Monthly film update
The films I saw in cinemas in May were:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road -
Wow. I mean wow. George Miller revolutionises the action genre with Mad Max: Fury Road, a bizarre, adrenalin-fueled joyride with a great array of characters, stunning production design, fantastic moments of anguish and comedy, and some of the best action sequences ever put on screen. I will most definitely watch this again before it disappears from UK cinemas. Stunning.
2. Tomorrowland -
Yup, you read that right. I'm surprised as much as you are over how much I loved Brad Bird's latest. Tomorrowland is free of cynicism; an overwhelmingly ambitious, creative sci-fi fantasy that has a great message, integrates humour and tragedy seamlessly, is deftly acted, boasts impressive visual effects and tailors to its target audience perfectly. It brought me right back to my childhood - which is what Bird is trying to achieve - and he does so without cheap cliches or incongruent plot devices - the fact that the 'villain' is so well developed and fleshed out in such a short space of screentime is testament to Bird and to - shock/horror - Lindelof as a writer. The best Disney film since Up. Seriously.
3. The Falling -
Ah, where to begin... The Falling creates a magnificent, brewing atmosphere very much akin to The Duke of Burgundy, its sound design is excellent and the flick has no predictability whatsoever. Yet I still remain unconvinced by Maisie Williams as an actor, and the film's emotional beats flounder more often than soar. A film of fantastic style and little substance.
4. Clouds of Sils Maria -
Unbearably dull, light on both plot and drama, and featuring characters I could not care less for spouting clunky exposition, Clouds of Sils Maria is a dud of a film; Kristen Stewart's performance not as redeeming as critics would like you to believe.
Mad Max: Fury Road was my most anticipated film of the year and it didn't disappoint. I half-expected Tomorrowland to disappoint but it exceeded every expectation I had for it - critics are failing to understand that Tomorrowland captures its' target audience's imaginations perfectly and gives them a feeling of wonder like no other film has since Up (seriously, the kids in the cinema were wide-eyed and euphoric for the majority of the screentime). Had no idea what to expect of The Falling, and it was a fine film that had a great atmosphere (so I'll prob watch it again) but I didn't really see the point of the film in general. Clouds of Sils Maria was a huge disappointment for me - it hasn't been a good year for foreign films atm (foreignish).
June looks to be preeeeety decent: Will definitely check out Jurassic World (which looks like cheesy fun) and Terminator: Genisys (which looks absolutely terrible). Also on the watchlist is Spy, The Look of Silence, Minions and Slow West.
The other, non-2015 films I saw in May were:
1. The Guest -
- REWATCH
One of the most entertaining films of 2014, The Guest is 90 minutes of retro-thriller flashback, dazzling with a chilling Dan Stevens performance, incredibly well-thought-out cinematography, and an incredible campy, Drive-meets-Rambo atmospheric tone that's aided by a wonderful 80s' synth score. Great stuff.
2. Blue Valentine -
While not quite as good as Cianfrance's 'The Place Beyond the Pines', one of the greatest films of this half-decade, Blue Valentine is still a remarkable, harrowing depiction of love and its harsh reality. Cianfrance maintains an uncanny ability to evoke realism - I would go as far as to say that he outmuscles Linklater in ability to create naturalness.
3. Rush -
A conventional, relatively predictable sport-genre flick expertly handled and presented by Ron Howard.The casting is spot-on, the dialogue is excellent and the editing works seamlessly, but its faintly generic plot and melodramatic undertones are unable to be masked.
4. Mad Max: Fury Road -
- REWATCH