#Dickon Hinchliffe

[9a1]

All about it :(

#Spotify

[guardianreadersofthegalaxy]

My 2022 film ranking:

1.       Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’ – The Musical (AKA ‘Booksmart’) – [Musical] A highly intelligent child starts primary school and confronts the evil headmistress. I’ll get this out of the way, the sight of precocious children jigging about like they’re in a TikTok makes me nauseous. Otherwise, M:TM is perfect, thanks mostly to Dahl’s charming story and Tim Minchin’s wonderful songs. Director Matthew Warchus leans into stylisation, bringing colour and magic that puts more ‘grounded’ musical directors like Tom Hooper to shame. Emma Thompson chews the scenery as the child-phobic Trunchbull, and Alisha Weir holds it all together as the cute and capable heroine. For fans of Paddington.

2.       The Lost Daughter (AKA ‘Mamma Mia! But Sad’) – [Drama] While on a solo holiday to Greece, Leda meets a young mother who reminds her of her own struggles as a parent. This could have been a slow burn, but an early reckless choice by the protagonist infuses the film with simmering tension. It’s a great character study, and director Maggie Gyllenhaal gets brilliant performances from Buckley and Colman as the quietly abrasive Leda, who’s unpredictable without seeming inconsistent. I like Gyllenhaal’s use of quick edits and closeups to deliberately disorient the viewer, as well as Dickon Hinchliffe’s score which swings from melancholy to upbeat, ensuring things never get dull. For fans of Fleabag.

3.       The Quiet Girl (AKA ‘All Quiet On The Girl Front’) – [Drama] A young girl is sent away from her neglectful family to stay with kindly relatives for the summer. I wasn’t initially sure where the story was going to go, given this starts where most adoption stories end. But I realised very soon that it was about the journey, not the destination. The direction’s subjective, showing you the world from a child’s perspective while still providing insight to the adult characters. The ending’s wonderfully bittersweet and, most impressively, it’s a tight 90 minutes. For fans of Goodnight Mr. Tom.

4.       Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (AKA ‘Janelle Monáe, Janelle Problems’) – [Murder mystery] Eccentric detective Benoit Blanc is summoned to a Greek island to solve the ‘murder’ of a tech billionaire. It’s only a prolonged an uneventful first act that keeps this from reaching the perfection of ‘Knives Out’. After the mid-point gamechanger, Rian Johnson provides wall-to-wall payoffs that satisfyingly recontextualise previous clues and red herrings. As for Benoit Blanc, I thought he worked better as a co-lead with Ana De Armas than in his more central role here, but he’s still extremely charming. For fans of the end of Prisoner Of Azkaban.

5.       All Quiet On The Western Front (AKA ‘Insert Hilarious WW1 Gag’) – [War] In the final months of World War I, a naïve German recruit enters the meat-grinder of the Western front. It's the sort of thing you only want to watch once, like '12 Years A Slave'. With hand-held direction that puts you at the heart of the action and nightmarish gore worthy of a horror film, AQOTWF is experiential filmmaking at its best. You could have lost the Armistice subplot and cut things down to a lean 100 minutes, but the prospect of a ceasefire lends extra pathos to the lives taken in the final hours of the war. For fans of 1917.

6.       Ali & Ava (AKA ‘Disc-eo & Folk-iet) – [Drama] An EDM-loving landlord and a folk-loving teaching assistant find common ground. Director Clio Barnard finds magic in the drizzle and concrete of Bradford. There’s some great use of symbolism: a glance at a rocking chair or a pair of boots can tell you everything you need to know about a character. Her script deals with a lot of different issues (a few too many), and maybe should have zeroed in on the themes of mental health and the power of music. For fans of Ken Loach

7.       Nope (AKA ‘Cowboys Vs Aliens’) – [Sci-fi/horror] Two siblings attempt to save their family business by capturing footage of the UFO terrorising their farm. It’s been a long time since I last said “Oh my god” out loud in a cinema (I’m British). ‘Nope’ takes a bit of time to get started, but once things kick off in earnest it’s a real thrill. The second act in particular is terrifying, thanks to a genuinely hard to watch scene of Lovecraftian horror. There are a few odd choices, like the distractingly gravelly director character who’s introduced too late to be properly characterised, but otherwise I’d say that Jordan Peele’s done it again. EDIT: Oh yeah, what was the deal with the floating shoe? For fans of Steven Spielberg.

8.       Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (AKA ‘The Power Of The Doc’) – [Superhero] A sorcerer has his ex-girlfriend’s wedding interrupted by a multiversal war. This was really entertaining! The action was occasionally hard to follow and the plot, while coherent, was little more than a vehicle for increasingly bizarre set pieces. But what set pieces! I know MCU directors often feel handicapped by studio interfering but, in this case, it seemed like Sam Raimi was able to make the film his own by leaning into the goofy soft-horror he’s best known for. And the, now obligatory, fan-service cameos were wisely confined to one scene. For fans of Sam Raimi.

