Movie Diary #18: December 2013

Happy New Year! Here's to excellent 2014's for all. And good luck to American's who finally have something approaching a worthwhile medical system.

The last month of 2013, a relatively slow one in terms of movie watching, I had a burning urge to take part in the December Challenge, to plough through 100 hundred films without pausing for breath but resisted in favour of having a life. Rare around these parts I'm sure you'll have noticed.

Here's the last post before a full recap. I've got a Top 15 new releases as well as a Bottom 15 new releases. December saw my YTD total reach 150 thanks to viewing a 18 further films from 2013, target reached. A total worthy of assessing, a top fifteen is certainly more worthy if you've seen 150 films than if you've seen 30, therefore my list is the definitive one for the entire planet. Obviously.

72 movies seen in December also took me to 901 YTD, whilst I would have liked to (and it looked certainly possible at one point) reach 1000 films seen in the year it simply was not to be. Taking that number and deducting 2013 releases and the 98 rewatches (10 in December, the month of the happy revisit to childhood past) leaves me with 653 films to choose from for Top 15 pre-2013 discoveries list.

I have a total of 10 recommendations for you film lovers this month, 2 terrible pieces of shit, 5 excellently produced gems and 3 masterpieces. Dig in.

Dire

Runner Runner (2013) Dir. Brad Furman

Runner Runner is the kind of BAD film that would have gone straight to bargain basement DVD if not for the names Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake above the title. Brad Furman's direction is at best 'by the numbers' obvious and at worst the laziest and dullest "thriller" I've ever seen but what really sets Runner Runner apart from the rest is the shocking attempt at storytelling made by screenwriters Koppelman and Levein. None of it makes any sense, whole swathes of "plot" are painfully absurd and really stupid exposition happens at every opportunity. 

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2013) Dir. Cody Cameron, Kris Pearn

John Frances Daly can ruin anything he puts his hand to. The first Cloudy was a blast of bizarre, an offbeat comic animation that took me by surprise and brought may a smile and many a catchphrase to my life. This unnecessary sequel is a mess of hack writing (not surprising with the sheer number of writers credits really) and by the numbers storytelling, unique and interesting characters have been butchered and Mr T was not invited back. I wish I could forget this even existed.

Excellent

A Matter of Life and Death (1946) Dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

The opening of this work of genius by Mr Powell and Mr Pressburger had me gasping with cinephile pleasure such was the skill and imagination brought to my screen. David Niven and Kim Hunter falling in love over the radio as the pilot prepares to die is, quite incredibly given its content, one of the most joyous scenes I've ever witnessed. The pair of directors never cease finding new ways to amaze, whether it's the enormous stairway to heaven or Marius Goring's breaking of the fourth wall, the flitting between glorious technicolour and the beautiful tradition of black & white or even essentially pre-empting the death scene of T.E. Lawrence as photographed by David Lean.

White Reindeer (2013) Dir. Zach Clark

Anna Margaret Hollyman's performance as the damaged housewife is as impressive as Cate Blanchett's Blue Jasmine, although it's not glamorous or flashy; she spends an inordinate amount of time sitting on or bent over toilets looking very much worn out for example. Her portrait of a broken woman is fascinating, heartbreaking and extremely funny and much more subtle than most scenery chewing award nominees, that she won't get any attention from The Academy says much more about their failure as an organisation than her acting ability.

Terry Pratchett's Hogfather (2006) Dir. Vadim Jean

It's Christmas, so it's time to watch The Hogfather once more. So faithful to Terry Pratchett's delightfully funny novel, this 3+ hour adaptation is a modern Christmas classic that discusses the nature of belief and is full of wonderful performances. You don't need to be a fan of the books to enjoy this film so why haven't you seen it already?

Home Alone (1990) Dir. Chris Columbus

Our annual visit to the McCallister household took place at a sold out cinematic screening full of adults. Who knew that would happen when this slapstick kids movie came out in 1990? Most people have a few movies from their childhood that they remember fondly but Home Alone just has that special something that keeps the kids coming back for more twenty three years later. Pesci and Stern as the nefarious Wet Bandits are both sufficiently villainous and wonderfully silly, doing great work, especially as they essentially have to carry the drama of the entire film whilst the child actor that defined a generation ran around having a great time.

Supporting Characters (2013) Dir. Daniel Schechter

Alex Karpovsky and Tarik Lowe are fabulous as a couple of friends who work together editing a movie, there's a really honest friend vibe working between them that carries the entire film, making it the entertaining and pleasing piece that it is. On second watch it still holds together nicely, the humour remains and the denouement still affecting. It's no The Colour Wheel but it's a truly fine example of the current movement in low-fi American indie cinema. Will place high in my year end Top 15.

Masterpiece

Fantastic Mr Fox (2009) Dir. Wes Anderson

The most Wes Anderson of any Wes Anderson film, The Fantastic Mr Fox is the work of a quirky genius who has found the 100% right material for themselves. Charming, funny, with wicked dialogue combined with beautiful and sometimes breathtaking cinematography, this is everything I could want in contemporary American cinema. Has rewarded and will continue to reward repeat viewings.

Blade Runner (1982) Dir. Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott with more than a little help from his wonderfully talented and put upon production team achieved a visionary masterpiece that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Citizen Kane. In some ways it is the ultimate film noir with its existential narrative, expressionistic lighting, the neon and the smoke, a conflicted protagonist and a charismatic antagonist that you can't help but root for, it's funny and intelligent and even the mesmerising and crazy performance of Rutger Hauer seems to recall quite a lot of James Cagney.

The Wicker Man (1973) Dir. Robin Hardy

Christopher Lee plays his role to perfection, a learned man, joyous and open minded, yet still has a playful menace about him that  again pays off wonderfully come the end. Whilst Edward Woodward captures the straight laced lunacy of his character with remarkable skill and the very real sense of horror that you take away from The Wicker Man comes not from blood, gore, suspense or loud music but from a closeup of his face as you listen to his voice, truly acting at its finest.

That's it. Comment or tweet if you like. But save your powder for the lists that are about to come.

Movie Diary #17: November 2013

November has been and gone, another month of throwing myself in to the watching of copious amounts of movies as a way of coping or dealing with my failed attempts to make a movie. It's time to stop dwelling, time to stop wallowing, time to get up, get out and do something other than watch film after film after film.

November also brought about a discovery of the film criticism of Graham Greene, his collected writings from 1935-1940 were published as The Pleasure Dome and should be considered as essential reading for any wannabe critic such is the quality of the man's words and insights.

The tally reached a quite improbable 118 over the thirty days in the month of my thirty first birthday, beating my previous best of 116 in May and bringing me up to 829 year to date. I limited myself to 8 rewatches (88 YTD) but unless I can watch over a hundred films without rewatching too many in December I'm not going to make my 10% target. I plan on having a Whit Stillman day in the middle of Summer which certainly won't help matters and I've got an urge to have a weekend of only watching my favourite films too. A sacrifice worth making and not even much of one really.

I saw 17 new releases (132 YTD) with two in the highly recommended category below which features 12 films you really should see. Other recommendations include avoiding 9 films I wish I hadn't bothered watching, one of which will surely upset some people and for the first time since June I offer up 5 masterpieces which have blown me away in the past month.

Why Why Why Why Why Bother?

Qwerty (2012) Dir. Bill Sebastian

Nice idea but as with all nice but absurd ideas it really needed to be played straight otherwise, as in the case of Qwerty, you come off like a bunch of amateur arseholes TRYING to be funny.

