Most of the viewing took place at home, but I have been slowly catching up on new releases in the cinema. Having seen Noah and The Grand Budapest Hotel over the weekend my enthusiasm for reviewing has been renewed, after a lengthy slump.
New-to-Me Films (In Order of Preference)
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Seconds (John Frankenheimer, 1966) - Amidst post-war dissatisfaction and failed American Dreams a secret company offers a 'do-over' with what we learn to be sinister intentions. Enter Rock Hudson's Tony Wilson, a 'Second' to John Randolph's purposeless banker, Arthur Hamilton. He's younger and better looking and he works as an artist from his beach house in Malibu. With this second chance will Hamilton have the chance to live the life he has long desired? One of my favorite films of the year to date; an eerie and relevant sci-fi which morbidly taps into failure as inevitably human. Hudson is great and the photography is genius.
Duck Soup (Leo McCary, 1933) - A bombardment of visual gags, snappy one-liners and risqué, politically incorrect wordplay. Genius!
All is Lost (J. C Chandor, 2013)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014) - Hilarious (and yet it's quite dark), Anderson's madcap delight is formally astounding (on a peaked scale). Cast (Fiennes and Goldblum were my favourites, but it runs deep), music etc. all brilliant. Like Anderson's other films, a treasure to admire again and again.
Stranger than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984) - Funny and quotable with calculated laziness, Stranger than Paradise defines a generation of slackers and drop-everything road-trips. Has there ever been a finer representation of that thoughtless flushed-with-cash escape?
Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982) - Hoffman is the star, whether appearing as Michael or Dorothy, but the supporting cast are all stellar too. I especially enjoyed the scenes shared by Pollack and Hoffman. And who couldn't love Jessica Lange. Hilarious and touching with sharp observations about sexism in the entertainment business, and a satirical insider into the daytime soap. Ultimately about a man improving himself, having been forced to rescue his career by playing a woman.
The Garden of Words (Makoto Shinkai, 2013) - Quite stunning. Conceptually and visually.
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