From Atlantis to Interzone

Best of August

spengo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 22:31:16 +0000

First time viewings only. Alphabetical order.

Gosford Park (Robert Altman, 2001)

Irma Vep (Olivier Assayas, 1996)

The Lookout (Scott Frank, 2007)

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010)

Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

Best of July

spengo — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:07:02 +0000

Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) (Rewatch)
A long overdue revisit to this film, and its dark beauty and unbearably tense sequences are even more potent than ever. For me, this is still the greatest horror film ever made.

Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009) (Rewatch)
Rapturously beautiful, its depiction of the Keats and Brawne romance loses none of its charm, nor does its devastating conclusion lose any of its impact.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Jim Jarmusch, 1999)
A real surprise for me, despite my fondness for the director’s previous work. RZA’s score is a thrilling compliment to the gun play, while Jarmusch’s offbeat humour is utterly hilarious. A delightful curiosity.

Gimme Shelter (Albert Maysles/David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin, 1970)
While it feels almost trite to fall back on suggestions that this film “captures the end of the 60s”, the sense of dread and chaos in the film’s section devoted to the disastrous Altamont Speedway Free Festival is palpable. Equally as electrifying is the concert footage scattered throughout.

Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
A blockbuster full of bombast, Nolan’s ambitious fantasy of often stunning set-pieces is a thrilling piece while it lasts, though absolutely nothing more than that.

Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki, 1992) (Rewatch)
Miyazaki’s adventure is an unabashed joy full of charm, wonderful set-pieces and great wit. Probably still my favourite of all of Studio Ghibli’s output.

Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) (Rewatch)
A rewatch of this film after four years has since made it feel, in some ways, like something of a rehash of the since-viewed, and arguably better, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by the same man. Nevertheless, Miyazaki’s vision is a delight to behold, and the darker elements of this film in comparison to his earlier fare are pulled off successfully.

Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007) (Rewatch)
While not quite Bird’s best work, it’s perhaps the prettiest film Pixar has yet produced. And oh so funny.

La reine Margot (Patrice Chéreau, 1994)
A sumptuous, bloody epic with the great Isabelle Adjani on top form, and a magnificent scenery-chewing turn from Jean-Hugues Anglade as Charles IX.

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) (Rewatch)
A film that gets better with every viewing, its dark humour this time being a particular highlight. The baptism scene is one of the funniest sequences of recent times.

The Top Films I Saw in June

spengo — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:29:26 +0000

First time viewings

The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007)

The Killer Inside Me (Michael Winterbottom, 2010)

Quills (Philip Kaufman, 2000)

Most profitable rewatches

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009)

Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)

The Top 5 Films I Saw in May

spengo — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:19:11 +0000

Amateur (Hal Hartley, 1994)

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans (Werner Herzog, 2009)

Four Lions (Christopher Morris, 2010)

Ravenous (Antonia Bird, 1999)

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)

The 5 Best Films I Saw in April

spengo — Sun, 02 May 2010 17:12:43 +0000

Alphabetical order. First time viewings.

Can Go Through Skin (Esther Rots, 2009)

Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)

How to Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBlois/Chris Sanders, 2010)

Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen, 1992)

Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)

The 5 Best Films I Saw in March

spengo — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:54:16 +0000

The Cement Garden (Andrew Birkin, 1993)

Edward II (Derek Jarman, 1991)

Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010)

Millennium Actress (Satoshi Kon, 2001)

Vendredi soir (Claire Denis, 2002)

The 10 Best Films I Saw in February

spengo — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:24:53 +0000

Good month.

Europa (Lars von Trier, 1991)
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (Masayuki/Kazuya Tsurumaki, 2007)
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Masayuki/Kazuya Tsurumaki, 2009)
Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju, 1960)
Henry Fool (Hal Hartley, 1997)
Life During Wartime (Todd Solondz, 2009)
A Single Man (Tom Ford, 2009)
Somersault (Cate Shortland, 2004)
The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley, 1989)
Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff, 1971)

He comes in here every other night.

spengo — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:05:29 +0000

He has his favourite drink, at his favourite table

with his favourite dancer.

Sometimes he has to wait for her,

and sometimes she’s waiting for him.

She’ll protect him.

She’s his angel.

The 5 Best Films I Saw in January

spengo — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:29:23 +0000

Top of the class being Trust. As per usual, first time viewings only.

Black Christmas (Bob Clark, 1974)

The Merchant of Four Seasons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1971)

Le samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967)

Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis, 2001)

Trust (Hal Hartley, 1990)

Yes, I’m aware that this is all I actually do with this blog. :/

2009 in Review

spengo — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:37:01 +0000

Generally a pretty bad year in my life, but a good one for me film-wise.

Number of films seen: 262
Number of films seen for the first time: 213

25 Best Films Seen for the First Time in 2009

La belle noiseuse (Jacques Rivette, 1991)

The Best of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003)

Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009)

A Christmas Tale (Arnaud Desplechin, 2008)

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989)

Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996)

Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988)

The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980)

Fallen Angels (Wong Kar Wai, 1995)

Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)

Une femme est une femme (Jean-Luc Godard, 1961)

Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986)

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy, 1932)

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956)

The Marriage of Maria Braun (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1979)

Orphée (Jean Cocteau, 1950)

Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)

The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)

Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008)

The Red Shoes (Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger, 1948)

Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977)

Three Colours: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

Vivre sa vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)

The Warriors (Walter Hill, 1979)

10 Worst First Time Viewings of 2009
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)
Crank (2006)
Date Movie (2006)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009)
High School Musical 2 (2007)
The Mill on the Floss (1997)
The Road to God Knows Where (1990)
Surrogates (2009)
Tormented (2009)
What Just Happened (2008)

…

I don’t know what I was thinking either.

TV Gems Delved Into This Year
The Wire
True Blood
The Thick of It

Finally, here are the results regarding my progress with that list of directors I posted at the end of 2008: directors who, at the time, I had not seen a single film by.

Robert Bresson
- A Man Escaped (1956)
Carl Dreyer
Sergei Eisenstein
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
- The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
D.W. Griffith
Hou Hsiao-Hsien
- The Flight of the Red Balloon (2007)
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Buster Keaton
Guy Maddin
Tsai Ming-Liang
- The Wayward Cloud (2005)
Kenji Mizoguchi
F.W. Murnau
- Nosferatu (1922)
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
François Ozon
Satyajit Ray
Carol Reed
- The Third Man (1949)
Jean Renoir
Jacques Rivette
- La belle noiseuse (1991)
Eric Rohmer
A Good Marriage (1982)
Vittorio De Sica
Douglas Sirk
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Andrei Tarkovsky
Solaris (1972)
Jean Vigo
Luchino Visconti
William Wyler
- Roman Holiday (1953)

Here’s to a new decade, and whatnot. Perhaps I’ll update with actually substantial material more often this year.

No, I don’t believe I will actually will either.