9.       Everything Everywhere All At Once (AKA ‘Racocoonie’) – [Sci-fi/action] A laundry owner has her tax audit appointment interrupted by a multiversal war. Co-directors ‘Daniels’ should be applauded for their boundless creativity, though I do have notes. There’s an incredible 100 minute film in there somewhere, but many moments dragged out for way too long. EEAAO rises above other Matrix knockoffs by remembering to have fun, with plenty of ‘Rick & Morty’-style comedy to complement the competently handled emotional story. By turns surreal, hilarious, tedious, and genuinely moving. And too long. For fans of Rick & Morty.

10.   The House (AKA ‘There’s A Moose Loose Aboot The Hoose!’) – [Adult animation] Three generations of cats, mice, and humans try their best to settle into ‘the house’. I mean, I just love stop motion so maybe this had an unfair advantage. Design and direction are both on point to make ‘The House’ as beautiful as it is unsettling. Thematically though, it suffers from ‘French Dispatch syndrome’: with neither the variety of an anthology miniseries like ‘Inside Number Nine’, or the coherence of a standard 90-minute film. The first and last parts had decent messages, but I never felt like Jarvis Cocker’s mouse estate agent was getting his just deserts. For fans of Henry Selick.

11.   The Power Of The Dog (AKA ‘Doctor ‘Straight’ In The Closet Of Sadness’) – [Drama] A macho cattle-rancher takes against his brother’s new wife and her aloof teenage son. I thought Jessie Plemons’ understated performance was the highlight. His tearful relief at finding an alternative to his bullying brother really struck a chord, and it’s a shame that he faded into the background later on. The actors convey a lot through physicality, like Dunst’s shaking hands as she sits at the piano, or Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee’s gait as they respectively strut and mince around the farm. Dialogue schmialogue. For fans of There Will Be Blood.

12.   RRR (AKA ‘Rajamouli’s Ridiculous Romp’) – [Action] Sparks fly in 1920s India when officer A. Rama Raju meets the revolutionary Komaram Bheem. They don’t make films like this in the West any more, and I think that’s a shame. RRR is camp and earnest, always somewhere between ‘so bad it’s good’ and just genuinely good. While there were literally hundreds of moments of unintentional comedy, I couldn’t help but get swept up in the epic drama and spectacle. For fans of Stephen Chow.

13.   See How They Run (AKA ‘Who Has Done This?’) – [Comedy] In the 1950s, a murder is committed on the West End stage of Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’. This was more enjoyable on the rewatch, with lowered expectations. Sam Rockwell's still wasted and the premise still isn't as original as it thinks it is. But the jokes (both verbal and physical) all land, the payoffs and reveals are satisfying, and the cast mostly live up to their potential. And Saoirse Ronan carries the whole thing, doing double duty as moral centre and comic relief. For fans of Inside No. 9.

14.   Don’t Look Up (AKA ‘Leostorm’) – [Drama/comedy] Two astronomers desperately attempt to warn the world’s governments about an approaching comet. This was a really tense watch. It felt like a modern update of ‘Dr Strangelove’, where the people with the power to avert Armageddon are too inept to do so. There’s a hefty dose of Black Mirror in there too, with humanity’s stupidity on full display. That said, I didn’t leave feeling like we deserve annihilation, which might have been some consolation. Instead I was angry that we put our lives in the hands of the Musks and de Pfeffel Johnsons of the world, and that’s not as cathartic. For fans of Charlie Brooker.

15.   The Banshees Of Inishirin (AKA ‘The Irishmen’) – [Drama] During the civil war, an Irish farmer is baffled to learn that his friend doesn’t like him any more. You can tell Martin McDonagh’s a playwright – the slow pace, the few locations, the focus on dialogue. And like most plays it gave me a lot to think about, whilst also being a bit boring. The jokes all landed but they were few and far between. It was like feature-length ‘This Country’ episode, but with more fiddles and misery. And Barry Keoghan was fantastic as ever, if typecast, as Dominic the village eejit. For fans of Samuel Beckett.

16.   Turning Red (AKA ‘Meilin, Wailin’ & Big Fluffy Tailin’) – [Family animation] A thirteen-year-old girl turns into a giant red panda. I feel like, as with the MCU, Pixar films have somewhat reached a point of competent homogeneity. I could copy and paste most of this from my last two Pixar reviews: the animation’s beautiful; good insights are made about the human condition; the message is hindered by over-specific lore. And that’s fine, I guess. For fans of Luca.

