Film Shapes

And here are the ten worst films I saw (for the first time) in 2015. Shite. 1. Valhalla Rising (2009) Mads Mikkelsen couldn't save this excruciatingly boring steamer. 2. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011) Laughably crap, this contains a scene where Ewan McGregor disarms a would-be assassin by casting his fishing line at him. And that's a highlight. 3. Jupiter Ascending (2015) Absurd but dull, even with  Eddie Redmayne  doing what he did. Let's have that Oscar back, thanks. 4. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) Pedestrian stuff with Charlize Theron seemingly trying to out-chew Redmayne. 5. Hercules (2014) Lovejoy, you have some explaining to do!!!! To be fair, I wasn't expecting a classic. 6. Lucy (2014) Euro-trash + Scarlett = arse grapes 7. Chappie (2014) Neill Blomkamp shows he may just be a one trick pony. 8. Maps to the Stars (2014) Most of my bile regarding this was produced by that cockroach shit paste kid, but also general disappoint...

Here are the ten best films I saw (for the first time) in 2015. Some crackers missed out as well. 1. Whiplash (2014) A real visceral event - a boxing movie dressed up as a music film. The first film in a long time that made me feel like I'd been out running. In a good way. 2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) See previous blog entry for reasoning. Just a great silver ball of fun. 3. The Act of Killing (2012) Hard to watch but rivetting nonetheless. 4. Her (2013) Odd and engagingly endearing. And disembodied Scarlett. 5. Ex Machina (2015) Clever little three-hander with everyone on form. Great disco scene. 6. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Better than the first one with standout turns from Bettany and Ruffalo. And corporeal Scarlett. 7. Nightcrawler (2014) Creepy Gyllenhaal and a great script. 8. Frank (2014) Slow, but unusual and affecting. 9. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) The Coens abide. 10. Blackfish (2013) Have some of that, puny humans!

I saw this at the usual HAT Kobe 109 cinema, joined this time by my sister and her boyfriend, over from Aus. A non-film related highlight entailed said boyfriend re-entering the wrong screening after a mid-film 'horse-watering'. Apparently, the blurry screen and sea of 3-D wearing heads gave it away. Fnarph. To the film. I can't remember the last time I was so chuffed to be in the cinema. The warm glow of nostalgia and comfort began pretty much right away and remained for the duration, irrespective of any extant critical faculty. Yep, I didn't (still don't) care that The Force Awakens is, by and large, a remake of A New Hope , huge metal ball in space included. And I didn't mind that there were constant 'lifts' direct from the original three films, from word-for-word dialogue to the iconic screen wipes. These elements were mixed satisfactorily with new ingredients, namely the characters of Rey and Finn, played with great verve by Daisy Ridley (l...

It's been a few weeks since I've seen Spectre and the extra time spent mulling it over hasn't convinced me that it's anything other than a pastiche of past 007 films. There are direct lifts from: Casino Royale - suggestive dialogue scene with female lead in a train's dining car Quantum of Solace - all the malarkey in the desert lair of the lead villain Skyfall - some of the scenes in London and the old MI-6 building From Russia With Love - fight scene in aforementioned train For Your Eyes Only - snow chase sequence There may be more but I'm not a full-on Bondiac. It specifically acts as a summary of the previous three Daniel Craig films, perhaps as those involved see it as his final installment. This isn't altogether bad. Some of those films are very good. Two of them are great ( From Russia With Love and Casino Royale ). But I think they could have been more imaginative, especially if it is to be Craig's last. Spectre starts incredib...