19 January 2025, late morning
I’ve seen Aftersun twice now. The first time alone during my big break, the second time last night with Shima. The film is slow, sweet, and sad. The audience watches a father and daughter on a resort trip in Turkey. The film is also presented, in some ways, as the daughter rewatching video clips recorded during the holiday. And perhaps the whole film is her trying to piece together the time they spent together. The film feels authentic and real, almost documentary. Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio play their parts perfectly. I watched an interview where they didn’t give Corio the entire script, just her parts, so she would be have the same understanding of the holiday as the character. I’m being pretty coy writing about the movie because I think it’s one best enjoyed with no expectations. I love the end of the movie. In some ways the whole movie is a slow build up for the last few moments of the film. You should watch this.
Aftersun official trailer.
Movies
15 April 2024, early afternoon
A weird double header of sorts for Sunday: Civil War in the afternoon with my friends and family, and then Aftersun alone at night. Two films that are difficult to watch in completely different ways. Civil Wars is Alex Garland’s latest film. The film follows war journalists covering a modern day civil war taking place in America. It’s an Alex Garland film, so we get to experience the full monstrosity of humanity. An intense movie that builds and builds to what felt like an inevitable conclusion. I felt the ending was a little bit rushed, the arc of the two leads felt too fast. Still, I enjoyed the film all the same. Aftersun was something else. A coming of age film. A film about memory and trying to understand the moments in our life that shape us. This film begins with a sense you’re going to watch one thing, and ends with you understanding you watched something completely different. This was a really beautiful movie. The ending sequence one of those incredible pieces of cinema that people will probably talk about forever and ever. It was a solid day of cinema.
Movies
10 April 2024, mid-morning
I was off to the Lightbox last Friday watch Wim Wenders latest film, Perfect Days, a film following the quiet life of a Tokyo sanitation worker, played wonderfully by Koji Yakusho. The audience experiences the perfects days of the films protagonist Hirayama, the structure and repetition of his life. Each day Hirayama wakes up to the sound of a women sweeping the street. He brushes his teeth, trims his moustache and shaves, and gets dressed. He picks up the keys and camera and change he put away the previous night at his door before heading out to start his day. He buys himself a coffee from a vending machine and heads off to work. And so on and so forth. His days are simple, but quietly joyous. The film shows us the patterns of his life, and the audience intuits whats going on through the little snapshots of his life that follow as we experience subsequent days of his life. The movie is meditative. There is very little dialogue. Koji Yakusho’s performance is incredible. This was a wonderful film.
The trailer for Perfect Days.
Movies
25 January 2024, mid-morning
Mezan, Mahi, Flora and I watched The Abyss last night at the Revue. I don’t think I’ve seen the film since the 90s. A new 4K restoration of the movie had it back in cinemas for one day last year, which I missed. I was happy to see I had a second chance to see it on the big screen. The film follows an underwater oil mining crew working alongside some Navy Seals on an exploration and rescue mission for a downed US nuclear submarine. They encounter something unusual at these deep ocean depths. The film is an incredible as I remembered it, perhaps even more so. There are so many scenes in this movie where I was left wondering how the actors didn’t drown. People are seemingly soaking wet all the time. The shots underwater are apparently underwater. It’s unreal. If you haven’t seen this movie, you must. If you have, it’s well worth revisiting.
The Abyss in 4K Trailer.
Movies
14 September 2023, mid-afternoon
My second film at TIFF was Ru, which I watched alone in the afternoon—one of the perks of being off at the moment. Kim Thúy, the author of the autobiographical book this film was based on, was in attendance as she served as an executive producer on the film. She’s so funny, bubbly, and joyous in real life. Not really what I was expecting after reading her book. The actress who plays her character in the movie also has that same energy, which was funny since in the film she is a force of quiet sadness throughout. The movie was incredible. The sort of film that makes you love movies. Well shot, acted, and scored. It’s such a tightly put together movie. A movie that takes its time with its shots, but never feels slow. I’m off to read the book again.
Watch the trailer for Ru.
Movies
22 March 2023, early evening
I watched Singin’ in the Rain for the first time a few years ago. I don’t recall what prompted me to finally watch it, beyond it being this classic of cinema. I recently picked the film up on Blu-Ray so I could watch it in fancy 4K, and watched it again today. Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen play silent movie stars who must make the transition to the world of films with sound. The catch is that Hagen has a terrible voice! Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor round out the cast. This film lives up to all its praise and hype. It’s an incredible movie. I’m not a big fan of musicals, but this one features such amazing dance numbers. (The most impressive one being this total non-sequitor clearly inserted to show case Kelly’s talent.) Make the time to watch this.
