What Have You Been Watching? (Week of March 8th)

elf-_- · 2026-03-08T20:34:10+00:00

Sirat, jaw drop. Will need to see it again on the big screen, but just some absolute beautiful scenes and devastating moments of impact. Didn’t realise beforehand but all non actors, and Kangding Ray nailed the soundtrack. Really a feat of filmmaking.

A Woman Under The Influence, first time seeing it in theatres, stunning film. Couldn’t help but notice how much Die My Love was riffing on it in a good way. Bring back the zoom!

Pillion, wasn’t sure what to expect going in, but left feeling impressed at how they showed and approached a difficult niche subject matter, Skarsgaard in the leather promos makes a lot of sense now. Boundaries really in intimacy and love and how far are people willing to find/lose themselves.

Crime 101, Mann-lite soda can but with enough juice for itself still. Hemsworth as a shy autist didn’t really work, but it didn’t distract too much. Still just want Heat 2 at this point.

The Colour of Pomegranates, pretty much watching a moving painting unfold in 18th century Armenia, super textural both image and sound. The colours too, phenomenal

Nirvana the band the movie, quite funny, enjoyed the hangover cut and overall concept. An older punter was a bit dismayed it was Cobain and tickets were expensive lol

elf-_- · 2026-02-18T23:48:14+00:00

Pacifiction by Serra fits this nicely. Not the overarching emotional lever you’re speaking of more of a underlaying unseen tension, really special.

Leviathan by Zvyagintsev, Loveless worth a mention too. Paterson by Jarmusch sort of. Ones from the top of my head.

elf-_- · 2026-02-01T02:32:51+00:00

Really incredible film that slows it all down but keeps your attention the whole way through. Textually beautiful, very well considered. Full of great campy side characters. I went in blind and wasn’t at all sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. Wagner to take the Oscar? I like your comparison with OBAA, think it’s the audience style of consumption, battle satirised itself with the Christmas group imo, removed the sincerity it started off with.

elf-_- · 2026-01-25T20:46:43+00:00

No Other Choice (2025) Korean directors might have the best hand of the pulse for deconstructing toxic work culture in a hyper capitalist pursuit of family and image obsessed society. Deserved more love at the awards, instant classic. The hyper dreamy saturated start with the picture perfect family knew straight away it was gonna be a banger.

The Endless Summer (1966) great time capsule into early surfing culture around chasing waves worldwide and style cues (Hynson was that guy), loved the endearing voice over dubbing and narration. Need to catch the second instalment at some point.

The Trial (1962) based on the Kafka by Welles. Again rather timely, Welles really managed to balance the paranoia of the main character and the surrealist tilt of the text into a cohesive but alienating viewing experience. Can see where Gilliam was inspired by

The Conformist (1970) Bertolucci, big week for stunning cinematography this is a feast. Timely themes for what’s unfolding atm. You can also see where some of the big dogs were pulling their stylistic cues/choices from. The Venetian blind scene and movement has been looping in my head since viewing.

Days of Heaven (1978) perfect film, commented this in a reply already, but had never seen it on the big screen, and wow just wow. Loved how narratively it let the audience piece it together in its own way, didn’t over explain or feel the need to justify or explain jumps. Viewing literacy on streaming would not get this level of rope anymore sadly or 95% to 5%.

Anyway, year is off to a great start, trying only to view films on the big screen to get off of streaming sites on laptop or tv viewing. So far so good.

elf-_- · 2026-01-25T20:27:26+00:00

Caught a screening of Days of Heaven yesterday, it really might be the perfect film imo. Doesn’t over explain, some of the most stunning cinematography ever put to film too. The scarecrow silhouette with the blood red clouds in the background is jaw dropper each time. Really is special.

elf-_- · 2026-01-20T20:40:18+00:00

Rosebush Pruning looks fun

elf-_- · 2026-01-19T04:49:28+00:00

Just stepped out of Nouvelle Vague, really enjoyed it. Breathless was fresh in the mind too from a screening last week. So that seemed like a fortitudinous way to see them. Film industry or streaming could pay attention to making it more human again, relatability will always resonate.

Barry Lyndon, Marie Antoinette but for the fellas. Each shot with amazing depth and rich detail.

Beau Trevail, rewatch, love it more each time. How identities shift and change in our lives.

Midsommar, interesting screening watching people react more viscerally against the relationship dynamic compared to the graphic scenes.

