- It chapter 2
A film that crosses all genres and excels at them; this has horror, romance, action, thriller, comedy. It is an epic achievement both in its scope and its ambition. Who’d have thought a three-hour horror movie featuring only a few name stars, low budget and nothing but director Andy Muscietti’s passion and enthusiasm behind it would be able to blitz the box office. An entirely different beast to Chapter one (and I suspect those who were disappointed were wanting more of the same childhood nostalgia which they got in spades in the first film and was featured a little less this time around) this is about adult fears, adult worries, adult connections and the themes explored here reflect that. It’s not so easy to put one face to grown up fears, and not so easy to defeat them. A visceral experience that made me cower, laugh and cry; it earned the applauding audience i saw it with. This is a big, beautiful, brave, and wears its heart on its sleeve. I’m glad to welcome it to my top ten of all time.
- Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Old Hollywood will always hold a fascination for new Hollywood, but the winds of change were blowing at the same time that Manson and his brainwashed minions were preparing to unleash hell, most notably on upcoming Hollywood ingénue Sharon Tate whose brutal murder became emblematic of the death of the hopeful flower children era. Embracing the very best of Tarantino, this is an expertly crafted long game. He is confident in his audience to stay the course and trust him to lead them where they need to go. Its his willingness to take his time, to tell a story well, to invest in his characters, and get amazing performances from his actors that are OUATIH greatest strengths. Every actor here is giving a career best performance and in a fairer world Leo would be taking home his second Oscar – he is breathtakingly good. Poignant, amusing and effortlessly cool, the finale made me swoon.
- Parasite
How far would you go to be part of the ‘haves’? To say goodbye to scrimping and saving and struggling, fighting over scraps? To be at the table with the top percentile? What would you sacrifice? How strong are your ethics? This latest film from Bong Joon Ho comes to you from Korea and its funnier than expected, more striking than expected and has a vicious streak that keeps you on your toes. Its film where I genuinely had no inkling of where it was going, what road this family of grifters would take next. And just when you think you know what’s happening, the rug is pulled out, again and again. Truly compelling viewing, I enjoyed the heck out of this.
- Burning
Languid and long, I had no idea this was going to have the impact it did. Though fully engrossed from the first scene, the central mystery and drama unfurled like a midnight blooming flower – slow and beautiful and alarming in its intensity. I found myself growing more and more uncomfortable as Jong-Su searches to find what happened to the disappearing Hae-mi. Her recent connection with Ben (Steven Yuen from the walking dead – great!) is an added layer of intrigue, and when the answers come they bring a tragedy and violence that comes out of nowhere. Stunning
- Suspiria
A witchy dance academy in 70s Berlin, an all-female cast, and dare I say it – its better than the Argento 1977 original. Terrifying and hypnotic, every player gives a nakedly honest performance that throws off self-consciousness with abandon.
And this is the root of what I liked best – this felt an inherently female story. Not the delicate, feminine type of ‘female’ that we have grown accustomed to on film, but real ‘female-ness’; all the rawness of it, the terror of vulnerability, the forced familiarity with blood and flesh and our bodies’ complexities, the connections amongst us, the animal physicality, the horror, sensuality and unabashed fucking beauty of being a woman. I can’t say that’s something I’ve felt in a film before, and if I have, I can’t recall it. A film to luxuriate in.
- Ford v Ferrari
I never expected this film to get under my skin as it did. I am not in the slightest bit interested in car racing and the infamous Le Mans 24 hour endurance race was not even a thing I was aware of. But this film managed to be completely engrossing, amusing, and achingly bittersweet. A story about friendship, common goals, the ‘little man’ and a lovely celebration of family life as an added bonus, this had so much more to give than just those exhilarating car racing scenes (that are spectacular by the way). Bale of course, is amazing.. again, but everyone is good. The fact that it’s a true story and it’s perfectly realised complex and whole characters made this even better. I really loved this one.
- Midsommar
An impressive Florence Pugh (what a year she’s having!) is Dani, tagging along to a once-every-90-years Swedish festival with her boyfriend and his pals. The relationship is in its death knells and the bizarre place they find themselves in only adds to their discomfort. And things escalate, things escalate a lot. I found this clever, compulsively watchable, gut churning, extremely well acted and of course, from Ari Aster (of Hereditary) the direction is unique, cold and graphic with lush visceral cinematography. Hypnotising.
- Toy story 4
Hilarious!! I laughed my ass off at this, loved the new characters – Gabby Gabby, Forky and especially Duke Caboom. The team get together for one last adventure and then it’s a teary fare-thee-well for one or two of them. I’m not an animated movies or kids movies kind of gal but this just made me laugh too much not to make the cut.
