Reviews

If your looking to find a film that captures the bleak and hopelessness of a fallen civilisation, it's 28 days later. Danny Boyle has nailed the apocalyptic setting, the slow plucking of a guitar, symbolising what once remained of humanity (both figuratively and literally) aswell as the violent strums with heavy bashing of drums being the violent nature of the infected.

Zombies/infected are fast and visceral, the handheld chaotic style of filming along with the higher shutter speed accentuates the horrific nature of the RAGE virus.

Even though some may complain about the visual quality of the film, it's more so a stylistic decision that separates other zombies films that tend to have more of a clean look. It's what creates the films unique identity in an otherwise overpopulated sub genre.

The story is personable and believable, Cillian Murphy is fantastic as Jim, waking up from a comatose state, entering hell on earth. Just as he is experiencing everything, we as the audience also share this journey with him, discovering for ourselves how the world fell to a deadly pandemic.

It's not surprising to believe that the same director who made films like, the prestige, inception, the dark knight, interstellar, tenet; actually made a really mind boggling and smart narrative that follows a non linear format.

It's absolutely astounding that a concept as unique as this was done with a small budget, considering some of his other films he's created.

You are as much watching the film as you are participating with Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), piecing together a fractured story that you can't solve until the end. Nolan attributes his previous techniques from his first feature (Following 1998), the characters monologues being an obvious attribute.

The film is stylistic with its noir elements enhance and accentuate the mood and diegetic design of the locations, giving a independent minimalist perspective but refined triple A budgeting for a feature film.

The film shows a realistic and effective portrayal of anterograde amnesia, Christopher implements and embeds this into the narratives core; alarmingly making you just as confused as the protagonist.

The soundtrack is absolutely masterful, equally as melancholic but hopeful, reflecting Leonards struggle to continue the search for his wife's killer.

If I say anymore about the story, I'd be spoilin-

Oh Where was I?

Dan Gilroy's Nightcrawler is a disturbing look at media news coverage and the desensitisation of tragedy.

Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a sociopathic, calculating and opportunistic "news stringer", who is allured by this new found profession and will propel him into the demoralised view of human depravity and enriching his apathetic view on crime; relishing in his identity of being a cutthroat journalist on the prowl.

Like a vulture scavenging for fresh cadavers.

You will hate him but you can't help to admire his charisma and adapting nature in various situations. You know he's a slime ball, but you can't help to see where he goes next.

You are along for the ride as much as he is the driver.

As a feature debut, Gilroy has a lot of talent riding in this film.

The presentation is great, well shot, and Neo-Noir setting is genius and was perfect for the narrative; Stylistic visuals, the emphasis on voyeurism and great pacing, make this standout as a film that understands its tone and design.

Nightcrawler will get under your skin and effectively make you see the worst side of the media, morality and human indifference.

The Matrix is a phenomenal action film that truely redefined what a genre type film could really be; Intelligent, smart, complex and simply groundbreaking.

The production design is top tier, the writing is meaty and complex as well as themes and visuals being thought-provoking.

A stylistic masterpiece that blends science fiction with Hong Kong action cinema and martial arts.

It's a biased review sure, but as a fan I truely view this film with all the love I can possibly give it.

Viewing this again in 4K really is a treat and finally seeing the original colour grading (not that green tint grading from the sequels) is a thing of beauty.

A truely revolutionary film that everyone absolutely must see.

"If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth"

Jacobs Ladder (as the name implies), really is a downward decent, a trip down the ladder from his normality to the horrific nature of complete insanity.

The Cinematography is unsettling, accentuating the twisted and surreal nature of what Jacob sees throughout his own personal hell, in this case purgatory.

A lot of the narrative feels open-ended, particularly the government conspiracy subplot, though this may be nullified as the ending is very objective and clear.

I bump this up a little on the scale due to how the film inspired some of the concept and design for the psychological horror game Silent Hill; distinctly the themes and aesthetics such as the hospital section and one of its multiple endings.

Adrian Lyne has created an unnerving psychological horror piece that explores the themes of insanity and surrealism while traversing a mans inner turmoil of loss and confusion.

Nobuhiko Obayashi's Hausu really does feel like a film that existed in another universe where reality simply doesn't apply.

Cartoonish and absurdly funny sequences elevate and accentuate the films over the top nature. It's a visually creative and eccentric artsy horror film that most of the time has the opposite effect of being scary; but you can't help admire the effort for Obayashi's first feature being so bizarrely unique.

Strange and truely deranged, Hausu is an odd experimental horror piece with a mix of light hearted comedic surrealism, cementing itself as a cult classic among cinephiles today.

Eraserhead is perhaps one of my favourite Arthouse films in cinema; a unique masterclass in body-horror and pure motion sickness.