17.   Pig (AKA ‘Baken’) – [Drama] A former expert chef turned lonely truffle hunter searches for his stolen truffle pig. I felt like there could have been something profound going on in 'Pig'. The juxtaposition of a dirty, bleeding man sat in a fancy restaurant probably signifies… something. But there were just too many off-putting elements, like the random fight club scene, for me to grasp what it was all about. Cage does your standard 'Sadman McDeadwife' performance, but I much preferred Alex Wolff's nervous yuppie. For fans of John Wick… or Ratatouille

18.   Prey (AKA ‘Nevertheless, Coman-she Persisted’) – [Sci fi/ action] A precocious young Comanche woman confronts an extra-terrestrial ‘Predator’. It’s such a shame this never got a theatrical release. The ‘Revenant’-style nature shots were amazing but would have been so much better on the big screen. It’s a lean 100 minutes and a little light on substance, meaning everything hinges on the action, which is… decent. The Predator’s kills are gleefully bloody, but the final fight is hard to follow in the dark, making it a bit of a limp climax. For fans of The Revenant.

19.   The Batman (AKA ‘Twi-knight’) – [Superhero] Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler. Director Matt Reeves draws on the serial killer films of David Fincher, emulating their tone but unfortunately also their three-hour runtimes. I’m afraid I found The Batman to be heavy on plot and light on theme, leaving me with little idea of what it was ‘all about’. Paul Dano’s a brilliant actor but he’s only really given one scene and, sadly, I think he botched it. Still, I enjoyed the action, the cinematography and Michael Giacchino’s already iconic score. For fans of Seven.

20.   Smile (AKA ‘Upside Down Frown Town) – [Horror] A psychiatrist is fatally cursed when she witnesses one of her patients committing suicide. This script really could have used another pass. The scares are effective but the premise is generic and the dialogue laughably bad, particularly the overuse of the f-word worthy of an A Level drama class. Worst of all, thematically it seems to come out against seeking help for mental health problems, an idea I thought it would subvert but then it just… didn’t. That said, there are a few brilliantly nightmarish images and an incredible score from Cristobal Tapia De Veer. For fans of It Follows.

21.   Thor: Love & Thunder (AKA ‘Why, Waititi? Why?!’) – [Superhero] Thor teams up with ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher. I think Marvel Studios might be drunk on their own power. Indeed ‘Love & Thunder’ feels like it was written and directed while drunk. It brings back a lot of the elements that made ‘Ragnarok’ work, but underdelivers on both humour and pathos. Thor’s new multi-coloured costume is a huge downgrade from the streamlined look in his previous solo film, and Guns ‘N’ Roses can’t hold a candle to Led Zeppelin. For fans of Ghostbusters (2016).

22.   Ennio (AKA ‘The Good, The Bad & The Long) – [Documentary] A documentary celebrating the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Honestly, I love Morricone but after two and a half hours I was sick of the old codger. Insights are made into the great man’s process but they’re drops in an ocean of runtime. I wish, instead of trying to cover every film Morricone ever composed, director Giuseppe Tornatore had just picked a few ‘greatest hits’. Or at least devoted more than 60 seconds to the scoring his own ‘Cinema Paradiso’. For fans of BBC 4 music documentaries.

23.   The Worst Person In The World (AKA ‘Nor-way Home’) – [Drama] I’m sorry, so little happens in this film that I’m not sure that I can summarise it. My favourite part was finding out, to my relief, that my wife didn’t like it either. Perhaps I shouldn’t have had a couple of drinks before watching something where I’d have to read both subtitles and actors’ facial expressions. Either way, I mentally checked out after the first hour. TWPITW uses a prologue to establish Julie’s personality before instantly contradicting it, introduces numerous disparate plot elements that didn’t go anywhere (drugs, families, offensive cartoons) and has basically nothing happen for two hours. For fans of things that are shit.

And a dishonourable mention to The Lost King (AKA ‘Knowing M.E., Knowing You’), which Cate said it wouldn’t be fair for me to review because I walked out after 30 minutes. Also No Time To Die, which I couldn’t finish because my plane landed but was also pretty bad.