Superman (1978) Dir. Richard Donner

They wanted Sam Peckinpah to direct this movie but Peckinpah took a gun to the meeting and waved it about. I'd much rather watch that in slow motion for nearly three hours than this merchandise shilling garbage about a concept that doesn't exist anymore. The American way of truth and justice is a sugar coated myth they sell the idiots, they actually knew that in the 70s and yet this still got made.

The Kings of Summer (2013) Dir. Jordan Vogt-Roberts

A truly irritating little teenage shit of a movie that takes the very worst characters from American teen comedies and puts them in a hut in the woods where they can indulge in being "real men," adds a half assed attempt at surreal farce and romantic imagery and plays itself off as a coming of age drama. 

How I Live Now (2013) Dir.  Kevin Macdonald

You can't annoy the shit out of your audience with an awful American teenage girl and a noisy as fuck soundtrack from the very beginning and expect them to give a shit when World War 3 breaks out. Granted I didn't realise Meg Rosoff wrote exclusively for little girls before watching.

End of Days (1999) Dir. Peter Hyams

The general premise is laughable and borderline offensive and I do wonder why this film couldn't have been made without the Arnie storyline. Also the resolution is one of the worst I've witnessed.

Timecop (1994) Dir. Peter Hyams

An all round bad movie, with no redeeming features except for the initial idea. Has anybody read the comics this was based on? Are they as badly written?

The Delta Force (1986) Dir. Menahem Golan

Considering the premise of Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin joining forces to fight terrorism 80s style this is a giant sack of shit that can't get past the fact that it's a Menahem Golan movie. Robert Forster as an Arab terrorist and Hanna Schygulla as a German air hostess who seems sexually aroused whenever she looks at him are other notable casting choices.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Dir. Renny Harlin

What the hell has everyone been smoking? The Long Kiss Goodnight is a dumb movie of interminable length, directed with all of the skill of a blind sloth. There are a few jokes to raise a half smile and Jackson does what Jackson does but beyond that the best part by far was the brief clip of Elliot Gould in The Long Goodbye.

The Island (1980) Dir. Michael Ritchie

Absolute garbage. Michael Caine had no quality control on what he said yes to and puts in one of his worst performances. Michael Ritchie was a mediocre director at best but the complete lack of tension, thrills, drama, cohesive structure and well delivered dialogue combined with bizarre editing and horrific exposition must rank this as one of his very worst pictures.

Not Quite Some of the Best Movies Ever Made

Blue Caprice (2013) Dir. Alexandre Moors

Director Alexandre Moors takes a slow, thoughtful approach to his material, somewhat akin to Van Sant's Elephant but with much more substance, to what could easily be a sensationalist piece of cinema in the wrong hands. A fascinating and terrifying character study of two killers, Isaiah Washington in the perfect role for his intense brand of performance and youngster Tequan Richmond brooding his way through his first real movie gig, of the grooming of one by the other and the driving on of each other as their incomprehensibly evil plan comes to fruition.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1973) Dir. Joseph Sargent

It never really feels like a safe decision was made throughout. The characters, hostages aside, are wonderfully interesting people with their own personalities and the interactions between them dance from comic to tense and back again and it is this that is sorely lacking in modern cinema. Nobody is there to score focus group points and as such none of them are really a cliche or stereotype. If you haven't seen this version yet you really should, it's one of the best crime films of the 70s, which was by far the best decade for American crime cinema.

The East (2013) Dir. Zal Batmanglij

This is an incredibly solid little film (albeit with the assistance of Ridley and Tony Scott so not that little really) that deserves to be seen and should be highly praised, not necessarily for the things that it isn't either. I've seen how Hollywood would make this movie and time and time again I've not been impressed but Batmanglij sets a really unobtrusive tone with a slow pace from the beginning and has the luxury of Brit Marling's intense lead performance to lean on when required. Yet he is able to incorporate some really tense moments as the anti-corporation group carries out their "terrorist" plans.

F For Fake (1973) Dir. Orson Welles

In film school we took an entire year to look at the documentary, the way the borders of fiction and non-fiction can be and are blurred. We discussed many different films, including Nanook, Blair Witch and Night & Fog but at no point in any lecture or any article or any textbook was this almost definitive statement on the veracity of the documentary by Orson Welles. How can I trust any of the three years of by university education when such a travesty of an oversight occurred? Did they not know anything? And does that make my degree even more worthless? It's quite the brilliant piece of cinema, yet another one from the mind of one of the greatest men to ever work in the medium.

Nashvile (1975) Dir. Robert Altman

The pinnacle of Robert Altman's unique brand of cinema. If I'd seen this as a younger man I wouldn't have hesitated to get lost in rewatching this countless times as I did his earlier Elliot Gould-fests (Gould makes a wonderful cameo as himself here) but as it stands I don't feel like giving up days of my life to a movie about Nashville. Once is enough, to understand the grand scale of the great directors vision, to grasp the intricacies of the intertwined lives of the participants, to marvel at the audacity of it all.

Monte Walsh (1970) Dir. William A. Fraker

The late 60s really marked the death of an era for the western movie and William Fraker's adaptation of Jack Shaefer's (Shane) novel is a movie that takes a stark look at the end of the traditional cowboy era of American history. Within that framework is another traditional narrative, that of the old man struggling to come to terms with his advancing years in a world changing faster than he can possibly keep up. And Lee Marvin excels in that role better than almost any other actor in the history of American cinema.

Busting (1974) Dir. Peter Hyams

The script by Hyams is wonderfully cynical, a true classic of crime screenwriting from the 70s, that amazing period of grimey creativity that brought us 98% of all the very best crime cinema that was ever made. It is filled with wit, delivered perfectly (naturally) by Gould and another really good performance from Blake who really underplays his character, becoming almost a straight man for Gould's typical bafoonery. But Gould has an edge to him that you tend not to see in his more famous roles, a serious, determined existential edge that turns him much more in to the "sad clown" than even his bumbling private eye in Long Goodbye could achieve. He has a pretty brilliant 'tache too.

Straight Time (1978) Dir. Ulu Grosbard

Dustin Hoffman is at his subtle and intense best as a career criminal who makes his choices and is prepared to live with them. With support from Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh and a remarkably reined in Gary Busey this is a quality film with a quality cast that doesn't quite scale the heights it might have.

The Bothersome Man (2006) Dir. Jens Lien

The Bothersome Man is a Norwegian satire of modern consumerism and obsession with appearances, a surreal comedy and utopia gone wrong, a fable about daring to be different, an original tale of what may even be the afterlife yet still manages to recall Jeunet et Caro, Gilliam, Andersson and Wenders, even more specifically at times I was thinking of The Truman Show, The Matrix and Wristcutters. Beautifully framed using an unassuming palette of greys and blues and filled with wonderfully strange moments that more often than not will have you laughing out loud.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Dir. Sergio Leone

At nearly three hours Once Upon a Time in the West is most definitely not long enough to do all of it's many storylines and complex characters justice. It's a majestic western, visually astounding with a score to die for but suffers in the storytelling department, as have the three previous Leone films.

Crossroads (1986) Dir. Walter Hill

Colour me surprised to find that Crossroads is without doubt one of the highlights in the career of Walter Hill, this take on the legend of Robert Johnson is essentially The Karate Kid with blues guitar instead of kung fu but with real soul and no contrived fist pumping moments. Ry Cooder's soundtrack is perfectly matched to the mood of one of the best films about music I've seen.

Autumn Sonata (1978) Dir. Ingmar Bergman

Wow. Ullman and Bergman are sensational as the repressed emotions boil up and two women set out seemingly to destroy each other. Everything about this feels completely authentic. At least from watching mothers and daughters interact over in my family over the years anyway.

