First Time Viewings: February 2019
Finally a decent month of movie watching. I got to see a few Oscar contenders like Roma, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Bohemian Rhapsody and the one that took out the big prize Green Book. Orson Welles has been the flavour of the month though with The Lady from Shanghai, The Other Side of the Wind and the doco about The Other Side of the Wind which were my 3 favourite films I saw this month.
List activity
78 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
21 titles
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodPatrick L. ReyesCesar De LeónA ninety-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.Viewed: 7-2-19
My Score: 7/10
A little too mawkish at times for my taste but still a very strong acting and directorial performance from 88 year old Clint Eastwood. - DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.Viewed: 12-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Terrific drama from Peter Farrelly who usually deals with comedies. There are plenty of funny moments though and the performances from Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are flawless. Well written, well directed and very entertaining. - DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).Viewed: 16-2-19
My Score: 7/10
Hugely entertaining if somewhat expectedly sterile biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen. Not a great deal of depth and rather formulaic but so much authenticity in the look of the band and wonderful music makes this quite the crowd pleaser. - DirectorOrson WellesStarsRita HayworthOrson WellesEverett SloaneFascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.Viewed: 16-2-19
My Score: 9/10
One could say this film is a convoluted mess and they probably wouldn't be too far off the mark, but that's due to the studio interfering with the final product. What's left is still quite remarkable and a testament to Orson Welles' genius. I personally loved every bit of this film but it's really only for fans of film noir. - DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsColin FarrellRachel WeiszJessica BardenIn a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or they're transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.Viewed: 16-2-19
My Score: 8/10
One truly original film, something that can't often be said about movies these days. It's a love story with a wicked sense of humour but unlike anything else you've seen. Highly recommended. - DirectorMichael CiminoStarsClint EastwoodJeff BridgesGeorge KennedyWith the help of an irreverent young sidekick, a bank robber gets his old gang back together to organize a daring new heist.Viewed: 16-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Highly entertaining heist with plenty of thrills and laughs along the way. Michael Cimino's feature debut and an Oscar nominated performance from Jeff Bridges. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAndrew GarfieldAdam DriverLiam NeesonIn the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.Viewed: 17-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Scorsese ditches gangs for religion as he has done a few times in the past. Two priests go looking for a missing priest in 17th century Japan where Christianity is against the law. Now I have my own views on religion and it's hard to watch a religion themed movie if it's particularly preachy but thankfully this is not. I don't feel sympathetic towards what the Japanese do to Christians but I like their views about it, and I like how the film shows matter-of-factly what happened back then.
This is a long slow moving film but it looks great and it remains quite interesting throughout. Not one of my favourite Scorsese films but a very accomplished one none the less. - DirectorSean ByrneStarsEthan EmbryShiri ApplebyPruitt Taylor VinceA struggling painter's possessed by dark forces after he and his young family move into their dream home in rural Texas, in this creepy haunted-house tale.Viewed: 17-2-19
My Score: 8/10
This is a genuinely tense and thrilling low budget horror/thriller. Made by Australian filmmaker Sean Byrne, I'm quite intrigued to see where he goes next. There is some blood but it's not a splatter-fest, the scares are in the anticipation of what's going to happen, there aren't any cheap jump-scares like horror movies usually do. Highly recommended. - DirectorWhit StillmanStarsGreta GerwigAdam BrodyLio TiptonA trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of the Seven Oaks college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind.Viewed: 23-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Equally charming and absurd piece of whimsy from Whit Stillman. A very unique campus-comedy that has many genuine laugh-out-loud moments. - DirectorRoy BoultingStarsPeter SellersGoldie HawnTony BrittonIn their sexual game, an egotistical and womanizing television host meets his match, Marion, who seeks to remain one step ahead of him.Viewed: 23-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Surprisingly intelligent movie about a 40-something wealthy playboy (Peter Sellers) who meets and falls for a much younger woman who is much wiser than her age suggests. Much was made about the age difference of the characters and the way it ends but this film is quite knowing and understands and respects its characters and feels real. A couple of scenes played purely for laughs don't really work but that's all the criticism I can give this unlikely smart and funny film. - DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsYalitza AparicioMarina de TaviraDiego Cortina AutreyA year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.Viewed: 23-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Beautifully shot in B&W by the director Alfonso Cuaron, this film affectionately tells a story inspired the Cuaron family's maid when Alfonso was a child. This is an example of how the camera can liven up a mostly mundane story. The crib buying scene and the beach scene are two of the greatest scenes I've seen but this film tells a day-to-day story of the maid and quite realistically there are some days that aren't all that interesting, but that's when the camera becomes the star.