#my post #2022 #2022 film #movies #ranking #matilda the musical #the lost daughter #the quiet girl #glass onion #all quiet on the western front #ali & ava #nope #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #everything everywhere all at once #the house netflix #the power of the dog #rrr #see how they run #the banshees of inisherin #don't look up #turning red #pig movie #prey movie #the batman #smile movie #thor love and thunder #ennio the maestro #the worst person in the world #the lost king #no time to die

[byneddiedingo]

Tom Hardy in Locke (Steven Knight, 2013) Cast: Tom Hardy, voices of Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, Ben Daniels, Tom Holland, Bill Milner, Danny Webb, Alice Lowe, Silas Carson, Lee Ross, Kirsty Dillon. Screenplay: Steven Knight. Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos. Film editing: Justine Wright. Music: Dickon Hinchliffe. A man driving on the highway alone at night, talking to people on the car phone. It's the stuff of which radio dramas like the 1943 Sorry, Wrong Number were made -- or might have been, if there had been car phones in the 1940s, the peak era of radio drama. Sorry, Wrong Number was "opened up" to show other characters than the woman on the phone when it was filmed by Anatole Litvak in 1948, but Steven Knight's Locke remains alone in the car with its title character, played by Tom Hardy in a performance that leaves no doubt that he's one of our best actors. But the actors whose voices are heard in the film, including Olivia Colman, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, and Tom Holland, are just as compelling in their performances. The chief objection made by critics is that Locke is basically a "gimmick" film, that there's no reason why Knight shouldn't have shown the people on the other end of the line -- or whatever passes for "line" in the era of mobile phones. It's a tour de force that keeps the camera trained on Locke for the film's entire 85 minutes, with only occasional cuts to the surrounding traffic, and it's an added departure from the expected to cast an actor known mainly for his work in action films in a role that puts him in one seat for the whole movie. But I think Knight and Hardy make it work splendidly, focusing our attention on the character of Ivan Locke, and the decision he has made to abandon both the important construction project he supervises and a family gathering in order to drive to where a woman with whom he had a one-night stand is giving birth to his child. Knight hasn't really solved all the problems of motivation: The decision to have Locke deliver a series of monologues directed at his dead father, who abandoned him and his mother, feels contrived. But there's real drama in the conversations with Donal (Scott), the inexperienced and rather feckless man he has left in charge of the crucial concrete pour, with the hysterical Bethan (Colman), who is giving birth to their child, and with his wife, Katrina (Wilson), to whom he is just now confessing that he slept with Bethan. Best of all, Knight has the good sense not to provide closure to Locke's story: When we leave him, he has a marriage in ruins and a baby to help support, and he's been fired from his job. But because we have spent so much time face to face with Locke, and because Hardy has so deftly created the character, it's easy to sense that he's capable of surmounting these problems. 

#Locke #Steven Knight #Tom Hardy

[lastchancevillagegreen]

Chicago Weekend Edition:

Thursday, 3 August 2023:

Claire Denis Film Scores 1996-2009 Tindersticks (Constellation) (released in 2011)

Record collecting is always fraught with 'I-didn't-buy-this-when-I-had-the-chance" and it's always beloved counterpoint "Why-did-I-buy-this-when-it-came-out?" I think about this box set often wondering why I didn't buy it when I saw it 12 years ago at Parasol Records in Champaign. Of course, I didn't even bother with the CD version of the set either. I own two of these soundtracks (I'll tell you which ones as they crop up) so I have zero excuse for ignoring this set.

While in Chicago this past weekend, somehow the topic of this box came up. One of my brother's friends had to sell his own copy of it and I bemoaned not ever buying this set. My brother leaps up, runs into his music room, procures this and hands it to me. "Take it! Keep it! Never return it, but don't trade it!" Music trades back and forth between us, sometimes permanently, sometimes for 20 years. The last thing he borrowed from me I assured him I only wanted it back when I was dead.

Above are the front and the back of the box which contains six soundtracks (two of which appear on one album) on five albums. It contains six album jackets however. The first album jacket photos appear below. This album jacket contains a CD sized booklet and two posters. First up are the front and back of the jacket (which look exactly like the front and back of the box).

Below you will find the front of the CD sized booklet (one of my pet peeves is when an album uses the CD booklet). I didn't provide the back of the booklet because it looks the same as the front and we've now seen that damn photo far too many times.

Below are two photos of the posters included in this set.

The first soundtrack is White Material. You will find the front and back of the album followed by both sides of the record label.

Soundtrack number two is 35 Rhums. I'll follow the same order for this and the remaining three albums: cover, back of jacket, A and B side label.

Album number three contains two different soundtracks. The first is L'Intrus and it is by Stuart A Staples (the lead vocalist of Tindersticks). The second soundtrack on this album is Vendredi Soir and it is by Dickon Hinchliffe, longtime member of Tindersticks (although he may not be in the band any longer, although I could be wrong).

The next soundtrack is Trouble Every Day (which I own as a stand alone Tindersticks album). It is the fifth soundtrack in this set.

The final soundtrack is Nénette et Boni which is the other Tindersticks soundtrack I own. I've actually seen all these films save for the Staples/ Hinchliffe ones.