Masterpiece

Blow Out (1981) Dir. Brian De Palma

Visually it is an incredible experience from start to finish; littered with incredible single shots, amazing set pieces, stunning ideas pulled off with seeming nonchalance and even the dated effects are impressive. As you would expect from a film about the work of a sound engineer the audio design is top quality too, layer upon layer of noise and silence enhancing the sumptuous visuals and the career best work from John Travolta.

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

I'm honestly conflicted over giving this film the full marks. After tonight's screening at the Rooftop Cinema in Perth I reckon I must have seen it an even dozen times and it just keeps getting funnier. But it's a teen comedy comic book adaptation. Conflicted!
Edgar Wright has done such a great job in adapting the visuals, mood and attitude of the excellent graphic novels, the soundtrack is phenomenally well chosen and the cast all excel in their roles however small plus it seems like Michael Cera was born to be Scott Pilgrim.
I heart Scott Pilgrim so much. Full stars!

Tokyo Story (1953) Dir. Yasujiro Ozu

A devastatingly effective piece of cinema, carefully crafted with great pathos. I'd not noticed previously that it shares many similarities with another of my all time favourites, Secrets & Lies, especially in terms of structure, tone and the power held over the viewer, which has sort of blown my mind. Ozu directed what is probably the pinnacle of this little social realist drama sub-genre 43 years before Mike Leigh came close to matching him.

Spring Breakers (2013) Dir. Harmony Korine

It seems I just can't get enough of Spring Breakers. I can't believe that this film is tying with Gravity for my best film of 2013. In my head I'm doing something ridiculous, I'm including it on a list with Citizen Kane; the kind of incredible films that both entertain and leave you marvelling at the skill of the director, films with many layers that you feel like you will never come close to comprehending no matter how many times you watch them. I feel like that is wrong.

Army of Shadows (1969) Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville

Pick a WWII movie, pick your favourite WWII movie, I guarantee you it's not as good as Army of Shadows. There's a very real chance that you could pick ANY other movie in the entire history of cinema and it wouldn't be as good as Army of Shadows.
For 145 tension filled minutes Jean-Pierre Melville keeps the viewer in the palm of his hand, a director at the height of his almost magical powers, every moment exquisitely crafted in tones of blue-grey and quite aptly shadow and light.

I'm ready for the fallout, Superman fans sharpen your claws and do your worst. Any other opinions also welcome, recommendations via twitter are invited.

Movie Diary #16: October 2013

Right, now we're pretty much up to date with this stuff. October saw me return from the disaster that was my attempt to make a movie and hit the play button with abandon, really indulging myself with whatever I felt like watching and very rarely leaving the house.

After September October managed to supply 21 recommendations out of the 74 (711 year to date) films seen during the month. With my rewatch count kept to a paltry 2 (80 YTD) October was a month of comfort from quantity not guaranteed quality of "comfort" films.

I saw 16 new releases (114 YTD,) but only one is worthy of recommending but boy was it a good one. So that's 3 new masterpiece recommendations, seriously folks add them to the top of your watchlist, 8 more that are definitely worth investigating if you haven't already and 11 (an incredible 5 of which are 2013 releases) that you should never watch even if bored and it's a choice between that and staring at the wall for several hours.

Why Why Why Why Why Why Bother?

Ass Backwards (2013) Dir. Chris Nelson

Holy shit, what the fuck were they thinking? As unfunny and as excruciating as I expected The Internship to be and then some. Truly, remarkably bad cinema.

Simpatico (1999) Dir. Matthew Warchus

I might not always agree with the praise heaped upon movies by Roger Ebert but when it comes to movies that sucked he was almost always on the money. Sometimes a movie that isn't very good can be forgiven thanks to a fun idea that appeals to a small part of your non critical mind or great performances elevating a movie out of suckiness and in to mediocrity but with Simpatico there's a convoluted noir-esque plot AND good performances from great actors and still I found myself in agreement with Mr Ebert. Simpatico is a great big bore from start to finish. 

Mike's Murder (1984) Dir. James Bridges

Pretty slow and pretty dull neo-noir. Nothing happens for 45 minutes and then there's an hour of sloppy, badly written dialogue as Debra Winger "investigates" the titular event in a series of improbable moments.

Man of Steel (2013) Dir. Zack "Sucker Punch" Snyder

An incredibly boring movie that's about 2.5 hours too long. Like all of the problems with the Batman Begins origin story dragged out and expanded upon with a much less interesting character in a much uglier way, exactly as you would expect from Zack "300" Snyder. Not the worst blockbuster of the year but one of them. After watching this who would care that Affleck was Batman in the pointless sequel to a DOA original?

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Dir. Robert Wise

How boring did they want to make this?! I can fully get behind the "escape the smallness of the TV" approach also known as "celebrate the massive nature of cinema" but the seemingly never ending attempt to explore the vastness of space by using sloooooooow moving shots of the Enterprise in spacedock or the ominous cloud destroying things slowly get incredibly tedious very, very quickly.

Violet & Daisy (2013) Dir. Geoffrey Fletcher

No surprise that it took several years from it's festival appearances to get a VOD release as Violet & Daisy is a mess of attempted shiny visuals and stilted dialogue delivered by two female leads who were clearly directed to be awful. Not the worst movie of the year but it's right down there. 

The Ultimate Warrior (1975) Dir. Robert Clouse

The Ultimate Warrior promises to be a fighting movie but the fight scenes are amongst the worst I've ever seen and the actual dialogue and plot are amongst some of the most offensively stupid and naive I've ever witnessed.

Turbo (2013) Dir. David Soren

Awful CGI animation from Hollywood for kids in 2013 has a new benchmark in garbage; Turbo easily surpasses Epic as the years worst, a feat I never expected to be attained this year or any other such was the abhorrent nature of said film. But somehow Turbo manages to be both derivative and offensive, it's incredibly ugly and its message is all over the place and they clearly spent about 3 seconds (if that) on thinking about the world building aspect of garden snails working in a factory and how talking nitrous oxide powered snails would interact with the human world.

Thin Ice (2011) Dir. Jill Sprecher

There's a reason you haven't heard of Thin Ice, a caper movie starring two incredibly likeable actors, one an Oscar winner and the other an Oscar nominee, the reason is that this film is one of the very worst instances of the matchstick man conceit.

10 (1979) Dir. Blake Edwards

I'd heard tale of this being a comedy but it turns out that's more of an urban legend as 10 starts off dull and proceeds to fail at causing even a titter for two hours. Perhaps it is unfair to expect something as wonderfully joyful as Dudley Moore in Arthur but I went in with low expectations and had them pulverised by the sheer tedium of it all, not to mention the offensive nature of the concept that felt just a little too long in the tooth for 1979. 1 star for Dudley Moore.

Earthbound (2013) Dir. Alan Brennan

I can't resist a Rafe Spall movie, and so I bring crap like this upon myself every single time. It's just not funny, at all, despite trying every type of humour imaginable at every opportunity. Rafe Spall is, as usual, great and despite being an awful cliche of a manic pixie dream girl Jenn Murray has a real quality and presence about her, beyond that there's nothing to recommend. In 2013 you can trust the Irish to release a terrible superhero movie about religious beliefs without the subtle metaphors of a Zack "Sucker Punch" Snyder joint.

