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Still the fucking best.

Justin Kuritzkes And Celine Song… whatever love-triangle drama happened to you in the late 2000s… please keep making movies about it.

This is likely to be Attenborough’s swan song and it’s perhaps his most urgent film to date.
Everyone should see this.

Caught this at IMAX and the aspect ratio changes are worth the ticket price alone. Great use of scale, lighting, and obviously music.
Really enjoyed my time at the bluegrass vampire movie!

No one’s ever been more locked-in than Nick Mason slapping those toms in Pompeii

(The 4K Restoration is 👌🏼 👌🏼 )

Watched on Monday April 21, 2025.

There’s just no universe where Rob Pattinson is considered a loser with that jawline. I’m sorry, I know this is a sci-fi romp but we mustn’t untether ourselves completely from reality.

Yearning and the colour red. Very cool that this film invented both.

I was kinda shocked to learn this isn’t generally considered to be among Kurosawa’s best.
Firstly, it’s one of the spectacular-looking films I’ve ever seen. The use of colour and composition is breathtaking.
It sounds stupid but the way these really did feel like DREAMS, like they weren’t shot with a cinematic narrative in mind, they were shot like how dreams *feel*.

I was so moved and left feeling like I’d watched something uniquely profound.

A genius auteur about to turn eighty saying "Here are my dreams" and going absolutely god mode 10/10

Don’t really know what took me so long to finally check this one out.
Maybe the best film about failure I’ve ever seen?? ‘Failure’ is probably the wrong word as there is so much more going on here. It’s just so compelling to follow a story about the person that isn’t remarkable. A story about the 98% of artists that don’t make it, that can’t.
Oscar Isaac is revelatory and the ending is perfect.

This feels like the fully realised version of what Dreamworks’ The Wild Robot could have been without studio interference.
Flow is a miracle of animation and storytelling (made on Blender, a free, open-source software program). It features only animals and not a word of dialogue is uttered for the entire time, yet has more humanity in it than almost all the films I watched last year.
It made me feel so much and I marvelled at the strange yet familiar world it takes place in. Lots more to say, will stick with me for a while.
Congrats to Latvia on your first Academy Award, deserved deserved deserved!!!

How is every great song in this film? What is going on with the needle drops here? George Harrison’s ‘What Is Life?’ plays while a paranoid Ray Liotta evades a helicopter he’s convinced is chasing him. Insane choice.

A very Jeremy STRONG performance. After this I’m now a Sebastian STAN.
But fr incredible job from these two, and the 16mm switch to video tape aesthetic was the perfect way this film could look, gaudy and kinda cheap.

I just wish there was a little more meat on the bone. This obviously would’ve landed better had Trump not won his second term and maybe this will become a cult classic in 20 years but for now it all just feels too exhausting.

Such a unique prospect: Form an Irish hip-hop group (and actually rap in Irish), get famous off said group, then make a film about the formation of the group six years later and have everyone in the group play themselves despite not being actors.
The twist… it all fucking WORKS.
Kneecap is a total revelation; their mix-tapes, their cause, and their ability to transcend the art form of music and film.
I’m so goddamn psyched to see them live this week!!!

🥲

Naomi Watts

Men will literally build a wall and become a fascist dictator in their own minds instead of going to therapy… wait a minute

So aggressively mid-‘70s. Nearly incomprehensible but Ken Russell’s distinct directing style saves it from becoming too zany of an indulgence.

Ann-Margret really was slopping those beans all over herself like the RENT WAS DUE, damn what happened to Bye Bye Birdie, Ann?!

Leave it to Scorsese to make 9-ball pool the most cinematic sporting event of the year. Jesus Christ, the SHOTS in this film, both from the camera and the end of the pool cues.

Additionally, some of the most insane physicality from Tom Cruise we’ve ever seen.

“Do you think that anybody that comes to see me is coming for any other reason except for entertainment? Really?”

Guadagnino’s ability to conjure memory, loneliness, yearning, and beauty is captured, once again, impeccably here. However, this one didn’t quite connect for me as much as previous offerings (which is a high bar, many are my favourite films of their given years).
Not sure exactly why, perhaps that’s more on Burrough’s story than what Luca was bringing.