[taevisionceo]

Have a HappySunday everyone

Have a HappySunday everyone Os deseo un FelizDomingo a tod@s LAST CHANCE HARVEY - The Walk Dickon Hinchliffe

[genevieveetguy]

The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal (2021)

#Maggie Gyllenhaal #Olivia Colman #Jessie Buckley #Dakota Johnson #Ed Harris #Peter Sarsgaard #Dagmara Dominczyk #Paul Mescal #Jack Farthing #Oliver Jackson Cohen #Panos Koronis #Alexandros Mylonas #Alba Rohrwacher #Hélène Louvart #Dickon Hinchliffe #Affonso Gonçalves #2021 #woman director

[eltiempoyloeterno]

FOTOGRAMA: “THE LOST DAUGHTER”, ESE OBSCURO DESEO DE VIVIR

FOTOGRAMA: “THE LOST DAUGHTER”, ESE OBSCURO DESEO DE VIVIR

“No se modifica la vidasin modificarse uno mismo.”—Simone De Beauvoir “¿Sabes amigo mío que cada unode nosotros es un misterio oscuro,un laberinto de pasiones en conflictoy deseo y aptitudes?”—Agatha Christie Vayamos directamente al grano: [1] por mucho tiempo hemos idealizado la figura de la madre pero no en vano, siguen siendo fundamentales en la vida individual y colectiva de la humanidad y…

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#Ópera prima #Búsqueda #Cine #Dakota Johnson #Dickon Hinchliffe #Dirección #Elena Ferrante #Jessie Buckley #Maggie Gyllenhaal #Olivia Colman #Sophia #Vida

[lifeisacinemahall]

‘The Third Day’ review: a hypnotic, grieving psychedelic terror form

‘The Third Day’ review: a hypnotic, grieving psychedelic terror form

John Donne wouldn’t know just how prescient his words would turn with the juggernaut of social media that sucks in the willing and the unwilling into its vortex, leaving no man (or person) an island of their own. But when it comes to personal grief, we’re all our individual peninsulae. Creators Dennis Kelly and Felis Barrett with co-writers Kit de Waal and Dean O’Loughlin (for two episodes), and…

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#Benjamin Kracun #Charlotte Gairdner-Mihell #Cristobal Tapia de Veer #David Chizallet #Dean O’Loughlin #Dennis Kelly #Dickon Hinchliffe #Emily Watson #Felis Barrett #Jessie Ross #John Dagleish #Jude Law #Katherine Waterston #Kit de Waal #Marc Munden #Mark Lewis Jones #Naomie Harris #Nico Parker #Niv Adiri #Paddy Considine #Philippa Lowthorpe #The Third Day #The Third Day review

[passion-of-arts]

Filmrezension: At Any Price

“At Any Price“, belangloses Drama ohne Tiefgang. INHALT: “At Any Price” ist ein Drama von Ramin Bahrani mit Dennis Quaid und Zac Efron. Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid ) hat mit harter Arbeit die Farm seines Vaters zu einem lukrativen Unternehmen aufgebaut. Auf der einen Seite freut er sich auf den Ruhestand, auf der anderen Seite möchte er die Farm gerne zur Nummer ins in ganz Iowa machen. In der…

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#99 Homes #99 Homes – Stadt ohne Gewissen #Affonso Gonçalves #At Any Price #Battle for Terra #Ben Marten #Chelcie Ross #Christine Vachon #Cinema #Clancy Brown #Concorde Filmverleih GmbH #Dennis Quaid #Dickon Hinchliffe #Dragonheart #Drama #Filmbloggerin #Filme #Filmkritik #Filmkritiken #Filmkritikerin #Gina Dieu Armstark #Hallie Elizabeth Newton #Heather Graham #John Hoogenakker #Justin Nappi #Kevin Turen #Kim Dickens #Kino #Land #Laura Atwood

[icollectimages]

Locke (2013)

“No matter what the situation is, you can make it good.”

Country: United Kingdom / United States

Written & Directed by: Steven Knight

Cinematography by: Haris Zambarloukos

Edited by: Justine Wright

Produced by: Paul Webster & Guy Heeley

Music by: Dickon Hinchliffe

#Locke #Movie #United Kingdom #United States #Steven Knight #Haris Zambarloukos #Justine Wright #Paul Webster #Guy Heeley #Dickon Hinchliffe #A24 #Lionsgate #2010s #Drama #Thriller

[soundtracktracklist]

Above Suspicion Soundtrack by Dickon Hinchliffe #EmiliaClarke #JackHuston #movie #ost #soundtrack Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (OST) from the film Above Suspicion (2019). The music composed by Dickon Hinchliffe (