 

Not Quite Some of the Best Movies Ever Made

Bug (2006) Dir. William Friedkin

The second half of this movie was like a train wreck that somehow blows up a nuclear reactor. Horrible, shocking, mesmerising, the kind of cinema that is so far removed from the staid comfortable lifestyle most of us live that your jaw will drop repeatedly (if you manage to raise it to begin with,) you will want to vomit several times, if you think on it too hard you may find tears have sprung to your eyes and the whole time your brain is screaming, fighting to unscramble what you're seeing, to put a label on it and quantify it as a metaphor or several metaphors even, a statement about something, anything, just so long as you can classify it and deal with the fall out in a more comfortable manner.

A Fistful of Dollars (1964) Dir. Sergio Leone

Seen hot on the heels of watching Yojmbo and Last Man Standing and reading Red Harvest, it was always going to take something special in the telling of this story yet again to impress me and boy was I impressed. The combination of Leone's vision and Eastwood's performance elevate this version of Hammett's tale of corruption and a protagonist who exists in that grey area between black hat and white hat, playing two opposing gangs off against each other for the good of humanity and his pocket, above all other versions in terms of entertainment and enjoyment.

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) Dir. William A. Wellman

A fine example of the early western-noir genre crossover that provides an awfully large amount of inspiration for the later award winning movie about mob justice 12 Angry Men; with an expected ending that still manages to pack an almighty punch thanks to some fine acting from all involved, a tight play-like script and strong directing from William Wellman. This film will place high on my list of favourite westerns.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Dir. Robert Wiene

Another one of those films I thought I'd seen in film school but had actually only seen clips of, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is incredible piece of early cinema and as important as any film ever made. The set design and the painting of shadows is wonderful all on its own but the storytelling is a step beyond anything previously seen in the medium, the combination of which makes this film still highly entertaining and an enjoyable watch at almost one hundred years old.

Paths of Glory (1957) Dir. Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick's anti-war movie is incredibly effective despite how overtly cold he painted his villains in their lambs to the slaughter attitudes. Known as an innovator of style in genre pictures I was most impressed by how he almost never allowed the camera to rest, keeping everything moving back and forth or on a constant dolly, and not in a shakeycam Paul Greengrass way either, it's something that I don't recall seeing in previous war movies and to a certain extent even the films that came after.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) Dir. Sergio Leone

TGTBATU is a great acronym, and an enjoyable enough three hour movie but it certainly didn't live up to its predecessor, primarily it is a bit too deliberately slapsticky in its humour for my liking. There's a large part of the plot that revolves around the American Civil War which felt incredibly unnecessary and only served to dilute the hipster badass on a horse plot that had served them so well in two previous outings. I can see how by the time you get to the incredible (and it really does deserved to be lauded as marquee moment in cinematic history) Mexican Standoff denouement you might be exhausted and delighted by the ending helping you to forget about the faults that came before but really this is not as purely entertaining as a standalone movie as For A Few Dollars More. Sergio Leone still does wonderful things with his camera and with the genre and never has a Quentin Tarantino influence been more obvious than here. Then there's Ennio Morricone, his work on this film has stood the test of time and there's a very good reason why, he demonstrates an awareness of his art form and the way it will be interpreted that goes beyond 99.9% of composers throughout history, IT IS TRULY MASTERFUL.

Days of Heaven (1978) Dir. Terrence Malick

There's an obvious story as far as the plot in this movie goes, large swathes of dialogue, especially the narration, is unintelligible and I find a babyfaced Richrd Gere quite unbelievable for this role, much in the same way I could never take DiCaprio seriously as the world wise drifter in Titanic BUT still there's a poetic beauty to this film that raises it above such petty concerns as dialogue and story and pretty faces to the point where you deserve to indulge yourself in repeat viewings.

Electra Glide In Blue (1973) Dir.  James William Guercio

The combination of rookie director/producer James Guerico, master cinematographer Conrad Hall and the intense Robert Blake in the lead role create a stunning mix of incredible visuals and existential angst, within a meandering plot filled with bizarre scenes that would never find a place within a more traditional movie or anything made in Hollywood after 1978 I would imagine. Yet it's these bizarre scenes and out of place rants by the characters that make the film the fascinating journey that it is.

Masterpiece

For A Few Dollars More (1965) Dir. Sergio Leone

If Fistful was the first great film I'd seen in months then the followup is the first masterpiece; For a Few Dollars More takes all that was great about the Yojimbo clone and elevates all of it to the next level thanks to a much more interesting (perhaps not original) script and a score from Morricone that has deservedly become part of pop culture legend. Eastwood is wonderful but it is the relationship with Van Cleef that takes the acting to new heights, the importance of having more than one great actor AND character in a movie. Volonte is once more the bad guy and his memorable performance as the deranged and effeminate El Indio is almost comparable to the two Americans in terms of entertainment and quality.

Gravity (2013) Dir. Alfonso Cuarón

How nice is it to see an intelligent movie for adults that isn't deliberate Oscar bait come out of Hollywood. After 109 new releases in 2013 I've finally found one that I absolutely loved from start to finish. It's going to take something very special to knock this from the top spot. Visually impressive, Gravity has the best use of 3D I've seen and I can't imagine such a useless technology as that being utilised any better in its current guise. But it is the heart pounding tension that Cuaron brings to the table that left us jittery as we walked around the supermarket afterwards, the kind of reaction usually reserved for far too much coffee, that is Gravity's gift to cinema. In an artistic medium that relies heavily on cheap jump scares and loud sound effects to artificially create tension it is an absolute pleasure to feel like it is organically grown from a tight script, wonderful performances and a director on top of his game.

Black Narcissus (1947) Dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger

I seem to be on a run of watching movies I thought I'd seen in film school but actually had only seen brief clips of, Black Narcissus was taught in a subject called "genres" take note of the plural, what we were actually taught by the angry old lady was "melodrama" which as you may know isn't a genre in itself. I, and several other students, resented this incredibly narrow approach to what could have been a fascinating three months of study and Powell & Pressburger seem to have taken the brunt of things. Until now I thought that it was a well made women's colonial picture but I readily admit that my younger self was a fool. Here's the truth of Black Narcissus, as far as I know there is no finer, more complete narrative film produced in the second half of the 40s. Compared to this everything else sort of looks and feels like early silent cinema. How it didn't even get a best picture Oscar nomination let alone the win it so rightfully deserved is beyond my comprehension. At least Jack Cardiff's stellar work as cinematographer was acknowledged.

Pretty great stuff there I must say, a really good month for movies, any favourites amongst them? Don't forget to tweet your comments at me if you'd prefer.

Movie Diary #15: September 2013

Moving on to my very short September diary. This was the month I was supposed to be filming Good Times and the intense nature of attempting to salvage a floundering film is reflected in the very small number of films seen. Naturally it is considerably higher than if I had actually been in production!

31 films seen during September left me with a year to date of 637, with only 2 rewatches keeping my YTD total down to 78, perhaps that 10% target I was aiming for is still within reach? Of the 31 seen during the thirty days 14 were new release movies, bringing a year to date total of 98. And yet none of them were particularly good.

The most disappointing, and surprising, statistic from September is the 7 recommendations I have to offer you. All 7 are firmly in the giant waste of time category with nothing even close to being a masterpiece, so please continue to avoid them if you have managed to so far.

Dire

Love Crimes (1992) Dir. Lizzie Borden

Every negative thing said and written about this movie is accurate.

The Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008) Dir. Joshua Safdie

It's movies like this that give American indie cinema a bad name, these people are awful and nothing feels authentic, why don't we all just watch Silver Linings Playbook instead?

Kick-Ass 2 (2013) Dir.  Jeff Wadlow

So there's pretty much nothing good going for this movie, I can't imagine there's anyone who might take pleasure in such inane stupidity.