The dreamlike, inebriated haze of the film was very effective though. I actually felt like I was on opiates watching much of this (complementary).

Watched on Tuesday February 4, 2025.

“Everyone asks where these songs come from, Sylvie. But then you watch their faces, and they're not asking where the songs come from. They're asking why the songs didn't come to them.”

The awkward yet endearing energy of a tour group has never been more faithfully captured on film.

Idk man, I’m just a sucker for these walk-and-talk movies set in European cities. There’s something just so real and pure about A Real Pain, brought about beautifully by Kieran Culkin’s wonderful performance and Jesse Eisenberg’s pitch perfect screenplay and direction (who also delivers an impressive performance of his own).

This is the sort of film that any given streamer would’ve butchered and buried so I’m really glad it’s been given a theatrical release because movies like this also deserve to be seen at the cinemas.

Genuinely maddening.

• Every song beginning as a cracked whisper, with each performer struggling harder to find the note each time.
• The songs themselves being devoid of decent melodies and overstuffed with terrible lyrics.
• The trivialisation of the trans experience is what really sent me over the edge. Absolute dogshit writing (implying some people transition in order to deceive, like we’re watching fucking Mrs. Doubtfire)
• Some of the worst cinematography, lighting, and editing I’ve ever seen. A distinctly ugly-looking movie and the pacing was off-the-charts slow.
Like a first-year student film with a budget.

I’m really trying not to be hyperbolic here. I went in with an open mind but the fact that this is leading in awards nominations is driving me insane.

HATED THIS

I adored the first half of this nearly 4-hour epic. Completely in awe by the opening credits, even. But by the end of the second half I wasn’t quite sure what it was all for.
There’s something there that didn’t quite add up, like whatever it was this film hoped to explore wasn’t excavated thoroughly enough. 
That being said, I adored Brody’s lead performance, I had a wonderful time marvelling at Lol Crawley’s sweeping cinematography, and the music was masterfully scored. Those elements also made the massive run-time feel a lot less burdensome.
But, I just wish I felt more satisfaction (or just something more) by the end.
I dug the epilogue though.

This review may contain spoilers.

Wasn’t expecting such a big-ass moustache. Dracula out here looking like Jim Carey’s Dr Robotnik.
Show me them FANGS brah!

Needed a couple of days to sit with this one.

All I’ll say is Mikey Madison is a star, Mark Eidelstein is hilarious, and while this film didn’t fully get there for me, I had a great, if crushingly empty time watching it.

Look, no one’s more surprised than me for how highly I’ve rated this film.
But as someone who’s spent a lot of time analysing music biopics, Better Man offers up the most refreshingly creative interpretation of what has become an extremely tired formula.
Sure, the beats and tropes are still there but it’s like this film took the best parts of recent musicals/biopics; Elvis’s chaotic energy, Rocketman’s theatrical approach, and yes, even West Side Story’s dance-focused cinematography, and combined them into a thrilling, lurid and —at times— touching story of the bad boy of British Pop.

So much more I have to say about this movie but the most incredible thing about it (that Robbie Williams is depicted as a CGI monkey for the entire film) ends up working to its benefit in a multitude of ways and fixes so many issues I have with this genre.
Might end up making a video about this.

The Biopic is in its freak era and I am here for it

They didn’t even say Hot Frosty once in the entire film

Also, he did NOT look well

Sabrina Carpenter knows how to insert a bawdy joke into her song lyrics but someone needs to tell her that that doesn’t make her a comedian capable of hosting a Christmas variety special.

She unfortunately has the air of the popular girl who got the lead in the school play but who has no real ability to deliver punchlines at all.
There were moments in this special that were painful.

She sounded great harmonising with Chappell, though.

damn

“I can’t listen to the Beatles in a casual way”
— Jamie Bernstein

Girl, same

For every enthralling element of this film (the sets, the singing, the mixing, Ariana’s comedy chops), there were equally frustrating elements (the overly-used CGI, the lighting, the direction, the lack of colour, Ariana’s unmoving eyes).