- Uncut Gems
When I first put this on and was confronted by a load of shouty men yelling over each other I was close to turning it off, so convinced was I that it wasn’t for me. But I had enjoyed the Safdie brother’s previous effort (Good Time) after I got into it and so I took a chance. I’m so glad I did – Sandler makes good on the talent he showed in Punch Drunk Love and is a revelation here, the story about a loser who just keeps making stupid choices was the tensest film I’ve ever sat through; so tense that I actually couldn’t watch every moment of the last frenetic twenty minutes. The end hit me like a ton of bricks.
- The Favourite
I’ve never been a fan of period movies or the royal family, frankly they bore me; but this, with its modern flourishes, relatable characters talking like actual people, and a lively plot of deception and survival, was a breath of fresh air. Powerhouse Olivia Coleman deserved her Oscar but strong supporting turns from Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone also impress. I was entranced from beginning to end
- Eighth Grade
This slice of life from the perspective of an awkward teenage girl was almost painful to watch. So real, it paints a portrait of how perilous and lonely it feels as a teenager, particularly a young woman, but it also manages some sweetness with the relationship she has with her dad and newfound friends. Newcomer Elsie Fisher is attention-grabbingly impressive in her brave debut performance.
- 1985
The first film I put on this list. Set in the 80s and shot in stark black and white, this appears to be the story of a young man heading home for the holidays ostensibly to come out to his family, but then becomes about something else entirely that caught me off guard and left me in floods of tears. Raw and moving, a luminous Virginia Madsen is particularly touching in her open-faced love for her son.
- Vice
Adam McKay is a complex director who deals with complicated subject matters that need a lot of exposition to help you understand, the tools he uses to get the information across to audiences is often ingenious and entertaining even when the subject matter can be dry. This is the story of Dick Cheney and his push to power that helped orchestrate the wholly unnecessary Iraq War. That it manages to be both engrossing and even amusing at times is quite the achievement. Christian Bale is a force to be reckoned with in the role of Cheney but no one gives a bad performance here.
- Juliet, Naked
With a winning cast in Chris O’Dowd, Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke this film is everything I want in a rom-com – droll, literate, charming; this takes you down familiar roads but is never predictable. I particularly enjoyed Hawkes turn as a semi-retired muso, damaged but working at being the man he always wanted to be. Sweet and satisfying this has more to offer than expected.
- Green Book
Though accused of not going far enough into the subjects it touches on, and perhaps suffering from a rose-coloured glasses syndrome, this was nevertheless entertaining and enlightening. Buoyed by superlative performances from the great Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen (surprisingly great as an oaf who leans better) I laughed, I cried and I craved Italian food.
- In the Fade
Dianne Kruger plays a woman who’s life implodes after her husband and child are killed in a bomb attack, and then sets out to get justice. This German film really stayed with me for a long time afterwards, the way grief was portrayed was palpable, the struggles and injustice hit like a bullet, the finale is shattering.
- Bomb City
The true story of punk rockers in a small Texas town and their violent harassment by the ‘good boy’ preppie jocks that hate them. The clashes between the two groups escalate and eventually leads to one of the most controversial hate crimes in American history. A galvanising plea to not judge a persons worth and measure on appearances and assumptions. Powerful.
- Thelma
A sheltered young woman, new to college, attempts to ward off her attraction to a friend who also happens to be a woman. These attempts are complicated by the fact that her devoutly religious upbringing has forced her to deny and supress her psychokinetic powers that now re-emerge with the strain. When she returns home and we learn of her past, it has devastating ramifications. Whether an allegory for supressed abuse, or accepted at face value this effort from Norway is a beautifully lensed movie with wonderful performances and a memorable subject matter. Haunting.
- Dr Sleep
The sequel to Kubrick’s The Shining was a welcome surprise to me. There was so much I admired – the lovingly rendered recreations of scenes and moments from the original, the brilliant cast (especially Rebecca Ferguson who’s seductive menacing turn is unforgettable) the nastiness it was willing to embrace, the unpredictability of the story etc but on top of this it gave me the full gamut of emotions and never failed to be thrilling all the way through.
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
A stupendously fun anthology movie featuring six Wild West stories. My favourite is the first one with the singing gunslinger but they are all good and feature a star-studded cast who were happy to take small parts to work with the Coen Brothers. Irreverent, textured, engaging and funny, enjoyable as heck!
Honourable mentions –
If Beale street could talk – Let down by a sudden ending this was beautiful, measured and ultimately life affirming.
