Because Everybody Else Has One

Yes, that's how you punctuate this film's title. And, no, that's not the weirdest thing about it. Not by a very, very long shot. Please note, I may discuss some plot points in this review but I am reluctant to call them spoilers - because the film isn't really about its plot, which, as it so happens is literally thousands of years old. Still, if you want to know absolutely nothing about the film going in then feel free to not read this review until you've seen it. Then again, in this case, you might actually want to know a bit about what the film is before deciding to see it. That start-rating should give you an idea of how much I loved it but it's certainly not for everyone. Indeed, I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who walked out of the screening I saw of the film who actively liked it. Take that as you will. Incidentally, I know I am guilty of using the personal pronoun a lot in my reviews, perhaps even too much so, but that practice has never...

No, I couldn't help it, I slipped a not-so-stealth review of the first couple of episodes of the new reincarnation of Twin Peaks in there. It's not quite as random as you might think, though! This rant is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about Set around the music scene in Austin, Texas, a group of young musicians, music producers and general bystanders fall in and out of love with each other. What we thought It's a particularly brilliant stroke of luck that Song to Song hits our cinemas the same week that the verhy-very-very-long-awaited new episodes of Twin Peaks came out because, frankly folks, without this interesting comparison to ground me, I would have no earthly idea how to review Terrence Malick's latest unbearably indulgent non-film. Both the new season of Twin Peaks and Song to Song represent their respective creators being allowed to cut loose and indulge in their own, very particular and often extremely alienating directorial...

Or will it? This review is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about After being involved in a tragic car accident that resulted in the death of a young child, author Tomas Eldan is forced to come to grips with what happened, even as his writing career starts to take off. What we thought It's been a long time since a Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas; Wings of Desire) film has seen a cinematic release in this country but the extremely clumsily titled Every Thing Will Be Fine is far from his best work - even if it is, in some respects, quite representative of his enormous talents as a filmmaker. Wenders has always made glacially-paced, elegiac films that are as much about simmering emotions and overall mood as they are about traditional plot mechanics so it's hardly the case that Every Thing Will Be Fine is a major departure for him. It's also every bit as gorgeously shot and evocatively scored as his very best work and even if his experiment with 3D effect...

This film has been pushed back so far, I completely forgot that I had reviewed it! Here it is at Channel 24 though. What it's about Set in 1988, Kat Connors is a fairly typical teenage girl but whose life is thrown in disarray when her mother disappears without warning one day. What we thought The latest film from cult director Gregg Araki (The Doom Generation, Kaboom) is not exactly what anyone would call a flawless masterpiece. Its pacing is a bit off, its narrative often elliptical and its resolution feels almost like an afterthought. Add to that the film's confrontational attitude towards linear storytelling and “realism” (though its neither surreal nor hard to follow), and it's simply bound to piss a lot of people off. Personally though, not only am I very glad to have seen – or, more accurately, experienced – White Bird in a Blizzard (which is a beautiful, evocative title, regardless of the film itself), I'm also thrilled that a movi...

Where's an exploding helicopter when you need one... This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about A look at the peak ten years in the the hedonistic, bohemian life of acclaimed French designer, Yves Saint Laurent. What we thought You wait all your life for one biopic about Yves Saint Laurent to come along, only for two to come along at once. I'm kidding, of course. Only one of these biopics actually reached these shores – the equally creatively titled, Yves Saint Laurent is MIA – and, far more pertinently, if Saint Laurent is any indication of its real-life subject then I really can't imagine anyone waiting a day, let alone a lifetime, to pay good money to spend even five minutes of their time with this insufferable bore. Lucky me though, I did get to spend, or should I say “do”, my time with this insufferable bore! But not for five minutes. Oh, no, not for five minutes. I had the pleasure of losing a full two and a half hours of my ...

Zzzzzzzhmmmmmmwhoa - This movie in a nutshell... This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about Jep Gambardella is a lothario who has lived the high life in Rome for most of his sixty-five years thanks to the success of his one novel and his affluent social circle. After he finds out that his first love has died and that she had carried a torch for him throughout her life, Jep finds himself taking stock of a life lived in high society but one without much substance behind it. What we thought The Great Beauty won the best foreign language Oscar at last year's Academy Awards but, unlike some of the more approachable fare that has won that particular award over the years, it's a film that is clearly aimed at an arthouse crowd. Forget the fact that it's a subtitled Italian movie – because, seriously, is it really that hard to read subtitles? – it's a 122 minute film that takes its sweet time getting to any sort of point and is filled with a c...

