pinback74

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Favorite films

  • The Thing
  • Blazing Saddles
  • Aguirre, the Wrath of God
  • Way Out West

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  • The Electric State

    ★★★

  • The Conversation

    ★★★½

  • Adolescence

    ★★★★★

  • Wishmaster

    ★★★½

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  • House

    House

    ★★★★★

    A spectacular fever dream of a film combining anime, Hanna-Barbera, silent movies, Monkey and The Monkees.

    Just so much fun on every level, seemingly made with the attitude that no idea is a bad idea.

    I've been doing a movie night with my mate over the last few months and he's, as he said tonight, "a blockbuster guy", so I was pushing the envelope a bit. Mark said it was one of the best films he's ever seen and my face hurt from too much smiling.

    Pure deranged joy.

  • The Village

    The Village

    ★★½

    M. Night Shyamalan's daring reimagining of 'Scooby-Doo, Where Are You' still has the power to grip and astound.

    Adrian Brody and Joaquin Phoenix are perfect casting as Scooby and Shaggy. They are a little more dour than their cartoon counterparts, but as ever it's their accidental bravery that drives much of the first half. The second half is powered by an unexpected upheaval of their relationship.

    Bryce Dallas Howard's Thelma is sublime. She's permanently lost her glasses and it serves…

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  • The Electric State

    The Electric State

    ★★★

    I kind of enjoyed it, but it is so devoid of spirit and originality that it feels utterly hollow. Every beat is predictable, every character is one you've seen before. It makes you feel that notes from Netflix executives read things like "Please simplify. Must be understood by people looking at Instagram on their phones".

    I did really like the production design, however the whole thing is a poor inbred cousin to the wonderful Tales from the Loop

  • The Conversation

    The Conversation

    ★★★½

    I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I didn't really get on with this. Incredibly well directed, fantastic editing and sound design, a beautifully twitchy performance from Hackman and a killer twist, however I just found it a bit repetative and boring.

    The problem is perhaps that I was expecting a thriller, it's an exceptionally good character study, but the plot itself is incredibly slim. I might enjoy it more on a rewatch with my expectations realigned.

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  • Halloween III: Season of the Witch

    Halloween III: Season of the Witch

    ★★★★

    A 40th anniversary rewatch of the only Halloween film (bar the original) which, by design, stands on it's own two legs.

    This was the first Halloween movie I ever saw and it was years before I ever discovered who Michael Myers was. I think it was also the first contemporary horror film I watched as a kid and it scared the absolute shit out of me.

    It is especially interesting due to Nigel Kneale originally writing the script. He walked…

  • Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

    ★★★★★

    Holy moly, that was absolutely remarkable. Doubles down on everything that worked in the first movie. The animation feels innovative and experimental yet somehow all the characters have a rare feel of realism. It's often chaotic and frantic, but shits gears seemlessly to deliver slow heartfelt scenes. It captures the joyful lunacy of Dan Slott's Spiderverse arc even better than it's predecessor, contains an almost suffocating amount of easter eggs and weaves together an absurd amount of Spider-history.

    Arguably the best piece of animation I have ever seen and I'm on tenterhooks for the next one.