Movies
21 January 2023, late morning
I have finally watched Everything Everywhere All At Once! I didn’t think the film could live up to all the hype that’s built up in my head, but somehow it was even better and weirder than I thought it would be. The always incredible Michelle Yeoh plays an bitter old immigrant mom who runs a laundromat being audited by the IRS; her sweeter husband is played by Ke Huy Quan; rounding out the main cast is Stephanie Hsu as Yeoh’s daughter, and Jamie Lee Curtis as the IRS auditor. There is a multiverse, and Michelle Yeoh and her family are all up in it. There is much more to the film, but you should watch it to find out what’s up. The movie feels like it moves between genres and moods with ease and grace: one minute you’re watching a Jackie Chan film, the next a Wong Kar Wai film. It feels like the best of Hong Kong cinema, but somehow made in the US. The cast does a wonderful job with their roles: funny when they need to be, and then all of a sudden so serious. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan won Golden Globes for their roles, both well deserved. A film well worth watching. I wish I had trekked out to the cinema to see it.
Movies
14 January 2023, mid-afternoon
My brothers are in town. Last night we sat down and watched My Neighbour Totoro together. The story is simple: two sisters move to a rundown house in the countryside to be closer to their hospitalized mother; they explore the wilderness, and meet a magical creature called Totoro. The stakes are never too high. It’s a film set in the countryside that feels like it perfectly captures the pacing of the countryside. The animation is beautiful, full of now iconic images. The film’s score somehow is just as excellent. How had I made it to 42 without having seen it?
Movies
14 January 2023, early morning
RRR, the latest film from SS Rajamouli, tells the incredibly fictional tale of the revolutionary bromance of two real people: Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem. This film is throughly ridiculous and amazing. Every performance is over the top in the best way possible. We have two bros: Raju, a British officer and totally jacked Indian man, alongside Bheem, a Liam Nielsen-esque protector of his tribe, who is also totally jacked. Comically evil British people have stolen a child from Bheem’s village. He is off to rescue the child, and Raju is off to stop him. The film is 3 hours long and is electric throughout.
Movies
21 June 2021, late morning
I bought a new TV a little while ago, to go with the PlayStation 5 I bought a little while ago. Now I can watch things in 4K and HDR and all that fancy stuff. I bought a few movies to see what all the fuss is about. One of the films was Sam Medes’s 1917, something I had wanted to see for some time. Man, why did I wait to watch this? Sam Mendes, the director, has really made something memorable here. The movie follows two fellows trying to get a message to another battalion at the tail end of the First World War. It’s a really good war movie, about one of the most futile and pointless wars people have fought. Lots of famous British actors you will recognize littered throughout the film. I wasn’t familiar with the two leads, but they were both great. It is such an incredible film. One of the best films I’ve ever seen? Certainly one of the most technically brilliant: the film is presented as one continuous shot. Roger Deakins was the cinematographer on the movie and certainly deserves the Oscar he won. There are some impressive sequences I want to watch again already. Shima and I watched all the documentaries on the disc about making the film, we were so enthralled with the film. If you haven’t seen this movie go see it out.
The trailer for 1917.
Movies
19 April 2021, early morning
I used to write about every movie I watched, and then stopped, probably because there is just too much friction. A shame, it’s sometimes nice to look back and review what films I’ve seen and what I thought at the time. I watch YouTube clips and Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White enough that the great algorithm started funnelling me towards clips from a 2015 film, Burnt. Seeing as this is as close I will get to get to Michelin star dining for some time I decided to watch it yesterday, and it certainly scratched that itch. I’ve seen lots of documentaries about Michelin star chefs and the experience of chasing that star. (Boiling Point about Gordon Ramsay is excellent if you are looking for one. Apparently as part of getting ready for the film Bradley Cooper worked in Ramsay’s restaurant.) The film stars Cooper as a chef returning to the world of fine dining after destroying his career through addiction. He gets his band back together, so to speak, and starts a new restaurant with the hopes of getting 3 stars. The movie features all the French brigade system yelling you’d expect. There is a small love story between Cooper and Miller, but it’s not central to the film. I enjoyed it a lot. It made me so hungry.
[2] Movies
20 September 2020, early afternoon
This past weekend I was back at home in Scarborough, which seemed as good a time as any to watch films Shima has zero interest in watching. So it came to pass that I watched Sicario late Friday night, and its sequel early Saturday morning. Sicario is excellent. Emily Blunt plays an idealistic FBI agent who stumbles upon a house full of cartel murder victims in the opening minutes of the film. She then gets sucked into the world of two mysterious government agents who are pursuing the cartels much more aggressively and seemingly less by the book, played by Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro. The film is a look at the war on drugs and how messy it all is. Denis Villeneuve directs, his frequent partner Jóhann Jóhannsson scores the film, and Roger Deakins is behind the camera. That’s a pretty stellar movie-making posse. Each actor plays their part so perfectly. Del Toro is really incredible in this film. From start to finish it’s well executed film.
