What I Watched: March 2024

Passages

Starting off the month with one of my favourite genres: terrible person making horrendous decisions and not learning anything in the slightest! I love it when this type of film is made well, you find yourself both rooting for said character and enjoying their inevitable downfall. It is just fun to watch the selfishness of someone and the consequences play out on the real screen, there is so something so enticing about indulging in the self-centredness and feeling the empathy of the others in their lives as you descend towards the inevitable train wreck of a conclusion. This is one of the best of these kinds of films, wonderfully acted by the love triangle and poignant in places. The metaphor of the selfish director and the loved ones in his lives that he treats like actors in his films is wonderfully cruel and sets up a vanity-soaked tale that I could not look away from!

4/5

Dune: Part 2

The main event of the month and I am happy to say that it did not disappoint. Denis Villeneuve is the perfect person to adapt this story, his world building ability is second to none and perfectly suits a world as dense as Dune. He manages to expand on what happened in the first film as well as exploring new aspects of the Dune universe. The entire sequence on Harkonnen is some of the most breathe taking footage I have seen in recent years; I was in awe the entire time. Managing to take a subject matter as dense and hard to adapt as Dune and succeeding is no small feat, to do it twice is outstanding. The only real way to describe this as a spectacle and one I am so glad I had the pleasure of watching on the big screen.

5/5

American Fiction

After seeing the Oscar buzz and the interesting premise, I have to say I was a little underwhelmed by this film. There are some wonderful performances, particularly from Jeffery Wright and Sterling K. Brown, but the story felt rushed and jumbled. Overall, it is still an enjoyable viewing experience, it is incredibly funny and charismatic, but it just falters at sticking the landing and fully conveying the message at the end; it just falls at the last hurdle for me. It is frustrating because it is a film with a lot of potential to be great, that ends up just being good.

3.5/5

Raising Arizona

This is a film that I will never tire of watching. It is so delightfully silly and charming and everything I would want out of a movie. The Coen Brothers love to take a classic movie trope and adapt it in a unfamiliar setting. This is a classic heist film but set in rural Arizona with a serial criminal and ex prison officer stealing a baby. Every character is so over the top but charming, I was cracking up every other minute. It is also beautifully shot; the colours are bright and dreamy and the camera work remarkably dynamic. The chase scene might be the best scene in any comedy ever. Not only is the camera work amazing, but the whole scene also just gets more and more ridiculous, and funnier with each new aspect. I can return to this film at any point and still get that warm, feel-good factor with each watch. This is a perfect example of why I love the Coen brothers so much.

5/5

Ex Machina

A compelling study of misogyny and the attitude of men towards women and the lack of humanity afforded to them by society. Both men view Ava as an object but in different ways. There is the obviously on the surface misogynist boss that views women as tools to serve his needs, contrasted with the nice guy that wants to ‘save’ Ava but only to serve his interests. Wonderfully shot and fantastic performance across the board, a great watch. Also, potentially the greatest exchange and dance scene in cinematic history: “you tore up her picture!” “I’m gonna tear up this fucking dance floor dude, check it out.”

4.5/5

Prisoners

I really needed to check out Villeneuve’s back-catalogue and decided to start with Prisoners.  An utterly soul crushing watch that does a fantastic job of showing the desperation in grief and how far people are willing to go for those they love. It is a fascinating story that keeps you always guessing. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal give wonderful performances and have great chemistry in their ‘either side of the same coin’ approach to justice. Paul Dano deserves a shout out for his performance as yet another weird little guy.

4/5

Ghost in the Shell

A really odd watch this, I enjoyed it, but I cannot tell you what happened. It looks fantastic and the action sequences are breathtaking. The art style thrives and is given so much depth. The city, characters and sets are some of the best in animation that I have seen, I can understand why this is such an influential film. However, I struggled to engage fully with the story, it sort of meandered and was a bit jumbled. All in all I had a good time watching and with a short run time I would still recommend it!

