Matthew’s Letterboxd Watchlist
Rashomon
Another ‘classic’ I knew a lot about but hadn’t seen, and every bit of quality is dripping off this film. The story’s delivery is so clever and a definite example of it being done so well the first time it was presented in this large a fashion. The performances changing throughout the different viewpoints really help sell it, and the fact the film leaves you not knowing what really happened just elevates it.
Hackers
Another one we’re covering on Pop Culturally Deprived, this film is about as 90’s as Top Gun is 80’s. It’s incredibly enjoyable and fun despite not necessarily being good.
The King of Comedy
For some reason this was buried in Amazon Prime Video’s lists, so I was very surprised to come across it. I’m pleased to have seen it – the film gave a lot to think about, especially when considering the juxtaposition between its dark content yet light delivery.
The Shanghai Job / S.M.A.R.T. Chase
Definitely not recommended, I think the producers wanted Jason Statham and insisted that Orlando Bloom put on his accent to make it through this. Lots of product placement, as well as shots showing how beautiful Shanghai is, this film doesn’t really have anything of any quality to it. Except the lack of guns throughout, so when a gun finally does show up it gets taken seriously. Guns are poorly written in most films as they have so much power but are easy to get rid of, so to have the one moment with a gun be done with aplomb was quite a surprise.
Frida
On the back of a bad film to a surprisingly great one. I’d been vaguely interested in this but there have been several mentions or references to the artist in recent months that made me want to see more. And this was an outstanding biopic. Colourful, visually astounding, dramatic performances, and a great tale of her life all told very succinctly.
Chicago
Another musical I felt I should watch, and I was a bit disappointed. The style around this is of gin joints and saucy goings on. It’s very tame compared to what they implied, and although I can see there are ways of doing this well, the film does not do those things. Two of the three leads are not cast well (Zellweger and Gere), and the film does not leverage its best songs well enough in reprises or lyrics to make them stand out as much as they should.
Much Ado About Nothing
In preparation of the Pop Culturally Deprived about the 2011 Tennant/Tate version I wanted to watch this. It’s a terrific adaptation of Shakespeare, and so many of the roles are played beautifully by great actors. Reeves is not as strong, but Don John is not an easy part as he’s only got a few weak moments in the play itself. But the leads are great and the emotion of “eat his heart” is superb.
Ingrid Goes West
This sounded interesting, but as I’ve found film blurbs are generally written more interestingly than the films themselves. Not as funny as it wanted, and treated the better characters poorly, whilst ending in a place that could be delivering a haunting or deep message, but neither came across.
Extinction
A Netflix recommendation that sounded right up my street. The action is very well done, and the film has good tension throughout. But it’s surprisingly ordinary otherwise. The ‘reveal’ would be interesting but it does nothing to change the plot itself or have real impact on the characters, and only helps us understand why the main character seemed to be dreaming of the events about to happen. Altogether a largely forgettable film.
Recommendation
Frida was definitely the best thing I watched this week. Every performance in this was superb, and the cinematography, visual effects, and overall style made it a treat of a film to watch. This is one to check out as soon as possible.