The Best Offer

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Director Giuseppe Tornatore has crafted an intriguing drama that plays almost like a 70's giallo but without the horror. So much mystery. And an opulent production design that you would only expect from Italian artists. So classy. And Geoffrey Rush is great too.

I felt it was a trifle overlong but that sense of mystery hung until the very last frame. And all accompanied by an nice Ennio Morricone score. Good stuff.

What Maisie Knew

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Cicely

Maisie got the right idea, I love Alexander Skarsgård too. I equally love seeing Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore playing assholes. They are so great at it. Moore is a bit of a force here and it's great to see her go at it. But there's also a very tiny bit of understanding learnt by the end, which does give you a small amount of hope.

A great portrayal of a child caught up in a real awkward situation and unusual circumstances. It's funny and a little heartbreaking and little Onata Aprile is wonderfully empathetic. A great little drama.

You're Next

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Therese, Aaron, Kate, Belinda

After 2 years on the festival circuit, Adam Wingard's indie horror film finally gets a release. Actually this is the first film of his that has gotten a cinema release, if you don't include his segment in The ABC's of Death that screened once here at a festival. Here we see a typical home invasion suspense but not everything goes according to plan.

The set up is a little awkward, not in the god way, but once we get the whole cast together at the dinner table things get awkward in the good way. Very funny scenes and wonderfully despicable characters you can't wait to see get killed off.

The cast are full of familiar faces from the creative teams previous works, many of them directors and writers themselves. And then there's Australian Sharni Vinson who holds her own against the intruders.

It's a very simple and contained story and while some of the acting is a bit clunky I did love some of the gags and there's enough humour to make this an extremely fun horror experience. It's really nice to have fun horror back on the market. Like an R-rated Home Alone with a funky retro score.

White House Down

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Tyler

That crazy German Roland Emmerich has destroyed the White House again. Olympus Has Fallen, which came out a few months previous, had the exact same premise and simmilarly, this plays out in a Die Hard sort of fashion, but with more of a buddy cop feel as Channing Tatum and president Jamie Foxx team up. Suffice to say, this version is more of the crowd pleasing fun disaster movie type that Emmerich specialises in, with wise cracking heros, moustache twirling bad guys, cute kids and more patriotism than you could poke a stick at.

Unfortunately any double crossing and twist reveals were ruined when the opening credits listed who was in the film. And the rest of the film is exactly what you think it is, some big dumb action and a whole lot of very obvious set ups and pay offs. Not as hard edged as Olympus Has Fallen, but a whole lot more fun. (or stupid?) You'll know if you like these or not. I have a kind of guilty pleasure watching them.

Ishtar

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No

This one's a little notorious. A reputation as a massive bomb, and yet I found it alright. I've heard many people defend it and while I wouldn't say it's great, it's certainly on par with other farces from the era and Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as a song writing team are rather hilarious. It's pretty over the top, what with the C.I.A. mix up and the rebels and all that stuff and perhaps its comedic style was even too outdated for 1987 but it's certainly not as terrible as I was expecting.

Seven Days in May

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No

Another John Frankenheimer paranoid thriller. This time a military plot to overthrow the president. Again, the film movies at a much slower pace than we are used to for thrillers today, but then there are some really great intense dialogue scenes towards the end. And the threat of nuclear war hanging over everything is always a help. Very enjoyable although I do think I prefer the slightly more fantastic Manchurian Candidate.

Seconds

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No

Kind of a trippy movie. Director John Frankenheimer gets his paranoia on with a mysterious organisation that is like some crazy form of voluntary witness protection. 70's paranoid thrillers are awesome and Frankenheimer was making them well before that.

Rock Hudson is someone I haven't really registered with on film. I think I've seen him in one or two things before but never put the face to a name, so good to finally note who he is.

Scenes tend to move much slower than we're used to today. And there seems to be a bit of filler here and there. But I do like the set up and the rather dark ending. Good stuff.

Black Rock

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

A mumblecore survival horror. It kinda has the pitfalls of both. The scenes at the start do feel sort of aimless, but admittedly they set up the characters and an internal group conflict well. And once the survival starts, there's some good stuff, but those bad guys get short changed a little. They aren't quite faceless villains but there's not much development done with them either. 

The film isn't trying to skew the psychological angle, it's happy to just remain an 80's style revenge slasher action piece. It's okay I guess.

Chariots of Fire

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: No
Watched With: Mum

WellI finally got around to watching this one. Knew the theme tune and that is was something about running. The start of the film is so amazingly British. And then we get the usual sports movie structure. I like some of the cinematography, but the rest of the film really did nothing for me, not my cup of tea.

Magic Magic

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

Whoa, what an odd film. I guess you could describe it as a psychological horror film but it's really just unnerving and dark. Cast are great, the plot, well, there's not really much more beyond the usual cabin in the woods set up. A real show piece for Juno Temple who slowly loses it over the course of the film. Michael Cera is also wonderfully creepy. It's an exercise in tone and director Sebastián Silva really cranks it up. An uncomfortable watch and perhaps not the most satisfying of endings but I really enjoyed the ride.

Compulsion

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes

A remake of a Korean thriller, it's a quirky little mystery that features a lot of cooking and a little bit of sexy times. It's bright and colourful, which is kind of at odds with the story being told but suits the main character perfectly. Heather Graham tries to sell it but I didn't really find it that interesting, it's too obvious where it's heading. Swing and a miss.