3.5/5

Black Swan

Maybe the last good Aronofsky film. I cannot stand his recent efforts, just complete messes of films, but when he gets it right, he can deliver an amazing character study. The deterioration of Nina’s psyche mirrored with her journey to becoming The Black Swan is fascinating and so well executed, Portman has so much film to carry and delivers an amazing performance, so worthy of her Oscar. One of the great psychological thrillers.

4.5/5

Fast X

What have these films become. This is just utterly ridiculous from start to finish, I cannot believe this franchise started with a street racing crew that boosted DVD players, now they’re saving Rome from a bomb and building rocket cars? They take themselves so seriously, I have never seen so many cringey lines delivered so earnestly. It is so funny ow Jason Mamoa’s character is in direct contrast to this, just hamming up every scene he is in. This is a terrible movie, but I love it all the same, just so fun.

2.5/5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Is animation becoming fun again? I sure hope so and with this effort I think it might be. Spiderverse has shown that you can be creative with your art style and that people will actively enjoy it. The best thing about animation is the endless possibilities with the art style so it pains me to see so many bland, cheap efforts being pumped out by major studios. I am glad this film took the risk to try something interesting. The film itself is nothing groundbreaking but the art style does so much heavy lifting and keeps it interesting. The chemistry of the turtles is great, and they actually feel like they are teenagers for once. The humour can get grating at times, but this is a film for kids at the end of the day and I am sure they think this is hilarious. I am just glad that films like this exist to be bold and try something interesting.

3/5

On the Count of Three

A film I have wanted to check out for a while. Jerrod Charmichael is a funny and talented guy and I wanted to see his effort as a director. This is maybe as dark as a dark comedy gets, the film is about suicide from the start, and it pulls no punches in revelling in the misery. It would be so easy to play this for cheap laughs, but the humour comes from Jerrod’s decision t lean into the absurdity and the chemistry of the two best friends. The tones are effectively woven together through the underlying heart at the centre of this film, and it balances the heavy and lighter moments masterfully. Oddly heartwarming and hopeful despite the heavy subject matter.

4/5

Rye Lane

This is such a beautiful film. Everything about it is beautiful. The story, the chemistry, the cinematography, the fun story telling techniques. It manages to feel wonderfully quaint in the biggest city in the UK. This is the definition of a feel-good film and I challenge anyone not to enjoy this. Dom and Yas effortlessly flow through the story, effortlessly gliding from one scenario to the other. The set design and techniques kept surprising me and were s wonderful. Just a lovely film from start to finish, I hope this allows more creative reinventions of the rom-com genre.

4/5

The Godfather Part I & II

I have been binge watching the Sopranos this month, so much so that it has basically taken over my whole personality. So far that obsession has only extended to Mafia films and merchandise but the second I start wearing crushed velvet tracksuits and slicking my hair back, chomping on cured meats, I want my nearest and dearest to intervene. Anyway, back to what really matters, maybe the greatest mob movie of all time. Rather than focus on the crime, this film studies the Corleone family and their role in organised crime. Less shoot outs, violence and over the top depictions of crime (nothing wrong with that though and more plotting, backstabbing, and darkness, this is a menacing depiction of the Italian Mafia. Marlon Brando gives one of the best performances in history as Don Corleone, with so many quotables. Watching Michael’s journey from good boy of the family to mob boss is gripping and with the transition completing when he sends his wife out of the room and has the family kiss his ring, its spine-tingling stuff!

Part II builds on this masterfully, with time split between a young Vito and Michael’s full transition to mob boss. The past complements the present story effortlessly, seamlessly weaving the two together to encapsulate the dynasty of the greatest crime family in America. Packed with incredible performances and enough treachery for as lifetime, it is not easy being number one! A film series with real depth and emotion, it laid the groundwork for one of the best series of all time, by being some of the greatest films of all time. It is so hard to pick between the two, I know many prefer the second, but I must just, and only just, side with Part I. The perfect way to round out the month!

5/5 for both!