The Hangover Part III (2013) Dir. Todd Phillips

Potentially even worse than Die Hard 5. There isn't one single laugh in this supposed comedy.

After Earth (2013) Dir. M. Night Shyamalan

By far the worst Will Smith movie in existence at the time of writing. I'm quite saddened by this as that oeuvre includes Bad Boys 2. I'm a confessed fan of Smith and tried to avoid knowing anything about this film before watching it but the second Shyamalamalam's name got mentioned I knew to expect the worst. This however goes beyond the worst and for the most part the only blame that can be thrown at the directors feet was taking the paycheck proffered by Smith to put his name on it when apparently to all intents and purposes it was Smith in charge of this vanity project to make his son a star. I have no problem with that idea, I just have a problem that it's a deadly boring and unimaginative as this. That Jaiden is a pretty mediocre actor at best doesn't help matters either.

Diary of a Hitman (1991) Dir. Roy London

Whatever circumstances were behind the acting coach Roy London being left in charge of directing a multi-million dollar film are I'm sure the story might be one of the more interesting of relatively recent Hollywood history; there's bound to be hidden cameras and blackmail involved at some point. The fact that he was an acting coach is pretty ironic as every single actor involved in the production of this film puts in a horrifyingly awful performance.

Dead in Tombstone (2013) Dir. Roel Reiné

On their own the names Rourke, Trejo, Hall and Meyer are not enough to make me consider watching a straight to bargain bin movie but there's something about the combination of the four that made me think it might be worth while. Sadly that is not the case, the script is hopelessly bad, in particular the dialogue, and the direction is ham fisted at best. Don't be fooled in to thinking it's just a bit of fun, it's not, it's a waste of time. 

If I had to pick one film seen during Septemebr to recommend it would be the drug related social documentary Oxyana but it certainly wouldn't be for all.

Sorry I don't have anything positive to report from September but it was bad all round for me. Come discuss it with me on twitter why don't you?

Movie Diary #14: August 2013

After several months away at work on a disastrous creative project and mental recuperation I'll be spamming your feed with multiple diary entries and other posts in the next fortnight. Let's start with August.

August was so far away! A mixture of pre-production on my now failed movie making endeavour and heading to England to actually make the film kept numbers lower than previous months, which may have directly influenced the amount of dodgy looking films I was willing to take a chance on. Of the 67 (606 year to date) films seen in August (9 rewatches with a total of 76 YTD) only 3 were really awful wastes of time and all 3 of them released in 2013. Whereas 9 were really very good and I even found 2 masterpieces, both recent films however.

My list of films seen released in 2013 reached 85 with a pretty hefty 18 added in August, the best of which, A Teacher, will place low on my Top 15 for the year so far.

Here's my 14 recommendations (both positive and negative) from August.

Avoid Like The Plague

The Lifeguard (2013) Dir. Liz W. Garcia

So I like Kristen Bell in this but it's all so bland and bordering on stupid and definitely unnecessary. There's an attempt to be "of the moment" in terms of structure, style and content but really it's shit like this that gives indie film a bad name, cliche ridden and handheld for no reason whatsoever.

Epic (2013) Dir. Chris Wedge

Pretty much the worst animated movie I've seen in years, ugly animation, lazy animation, terrible stunt voice casting, awfully basic storytelling.

R.I.P.D. (2013) Dir. Robert Schwentke

Well, yes, that just happened. A concept with a whole lot of potential ruined by a director who didn't seem to have a cohesive overall vision, a script that was highly derivative and lacking in FUN and some truly terribly CGI coupled with awful cinematography. This is a truly disastrous movie and here's hoping that Robert Schwentke will be dispatched to the Rest In Peace Department for terrible directors and so no longer be able to "entertain" us with such cinematic marvels as RED, Flightplan and The Time Traveller's Wife.

Minutes & Money Well Spent

Marriage Material (2012) Dir. Joe Swanberg

One of the most accurate yet subtle portraits of the differences between men and women and the way they approach relationships. You'll almost certainly find the crying baby divisive, I know I just wanted it to shut the hell up whilst others wanted to pick it up. The raw honesty that Swanberg brings to this film stands in stark contrast to the more recent Drinking Buddies and hopefully is a sign of what I should expect as I dig deeper in to his back catalogue.
The entire film is available for free via Swanberg's Vimeo page. 

Corky (1972) Dir. Leonard Horn

Leonard Horn's Corky is a true forgotten gem of 1970's American cinema. The story of an alcoholic stock car driver who still dreams big, who despite his undoubted talent is his own worst enemy, would feel right at home in the hands of David Gordon Green or Jeff Nicholls today, with its unflinching and unapologetic portrait of small town American life. Robert Blake is perfect as the titular character falling from grace in spectacular fashion, he's no Michael Shannon but very few are, and I encourage you all to seek out this movie at the earliest opportunity.

Shame (2011) Dir. Steve McQueen

Revisited because so many people have referenced this film after reading the script for my own current film project and considering I wasn't exactly gushing in my praise for this film previously it must have had a more pronounced impact on my subconscious than I realised; I kind of feel like a dirty plagiarist with some entire establishing sequences seemingly copied from Steve McQueen. McQueen really does structure his characters development very well, establishing mood as well as personality in a few simple steps and with the help of Michael Fassbender's wonderful lead performance he made one of the better films 2011 offered up.

My Favourite Year (1982) Dir. Richard Benjamin

Peter O'Toole is quite wonderful as the Errol Flynn type down on his luck drinking womanising Hollywood idol and to recast this role with Russell Brand is a much larger travesty than doing the same with Dudley Moore's Arthur, as Peter O'Toole brings a lot more to every moment than comedic likeability, his natural acting talent and decades of presence fill the screen in ways that 99.9% of actors could never hope to match, let alone "alternative" comedians slash celebrities slash big-haired junkies.

Hollywoodland (2006) Dir. Allen Coulter

Every time I watch this movie I like it more and more, there's so much to be liked in terms of content and performance. Adrien Brody leads the way as the private detective putting himself in harms way to get to the truth but the quality doesn't stop there with powerful performances from Diane Lane, Ben Affleck and Bob Hoskins in support. But it is the mood and tone of the piece that really captures my imagination, recalling Schlesinger's fabulous Day of the Locust in it's portrayal of the decay of the Golden Age of Hollywood in addition to period noir, there is so much more to Hollywoodland than mere noirstalgia.

Inception (2010) Dir. Christopher Nolan

I went from giving this film full marks 3 years ago to being barely able to get to the end. It's still visually impressive, the scope of his imagination is incredibly large, there's not a single bad performance from the huge ensemble cast and yet, really, when you get down to it, there's a great big nothing at the heart of this movie. It's all spectacle, intelligent spectacle but only distracting entertainment nonetheless.

A Teacher (2013) Dir. Hannah Fidell

Hannah Fidell's A Teacher is the second movie seen this month focusing on an older woman's affair with a schoolboy. Whereas The Lifeguard attempts to present Kristen Bell's folly in a realistic and sympathetic light A Teacher attempts nothing, it just watches the relationship, lets the audience make its own mind up and shows the very real consequences on Lindsay Burdge's teacher.
Fidell's direction is necessarily unobtrusive considering the potentially salacious subject matter and the film relies heavily on the performance of Burdge who is more than up to the task. She carries the descent from happy, functioning member of society in to a despairing wreck with apparent ease and even better none of the cliché histrionics that lesser performers might have been tempted to resort to.
For fans of the prevalent style in contemporary American low budget cinema, A Teacher is a fine film well worth your iTunes download purchase.