Science fair – Edge of the seat documentary about some pretty impressive kids doing what they can to make the world better (and maybe win some awards along the way)
Shazam! – Too many comic book movies take themselves waaaaaay too seriously and I find that pretty dull to be honest. This was cute, very funny, and loads of fun. Pure entertainment.
Vox Lux – Sure I saw better films but for some reason this will not get out of my head. After surviving a school shooting a young woman becomes a singing star; even the premise sounds odd and odd it is. But the songs (by Sia) rock and I dug the whackiness.
The Nightingale – Beautiful, brutal and not easily forgotten, Jennifer Kent’s sophomore effort is a tough watch but and important one. Its damning exploration of the way Australia treated both its first people and its migrants still echoes today. We need to do better.
Disappointments –
Us – Stupid stupid movie that falls apart as soon as you pull a thread.
Joker – Dangerously asks the average person to empathise with a sociopath, are we really that surprised that he’s been embraced worldwide by Incels?
Top End Wedding – Lazy, clichéd and not funny, haven’t we moved past this kind of filmmaking already?
Ad Astra – Dull with dodgy science, nice visuals only get you so far.
Yesterday – Could have been great but barely raised a smile and the finale is infuriating
The kitchen – Great cast, great premise; maybe ending the film in the middle of a scene wasn’t the best idea…
So I’ve struggled with how to write this review, having seen the film almost a week ago I still haven’t written about it. Though I’ve been very active on Twitter and Facebook in my defence of it, a review requires a far more ordered sense of how I feel and it had been scattershot since I first saw this film. I’ve seen it twice now and had more of a chance to reflect on it and see it as a film rather than this monumental event that I had waited so long for. The first viewing was completely overwhelming, just as it was the first time I saw Chapter 1 and again I walked out unsure of my response because I’d been too busy ticking things off in my brain ie. “that was in the book, that wasn’t in the book” etc.
Based on a true story, this tale of four high school kids out to commit the ultimate heist was brilliant from start to finish. From its unique screenplay that is a splice of actual world documentary with the people involved reflecting on their choices, and re-enactments as feature film with a cast at the top of their game (Evan Peters is always so good and here he’s even better). This is by turns dreamy, frenetic, funny, thrilling, anxiety inducing and painfully real. Not sure I’ve ever seen a film address the consequences of actions quite this thoroughly before, this one really stayed with me. 
I have to admit I’ve never been much of a Spike Lee fan, finding his films preachy and divisive in ways I found hard to connect to; his name attached to a film usually would give me pause rather than elation. But this film turned that trepidation completely on its head because this is one hell of a movie! Another film based on a true story, this tells of rookie cop Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) going undercover in the heart of the 70s to infiltrate the reprehensible Klu Klux Klan, it also details the rise of the Black Panthers and the racial struggles that gripped America then. With some hip music, clever script, vibrant direction and pitch perfect performances from a stellar cast, this film had me gripped from the get go. The sobering coda however reminds us that the war is far from over. 
The scariest film I have seen in a long time, the script here focuses on a family at a crossroads, a family doomed to repeat and embrace the demons from its past. The screenplay and direction is astounding especially considering this was a debut; Toni Collette gives a tour de force performance and if she doesn’t at least get a nomination for what I think is the best performance since Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice, than the Oscars have well and truly gone to the dogs. Horror these past years seems as if it wants to give you a few good jump scares and send you home doing that nervous giggle to yourself, happy that “its just a movie”. Hereditary wants to do no such reassuring coddling, this is no thrill ride – this is a film that wants to fuck with you, give you nightmares, truly horrify. It’s powerful, depressing, and unforgettable. 
we all remember our first love… alternatively float-on-cloud wonderful and exquisitely painful. This film explores those feelings, the fact that the romance is between two men and set in gloriously sunbathed Italy just adds to the languorously seductive tale. Timothee Chalamet gives the performance that should have won best actor at the Oscars last year, even just for that perfectly realised final shot that holds his face so nakedly. The scene near the end between father and son makes me cry every time. Gorgeous. 
This world is a pretty screwed up place, there are parts of the planet crying out for relief from the human scourge that spreads across it daily. How do you hold that knowledge at the same time as worshipping and trusting in a supposedly loving and benevolent god? How about if you are a priest slowly losing his faith and unsure what to do to make the world a better place? Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) has crafted an unusual love story with a questioning and troubled heart. Sometimes shocking, sometimes studied, but always interesting, it’s refreshing to watch something that I have no idea where it will go. And Ethan Hawke is simply mesmerising in his struggle. Fearless. 
