Matthew’s Letterboxd Watchlist
All the films turned bad this week. I don’t know why, but there were some real stinkers in here. That probably explains why the weekend ended up being a watch of several films I knew I liked just to even things up!
Lilo & Stitch
Okay so it didn’t start out that badly. Our episode of Pop Culturally Deprived about L&S comes out in a couple of weeks, and it’s a really good discussion. This is one of my favourite Disney films. I love the story and a lot of what it does, plus the character of Stitch is so appealing to me. It’s never gotten worse in all the times I’ve seen it.
Baby Driver
The first half of Baby Driver is still excellent. All the performances, the direction, the editing (oh wow the editing) are terrific, but are trumped by the staging and the music video motion going on almost all the time. And then the film slows down, becomes a dramatic thriller, and has a finale in a car park. Which isn’t a good fit for a film about driving fast and stylishly around the city.
Equilibrium
I’ve mentioned this a few times recently as a film I think is great but feels like it should be bad. I think I’ve been able to work out why – a lot of it doesn’t make sense or has dissonance between what we’re told and what we’re shown, and yet it’s got a pretty good story and has something to say. Even if that is something that’s already been said by other stories. I think more than anything the minimal budget is what hampers this film, and yet it’s a pretty good sci-fi action piece.
Vanilla Sky
Having never seen Vanilla Sky I felt like I should watch it. There are some interesting ideas in here, but the problem is none of the characters are likeable, and if I’m supposed to be unsure which reality is real then I need to want one of them to be real even if it’s implying it isn’t (see Inception for this to be done well). But I didn’t feel anything for any of the realities, and wasn’t surprised when it tried to be mysterious by not answering the questions but felt it was just a lie of omission rather than clever.
The Hurricane Heist
There’s a strange thing going on with distribution this year. Hurricane Heist is the second film to come out theatrically and on Sky Cinema at the same time. And the trailers made it seem like an interesting action film. Sadly it wasn’t. I can’t berate this film enough. If I hadn’t been actively trying to watch lots of films this year I would have turned it off halfway through, if not earlier. Poor acting, poorly written characters, clunky dialogue, and action that was ridiculous (people who aim down gunsights should not miss so regularly as they do on film).
Airplane!
Fortunately when I turned that off one of the greatest comedies was just starting. There are definitely elements that now detract from it – the way the film treats women and non-American culture particularly – but there are still gags in here that make me cry with laughter despite knowing they’re coming. In general it’s an affectionate pastiche, using the core premise for comedy rather than spoofing it and pointing out flaws.
The Warriors
A cult classic that I’ve never watched but have seen referenced, parodied, quoted, and otherwise included in other works. I’m really pleased I have seen this now, it’s an excellent film – there’s a terrific sense of pacing to it, and despite being 94 minutes long it still takes its time and gives us long pans to show the quiet but foreboding streets. Another director, especially in modern times, would be filling this with action and making it a non-stop rollercoaster, but making this smaller and more patient just makes it feel more dangerous and like anyone in the gang could be in trouble at any moment.
Toy Story 3
To have the climax of your film reap some wonderful moment whilst also doing epic danger is something I perhaps have never seen done, but Toy Story 3 does exactly that with its final act. The rest delights in having toys acting like people more so than either of the first two films, but dials down some of the emotion found throughout those. The second film is still my favourite, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.
The Punisher
Like Equilibrium this is a film I like despite thinking it’s perhaps not that good. It tries very hard to channel elements of the Godfather and Shakespeare’s tragedies, and at times it works. But at other times it becomes over-violent and obvious in its plotting. Along with Blade, Constantine, and V For Vendetta this is a comic book movie that works a bit differently than most and is all the better for it.
Recommendation
The Warriors really engrossed me. Picking up on elements that were used in the Matrix trilogy, Tarantino films, Grosse Pointe Blank and others delighted me as such things always do. I can completely understand why it didn’t work for most on release because it assumes the gangs are positive forces and doesn’t question their existence, but does use them as the basis for a tense chase throughout the city. This is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for something engaging and interesting outside of the Hollywood norm.