Truck Turner (1974) Dir. Jonathan Kaplan

Truck Turner is pretty much one long 90 minute chase scene that sets out at 100mph to entertain and doesn't let off until the credits roll. Much to my surprise Isaac Hayes is great as the eponymous anti-hero but he's not alone in a cast that features wonderfully enjoyable performances from Alan Weeks, Nichelle Nichols and of course Yaphet Kotto. 

Hard Times (1975) Dir. Walter Hill

From the opening scenes the cinematography of occasional Hill collaborator Philip Lathrop is superb, and it deserves to be seen for the way he makes each shot a piece of art but it is what it is thanks to the firm foundation of Hill's approach towards the material and the excellent casting of Bronson and Coburn. It is a film that could quite easily have been turned in to another silly caper in the wrong hands, especially if some unwise fool had opted to use the banjo on the score but Bronson barely speaks and Coburn bristles at every slight, between them they bring incredible presence and subtlety. And that subtlety is what sets this film above most others on a similar subject.

Masterpiece 

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011) Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Straight in as my favourite film of 2011, heads a truly impressive 15 for the year.
A true masterpiece of the medium, visually stunning, a mesmerising film from first to last that piles layer upon layer of complexity and yet remains (if you choose) a sublimely simple tale of picking up a dead body from a field and performing an autopsy. Worth every second of the 150 minute runtime. 

Weekend (2011) Dir. Andrew Haigh

The first time I saw Andrew Haigh's Weekend I was so very impressed. Now I'm about to shoot my own film in similar cramped conditions I thought it was about time to revisit as "research". If anything it is even more impressive this time around. If I can make a movie half as impressive as this I will be a very happy man.

 Any thoughts? Hit me up on twitter

Movie Diary #13: July 2013

July went quickly. I've been working hard on pre-production of my debut feature film but still managed to watch 71 movies according to Letterboxd. That makes 539 YTD. 8 of those are rewatches bringing YTD total up to 67, I think my dream of limiting that number to 10% of my total is well and truly dead at this point.

I saw an incredible 23 new films in July, thanks in part to the Revelation Film Fest, this number accounts for over a third of the 2013 films seen this year. 67 is a good strong number and I think reaching 100 before January is well within my grasp. My end of year Top 15 has 11 strong candidates listed so far, despite my general disgust with the majority of new releases it's good to see that there's still some real quality finding its way on to screens.

In total I have 21 recommendations from the month, 6 that you should really stay clear of, believe me you're going to appreciate that with this bunch. 15 really great films that are close to being masterpieces and then 2 actual masterpieces, one an all time favourite and the other is possibly the best you'll see from the post-mumblecore scene.

For those of you interested in my film, it's called Good Times and it can be found at facebook and on twitter so far but there's some other social networking in the pipeline. I'd love it if you guys could like it and follow and stuff, any word of mouth on the project will be helpful.

Dire

The Croods (2013) Dir. Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders

No. Just no. The trailer looked really stupid and I wasn't disappointed by the feature. It's oh so ugly to look at too.

Off World (2013) Dir. Emmett Callinan

A low budget sci-fi thriller that looks and feels exactly like a low budget sci-fi thriller, generic plot and dialogue, daytime soap level line readings and a really peculiar greyscale colorisation applied throughout. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was developed for syfy or whatever the channel is branding itself as these days.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) Dir. Jon Chu

Was this one of those movies where Bruce Willis gets paid by 50 Cent to show up for a bit to try to give a really awful film some credibility? I'd say that's possible. I expected it to be stupid and fun but this is stupid and dull which is the ultimate crime when you have a bunch of guys running around shooting stuff really. I'd watch The Rock in anything and so this was guaranteed to show up in my life sooner or later, I wish it had been much later, like when I'm over my whole "I'll watch The Rock in anything" phase.

Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013) Dir. Wayne Kramer

This movie was originally written for FRED DURST to wear a backwards baseball cap whilst directing it. Wayne Kramer didn't save it although I'm certain he's a better director than Mr Bizkit.

Oblivion (2013) Dir. Joseph Kosinski

Possibly the worst big budget science fiction movie I've seen since Surrogates. Oblivion is a dull, unimaginative, ugly, derivative, obvious, grey, overly long Tom Cruise vehicle. I hope that this is forgotten about very quickly and never mentioned again. I really wanted to say consigned to oblivion but the film was so bad it didn't deserve the pun.

Sudden Death (1995) Dir. Peter Hyams

Almost unwatchable for non martial arts fans I would say. The action is poor anyway but some of the choices Hyams makes for purposes of "tension" or "suspense" left me quite bemused. The major fault lies with the script however. Written by the guy who wrote Police Academy 3, 4 and 5 based on a story idea by somebody else?! How do you have the story idea for this? I must assume it was "lets regurgitate Die Hard without what made it special" brainstorming sessions that accounts for her moment of genius.

Really Very Good Actually

Revanche (2009) Dir. Götz Spielmann

I feel like this was a major influence on the development of the far inferior and much less subtle Place Beyond The Pines. Instead of being violent or flashy it is just a simple, slow, study of humanity.

28 Hotel Rooms (2012) Dir. Matt Ross

A love affair between two people who only meet in hotel rooms, told only when they are in those hotel rooms. It's certainly a gimmick but 28 Hotel Rooms is much more than that, it's an exploration of how we love, why we love, the restrictions we place on love, it's funny, sweet, poignant, thought provoking, it recalls all those failed love affairs in your past and reminds you of the good and the bad but mostly it reminds you of why you loved in the first place.

The Fifth Season (2013) Dir. Peter Brosens, Jessica Hope Woodworth

50 movies and six months in to 2013 and The Fifth Season has become the frontrunner for movie of the year. As Ronan Doyle said in his excellent review it really is The Wicker Man as made by Roy Andersson. It's beautiful to look at, mesmerising at times, paced to perfection and almost so subtle that you might miss the apocalyptic overtones that would mark it as another product of 2013's Year of The End. Should I trademark that?

Supporting Characters (2013) Dir.  Daniel Schechter

Supporting Characters is another in the seemingly endless stream of low budget character and dialogue driven New York feature films linked to the slackervetes group of filmmakers. It's a witty low-fi romantic comedy starring one of the unlikeliest romcom protagonists you're ever likely to meet, Alex Karpovsky. But it's not just another film for the canon, it's one of the better examples of post-mumblecore on a restricted budget.

Modern Love Is Automatic (2010) Dir. Zach Clark

A nurse moonlights as a dominatrix, her room mate is a naive and enthusiastic aspiring model who is repeatedly taken advantage of in her quest to be successful. These are not the elements you might ordinarily associate with comedy but Zach Clark seemingly looks at the world in a different way to other writers and with the help of great performances from Melodie Sisk and Maggie Ross offers the viewer an insight in to an alternative take on modern American life.

Zach Clark has made this film available to stream for free at Vimeo. I highly recommend you check it out.

White Reindeer (2013) Dir. Zach Clark

White Reindeer is somehow the 500th movie I've seen in the first six and a half months of 2013. I just felt that landmark should have been announced somewhere. I'm so grateful that it was a very good movie indeed, worthy of a milestone such as this one. Over indulgence is a Christmas tradition right?
Films like this once confirm that I do not have what it takes to review or talk about movies professionally, when I truly enjoy a film I suddenly find myself with nothing to say at all that can do my feelings justice but rest assured list lovers White Reindeer will certainly feature high in my end of year list

Blind Shaft (2003) Dir. Yang Li

Part noir, part bleak social realism, all brilliant. Fans of everything I love in cinema should be ready to be wowed by this product of Mainland China that shares as much with the great cinema of the Romanian New Wave as it does modern neo-noir such as Winter's Bone.

