What I Watched: August 2023

Talk to Me

Kicked off the month with a fantastic fright fest! Horror can be very hit or miss as genre, partially I think due to studio’s deciding to follow low cost, cliché filled, cash grabs. Luckily studios such as A24 allow directors with vision to thrive. The Philippou brothers used their experience of visual effects and made disturbingly effective use of a studio budget to bring some of the best gore I have seen in recent years. The gore is used appropriately and timed well to have a powerful impact. The film also uses suspense and disturbing images to really unsettle the viewer. A great time all round!

3.5/5

Oppenheimer

I went in to this slightly apprehensive. I love the Dark Knight trilogy but struggle to engage with Nolan’s other work, I feel like he can get lost in a premise too much. However, this entry is Nolan at his best, a stripped back, focussed character study on one of the most influential people in history. Nolan really makes use of the time to dive deep into the man that Oppenheimer was, and who he became after the bomb. I was surprised by how interesting the scenes with Robert Downey Jr were, he really turns in a fantastic performance that ties together the different time jumps within the film. The cinematography, obviously as it is Nolan, is stunning. The moment the bomb drops is breathtaking and watching it in the cinema was a joy to experience. Cillan Murphy deserves his flowers as he really has his work cut out to carry the lengthy run time of this film; he manages to add great depth and weight to the character that elevates an already marvellous script.

4.5/5

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3

This series really highlights what Marvel could be… if they just tried! James Gunn knows how to make a comic book film. Before the first entry in the series, I had never heard of The Guardians of the Galaxy, and somehow, Gunn has made me care to the point of near tears for a foul-mouthed raccoon. His passion for these minor characters is infectious and surprisingly, Marvel have let him instil some much-needed vibrancy and creativity into the superhero genre. Gunn has built a luscious, lively world full of oddball characters that add so much character to an already stacked main cast. The curse of the trilogy does not strike here thankfully and Gunn closes out these character’s arc in the best way.

4/5

Rudeboy

A rare disappointing MUBI suggestion here. I was scrolling through MUBI and came across this on one of their recommendation banners. It had a high score and sounded interesting so I thought would check it out. Big mistake. This is a semi-fictional story of a roadie for the clash and his battle with race politics and his place within 1980s London and the punk scene. Well, that is what it was advertised as. What you get instead is a boring, badly acted 2 hours drag of a film following this mopey, alcoholic, racist who is constantly moaning in Joe Strummer’s ear about how he should stop being so political in his songs. I am a fan of the Clash, and the only good part of this film is the footage from their live gigs such as Rock against Racism. These portions bring the lively, exciting energy you would associate with the Clash and punk music in general. The rest of this is a boring, in poor taste mess. No wonder the Clash denounced it once they saw the full version.

1.5/5

Snatch This is Guy Ritchie at his best. Hands down his best work and the one where his hyper stylised film making is most suited. The intertwining story revolving around and 84 karat diamond is incredibly loose and jumps from character to character at breakneck speed. However, the plot (the main one at least) is probably the least interesting part of this film. The non-traditional story allows the characters to shine and boy do they. Brad Pitt’s incoherent bare-knuckle boxing, drunk traveller may be the highlight, but the others are all equally as entertaining. Guy Ritchie has spent the rest of his career trying to recapture the magic of this film and you can see why.

4/5

Nightcrawler

How Jake Gyllenhaal did not win an Oscar for his portrayal of Louis Bloom I do not know. This is his career best and his deeply unsettling performance really hammers home the tone and message of this film. This is a character study on a person’s desperation for success and the rather blurred lines of morality in the crime-journalism industry. Louis muddies these boundaries further and further with each scoop and the tension builds as the fear of how far he is willing to go constantly mounts throughout the film. The film builds tension masterfully through Gyllenhaal’s wild look and unnatural tone of speech and his interactions with others. The lingering shots of crime scenes drive home the severity of Louis actions and how little impact they have on him. A masterful character study and critique of crime-journalism.

5/5

`

Submarine

Welsh Wes Anderson is very wes andersony. That sounds like a critique but whilst this film wears its influences on its sleeves like a football fan’s Stone Island, it does so with a loud enough voice of its own. T does have the feeling of a directorial debut but in a charming way, that embraces the quirks and small budget to deliver a charming coming of age story. I am a sucker for a coming-of-age story, and this checks all the boxes of a good entry to the genre. The Alex Turner score gives this a wonderful edge that helps build a melancholy, nostalgic edge that slightly elevates this from your typical indie dross.

3.5/5