Unnerving as it may be, there's a certain beauty to its ugliness. The film stylistically being shot in black and white adds a constant feeling of emotional dread; surrounded by a desolate and decaying industrial complex adding to the bleakness of the setting.

The soundtrack establishes its oppressive tone with droning soundscapes with low-high frequency pitches, as well as disturbing and often times nightmarish sound design.

Surrealist imagery is very often impactful as it also perplexing. The Dreamlike sequences will make your head spin, admiring how effective it is, especially since it was filmed in the 70s.

After rewatching this, I do understand what Lynch was going for in terms of its themes and narrative. It's definitely something you might want to watch once every so often, though it's not for everyones taste.

It's an amazing artistic body horror film and one of the best in David Lynch's catalogue of films, especially since it's his first feature film.

"So long as we learn it doesn't matter who teaches us, does it?" - E. R. Braithwaite

Touching and heartfelt, James Clavell's To Sir, With Love is a meaningful drama & 'coming of age' film that focuses on social and racial issues that still resonate with younger people today.

Though a bit dated, the message is strong, with a commanding performance by the late Sydney Poitier as Mr Mark Thackeray.

I Love his quality behind the character and the lessons that present him as the ideal "role model" with principles that everyone can learn and follow. It's definitely what my high school class cohort needed.

It's underlying message is timeless and absolutely must be seen at-least once.

Eerily mystical, Peter Weir's The Last Wave is an elemental shift in the bizarre world of spiritualism clashing with post-colonialism.

Over the course of the narrative, there are many instances when the protagonist (Richard Chamberlain) attempts to understand the aboriginal culture, customs and their perception of the world, emphasising the culmination of western civilisation desperately holding on to rationalism as it contends with the preternaturalism of aboriginal society.

It's compelling, unique and reminds me of how puzzling but similar to Picnic At Hanging Rock (despite how distinctive the time periods are).

I like to think there's a connection between those two films in particular, it's mysticism captivating and frightening.

Overall, the film presents Human rationality challenged by divine naturalism. An impossible plague of prophetic apocalyptic visions, awaiting a cataclysm in the grand scheme of the universe.

Gratingly satisfying, NIN: Beside You In Time brings back an amazing collaboration between industrial rock legend Trent Reznor and underground filmmaker Rob Sheridan in the bands third Video Album chronicling the 2006 With Teeth Tour, featuring songs like Terrible Lie, March Of The Pigs and Wish etc.

Though one gripe, it's Head Like A Hole they end on instead of HURT, a staple tradition in all majority of their live performances but it's still great to hear those angry darker synths, violent guitars and Trent's anti-establishment lyrics.

Such visceral performances all around, the ferocity and harmonic qualities that are represented in this film are just epic and grand combined with 'on the fly' cinematography, featuring crane arms, hidden crowd cameras, extreme close-ups, serve to cement NIN's discography and influence over generations of music to come.

Intriguingly complex and philosophically frightening, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's cyberpunk thriller, World On a Wire, is a 3 and half hour trip into a world built and coded with lies.

Using the novel called Simulacron-3 as a faithful adaption with a human focus at the centre, it's a story that follows the downward spiral of a contracted cybernetics engineer, Fred Stiller, as he slowly and painfully realises that not everything is as it seems.

A cacophony of cognitive estrangement and unexplainable glitches in a system that fools the mind.

Rainer utilises interesting cinematography with a lot of emphasis on abstract framing that seems "offset" or "standoffish", almost like some form of observing or surveying the performances rather than being intimate with their emotions. I haven't really seen a film that brilliantly emphasises mirrors as a way to enhance the story telling, it's quite remarkable.

Strange visual themes that explore the idea of perfection (unrealistic amount of hot women, like wtf), exploring the implications of dissonance and surrealism in a world where the system just functions on what our world abides by (or imitates).

An unnerving principle behind the narrative truely provokes a hauntingly unfathomable question: Could we be in a simulation?

We know it's just entertainment but you can't help but exacerbate the notion of being unaware to something so daunting; it makes you question you're faith on what's real to you.

World On A Wire is a fascinating film that provokes a thoughtful but uncanny perspective at what virtual technology could be and how dangerously abusive it would be amongst the oblivious populace.

Yeah, sure, The Matrix was way better but this is still awesome too.

Byron Haskin's War Of The Worlds is a true technological marvel in that despite approaching its 70 year anniversary, it still holds up as a compelling sci-fi film with strong use of practical effects that breathed a new form of groundbreaking FX.

While the film does have a simple but familiar narrative, the overall message is prevalent and serves as a horrific metaphor that depicts the destructive nature of atomic weaponry in a pre-cold war setting, with the procedural aftershocks of complete societal collapse.