The sequel is … not as good. In some ways it feels like a well made 80s action film. Strangely xenophobic, perhaps? The movie involves Brolin and Del Toro’s characters orchestrating some dramatics in Mexico in response to a bombing the US feels is linked to the cartels. It’s a ridiculous story for a ridiculous film. Still, I can’t not like a movie with helicopters and machine guns. And Del Toro is still great in this movie.
Movies
15 March 2020, mid-afternoon
John Wick feels like a film made by people growing up on Hong Kong action films from the 90s. If you judged a film based on how many guns it has—and you should—John Wick is coming out ahead. The premise is simple. John Wick is an ex-mob hitman who is out for revenge and the loser son of his old boss kills the dog his wife bought him right before she died. The film takes place is a some what surreal version of NYC where there are assassins all over the place. Lots of memorable faces throughout, including Freeman and the Captain from the Wire. An enjoyable film, and now I get to watch two more.
The official John Wick website.
Movies
4 January 2020, mid-afternoon
I love documentaries about chef’s. Boiling Point is about Gordon Ramsey’s quest for his 3rd Michelin Star. The film opens with him leaving Aubergine to start his own restaurant. I had always thought the Hell’s Kitchen persona was a bit of an act, especially after seeing his older British shows where he’s a lot more patient and friendly. Apparently I was wrong. The guy is even meaner to his own staff. He’s intense and abusive. People get fired all the time. I can’t imagine working for him, but people do. When he left Aubergine the kitchen staff all went with him. That’s something. He’s pushing everyone around him to be perfect. My heart rate is up after watching the movie. You can watch it on YouTube yourself.
Movies
3 January 2020, evening time
Back at the movies with Mythilli and Shima. We trekked back out to the Queensway to watch Frozen II_—in 3D! I hate watching films in 3D: the colours are dull, the effect often so subtle to be pointless, and wearing the glasses on top of my glasses is an uncomfortable pain in the ass. _Frozen II follows Anna and Elsa as they try and unravel the mystery of Elsa’s magic, and the history of their homeland. The main storyline is really about repatriation of indigenous lands. This being a Disney film, they figure out how to do it so that everyone gets to keep their homes. I never saw the original Frozen. Mythilli claims this one is better. Maybe? It’s a nice enough film, as children’s films go.
Movies
31 December 2019, lunch time
I watched The Rise of Skywalker with Shima, Mythilli and Riadh. Shima has almost zero interest in Star Wars, but she came anyway: what a good mom! Mythilli has enjoyed the new trilogy, and she was a fan of this last entry. I think for Star Wars, maybe that’s all you should ask for. This film moves at what feels like a frantic pace. I suspect JJ could and maybe should have made the whole trilogy, he seems to have had enough ideas and some sense of what he wanted to do. Like The Last Jedi, this movie throws away a lot of stuff Johnson set up. Kylo rebuilds his helmet! This new trilogy really feels like each movie was made in isolation without much thought to how the films should all work together. If you’re making a trilogy, that’s not great. This last film feels a bit cold, like it was made by a committee to please fans. There is so much fan service. This movie has a lot of really enjoyable moments, fight scenes, etc. The actors are all still really great. It just feels much weaker than both proceeding films. I suspect it’s a near insurmountable task to produce the concluding film in a beloved trilogy. These films are all far better than the prequels. This movie was fun to watch, and it was really fun to watch it with Mythilli. Rey is my favourite Jedi.
Movies
31 December 2019, lunch time
I watched The Last Jedi on Christmas Day the year it came out. I didn’t write about it at the time, because I have become much lazier about keeping this site up to date with the movies I have watched. Something I should address in 2020, perhaps. I watched the film again with Mythilli a couple days ago, in preparation for watching the final film in the new trilogy. A lot of Star Wars fanboys dislike Rian Johnson’s entry in the new trilogy, but I think it’s easily the best of the three new movies. The Last Jedi continues the story started in the Force Awakens, and opens with the resistance doing a bombing run against a fleet of Star Destroyers. This opening sequence is shot beautifully. There are a lot of really lovely shots in this film. (Something I think all the movies have done a good job with.) The Last Jedi feels like a fresh entry in the series, and doesn’t feel like a retrod of The Empire Strikes Back. (Unlike The Force Awakes, which feels very much like a reboot of A New Hope.) Johnson throws away a lot of JJ’s “mysteriesâ€, which I think rubbed people the wrong way. I’d argue his reveals in this film are much punchier than what Abraham’s ended up giving us. Still, this movie feels like it exists as a ‘fuck you’ to the previous movie, which isn’t what you want from a sequel. There are two things I dislike about the film: much of the movie is a chase in slow motion. I think you could likely tell the story in a way that didn’t feel a bit silly. The casino sequence feels like a strange non-sequitur. A criticism of capitalism in cowboys in space movie for children. The actors continue to be super charming, which will get you quite far anyway. I’m looking forward to Johnson getting his own Star Wars trilogy to direct. I suspect he’ll produce something really compelling.