The two leads are fantastic though and Cynthia proves time and again why she was the perfect person to play Elphaba.
Not everyone nails their role though (god love her but what is Michelle Yeoh doing in this film? NOT SINGING THAT’S FOR DAMN SURE)

I actually didn’t mind how pulled apart ‘Defying Gravity’ was and it made for a spectacular finale but also reminded me of the now meme’d-to-death Harry Potter broomstick green screen experience you can do at the studio tour in England which made me laugh.

Plenty of fun and provides a sufficient level of engagement if you’re already a fan of SNL and its lore but I don’t know how exciting this would be for anyone else.

Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd kinda blew me away though. He fucking nailed that voice.

If you don’t fuck with trans people, I don’t fuck with you 😊

Dreamworks! Where have you been?!
This made me cry! (More than once!)

Blending Pixar’s Wall-E with Ghibli’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky, The Wild Robot showcases a truly gorgeous animation style (the first half hour especially is visually spectacular). Featuring an engaging, yet simple story of motherhood and belonging with an overarching theme of environmental awareness.

It’s also really funny in parts with a terrific score, and whilst I suspect that there’s a true masterpiece that was held at bay thanks to studio interference, I came away absolutely loving this.
I seriously didn’t know if animated movies with this much heart could still be made these days 🥲

Slightly disorienting, a little absurd, totally up my alley.
Los Angeles in 1970; shaking off the flower-power haze of the ‘60s and journeying into the fucked-up aftermath where rich assholes co-opt the most hedonistic parts of the hippie agenda for their own cynical gain. 

Paul Thomas Anderson directing this film for no one but himself which is how it should be.
Josh Brolin also delivers the funniest version of his ‘emotionally damaged straight-shooter cop’ archetype.

I will need to see this again at some point.

Watched on Thursday November 14, 2024.

That shit’s hella tight

The hair in this movie is fucking perfect. No discernible wigs, people actually look like they’re from 1973, not an ounce of filler in sight. Pitch-perfect aesthetics.
Stillwater is also one of the most believable “fake” bands in the history of film.

This review may contain spoilers.

Really didn’t expect this gorgeous Japanese food film to feature so much leprosy

Cannot believe it took me this long to watch my first Kurosawa.
Outstanding performances, monumental soundtrack, and also surprisingly funny? Just masterful filmmaking all round. So impressively ahead of its time.

Caught it on the big screen for its 70th anniversary and I can’t imagine watching this any other way.

This may be a peak for Gen-x entitlement. The myth of eternal paradise against the backdrop of Thailand and bangin’ ‘90s dance music.
Haven’t read the book but I had a fun time, particularly with Boyle’s occasionally off-the-wall style of direction.

“I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it anyway”

The Akiko Yano soundtrack hit harder on second viewing

From playing a tsunami-wrecked piano to discovering the best way to record raindrops, watching Ryuichi Sakamoto’s artistic process on film is a gift.
Responsible for some of the most exquisite melodies and breathtaking film scores of all time… it’s devastating how soon he was taken from us.

A true creative genius. RIP

Watched on Friday September 6, 2024.

Come on, Pixar. Get your shit together

There’s a scene where a technophobic Tilda Swinton calls Apple for a non-exisiting problem and I’ve never felt more seen as an ex-Genius Bar technician.

Fun one to end the festival on!

🎬 10th film seen as part of MIFF ‘24 (Melbourne International Film Festival) 🎬

Some of the most spectacular timelapse and microscopic photography I’ve ever encountered.
Mycelium is insane, bro.

(Seen at IMAX)

🎬 9th film seen as part of MIFF ‘24 (Melbourne International Film Festival) 🎬

Based on Australian release dates

• Challengers
• May December
• The Holdovers
• Secret Mall Apartment
• The Zone of Interest
• Better Man
• Godzilla Minus One
• The Wild Robot
• The Substance
• Dune: Part Two

1. Monster
2. Past Lives
3. Perfect Days
4. Oppenheimer
5. Theater Camp
6. BlackBerry
7. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
8. Aftersun
9. TÁR
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

...plus 2 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.