of the year like The Whale, Bones & All, etc.).
Anyways time for some quick thoughts/recommendations on what I've been seeing:
~
The Summit of the Gods: highly recommended french anime film adapting a japanese manga. I was very, very skeptic knowing the film was entirely in french, but boy did this one surprise me. Absolutely, incredibly made when it comes to visuals but also especially sound design. Great (voice) acting as well, for sure one of the best animated films of the year, not to be missed;
The Whaler Boy: liked it a lot, one of those films that's incredibly well shot, taking place in a corner of the world you might not be extremely familiar with, that you never know where the next scene will take you.
Reprise and Oslo, 31st August: finally got around to watching the first films by Joachim Trier, easy "best of the year" entries for me. Good, hard-hitting, really realistic dramas with a script that really hits hard.
Crimes of the future: really disappointing. Had avoided the trailer for this one, was really interested in it based on what everyone had been saying. By the time I thought to myself "ok this is getting interesting now, wonder what-", the movie ended. So... yeah.
Dual: if you like weird stilted stuff like Yorgos Lanthimos usually does (Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), you might enjoy this one. This is not something I'd usually recommend, but it's one of those where the ending just has you going around and desperately trying to find people to talk with about it. THIS is a film that took a simple concept and actually managed to do something interesting with it, as opposed to the other film mentioned above.
Mass: really well done, takes place mostly in a single room with 4 characters, entirely dialogue-driven plot. Go in as blind as you possibly can.
Morvern Callar: I had no idea what I was getting into. Stomach-churning, nauseating even (if just a little). Doesn't quite stick the landing but does leave an impression for sure.
Nitram: ended up enjoying this one as well. Same as Mass; the less you know about it, the better.
Stop-Zemlia: a favorite, a really unexpected good film, also a 1st feature by the director, someone to keep an eye on. It's a very simple film but I don't know, there was something about how it seemed to genuinely catch "reality", if that makes any sense.
We're All Going To The World's Fair: not what I was expecting, at all, and yet it still managed to seriously creep me out in a few instances. This is definitely a different breed of horror than what I thought I was getting into. Glad to see the director is already gearing up for another film. It wasn't perfect especially at the end, but I get what they were going for. Unsettling nonetheless.
Thirteen Lives: if you don't know/remember how the Thailand rescue went down a few years ago, B-R-U-H, watch this and don't read up on anything (and/or watch the documentary which is seemingly just as good, but this movie's cast is pretty good, and despite the long runtime, it flies by).
Vengeance: gave off Thunder Road vibes (director/writer also being the main actor, etc), not as impactful, I think, but it's doing its own thing, was an alright watch.
The entire filmography of Wong Kar-wai: I think I'd list As Tears Go By and Fallen Angels as my favorites. I hate that I was dozing off in some of them because I was really enjoying everything, it's just that the dreamy, slow mood of some of them just lulled you to sleep sometimes. I didn't see his one film in english, but out of all of them I think I'd rank Days of Being Wild as my least favorite. Still, it was worth it to finally check out his films and see what it was all about. A little disappointing in some cases, like with Chungking Express which I had heard much about and had greater expectations, but oh well.
Prisoners: finally got around to watching this Villeneuve film. Sadly I had already seen/heard about how the movie ends, but this did not take away any of my enjoyment. Solid film.
Speak no Evil: fucking brutal.
All My Friends Hate Me: good fun watch (it's a dark comedy), worth going into it blind.
The Fool (2014): 1st movie I saw from this director (I saw another one of his the following day, "The Guard"). Just fucking brutal, pessimist, cynical, negative, almost hopeless Russian film. I really want to check out his other films but my god, I know it's just a film but then you look at everything going on and IRL and you can't help but think "welp, that explains a lot". Felt almost the exact same way after watching "Donbass" as well as "My Joy" very recently from Loznitsa. Just absolutely unrelenting.
Beauty and the Dogs: also one of the most horrifying and infuriating (in a "good" way) films I've seen recently. Based on real events (and a very real, sad reality nowadays, especially with what is happening in some countries right now, extremely relevant).
Earwig: weird film, I liked it, "story" doesn't really go anywhere but the mood, atmosphere, weirdness of it all, very good. Wish I had waited for a better copy, I believe it'll be available online in a few weeks.
Vortex: new Gaspar Noé film. Different than what he usually does but man, just as fucking rough. I didn't struggle to watch it but it really makes you feel sad and uncomfortable throughout. Can really be tough to watch for some, given the subject matter.
Athena, which I just finished before coming here: finally a worthwhile film after the director's previous, disappointing one. Worth the watch, really well made, so many one-take sequences with so much going on, the prep must've been hellish for this one. It's somewhat similar to 2019's "Les Misérables", and in fact, the director of that one is a co-writer of Athena. Really fucking intense from start to finish (it's on Netflix).
Stuff I'll be seeing soon/before the end of the year (kinda been saving these as potentially best for last I guess):
- Triangle of Sadness (seeing it next week, I wasn't much of a fan of The Square, hope this will be better)
- Broker (newest by Hirokazu Koreeda)
- Decision to Leave (newest by Park Chan-wook)
- Fast and Feel Love (newest by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit whose films I've absolutely loved until now)
- Memoria
- Reflection (by the director of "Atlantis" (2019), both extremely relevant nowadays, made before the whole conflict going on which makes the content of these movies all the more scarier).
And hopefully a dozen or so good films I hope to be seeing at a festival in November, we'll see.
Guess this will be it for now, hope everyone is doing well
(forgot to add/recommend:
- How to save a dead friend: a very hard-hitting moving documentary
- Convenience Store (dir. Mikhail Borodin) )
