What DVD / Video did you watch last night? (pt3)

[Reno]

Possessor, the second film by Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg. He's definitely a chip of the old block, making sci-fi body-horror films which resemble his dad's early films. I didn't care for this. Intriguing at first, it's a far from original idea (body hopping killer) not executed in a way which I found particularly interesting.

 

[Orang Utan]

Possessor, the second film by Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg. He's definitely a chip of the old block, making sci-fi body-horror films which resemble his dad's early films. I didn't care for this. Intriguing at first, it's a far from original idea (body hopping killer) not executed in a way which I found particularly interesting.

Shame, there’s a lot of hype about this

 

[Reno]

Shame, there’s a lot of hype about this

...and I fell for it !

 

[Detroit City]

Witches of Eastwick with jack nicholson

 

[platinumsage]

Knives Out, the first half of. It’s alright, even though I think I’m supposed to find it funny but don’t. An I’m not keen on Daniel Craig, and no idea why he was cast here.

 

[Orang Utan]

Arracht
Inevitably bleak Irish-language drama about the famine in the 1840s. also features a Roy Keane lookalike as a brooding pyschopath. "this didn't happen to us, it was done to us" - what a year for this to come out. The Connemara locations are stunning though bleak (there's that word again) 4 rotten taters out of 5

 

[Orang Utan]

Beauty Water
On-the-nose Korean animated cautionary tale about a young woman who uses a radical beauty treatment that results in her behaving in an ugly manner to say the least. Shallow thrills with some horrific moments. 3 melting faces out of 5

 

[Orang Utan]

Andrey Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer
Excellent doc on the visionary Russian director, in which he is the sole voice, explaining his artistic intent. I even understand Mirror now! 4 lingering shots of water out of 5

 

[Reno]

The Dark and the Wicked, another overpraised horror film which went straight to streaming during the pandemic, instead of getting a theatrical release. The film is atmospheric and well acted, the first third is effective and scary but then it starts to drag and it doesn't do anything especially new.

I preferred the similar Relic, also from this year. Both are about relatives visiting their elderly parents in rural seclusion where an evil, supernatural entity appears to have taken over. Both use the frailty of old age as a source of horror.

 

[Sweet FA]

Spontaneous

"A yarn about exploding teens...an intriguing comment on culture wars, Gen-Z despair and even Covid quarantine".

It's excellent. Watched it with my teen who is head over heels in love with the lead (Katherine Langford off 13 Reasons Why). Really reminded me of films from my own teens - Winona Ryder and Crispin Glover would probably have had the leads back then. Sharp script, great performances; well worth 100 mins of your time.

 

[Orang Utan]

Balloon
Bittersweet Tibetan drama about a sheep-farming family whose harmony is threatened by China's one child policy. Best looking film so far - a bleached-out colour palette with lots of shades of blue. Loved it. 4 massive ram's bollocks out of 5

 

[cybershot]

War with grandpa.
Juvenile film starring Robert de Niro as the grandad who moves in with his daughter (Uma Thurman) and takes over her sons bedroom kicking him into the attic and they declare war over the room.

it’s very silly but it’s actually very funny.

 

[platinumsage]

7 Days in Entebbe

Potentially gripping drama about Operation Entebbe which was totally ruined by interspersing the climax with an interpretive dance routine being performed by a soldier's girlfriend back in Israel.

 

[Sweet FA]

Love and Monsters

Actually quite good post-apocalyptic giant insects teen romp. Dylan O'Brien does his Maze Runner/Teen Wolf goofy winning smile thing again even though he's 30 or something now.

 

[Reno]

Kajillionaire, Miranda July's new one. Her films and writing are quirky in a way which puts off some people, but her work also is warm hearted and sincere and her eccentricities are too specific to be easily dismissed. There is a fully developed view of the world, people and their relationships rather than just whimsy for its own sake.

I loved her first film, You, Me and Everyone We Know but still I haven't caught up with The Future (despite it being about a talking cat !!!). Kajillionaire is a dark comedy about a family of extremely inept con-artists. More poignantly, it's about an abusive relationships between parents and their now adult daughter (Evan Rachel Wood is fantastic, combining deadpan physical comedy with real heartbreak), who they never regarded as more than an accomplice in their harebrained criminal schemes.

While I enjoyed aspects, like fantastic performances from all four leads and some good gags (a running gag of the family sneaking past their landlord made me laugh every time), I didn't think there were enough ideas to sustain a feature film and it didn't have enough substance to really grapple with its issues. Still worth checking out if you like July's other work but for newcomers I'd recommend her first film.