This is really a critics vs. general public film. People that truly love film as a work of art will hold this in high regard but people that watch films just for some escapism won't find much to like here. - DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTim Blake NelsonWillie WatsonClancy BrownSix tales of life and violence in the Old West, following a singing gunslinger, a bank robber, a traveling impresario, an elderly prospector, a wagon train, and a perverse pair of bounty hunters.Viewed: 24-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Six fantastic short stories by the Coen Brothers. All set in the Old West but each one is unique. Some are comedic, some drama and some have musical numbers. Will not disappoint Coen Brothers fans. - DirectorDan GilroyStarsJake GyllenhaalRene RussoZawe AshtonA thriller about the contemporary art scene of Los Angeles, where big money artists and mega-collectors pay a high price when art collides with commerce.Viewed: 24-2-19
My Score: 7/10
Enjoyable, if a bit trashy, horror/thriller based in the world of art. - DirectorF. Gary GrayStarsVin DieselJason StathamDwayne JohnsonWhen a mysterious woman seduces Dominic Toretto into the world of terrorism and a betrayal of those closest to him, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.Viewed: 24-2-19
My Score: 6/10
You know what to expect with these Furious films by now. I really thought they'd end the series after Paul Walker's death but not while they're still earning ridiculous amounts of money. Some fun and some really good stunts along the way, but overlong and even more ridiculous than previous entries I think. Ok escapism. - DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsAdam SandlerGrace Van PattenDustin HoffmanAn estranged family gathers together in New York City for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.Viewed: 24-2-19
My Score: 7/10
First up, I love seeing Adam Sandler doing some real acting, and Ben Stiller for that matter. Also a wonderful job from the great Dustin Hoffman. I haven't seen many of Noah Baumbach's film, but I've seen Frances Ha and this is definitely a couple of steps lesser than that. Good film but doesn't hit any high notes like Frances Ha. - DirectorMark CullenStarsBruce WillisJohn GoodmanJason MomoaA Los Angeles detective seeks out the ruthless gang that stole his dog.Viewed: 25-2-19
My Score: 5/10
I really wanted to like this movie. It's an action comedy starring Bruce Willis and John Goodman and a pre-Aquaman Jason Momoa. Willis' dog gets stolen and Willis tries to get it back with the help of trusty sidekick played by Thomas Middleditch.
Basically it's a harmless enough ride with a 90 minute run time but it strains for laughs every step of the way. Mark Cullen directed and co-wrote with Robb Cullen, who I going to assume is his brother. I didn't know who they were before watching but I now see they also co-wrote the dismal Kevin Smith-directed action/comedy Cop Out. This isn't as bad as Cop Out, there is actually the odd funny line in this one and it's not at all annoying either but it struggles. I really hope that the Cullens improve if they get another chance because there are some decent ideas amongst the poor decisions. - DirectorNicole HolofcenerStarsBen MendelsohnNatalie GoldThomas MannAfter leaving his wife and his job to find happiness, Anders befriends a drug-addicted teen, sending him down a path of reckless and shameful behavior.Viewed: 25-2-19
My Score: 8/10
Ben Mendelsohn gives possibly his best performance as a middle aged retiree that split up with his wife because they just weren't happy anymore, except he's still not happy and she has moved on. Very sharply written screenplay and direction by Nicole Holofcener. - DirectorOrson WellesStarsJohn HustonOja KodarPeter BogdanovichAt a media-swamped party to celebrate his 70th birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.Viewed: 25-2-19
My Score: 9/10
So the legendary unfinished Orson Welles film finally gets finished. The end vision may or may not be what Welles intended, but we'll never know for sure.
This film was not what I was expecting, and can only imagine the look of confusion and disappointment on many faces watching this film. Certainly a bit hard to keep track of at times, but the films cynicism and wit and the amazing performance of John Huston had me hooked right up until the end, even the film within the film was great to watch. - DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsAlan CummingPeter BogdanovichOja KodarIn the final fifteen years of the life of legendary director Orson Welles, he pins his Hollywood comeback hopes on a film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018), in itself a film about an aging film director trying to finish his last great movie.Viewed: 26-2-19
My Score: 9/10
I watched the film, now I had to watch the doco about the final film of the great Orson Welles. This is such a well made documentary with so much information and insight. Also so many wonderful moments with Orson Welles himself. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in film, and of course Orson Welles. - DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonJessica LangeJohn ColicosThe sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.Viewed: 26-2-19
My Score: 6/10
I have not seen the original Hollywood version nor have I read the book but apparently this version is more faithful to the book. Jessica Lange is especially wonderful and the film looks great but it feels completely hollow. I'm not sure where they went wrong but I didn't care about the characters in any way by the end, whether they live or die or end up in jail. Not a bad movie but certainly a missed opportunity. - DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsRosa SalazarChristoph WaltzJennifer ConnellyA deactivated cyborg's revived, but can't remember anything of her past and goes on a quest to find out who she is.Viewed: 28-2-19
My Score: 7/10
Exciting Hollywoodisation of a Japanese manga comic. The corny love story really drags it down it parts but the action side of things is really well done. It also leaves me with a lot of questions like how does she eat when she doesn't seem to be organic at all, I mean where does the food go? But anyway, for an actioner it does a lot of things well and it is certainly entertaining.