Category: Film
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Best Films I’ve Seen: 2013.
I managed to watch 280 new films during 2013. I fell just short of my usual goal of 300. Here is my top 20: 1. A Woman Under the Influence 2. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? 3. The Spirit of the Beehive 4. The White Ribbon 5. Leaving Las Vegas 6. 2001: A Space Odyssey 7. Purple Noon (Plein Soleil) 8. The Passion…
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Worst New Releases: 2013.
Amongst the thrills, laughter and emotion that the best cinema of 2013 brought us, there was also some yawns, some boredom and plenty of cringe-worthy moments. 2013 was as full of terrible tripe as it was mastery. Luckily, I avoided 99% of the rubbish due to good judgement. This is perhaps the only joy I…
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Best New Releases: 2013.
2013 has certainly been an exciting year for cinema. Amidst the many hours I’ve spent in dark cinema screenings, a few films have stood out. The following list documents what I consider to be the best new releases I’ve seen since January. This post will be followed up by a piece discussing the worst releases…
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Alice.
There is something indulgent about sitting down on a rainy weekend and enjoying a Woody Allen film you’ve never seen before. With a large mug of tea and a slice of buttered toast, I sat back to enjoy Allen’s fantasy/comic adventure Alice. A film that centres around re-evaluation, Alice tells the story of a woman of luxury, assessing her…
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Badlands.
Terrence Malick’s debut tells the story of fifteen year old Holly who falls in love with ‘James Dean lookalike’ Kit. Whilst Holly dryly narrates us through their tale, we watch the couple run away from home and venture out across America, killing anyone who stands in their way. Based on a true case, Badlands has darker dimensions…
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The Piano Teacher.
Perhaps Michael Haneke’s most refined and meaningful piece of work, The Piano Teacher is far from an easy watch. In typical Haneke-style, there is unpredicted physical violence, repression and unanswered questions but all of this comes together to form a majestic yet twisted piece of contemporary European cinema. This take on the melodrama, tells the story of…
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Last Days.
I mean, talk about a yawn-fest. Last Days is one of the most dull and uninteresting films I have ever seen. I’m familiar with Van Sant’s style so I was prepared for long scenes of “not much really happening” but Last Days takes this to an unbearable level. This is Gus Van Sant’s depiction of the final days of…
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Michael Haneke: Unpredictability, Spectatorship & Minimalism.
Michael Haneke is arguably the most discussed and debated contemporary European film maker. Having directed both television and theatre, and having worked briefly as a film critic, Haneke started directing cinema at a later point in his career. His films have divided audiences with their unpredictability and their often violent nature. Criticisms of the middle classes…
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Saving Mr. Banks.
Disney’s own retelling of one of Disney’s own retellings, Saving Mr. Banks is a light and charming film that is full of character and the occasional emotional moment. On the surface the film tells the story of the tense collaboration between Walt Disney and his team and P. L. Travers, the author and creator of Mary Poppins,…
Hannah McHaffie 