#Above Suspicion #Dickon Hinchliffe #movie #soundtrack

[badgaymovies]

The Lost Daughter (2021)

The Lost Daughter (2021) by #MaggieGyllenhaal starring #OliviaColman, "the internal psychology that feels so muscular on the page...quickly feels indulgent and uneventful on screen", Today's review on MyOldAddiction.com

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL Bil’s rating (out of 5): BB.5 Greece/United Kingdom/Israel/USA, 2021. Endeavor Content, Samuel Marshall Productions, Pie Films, Faliro House Productions. Screenplay by Maggie Gyllenhaal, based on the novel by Elena Ferrante. Cinematography by Helene Louvart. Produced by Charles Dorfman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Talia Kleinhendler. Music by Dickon Hinchliffe.…

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#Affonso Goncalves #Alba Rohrwacher #Alexandros Mylonas #Alma Stansil #Athena Martin Anderson #Charles Dorfman #Dagmara Dominczyk #Dakota Johnson #Daniela Babek #Dickon Hinchliffe #Ed Harris #Edward K. Gibbon #Elena Ferrante #Ellie James #Ellie Mae Blake #Emmanouela Zacharopoulou #Endeavor Content #Faliro House Productions #Golden Globe 2021 #Greece #Helene Louvart #Inbal Weinberg #Isabel Della-Porta #Israel #Jack Farthing #Jessie Buckley #Konstantinos Samaa #Maggie Gyllenhaal #Nikos Poursanidis #Now Playing

[guardianreadersofthegalaxy]

My July ‘21 - July’22 film ranking:

1.       Last Night In Soho (AKA ‘The Great British Stabbing Bee’) – A young medium moves to London to study fashion but experiences disturbing visions from the 60s. I’m mad at myself for being so on the lookout for foreshadowing. It spoiled some of the reveals, but that’s not Edgar Wright’s fault. The director makes the Soho setting enticing and then increasingly terrifying, with flourishes that are creative but not obnoxiously so. Tomasin McKenzie’s Elouise could have just been an audience avatar, but she’s great in her own right – by turns naïve, driven and damaged.

2.       Dune (AKA ‘Spice World’) – In the far future, the powerful house Atreides are sent by the Emperor to plunder the desert planet Arrakis. Dune is sort of like Game Of Thrones in space, complete with just-about-comprehensible lore and sudden twists where things go very bad very fast. And, like ‘GOT’, Dune is at its best when awing you with its staggering special effects and production design. Director Denis Villeneuve does most of the heavy lifting, creating an intoxicating sandbox for the simple yet vivid characters to play in. The third act does feel a bit like the first act of a sequel but I’m sure it’ll all balance out in part 2.

3.       The Lost Daughter (AKA ‘Mamma Mia! But Sad’) – While on a solo holiday to Greece, Leda meets a young mother who reminds her of her own struggles as a parent. This could have been a slow burn, but an early reckless choice by the protagonist infuses the film with simmering tension. It’s a great character study, and director Maggie Gyllenhaal gets brilliant performances from Buckley and Colman as the quietly abrasive Leda, who’s unpredictable without seeming inconsistent. I like Gyllenhaal’s use of quick edits and closeups to deliberately disorient the viewer, as well as Dickon Hinchliffe’s score which swings from melancholy to surprisingly upbeat, ensuring things never get dull.

4.       Ali & Ava (AKA ‘Disc-eo & Folk-iet) – An EDM-loving landlord and a folk-loving teaching assistant find common ground. For every film where a man and a woman bond over their love of music, I always hope it won’t muddy the waters by having them get together. Never mind. Director Clio Barnard finds magic in the drizzle and concrete of the urban North. There’s some great use of symbolism: a glance at a rocking chair or a pair of boots can tell you everything you need to know about a character. Barnard’s script deals with a lot of different issues (a few too many), and maybe should have zeroed in on the themes of mental health and the power of music.

5.       Spiderman: No Way Home (AKA ‘Arachnids Assemble’) – Peter Parker meets friends and foes from other dimensions. While recent instalments have gone a bit too easy on him, ‘No Way Home’ puts Peter Parker through the wringer right from the get-go and gives him real lasting consequences at the end. His insistence on rehabilitating villains at any cost makes him easy to root for and gets to the core of why people love the character. Standout performances by Tom Holland and Willem Dafoe.

6.       Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (AKA ‘The Power Of The Doc) – A sorcerer has his ex-girlfriend’s wedding interrupted by a multiversal war. This was really entertaining! The action was occasionally hard to follow and the plot, while coherent, was little more than a vehicle for increasingly bizarre set pieces. But what set pieces! I know MCU directors often feel handicapped by studio interfering but, in this case, it seemed like Sam Raimi was able to make the film his own by leaning into the goofy soft-horror he’s best known for. And the, now obligatory, fan-service cameos were wisely confined to one scene.

