Tagged “film”
Boys weekend with Rudy
With Clair off having fun in Skye, the boys (me and Rudy) have been spending some quality time together. On Friday night we watched Dune 11. Rudy wasn’t too bothered but I really enjoyed it. It looks absolutely stunning, especially the all-white gladiator scene. And I thought the heavy, growling soundtrack marked a return to form for Hans Zimmer. While watching I munched on a paneer palak from local heroes Kebabish which, let’s be honest, is inifinitely better than popcorn.
On Saturday with the sun shining and some post-curry guilt, we set off early and walked up Drumgoyne Hill. It was steep but really good fun.
Sakamoto’s Opus at the GFT
Just had a memorable midweek night at the cinema with Craig and Jason.
Opus presents Ryuichi Sakamato at the piano in the final year of his life. It consists of him playing twenty pieces one after the other and is beautifully shot in black and white by his son, Neo Sora.
I found the film’s style and starkness to be quite unusual at first, but once I got into its rhythm it was very immersive. The music and playing were at times just mesmerising and given the circumstances it was quite moving.
It was great to unexpectedly bump into Liam, too. I might have known this film would be up his strasse!
Captain Fantastic
Clair and I loved this story of Viggo Mortensen’s Ben Cash and family temporarily leaving their off-grid existence in the Pacific Northwest to enter civilisation. It poses some interesting questions about parenting, lifestyle and morality but mainly, it’s just a lot of fun.
Judging by his movie review for The Guardian, Mark Kermode seemed to like Captain Fantastic too.
Limbo
Enjoyed this funny and touching film about a Syrian asylum seeker searching for happiness on a remote Scottish island.
I’ve just finished reading Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Isihiguro.
Afterwards I was also keen to see the film, which I enjoyed. It featured great performances by Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield in particular, and a haunting score. Although I enjoyed the book, I found it a little slow-paced and so watching the film helped bring it all together (despite taking a few liberties with the plot).
Lastly, I enjoyed this short interview with the author in which he interestingly remarked that the sci-fi element was just a device to support the primary topic of managing friendship and loving relationships within our short lifetimes.
Small Axe - Series 1: Red, White and Blue (on BBC iPlayer)
One of several fantastic films from Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) described as “Love letters to black resilience and triumph in London's West Indian community. Vivid stories of hard-won victories in the face of racism.”
This one tells the story of Leroy Logan, a young black man who joins the police in an attempt to effect change “from the inside” as a consequence of seeing his father assaulted by police officers. He is faced with both his father’s disapproval and institutional racism within the police ranks.
The Social Dilemma
I watched Netflix’s documentary The Social Dilemma the other night. It’s been generating a bit of a buzz, and its subject matter – the effects of social media – is one I’m generally interested in. However, I wasn’t a fan.
Tenet, revisited
Clair and I just watched The Farewell, a comedy-drama film written and directed by Lulu Wang starring Awkwafina and Zhao Shuzhen, and really enjoyed it. Interesting/difficult subject matter and really nicely done. If you need a break from grisly murder cases etc then I can heartily recommend it.
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