A family survives in a post alien world where they are being hunted by creatures that use their sense of hearing to track prey. Emily Blunt is a revelation as the pregnant matriarch of the family unit. This was creepy, warm-hearted, and the most tense I’ve been at the moves all year – what a ride! 
Rami Malek you beautiful man. Freddy Mercury comes to fabulous life in this funny, generous, knowing and musical celebration of a most remarkable band. The direction by Brian Singer is inspired and you can’t help but get sucked into grinning like an idiot when they belt out some of their greatest songs. 
Like Goonies meets Rear Window this ‘80s set ‘kids suspect a neighbour is a killer’ film seemingly came out of nowhere so I went in with little expectation. The film itself is a loving nod to the best decade without overegging the references, the kids aren’t all likable, the story doesn’t go the way you expect for his kind of film. And the ending truly shocked me. 
I’m not really into superhero films and I really don’t like kids films or care for animation but this movie was so good I forgot all that and had an absolute blast. Laughed so hard my stomach hurt, the only misstep being the pig character, but everything else was so right I could forgive it. 
This is a slow burn movie that you need to be ready to absorb and digest over time. Joaquin Phoenix who can sometimes be less than warm on screen is never more watchable than as a damaged veteran who now spends his life tracking down missing girls. Uber violent, dense, intriguing and beautifully lensed. 
Yes it’s a remake of a classic and perhaps its unfair of me to include a film of which I have not seen the original but taken on its own merit this film really stuck with me. Telling of the real life false imprisonment of Henri Charriere in the 1930’s to the French Guiana hell that was their gaol, the performances by Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek are brilliant. The locations, set design and that wonderful cinematography are all beautifully realised. Gritty, compelling and ultimately very moving. 
Two gay guys (Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan – both hilarious) are lumbered with the grandson of Coogans character and try to make the best of it. While sounding like heart-warming kid stuff this is far from it, the adult relationship takes centre stage and is as difficult and painful and real as seen in any drama; its also very very funny. 
Coming of age and coming out combine in this funny, sweet, and much needed gentle comedy. Its like John Hughes came back to life for all the teenagers who don’t identify as straight and made this filmic love letter just for them. 
Brutal, extreme violence and a powerhouse central performance by a surprisingly great Vince Vaughn make this film a stand out in the crowd. Kinetic, mesmerising and downright nasty, this is genre film-making for fans of ‘70s exploitation cinema. 
With a quirky central idea and a precociousness that recalls Wes Anderson for me, this film had more to say than I expected it to. With a fine line on the destruction we humans create and a sad acceptance of our ‘shortcomings’ this went in tangents I never expected but truly enjoyed. 
With a ferociously confident Margot Robbie tearing up the screen as the titular Tonya Harding (my pick for best actress at last years Oscars) this comedy/biography never fails to be both funny and heartbreaking all at once. Form your own opinion over her guilt but by the end of this movie, her harsh punishment, particularly after all you’ve seen of her life, seems unfathomably cruel. 
Much more accessible than Adam McKays previous work (The Big Short) but with the same methods of exposition coming together more harmoniously here, this biography of Dick Cheneys rise to power and his damaging choices with far-reaching consequences is both fascinating and anger-inducing. Amazing performances from the all-star cast make it impossible to look away. 
John Cho (always good) plays the father who’s daughter is missing, he breaks into her laptop to help find and discovers that maybe he didn’t know her as well as he thought. This thriller that’s also about connections and our failure to be present in another’s life happens entirely on screens. The beauty of the direction is that while you start the film acutely aware you are looking at a computer screen, by the time Margot goes missing you are so absorbed that central conceit melts away. Clever. 
Based on the true story of elite fire-fighters in small town America, this could easily have been a hokey midday-movie sobfest. Instead it’s a carefully crafted ode to the actual people who risk their lives everyday. Real characters and real danger; this one packs one hell of an emotional punch. 
A newly released prisoner realises that every door is closed to him except the ones that may just lead him straight back to jail. A simple film with a hard message about how experiences change us and not always for the better, about how some paths are set in stone and cannot be veered from, about the destructive nature of regret and it calls for a major overhaul of the US prison system. 
This sci-fi romance was not something I ever thought I’d like. The story of a shy young lady who falls for someone who transforms into someone different everyday, it asks some very interesting questions about sexuality, personal responsibility, identity, and the ability of love to really overcome any obstacle (as many people believe). This was fascinating and illuminating, the speech about the future near the films finale made me cry at its honesty. Lovely and sad. 
theresalwaysacat 