[2] Movies
1 July 2019, evening time
I finally watched Get Out. I knew one of the bigger reveals in the film, but for the most part had no real idea what the movie was about. The movie opens with a black dude being knocked out and kidnapped, so you’re on edge from that point on. So, little happens to start, but it’s all so god damn creepy. The film is a really well executed horror film. It’s also an interesting commentary on race and racism and all the good stuff. You should watch this movie. I hope you already have.
Movies
21 May 2019, mid-morning
Finally watched Avengers … Infinity War. Everyone is talking about End Game so I thought it was about time I got a bit more caught up. The film begins wrapping up all the various threads they have littered throughout all the various Marvel movies, with Thanos finally showing up to fuck things up. The film starts in medias res with Thanos attacking the ship Thor and Loki are on to steal one of the Infinity Stones, the one inside the Tesseract. The rest of the film is him slowly trying to collect the remaining stones. (One is in Vision’s head, one hangs around Dr. Strange’s neck, etc.) It’s an enjoyable enough Marvel film. It’s clearly their Empire Strikes Back. I still thought it weaker than the first Avenger’s movie, but far better than Age of Ultron. Captain America is back with a beard, so that was cool.
Movies
15 May 2019, early morning
Mythilli wanted to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I don’t recall why it was on her mind. The film is surprisingly good. A film about excess and waste. About being yourself. Family. So much stuff! James Caan plays the lead characters father, and he is wonderful in the role. It’s nice to see someone other than Pixar can make a solid cartoon.
Movies
15 May 2019, early morning
I finally watched Black Panther. I’m almost ready to watch whatever the hell the next movie happens to be. Infinity War? I am a bit burned out on these films. I would have never imagined this would be the case 20 years ago. But, this film is great. Coolger has made a superhero film that stands out amongst the sameness that is much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is so Black I love it. There are so many great performances in this film. Michael B. Jordan is a fantastic villain. The conceit of the film is interesting, and his arc through the film is central to that. The fight scene in the casino is done so well. A memorable film. Worth watching.
Movies
4 March 2019, mid-morning
Collin Geddes, who used to run Midnight Madness at TIFF, now runs a monthly program at the Lightbox called KinoVortex. His last screen was an 80s cop film called Nighthawks, starring Sylvester Stallone early in his career. The film felt very much like a strange slice of 80s film making. Billy Dee Williams plays his partner. Rutger Hauer plays a suave European super-terrorist. (This was Hauer’s debut in Hollywood.) I don’t know if you can call the film good, but it’s certainly something. It’s likely worth watching just to see the films end, which is really something else. The movie also has an amazing score.
Read more about Nighthawks at TIFF.
Movies
4 March 2019, mid-morning
As romantic comedies go The Breaker Uppers was pretty great. The two leads, Madeleine Nalini Sami and Jackie van Beek, are women who both dated the same man, who was cheating on them both with each other. Cynical about love they start this firm to help others get out of their bad relationships. It’s a weird charming film. The leads also are the films writers and directors. Impressive. Like all good romantic comedies it touches on all the different sorts of love that exist in the world. The two leads are really hilarious. I’ll have to keep an eye out for them elsewhere.
Watch the trailer for The Breaker Uppers.
Movies
28 January 2019, late evening
The trailer for Burning was Cold War. A polish film about the complicated and tumultuous relationship between a pianist and composer played by Tomasz Kot, and a fiery singer and dancer played by Joanna Kulig. The movie starts in 1949, ends in 1964, following their relationship from Poland to France and back again. It’s a beautiful film, shot in Black and White, and in what looked like 4:3—what a throw back. The music is incredible. The song playing in the trailer is beautiful, and apparently sung by the actress. What!
Read more about Cold War at TIFF.
Movies
28 January 2019, evening time
I watched Burning at TIFF before the holidays. My last film of 2018. Burning opens with Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in) bumping into a girl he knows from his small town, Hae-mi (Jun Jong-seo). He doesn’t recognize her, she’s beautiful now. They begin a relationship of sorts, when a new fellow enters the picture. Someone rich and handsome. And so we have a love triangle. A strange film. Far more sinister than I had expected. Ambiguous. The actors are all superb. I really liked it.
Read more about Burning at TIFF.
Movies