7.       Everything Everywhere All At Once (AKA ‘Racocoonie’) – A laundry owner has her tax audit appointment interrupted by a multiversal war. Co-directors ‘Daniels’ should be applauded for their boundless creativity, though I do have notes. There’s an incredible 100 minute film in there somewhere, but many moments dragged out for way too long. EEAAO rises above other Matrix knockoffs by remembering to have fun, with plenty of ‘Rick & Morty’-style comedy to complement the competently handled emotional story. By turns surreal, hilarious, tedious, and genuinely moving. And too long.

8.       The House (AKA ‘There’s A Moose Loose Aboot The Hoose!’) – Three generations of cats, mice, and humans try their best to settle into ‘the house’. I mean, I just love stop motion so maybe this had an unfair advantage. Design and direction are both on point to make ‘The House’ as beautiful as it is unsettling. Thematically though, it suffers from ‘French Dispatch syndrome’: with neither the variety of an anthology miniseries like ‘Inside Number Nine’, or the coherence of a standard 90-minute film. The first and last parts had decent messages, but I never felt like Jarvis Cocker’s mouse estate agent was getting his just deserts.

9.       The Power Of The Dog (AKA ‘Doctor ‘Straight’ In The Closet Of Sadness’) – A macho cattle-rancher takes against his brother’s new wife and her aloof teenage son. I thought Jessie Plemons’ understated performance was the highlight. His tearful relief at finding an alternative to his bullying brother really struck a chord, and it’s a shame that he faded into the background later on. The actors convey a lot through physicality, like Dunst’s shaking hands as she sits at the piano, or Cumberbatch and Smit-McPhee’s gait as they respectively strut and mince around the farm. Dialogue schmialogue.

10.   RRR (AKA ‘Rajamouli’s Ridiculous Romp’) – Sparks fly in 1920s India when officer A. Rama Raju meets the revolutionary Komaram Bheem. They don’t make films like this in the West any more, and I think that’s a shame. RRR is camp and earnest, always somewhere between ‘so bad it’s good’ and just genuinely good. While there were literally hundreds of moments of unintentional comedy, I couldn’t help but get swept up in the epic drama and spectacle.

11.   Don’t Look Up (AKA ‘Leostorm’) – Two astronomers desperately attempt to warn the world’s governments about an approaching comet. This was a really tense watch. It felt like a modern update of ‘Dr Strangelove’, where the people with the power to avert Armageddon are too inept to do so. There’s a hefty dose of Black Mirror in there too, with humanity’s stupidity on full display. That being said, I didn’t leave feeling like we deserve annihilation, which might have been some consolation. Instead, I was angry that we put our lives in the hands of the Musks and de Pfeffel Johnsons of the world, and that’s not as cathartic.

12.   Turning Red (AKA ‘Meilin, Wailin’ & Big Fluffy Tailin’) – A thirteen year old girl turns into a giant red panda. I feel like, as with the MCU, Pixar films have somewhat reached a point of competent homogeneity. I could copy and paste most of this from my last two Pixar reviews: the animation’s beautiful; good insights are made about the human condition; the message is hindered by over-specific lore. And that’s fine, I guess.

13.   Pig (AKA ‘They Took My Peeerg’) – A former expert chef turned lonely truffle hunter searches for his stolen truffle pig. I felt like there could have been something profound going on in 'Pig'. The juxtaposition of a dirty, bleeding man sat in a fancy restaurant probably signifies… something. But there were just too many off-putting elements, like the random fight club scene, for me to grasp what it was all about. Cage does your standard 'Sadman McDeadwife' performance, but I much preferred Alex Wolff's nervous yuppie. The scene of him trying to psych himself up in the mirror only to be cut off by the editor was the highlight of the film.

14.   Shang Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings (AKA ‘The Lord Of The Rings’) – A former assassin reunites with his family and returns to China to confront the man who trained him. Though I didn’t care for the mystical mumbo jumbo or tai chi air-bending, I was pleasantly surprised by ‘SCATLOTTR’. The story wasn’t that compelling but Marvel did a good job with the design of the film’s world, costumes and CGI creatures. Awkwafina was a delight, the martial arts were great and, unlike ‘Black Widow’, sincere moments weren’t undercut by jokes.

