Matthew’s Letterboxd Watchlist
I ran a poll on social media a little while back about whether I should watch ‘classic’ movies that I’ve never seen but that I’m not sure I’m going to enjoy. These are films like The Sound of Music, Singin’ In The Rain, and Shakespeare In Love. The response was overwhelmingly I should at least run a poll on each of the films to see about that one in particular, if not just watch them anyway.
So we’re starting that this week with a few ‘classic’ movies that I wasn’t sure about, and with mixed results so far. I am enjoying having seen them now so I can talk about them in the knowledge that I didn’t enjoy it as much, if not having actually enjoyed it.
Blade Runner 2049
I’m not coy that I don’t enjoy Blade Runner. It’s sci fi but not sci fi made for me, so I really wasn’t sure about the sequel. And it was pretty much as expected – slow, pretentious, and trying to do stuff that the first film did, but in a world where we’ve had that first film and some of the same elements done better elsewhere.
Sheikh Jackson
Whilst some of the movements of Sheikh Jackson were good fun I don’t think I got why it was made at the end. It seemed to maintain a status quo and not move the character on at all.
Looper
We’re covering this on Pop Culturally Deprived soon, so you can hear me gush about how much I like this film. I think a slightly higher budget for some of the action and another writer running through to make some of the exposition and plot development a little more nuanced would do it well, but overall a great film.
All The President’s Men
One of the things I’ve found with some of the older films I’ve watched is how they are very much of their time, or have been surpassed. This is another example. The film is tense and interesting, but the story relies heavily on your knowledge of the events themselves, and later films, Spotlight comes immediately to mind, do a similar story much better and allow you in more without having to know some of the detail.
The Sound of Music
As I said, this is a classic film I always felt I should watch but that I wouldn’t enjoy. Surprisingly it was better than expected. I think it’s way too long, and there’s a chunk of content that could be lost (basically everything with the baroness), but Julie Andrews is awesome throughout and does make it better.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I read the book on honeymoon and enjoyed it immensely. Sadly this is not a good adaptation – too much is left out that made the core story much stronger, and being so detached from the protagonist’s view of his friends shows them up for the pretentious people they are.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Still checking out some of Taika Waititi’s earlier movies, and this was a drastic improvement from Eagle vs Shark. It lost its way a little in the middle but the performances and characters really do carry this film.
Kinky Boots
We saw this on stage a few months ago and were pleased when it came to Amazon Prime Video. It’s a really good story, and I was struck how much it felt like a musical would suit it more than a straight comedy drama. One for everyone to check it out.
Sunset Boulevard
Like Citizen Kane this was another classic that I hadn’t seen, but I knew a lot about. Really pleased I’ve now seen it though, since it’s a wonderful film that really does deliver. So much of this is a pop culture reference now, but seeing it delivered in context is still something.
The Godfather: Part II
Another that we’re covering on Pop Culturally Deprived since Mandi Kaye liked the first one so much. It’s one of my favourite film series, and although the movie can be hard work at time it’s really rewarding to get through the whole thing and see what the whole structure and story was.
Recommendation
Really hard to choose because Godfather Part II and Sunset Boulevard were so good, but are also so well known. But since I was new to it, I have to recommend Sunset Boulevard. There’s a quiet tension that permeates the story, with sinister characters and mise-en-scène that help add to that feeling throughout, yet it manages to make Norma Desmond a sympathetic character.