The Martians serving as the atomic weapons and Humanity's own hubris while mankind itself, experiencing the inevitability of their own destruction.

Or it's just a fun, entertaining Hollywood blockbuster. Also kinda sad that this film is more gripping than modern science fiction films today.

"This is the nature of war. By protecting others, you save yourself. If you only think of yourself, you'll only destroy yourself."

Masterfully shot and Flawlessly executed, Seven Samurai is an absorbing experience and deeply entertaining film that asserts itself as the flagship icon of Samurai Cinema.

Eloquently well written with amazing composition, Kurosawa demonstrates his commanding direction skilfully regardless how dated and aged the film is.

Despite its 3 1/2 hour runtime, it was engaging from start to finish, along with well rounded and charming performances with an all-star cast including Toshiro Mifune.

Gratuitous and sickening, Broken may appear superficially shocking as a "snuff film" but it depicts valid points about the sinister subculture of societal depravity, however explicit it's marketing may be.

On a side note, my journey on having to find this particular film made my experience a little more riveting and immersive, in a sense of how notoriously vile the content is and no official release for it.

Your experience will depend on if you enjoy the discography of NIN, their motifs and musical style, which thankfully I do enjoy their work.

It challenges the viewer to stomach the content shown as whether it promotes artistic shock value or the frightening reality of fetishism.

"How did we loose all the good that was given to us? Let it slip away. Scattered careless."

• Pvt Witt

Provoking thought juxtaposed with war can be a challenging prospect in a genre that is saturated with grand battles and patriotism, Terrance Malick's The Thin Red Line philosophically twists the concept of that idea, shapes it and makes you feel something completely different than how you would normally be impacted watching a war film.

It strongly illustrates this setup in the beginning, the indigenous Melanesian's routine, way of living, Pvt Witt and a fellow marine AWOL, with nature, peace, love and freedom represented all in the first 15 minutes, than to be slowly introduced to an horrific turning point in the narrative, the battle of Guadalcanal.

It's tough to balance thought provoking philosophy and blend it with the concept of war, to be put in this uncomfortable space and essentially observe the chaos, death and destruction that mankind can bring.

It begs the question, is war natural? A state of which it finds balance, the need for two different elements/vibrations to collide together to create equilibrium?

Imo, the visual symbolism is striking, nature blended with violence is a powerful way to illustrate the framework of TM's philosophical mindset, even without words.

A great cast of actors really emphasises the turmoil each frame holds, combined with John Toll's cinematography, creates an absolute out of body experience that captures visuals unusual in a war.

Hans Zimmer's musical composition really added to the films tone of voice, the beautiful serenity of chaos and foreboding.

The Thin Red Line is not just a war film, it's a meditation on man and nature.

As the first film to watch of 2022, its a great start to the year and, for me personally, left a strong impression on TM's filmmaking talent and artistic value.

David Prior's The Empty Man is just as mystical as it is unnerving, it's very distinctive in its style and cinematography; even very much perhaps "Fincheresque" (Prior did direct a number of documentaries on various films in Fincher's Catalogue). Its atmosphere and tension make a premise that has been attempted before, something much more compelling.

The Empty Man is however a slow-burn, specific people will enjoy this and appreciate the set-up, the journey and ending that may be unsatisfactory or perhaps compelling.

It takes a lot of risks with a somewhat unusual payoff that will compel multiple watches.

Ridley Scott created a legendary film that is just engrossing with a beautifully crafted atmosphere that captures the backdrop of a bustling retro futuristic dystopian society from the works of Philip K. Dick.

The world has interesting and oppressive visuals that contrast between the filth that is the city (or sectors) and the clean corporate world that looms over the populace with control.

The film embodies its theme of noir very well. Moody lighting and femme fatale are used appropriately here in context with the plot.

While underneath all that glamour, it can be at times slow paced with the occasional action sections in between; However for a film like this, there is just so much detail and mystery that it fits the films tone, story, characters but most importantly style.

It is complemented with an amazing score composed by Vangelis, which personifies the essence sci-fi. The film overall (in my opinion) one of the most outstanding pieces of Neo-noir.

While it might be considered a slow burn horror film, the film firmly is held together by well written and believable Scrip.

Some people however will be impeded by the films overall build up, while it effectively establishes its tone, some may feel that it is in fact slow, too slow for some.

But if you absolutely love mystery, the film is excellent in building up its spooky encounters with some actual cool twists.

The films main theme of grief made me sympathise with the cast and it genuinely felt as though this was indeed a real authentic documentary.

What needs to be absolutely praised is the films score and sound design. For a film with a considerably low budget and a simple premise, It absolutely grips and embeds you with the feeling of dread that not only impacts you emotionally but psychologically.

This film overall really is an under appreciated gem that is designed to do one thing: To unsettle you in the best way possible.