 

[Orang Utan]

Bring Down The Walls
Doc by Phil Collins (not that one) on the injustices of incarceration in the US and the impact it has on the marginaliised communities that house music originated from. It focuses on panel discussions on the justice system interspersed with people dancing to house music at an arts/politics event in NY. Some great stills of people having fun too. 4 Promised Lands out of 5

 

[T & P]

Black Monday. 10 parter starring Don Cheadle. Wolf of Wall Street meets Caddyshack. Daft, highly offensive. 7/10

Just discovered this and half way through S1, and fully agree with your assessment.

 

[Detroit City]

In the name of the father with Daniel Day-Lewis

 

[Orang Utan]

Two Of Us (Deux)
A touching romance about two older women in a secret relationship that is threatened by tragedy. It's rare but cheering to see a film about older people's love lives, esp between two women. 5 pieces of grit in my eye out of 5.

 

[T & P]

Black Monday update. Nearly finished S1. This is actually pretty fucking good

 

[Orang Utan]

Colectiv
Rigorous, compelling and enraging fly-on-the-wall doc on the aftermath of the Bucharest nightclub fire that killed 64 young people in 2015. It focuses on a newspaper's investigation into the corrupt and broken Romanian health system that killed more of the victims than the fire did, while also following a newly appointed young health minister trying valiantly to face down the behometh of mass state kleptocracy. It's an inevitably grim watch but it is enlivened slightly by its third strand that shows how one young survivor manages to rise above her trauma through art. 4 kleptocrats out of 5

 

[Orang Utan]

Caveat
Claustrophobic low budget horror about a man employed to keep a disturbed woman company in a semi-derelict isolated house, with one very strange condition. Things get weird and weirder. Debut director Damian McCarthy is one to watch. 4 creepy toy rabbits out of 5

 

[belboid]

Inspired by the 'perfect' films thread....

Casablanca

I thought it would be all about modern travails at the White House. I was misinformed.

 

[Reno]

Colectiv
Rigorous, compelling and enraging fly-on-the-wall doc on the aftermath of the Bucharest nightclub fire that killed 64 young people in 2015. It focuses on a newspaper's investigation into the corrupt and broken Romanian health system that killed more of the victims than the fire did, while also following a newly appointed young health minister trying valiantly to face down the behometh of mass state kleptocracy. It's an inevitably grim watch but it is enlivened slightly by its third strand that shows how one young survivor manages to rise above her trauma through art. 4 kleptocrats out of 5

Caveat
Claustrophobic low budget horror about a man employed to keep a disturbed woman company in a semi-derelict isolated house, with one very strange condition. Things get weird and weirder. Debut director Damian McCarthy is one to watch. 4 creepy toy rabbits out of 5

Where did you watch these ?

 

[Orang Utan]

Where did you watch these ?

Leeds Film Player | Home

player.leedsfilm.com

Leeds Film Player | Fanomenon

_We hope you enjoyed the LIFF 2020 programme on Leeds Film Player in November. We are presenting new selections of films year-round on the Player from 16th December, see you back here soon!_ Fanomenon is the destination for genre fans looking for the latest in horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action...

player.leedsfilm.com

 

[Orang Utan]

2040
Won't rate this - it would be unfair as I bailed after 20 minutes. Doc on the environment by a nauseatingly breezy father of a young kid who is desperately polyanna-ish about the future of the planet. This old grump had to switch off, but it's not aimed at me. Would prefer to read The Unhabitable Earth and despair instead. Eeyore!

 

[pesh]

Truth Seekers, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, Spaced meets The X Files. Fun.

 

[Orang Utan]

Black Milk
A Mongolian woman who has been in the West for years returns to visit her sister, who lives a nomadic traditional life, resulting in a clash of values. Like Baloon, it shines a light on a culture and landscape I knew nothing about. 3 yurts out of 5

 

[Orang Utan]

Kubrick On Kubrick
Revealing doc featuring a rare audio interview with Kubrick with a French critic, over stills and clips of him working, his work and props from his huge archive. Fascinating. 400 takes out of 500.

 

[Orang Utan]

Meanwhile On Earth
This Swedish doc on the 'death industry' is deceptively simple, following morticians, grave diggers and undertakers going about their business whilst talking about their pets and what they're having for dinner. Curiously affecting. 4 leaking corpses out of 5