Only God Forgives (2013) Dir. Nicholas Winding Refn

His films may not have reached masterpiece levels just yet but Refn is consistently a top quality filmmaker that is a pleasure to watch even on his off days. I asked the question previously, where are all the Refn copycats? The answer is nowhere, what he does with the crime genre takes vision, skill and talent compared to those Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino wannabes churning out generic garbage. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) Dir. Shane Black

A first rewatch in 2 years and I'm pretty certain that Shane Black is some kind of insane genius, as that is what it would take to write and envision something as wonderfully playful as this without descending in to farce and still crafting a damned fine neo-noir thriller.

Outland (1981) Dir. Peter Hyams

It feels a little ordinary and conventional in 2013 but in a world where Alien was still new and fresh there should have been plenty of room for Sean Connery running around a space station with a shotgun taking down a drug smuggling ring with the help of a black man and an actual real female character that wasn't a plot device, a wife, or a love interest (played perfectly by Frances Sternhagen.)

No Distance Left To Run (2010) Dir. Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern

Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave were THE reason for my love of guitar based indie pop at a time when EVERYONE around me seemed to be in to some form of garage dance rave shit and to have this film as a document to refer back to that time in my life is wonderful, that' s actually an incredibly well made film that combines archive material, live footage and new interviews just elevates it to a whole new level. All of the new material is of such a high quality too.

Before Midnight (2013) Dir. Richard Linklater

I was incredibly sceptical about a third film in this series and yet incredibly excited at the same time. To witness Richard Linklater directing Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as Jesse and Celine is something akin to perfect cinema as defined by Andre Bazin, everything about their lives captured on screen feels so honest, a truth often attempted but rarely achieved in independent American film and I am more than ready to watch this series every 9 years for the rest of my life.

More Than Honey (2013) Dir. Markus Imhoof

Much more than stunning wildlife photography, this fascinating documentary could be enough to make you a militant vegan, a depressed anti-capitalist, a staunch opponent of America and a dedicated Western Australian based cinematographer.

Oh how beautiful my country looks on film, oh how disgusting the practices of money hungry migratory bee farmers, oh those poor little magnificent creatures, oh how dumb Markus Imhoof allows those Americans to look on film.

Sin City (2005) Dir. Robert Rodriguez

Quite unsurprisingly after 8 years the wow factor has worn away from this incredibly faithful adaptation but what remains is still one bad ass noir graphic novel complete with some of the best performances of the casts career. Frank Miller's attempt at The Spirit shows that it's not just his superb graphic novel that's responsible for the inherent quality in this production, underneath all that shiny CGI Robert Rodriguez is one hell of a director.

Brick (2005) Dir. Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson's huge leap of imagination is just as impressive today as it was 8 years ago. This high school noir homage sets the tone from the opening shots and doesn't let up until the dame swings from her pretty little neck.

Masterpieces

The Limey (1999) Dir. Steven Soderbergh

Tell him I'm fucking coming!
Man I love this movie, one of the most important movies of my life, seeing this made me love Soderbergh, and you know how it goes from there. Between the Dobbs script and Soderbergh's direction a fantastically entertaining experiment in noir storytelling unfolds with a brilliant lead performance from Terence Stamp that breaks your heart by the time of denouement. Simply wonderful.

The Colour Wheel (2012) Dir. Alex Ross Perry

JR takes a road trip with her brother, they bicker and snipe like only siblings can. That's pretty much it. And it's a brilliant piece of American filmmaking. So incredibly and unexpectedly funny from start to finish, the double team of Altman and Perry have such incredible chemistry that they brought tears to my eyes with their mean spirited quips and barrage of inappropriateness. The grainy 16mm image and location shooting might lead you to think this is another offering from the Slackervetes school of naturalism but you'll either realise your error and go with the slightly surreal nature of the story quite quickly or hate this film completely for confusing your brain with its mixed messages.

So that's that, go right ahead and comment and tweet me and stuff, don't forget to show Good Times some love on the social networks. If you've got questions about the film or whatever I'm happy to answer them.

Movie Diary #12: June 2013

Half the year gone and I've seen 468 films. June was an odd month, after the craziness of May I took a break, only watching films occasionally, and I still managed to reach 71 over 30 days. 8 were rewatches bringing the YTD rewatches to 59.

The highlight would almost certainly be Spring Breakers which I saw twice in three days and whilst it's not something I would consider a masterpiece just yet it's certainly got something special going for it whilst at the same time being quite awful.

2013 continues to disappoint in general, 11 new movies seen in June taking the YTD count up to 44 but of those, 5 were contributions to this months 9 truly awful viewing experiences.

At the other end of the spectrum the ongoing Noir-a-Thon provided 4 of the 5 masterpieces for the month but sadly they were all rewatches. But there was a very healthy 12 films that come highly recommended. If you're looking for something great that you might not have heard of, these 12 are for you.

Dire

Hesher (2010) Dir. Spencer Susser

It's not funny, it's dumb. It's not dramatic or charming, it's dumb and incredibly obvious from the start. And dumb. If it wasn't for watching JGL have a good time as Hesher this would be completely unwatchable.

The Blood of Heroes (1990) Dir. David Webb Peoples

The idea of a David Webb Peoples scripted apocalyptic sports movie starring Rutger Hauer was too much to resist. I wish I had. It's boring and repetitive from the opening scene and the tedium doesn't lift until the credits roll. If you like violence in your scifi movie you might like this one.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) Dir. Don Scardino

Every so often a movie comes along that is so bad you wish you could get arrested for downloading it. I deserve to be sent to jail for a very long time for inflicting this one on Leah but John Francis Daley deserves to be shot out of a fucking canon in to the Great Wall of China without a helmet for writing this shit. I used to feel bad that he was the only member of the Freaks and Geeks cast that didn't seem to make any impact as an actor but now after putting up with this tragic waste of Jim Carrey, Steve Buscemi, Alan Arkin and Steve Carrell for the past 100 minutes I wish him an anonymous painful, penniless death in a Hollywood skid row apartment that had its power and water switched off two years previously and a serious rat infestation.

Phantom (2013) Dir. Todd Robinson

I feel bad for every actor involved with this, especially if they worked for scale. It's not the worst movie of the year and as with Robinson's previous work it looks good but that is pretty much it.

I, Anna (2012) Dir. Barnaby Southcombe

There's no way this would have been made if the director wasn't Charlotte Rampling's son. It's a pretty poor noir that focuses on style without being particularly stylish. So much of the dialogue is dreadful in that trying too hard to be real kind of way that we've been inflicted with by sub-standard writers in a post-Tarantino world and isn't helped by actors who aren't good enough but then when Rampling and Byrne are struggling with it you can't really blame them.

Last Days (2005) Dir. Gus van Sant

Gus van Sant's Last Days occasionally threatens to be more than a bizarre series of scenes of Michael Pitt wandering around mumbling incoherently but constantly fails to deliver on its promise instead heading off in to a world of ill-considered moments of Lukas Haas forgetting the words to a Velvet Underground song. If there is meaning and understanding to be found in this film it was hidden pretty deep and I didn't find it.

Odd Thomas (2013) Dir. Stephen Sommers

A plot about the after life filmed in a completely lifeless way. Tries for a similar feel to John Dies at the End but fails miserably despite the much bigger budget. That is why Don Coscarelli is an under appreciated great and Stephen Sommers is a chump who makes boring movies.