I know, I know, naming the depressing Belgian art-movie the movie of the week is both blindingly obvious and very "movie critic-y" of me but it really is bloody good. This review is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about Elise (Veerle Baetens) and Didier (Johan Heldenbergh) are two very different people who fall in love, start a family and play together in a bluegrass band but when their young daughter is diagnosed with cancer, the couple are forced to confront their major differences and the very basis of their love. What we thought Straight off the bat, lets make one thing clear: The Broken Circle Breakdown is a tough, frequently heartbreaking film that is absolutely not for those looking for a light, fun night out at the cinema. It is, however, a deep and profoundly moving near-masterpiece that we are truly fortunate to have gracing our screens when so many foreign-language art films are consigned to straight-to-DVD oblivion in this country. ...

Whoa. This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about “An alien seductress preys upon the population of Scotland.” So says, the IMDB anyway. Personally, I think it's about whatever you want it to be about. What we thought. Well... this is a tough one. Straight off the bat, before I try and wrap my head around explaining why Under the Skin is such a powerful piece of cinema, we have to get one thing out of the way first: if you are looking for a film with an identifiable narrative structure – you know, a story – then, please, for the love of all that is holy and unholy, avoid this film like the plague. To compare it to a similarly arty Scarlet Johansson vehicle, Under the Skin makes Lost in Translation look like a densely plotted thriller, packed to the gills with thrills, spills, twists and turns. This is impressionist filmmaking at it's most impressionistic and, as such, really isn't for everyone. Indeed, to be entirely honest, th...

I sense another Tree of Life review coming up... The Master is, on a purely technical level, a masterpiece. It's a sharply dialogued, well crafted tale about the twisted co-dependent relationship between a cult leader (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and one of his most fanatical disciples (Joaquin Phoenix) that features at least two truly exceptional performances, an unforgettable soundtrack courtesy of Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood and the kind of cinematography where each and every frame could easily be featured in an art gallery. That doesn't mean I liked it, though. Mind you, that's hardly surprising considering that it's written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, a filmmaker who puts the "challenging" in challenging filmmaking. You know you're dealing with someone who isn't afraid to alienate his audience when a biting look at life in the porn industry is by far his most accessible work. Even within critical circles, his films are often e...

Cloud. Atlas. Even its title is epic. Also up at Channel 24 in slightly abbreviated form. What it's about From a 19 th century voyage across the Pacific to a fight for survival in the post-apocalyptic earth of the future, the six stories that are inter-cut throughout Cloud Atlas are connected by a recurrent musical theme and a sense that there may be more to human existence than that which exists between the womb and the grave. What we thought Whatever you might say about the film, you can't help but admire the sheer chutzpah involved in trying to bring so ambitious and so audacious a project as Cloud Atlas to mainstream multiplexes. Even at its most simplistic, Cloud Atlas is a film that, through six divergent stories of entirely different genres, tries its hand at tying these divergent threads together to create a thematic whole that deals with the karma, the cyclical nature of human existence and redemption through the reincarnation (be it literal of fi...

There's no two ways about it, it's been a busy couple of weeks at the cinema and though I really do still need to see Aardman's Pirates! there's still plenty to talk about.  However, though I will probably still do roundups when the films really pile up, I've decided to from now on give each film its own specific post, regardless of how short the review is. This basically means that new reviews may well come out on a more regular basis from me and that it should be easier to find what you're looking for when navigating the site. I may go back and do this for older reviews as well but for now, this will be the new format going forward. Anyway, on with the show with one of the more interesting films released this year, Take Shelter.  Take Shelter is, at its heart, about a subject that isn't often tackled in American Cinema: the thin line between insanity and religious revelation, specifically the idea of prophecy. Now, admittedly, this does make Take...

Before getting to a roundup of the rest of the week's releases, I want to shine a spotlight on Terence Malick's Tree of Life. As the work of one of cinema's great perfectionists, it's clearly a very important work but does that mean I have to like it? What follows is as much my reaction to the reaction of the film as it is to the film itself and, I must warn you, this will go on a bit and will, undoubtedly, be more than a little rambly and self-indulgent. But then, considering the film, that seems oddly appropriate. Also posted as Artslink . Terence Malick's latest film, Tree of Life, has gotten probably more gushing, five-star reviews than any other release this year. Most critics simply absolutely adore this film. Me? I don't get it.