Emma Cragg

Almost ashamed to say this is the first time I’ve watched this. I was tired and feeling a bit sorry for myself and some time with Totoro et al was exactly what I needed. I’m kind of amazed that a film almost as old as me could feel so timeless, but I guess that’s the magic of Miyazaki.

Needed something light for the end of my first week at work and this fit the bill perfectly. I enjoyed the broad story and central relationships. Not sold on the big name cameo though and at least one joke left a bit of a bitter taste.

Before we went to see this I was flippantly referring to it as Run Lola Run for the middle aged. It’s not quite, but it did get my heart racing in a similar way and a lot of that is down to the use of sound. There were moments that had me on the edge of my seat, as well as a lot of subtlety in script, direction and performance.

Ridiculous. Fun. As advertised.

Oof, this was everything I expected, and more. A devastating story of identity, repression, love, pride… The fact that it is a debut makes it all the more remarkable. There’s so many layers that I would have liked a little more time with the characters, especially Mumtaz and Biba. You know they had more of their lives to share.

Sometimes I can forget that film is an art form. I get caught up on narrative or action and forget to experience how a film makes me feel. Wayfinder reminded me. I enjoyed the stillness of the visuals, the poetry of the narration and the almost hypnotic music and folk songs that accompany them. I wasn't concerned with following the story so much as paying attention to certain words or phrases that spoke to me.

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Watched on Sunday May 28, 2023.

Watched on Wednesday May 10, 2023.

A waste of time. Should have stopped watching at the bus incident when I realised it was going to be unnecessarily violent.

I don’t quite know what to make of it. In the first half I felt like I had no clue what was going on and couldn’t make any real connection with the two central characters. And then it shifts and my experience changed completely. I wanted to spend more time with Cop 663 and Faye. There’s a lot to love about the film making too, of course: the use of sound, the humour and the attention to detail.

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This has been on my list to see for some time and now it is certainly going to sit with me for some time to come. At times it felt like a documentary and at others a love story set against the realities of the 1990s AIDS crisis. By the end I was bawling my eyes out. Necessary viewing.

Boooooring 🥱 However, I am intrigued to see what happens to 007 next.

It's the chemistry between Page and Mara that makes this film. It's clear what the film wants to be but it fails to either unlock the complexity of the relationships (between all the characters) or explore the conflict between the opposing sides at the death row protests within its 100 minutes.

I could feel the pressure building for Jean with every minute that went by. She's stuck. Questioning every action she makes. Justifying her choices as much to herself as the people around her. It's a difficult watch at times and I found myself wondering what I would have done in her situation. It also made me recognise how lucky I am to be a generation or two on from this. And yet, it feels so very relevant for this to be released now as we appear to be cycling round again.

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I'd put off watching this as I feared that not being familiar with Mr Rogers, and his place in US culture, would be a barrier. That I wouldn't get it. But it's not a biopic in the traditional sense, as summed up by Matt Singer in his review: "the movie is less about Fred Rogers than about his spirit and lessons" It's also, in a way, far more about Lloyd and I really felt I journeyed with him on his arc.

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I think it says a lot about my response to this film that I developed a bit of an obsession with her shoes. I did wonder if this was due in part to how the film starts - I felt like I was watching something in a language I couldn't speak with no subtitles. I couldn't understand the words so I focused on noticing the detail in what I could see, how the characters interacted, their body language and habitual movements.

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Needed something that was entertaining but not taxing for a Saturday night after a day of sport. This fit the bill nicely. I enjoyed the developing relationship between Gerry and Wendell. And that for much of the film we’re as clueless as Cheadle’s FBI agent over whether Gleeson’s Gerry is really smart or really stupid!

Just fine for a Sunday night movie.

Needed something mindless after a hard day working in the garden… this was certainly that.

The central relationship between grandma and granddaughter was enough to keep me engaged in this story. And I found myself on a similar journey to Billi, learning to appreciate the differences in familial, and particularly intergenerational, relationships between eastern and western cultures. I’m a little bemused by references to the film as a comedy-drama. There’s humour in it for sure, but it’s bittersweet and I think to call it comedy is a stretch.

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Ridiculous and entertaining. I think I marginally preferred this second outing for Benoit Blanc to his debut. There were moments however where I was pulled out of the story and reminded these "disruptors" with their endless pots of money and huge egos are out there causing havoc in the real world.

Watched on Tuesday December 13, 2022.

A friend recently introduced me to the concept of “fake date” films and this one certainly fits the bill. One of the better films I watched in my pre-Christmas, cold induced rom-com binge.

Watched on Sunday December 11, 2022.

There should be a special star rating system for Christmas films. This one was actually better than I expected.