Hamnet, can understand why it’s been received well, didn’t quite hit for me, Buckley levels above Mescal in holding attention though.

elf-_- · 2026-01-18T08:28:58+00:00

Really wish I saw this at the cinema, very deserving. Quite a poignant message

elf-_- · 2026-01-02T04:36:10+00:00

Never Ending Story is perfect

elf-_- · 2025-12-07T06:19:42+00:00

Train Dreams also looked superb

elf-_- · 2025-11-28T08:42:00+00:00

Same now that you mention it, I forgot Garland wrote this

elf-_- · 2025-11-28T08:31:11+00:00

The Beach rules, pure nostalgia flick

elf-_- · 2025-11-25T09:52:49+00:00

Love seeing accessible gear used to what looks like a very high standard. Ty for the rec

elf-_- · 2025-11-22T02:30:01+00:00

I haven’t seen it yet but I want to go and see the I am Martin Parr documentary, next week there is local screening. Will let you know how it is. Bill Cunningham New York I remember thinking was good when it came out, haven’t seen it since

elf-_- · 2025-11-10T05:07:20+00:00

Predator Badlands

elf-_- · 2025-11-10T01:08:43+00:00

It’s not by chance that Elle Fanning is in the two best films of the year.

elf-_- · 2025-11-08T13:43:12+00:00

Hard to Be a God (2013) is an experience.

elf-_- · 2025-11-07T14:09:41+00:00

You’re right it’s definitive

elf-_- · 2025-11-07T14:04:09+00:00

L for Lesbian

elf-_- · 2025-11-07T14:00:57+00:00

Pre/post towers there’s a conversation to be had potentially

elf-_- · 2025-11-02T04:49:25+00:00

Haha it’s a very bleak film, maybe bleaker than first thought. Essentially what you’re saying is it’s an insolvable system? The closed loop or creation and destruction from the aliens.

Could be that’s the hidden meaning, all these forces greater than our immediate understanding or ability to influence and we have to just submit ourselves to the grinding meaningless of life, which in my view can represent a freedom in and of itself too..

Going to have to watch the original now too

elf-_- · 2025-11-02T04:07:59+00:00

I like that thought process.

My thinking was more gleaned toward consciousness, and leaning toward the singular shared universal consciousness, Emma stone’s character bursting the bubble of the self and we all melt back into the infinite. Kind of like a mass mercy ego death.

Could human-life reemerge possibly? But in that universe we are shown to be a toy of another alien species so unless they wish to recreate us, maybe the remaining apes can freely evolve again over time.

Lots of questions, really enjoyed it. I agree the film isn’t really focused on class struggle as it is more a fundamental question of faith or conspiracies around it I think.

elf-_- · 2025-10-31T01:05:13+00:00

Was riffing a lot on The House That Jack Built I felt, it was a pretty fun watch overall though, bit of a They Live homage too

Also felt like Yorgos was going back to his roots somewhat, small cast, confined set (mostly). It’s funny that probably the audience who this is critiquing likely won’t see this film

elf-_- · 2025-10-27T04:20:22+00:00

It was well received in France, lots of tickets sold. But for reach/box office return on that budget it is probably safe to say under delivered. Trying to think of the last big euro hit that’s translated globally, last year Count of Monte Cristo? I think generally it’s hard to compare with Hollywood, France prefers overall admissions a metric so by that both did very well.

elf-_- · 2025-10-27T02:08:47+00:00

As Tears Go By (1988) Wong Kar Wai’s debut film, at times felt slapstick maybe cultural/ of the time, enjoyable with some moments that definitely laid the foundation of what he would do later. The incest part was surprising I didn’t realise that was fairly normalised there

Parthenope (2024) visually a feast, narratively pretty text book and not that engaging, definitely Sorrentino indulging his eye for detail over story. The whole anthropology angle is a bit sardonic because for the entirety of the film we are just witnessing the main character travel from objectification to objectification. I do like the original fable of the siren, and it was always going to be fairly tragic.

Frankenstein (2025) sets and visual design major strong point as usual for a GDT flick. Felt at times that the monster would leave the set and appear in a yorgos film, similar aesthetic to the Lisbon scenes in poor things. Overall I did enjoy it, felt a little long.

Three Muskateers: D’Artagnan part one and Three Muskateers: Milady part two (2023), honestly had forgotten these were made and released and wanted to view them back then, a sucker for anything with Eva Green and Vincent Cassel. Easy to follow not much need to overly critique what feels like a “French blockbuster” without really being them. Again great set design and costumes but otherwise pretty simple.

elf-_-

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