Great month for films! Even the worst on this list was bearable and at
least useful for my PhD. I don’t think I’d
give any of these (except number 11) under 6/10. So without further ado, here’s the countdown of what I watched
this month:
11. The
Tapes (Lee Alliston and Scott Bates, 2011)
British found footage horror. Three annoying friends with a video camera
try to make a Big Brother audition tape.
When they discover a barn that is the setting for swinging parties, they
decide to secretly film the participants in action. But they soon discover they are about to
witness a lot more than old and fat wrinkly folk swapping partners. It’s vaguely interesting and amusing for the
Big Brother audition tape angle but the characters are damn annoying and this
adds nothing new of note to the genre.
10. OSS-117:
Lost in Rio (Michael Hazanavicius, 2009)
Bond-style secret agent spoofing from the
director and star of The Artist. Not as
good as the Austin Powers films but
has some very funny moments. Jean
Dujardin’s square secret agent getting jiggy in an orgy with a group of dirty
hippies on a beach is the hilarious highlight.
9. Mr
Nice (Bernard Rose, 2010)
Howard Marx is played by Rhys Ifans and the
film distils the frankly occasionally boring book down to the highlights of
Marx’s time as a dope smuggler. Could
have been a lot more fun if directed with a bit more flair but still, this is a
pretty effective and almost quite emotional tale of one man’s fight to give
people the right to smoke weed (and make himself a fortune).
8. Another
Earth (Mike Cahill, 2011)
The first of two Indie science-fiction
films I watched this month from writer-star Brit Marling. This one deals with the discovery of a new
planet exactly the same as our own but more specifically focuses on one young
lady’s relationship with a very troubled man.
How the two are connected and why leads the film to be dramatic and
suspenseful but it’s all a bit too understated and slow for my liking. Infinitely more interesting if less beautiful
than Melancholia though.
7. Take
Me Home Tonight (Michael Dowse, 2011)
Topher Grace and Anna Faris star in this
really sweet, pretty damn funny 80s coming-of-age-over-one-night story of a boy
going after the girl of his dreams. The
80s music is a joy, the script is sharp and occasionally hilarious but as with
any rom-com, just too predictable to be a great movie. Still, this deserves to be seen by more
people. Worth watching for the coke head
best friend character’s antics alone.
6. Friends
with Kids (Jennifer Westfeldt, 2012)
Impressive directorial debut from
writer/producer/star Jennifer Westfeldt that does a deft job of balancing
depressing autopsy of married with kids life and finding the funny side of two
friends going into the baby-making business together. As with most rom-coms it’s painfully
predictable but there are enough cringingly honest scenes and decent laughs to
make me want to see more from Westfeldt.
5. One
Day (Lone Scherfig, 2011)
This is actually a surprisingly good
adaptation of the book. The leads are
great despite Hathaway’s dodgy accent and the ending had more of an impact than
it did when reading the book. It’s all
so quick that I wonder how much sense it would make to people who haven’t read
the book. Such well written characters
and a touching love story told over twenty years, it’s hard not to be swept up
in the emotions of it all.
4. Sound
of My Voice (Zal Batmanglij, 2012)
3. Michael
(Markus Schleinzer, 2012)
Horrible tale of a distinctly average Austrian
man who has a small boy locked in a room in his basement. This is paedophile drama with a total lack of
sensationalism. Fortunately it’s not one
of those indie films that tries to make us understand and care for the monster
behind the headlines. It just does an
excellent job of showing the banality of evil and thankfully has quite a strong
ending that gives cathartic pleasure in the fate of one character while leaving
the fate of another painfully ambiguous.
If you can stomach a film about a paedophile, this is gripping,
disturbing stuff.
2. The
King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1983)
How come people don’t tout this as De Niro’s
best performance? Hilarious and a little
heart breaking, this is a real departure from what I’m used to seeing De Niro
doing. The tale of a man desperate to be
a comedian is surprising, funny and just a tad sad. One of my new favourite Scorsese films.
1. Prometheus
(Ridley Scott, 2012)
Ridley Scott’s sci-fi sort of Alien prequel is visually stunning,
exciting, mildly scary and a hell of a ride.
A great cast get decent characters and the story spills over with interesting
ideas. The last half is less
intellectually stimulating but more pulse-pounding thrilling. The suspense of the first half gives way to
all-out action with a host of creatures, gore, self-surgery and sacrifice as
Rapace delivers a great Ripley inspired kick-ass action heroine with just the
right mix of fragility and strength. Fassbender
nails the eerie android David and fortunately it’s all left tantalisingly open
for a welcome sequel.
How was your month? Best and worst? Got an opinion on any of these little gems?