Penthouse North (2013) Dir. Joseph Ruben

This is one star for Michael Keaton, the rest of the movie is a pile of shit that should never have been greenlit. Dreadful dialogue, awful direction, Keaton aside the acting is mediocre at best. There's an interesting enough heist concept here; two guys want to get back what was stolen from them in a doublecross, they hold a blind woman hostage in her penthouse apartment and attempt to torture the location from here, and yet that is the extent of the exploration of the scenario. What follows is at best generic, obvious and cliched and at worst painfully dumb.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) Dir. Antoine Fuqua

So offensively bad in every way. I could criticise it for hours but what's the point? You're either an idiot like me who expects it to be bad and watches it anyway or you're an idiot who expects it to be good and can't wait to watch all 17 hours of this mess by Antoine Fuqua, either way we're all swimming through a sea of shit of our own making.

Really Very Good Actually

In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2007) Dir. Alex Holdridge

A charming and funny look at life and love in your late 20's. The witty script and great chemistry between the two leads sets it apart from all the other Richard Linklater and Woody Allen wannabes.

Stoker (2013) Dir. Park Chan-Wook

I can't imagine there will be a more intelligent Hollywood movie in 2013, or perhaps I should say one that treats the audience as if they have intelligence. Content wise it is far beyond my previous experiences with Park Chan-Wook but whether I enjoyed it as much is another matter. Bring on the rewatch.

Never Let Go (1963) Dir. John Guillermin

A quite brilliant late British noir that seems to have been unfairly forgotten. Peter Sellars as the villain is exceptionally evil whilst Richard Todd as the down on his luck everyman with nothing to lose finds his fighting spirit at last in a final showdown that wouldn't be out of place in Killer's Kiss. The use of expressionist light and shadow is up there with the best that Hollywood's emigres had to offer and the story is pure pulp goodness.

Hell in the Pacific (1968) Dir. John Boorman

Not as flashy as John Boorman's Point Blank but almost as impressive in terms of pure cinema. Two men who don't speak the same language, natural enemies infact, are stranded on a Pacific island. It works as an examination of the stupidity of war and a study of the strengths of man, it should have been a success and certainly deserves more than to be forgotten by new generations of moviegoers.

Le Fils (2002) Dir. The Dardenne Brothers

Very very impressive, four films in to the Dardenne filmography and this is my favourite to date. Their usual adherence to realism in cinema is enhanced by a bold and interesting choice in cinematography, their camera mimicking the protagonist in its sneaking and hiding, watching him almost like an obsessed ghost, framing that ordinarily might be considered odd (and just might frustrate a lot of viewers) gives a strange claustrophobia to Olivier's existence and left me fascinated and enthralled throughout.

Another Earth (2011) Dir. Mike Cahill

Quite nearly perfect. Cahill and Marling don't seem to make a bad decision between them for 90+ minutes in this low-fi "sci-fi" drama. Except like the greats of science fiction (as seen as props in the film) this isn't really about space and stuff, it's about humanity. There are a few wobbly moments where the low budget and sophomore director become obvious but beyond that it's simply great storytelling.

Mud (2013) Dir. Jeff Nichols

It was always going to suffer in comparison to Take Shelter and Killer Joe but Jeff Nichols manages to take 2012's Man of the Year a step in a different direction with this wonderful coming of age/teens left to their own devices as old customs are slowly dying story. If he is to replace Soderbergh as my favourite American filmmaker then this one will surely be compared to King of the Hill in years to come.

Bal (2011) Dir. Semih Kaplanoglu

Ronan's Something to Watch list strikes gold again!

Another simple and beautiful film that tells it's story with very few words whilst at the same time being a statement about the power of storytelling. Features a remarkable central performance from a child actor and a director who makes the most of his locations to magnify the power of his message.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009) Dir. Werner Herzog

There's a reason that I didn't remember my current favourite actor, Michael Shannon, appearing in this movie; he has two of the tiniest scenes imaginable whilst still getting a credit. Can you imagine a Werner Herzog film starring Cage and Shannon? It's an incredibly tantalising concept, well at least when the inner Cage is channelled in to producing something close to this recent career high. I really dig this film so the lack of Shannon wasn't too disappointing, it was always worthy of a rewatch. Even if you ignore the iguanas this is one batshit crazy film whilst still remaining a high quality mainstream crime film and character study of a good man battling his inner demons. The title is a bit of a mouthful though.

Funny Ha Ha (2002) Dir. Andrew Bujalski

The central performance from Kate Dollenmayer certainly elevates it above a lot of the other films associated with the mumblecore movement and the aimless meandering of her character Marnie combined with the awkward blathering conversations featured does hit points that others just can't seem to reach due to higher budgets or attempts to improve on the formula or simply ideas that are not as well realised.

Spring Breakers (2013) Dir. Harmony Korine

By far Harmony Korine's most accessible work, not sure whether that makes it his best or not. A giant horrible mess of images from the worst of American college life evolves in to something much better but I don't know what. A disconcerting viewing experience if only because you don't now what to make of it.

Big Night (1996) Dir. Stanley Tucci

Charming is usually a dirty word in this household, charming should never be the first word you use to describe a film as 99 times out of 100 it also usually means it's trite and cynical. Stanley Tucci's directorial debut is neither of those thing but it is most definitely a charming ensemble piece that highlights the absolute waste of talent that is both Tony Shaloub and Stanley Tucci when working minor character parts in mainstream Hollywood cinema. I don't think it's a secret to anyone who has been paying attention for the past 20+ years that both of these actors are almost always the finest performers in whatever they appear in but the sheer size and brilliance of their abilities is magnified astronomically when allowed the freedom to truly inhabit a role and a film for 90+ minutes.

Masterpiece

Twelve Monkeys (1995) Dir. Terry Gilliam

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen Twelve Monkeys now and it just keeps impressing me. Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt and Terry Gilliam have all got careers filled with great films but this one has to be considered in the top two if not the best of the bunch for each of them. Of course David Webb Peoples also wrote Unforgiven and Blade Runner so you can't say the same about him. Impressive.

The Darjeeling Limited (2007) Dir. Wes Anderson

A beautiful masterpiece of quirky familial drama and spiritual road movie. It is the most visually impressive of all of his films and in Brody, Wilson & Schwartzman the finest individual and ensemble performances too. I never get tired of watching it.

L.A. Confidential (1997) Dir. Curtis Hanson

Not only is L.A. Confidential a great adaptation but it is a great movie in its own right that fully deserved every single one of those nine Oscar nominations. That it lost to Titanic of all films is a complete and utter travesty.

Dark City (1998) Dir. Alex Proyas

Much less flashy than the similar themed Matrix this movie has aged like a fine wine compared to the other slightly more vinegary Wachowski brew. The screenplay from Dobbs and Goyer is the philosophical and thematic successor to the seminal Blade Runner whereas the direction of Proyas and cinematography of Wolski owe a lot more to Escher and German Expressionism, with a little help from some hard working talented set and costume designers.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) Dir. Myrick & Sanchez

Considering it avoids all temptation to have men in suits leaping out at you, gore spattering the lens or a score designed to make you jump Blair Witch really gets your heart racing by spending an hour making you empathise with all three characters despite the fact that they are truly awful people with the irritating habit of pretty much shouting everything. Seeing it as part of documentary theory class caused me to reassess my entire way of thought on the film, it's not just scary it's a wonderful exploration of what it means to be in front of or behind a camera, perhaps not on the same artistic level as Dziga Vertov but for the post-MTV handicam generation it's almost a masterpiece.

I'm up for discussions on these or any other film if you are. Get in touch via twitter, comment below or do something crazy like email me via the about page.