15.   Black Widow (AKA ‘The Marvel Cinematic Pugh-niverse’) – A former assassin reunites with her family and returns to Russia to confront the man who trained her. Well, I came for Pugh, and I definitely got some quality Pugh. Also a few really exciting action scenes and creative flourishes, courtesy of director Cate Shortland. However, even at 135 mins, it feels rushed. Ray Winstone’s short changed and, though Harbour & Weisz get plenty of screen time, it’s all setup for character arcs that don’t pay off. Meanwhile Johansson’s Natasha treads water between Avengers films. But like I said, Pugh!

16.   The Batman (AKA ‘Twi-knight’) – Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler. Director Matt Reeves draws on the serial killer films of David Fincher, emulating their tone but unfortunately also their three-hour runtimes. I’m afraid I found The Batman to be heavy on plot and light on theme, leaving me with little idea of what it was ‘all about’. Paul Dano’s a brilliant actor but he’s only really given one scene and, sadly, I think he botched it. Still, I enjoyed the action, the cinematography and Michael Giacchino’s already iconic score.

17.   Eternals (AKA ‘Zhou-er Rangers’) – A team of immortal heroes reunites to protect Earth from the predatory Deviants. Better than I expected. The dialogue was godawful, I cringed every time they stood in a line, and the characterisation, while present, is spread veeeeery thin. But, to its credit, Eternals raises some interesting issues about when and when not to challenge the status quo. And for a franchise often accused of visual homogeny, Chloe Zhou did bring a distinctive style that I, if not loved, at least liked. And the jungle fight was cool.

18.   Kate (AKA ‘I’ve Been Poisoned By The Japanese… I Really Think So!”) – After she’s fatally poisoned, a ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge. Honestly, I doubt I’ll remember ‘Kate’. It’s a pretty by the numbers Netflix film with a very predictable plot. That being said, there were a few moments of action that were so fantastically violent I sat up, went “Oh!” and rewound to watch them again, and that’s definitely worth something.

19.   The Green Knight (AKA ‘It Was A Joke, Gawain. It Was A Christmas Joke’) – The young Gawain seals his own fate when he rashly beheads the fabled Green Knight. I liked the music, design, and some of the performances, but otherwise TGK is waaaay too arty farty for its own good. The overuse of montage and slow motion made David Lowry look like a hipster Zach Snyder. You could maybe enjoy it on the level of a music video, but one that's two hours and ten minutes long.

20.   Ennio (AKA ‘The Good, The Bad & The Long) – A documentary celebrating the life and work of Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. Honestly, I love Morricone but after two and a half hours I was sick of the old codger. Insights are made into the great man’s process but they’re drops in an ocean of runtime. I wish, instead of trying to cover every film Morricone ever composed, director Giuseppe Tornatore had just picked a few ‘greatest hits’. Or at least devoted more than 60 seconds to the scoring his own ‘Cinema Paradiso’.

21.   The French Dispatch (AKA ‘Les Newsies’) – A French-American newspaper publishes three stories concerning an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef. Anderson delivers all his usual Anderson-isms and doesn’t demand the audience invest too much in these stories… perhaps he should have. Structurally, making an anthology film of three forty-minute segments is an unfortunate choice, as I think it’s long enough to bore you but not long enough to tell a satisfying story. Also, the random use of black & white hurt my eyes.

22.   The Worst Person In The World (AKA ‘Nor-way Home’) – I’m sorry, so little happens in this film that I’m not sure that I can summarise it. My favourite part was finding out, to my relief, that my wife didn’t like it either. Perhaps I shouldn’t have had a couple of drinks before watching something where I’d have to read both subtitles and actors’ facial expressions. Either way, I mentally checked out after the first hour. TWPITW uses a prologue to establish Julie’s personality before instantly contradicting it, introduces numerous disparate plot elements that didn’t go anywhere (drugs, families, offensive cartoons) and has basically nothing happen for two hours.

#my post #film #movies #review #ranking #2021 film #2022 film #last night in soho #dune #the lost daughter #spiderman no way home #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #everything everywhere all at once #the house netflix #the power of the dog #rrr #don't look up #turning red #black widow #shang chi #the batman #eternals #netflix kate #the green knight #ennio morricone #the french dispatch #ali and ava #the worst person in the world

[ellieinwinter]

#The Lost Daughter #Dickon Hinchliffe #music

[taevisionceo]

📰 Adapting and scheduling TAEVision 's posts Sun, Dec 11 Game On Dickon Hinchliffe Forge Motorsport Intercooler SiliconHoses RemovalInjectors BOSCH Diesel Multijet FIAT MAZDA Motor Corp. Mazda2 Sunset in BethesdaFountain CentralPark Time for a coffee break ... Forge Motorsport Intercooler SiliconHoses ... Pavlos Bouros RTU Linear Motion

[sleepysloppysertraline]

#god bless the composer #the lost daughter #Dickon Hinchliffe #let me tell you all about it #Spotify