I’m a fan of director Julie Taymor and I was interested in seeing another Shakespeare film by her, as I quite liked the underrated The Tempest (2010). I wasn’t familiar with the play Titus Andronicus, but I thought the story was pretty cool, as well as rather dark and twisted. I really enjoy Taymor’s visual style, and while not as grandiose as her subsequent films, it was definitely on display here. I also thought the deliberately anachronistic elements were nice. All the performances were good, and I especially enjoyed Alan Cumming. I thought it was great, overall.
I wasn’t too enthused about seeing this film because the trailer made it seem like it was basically a comedy, but, while there are light and comedic moments (which I did appreciate), they don’t make up the entire film. I quite enjoyed it overall. Psycho (1960) is my favourite Alfred Hitchcock film, and I loved seeing all the scenes of them making it. I kind of wish there had been more. I liked how it opened and closed like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Anthony Hopkins was excellent and completely disappeared into the character. The rest of the cast were fine too. The major thing I wasn’t that keen on was how it focused so much on Hitchcock’s relationship with his wife. It just wasn’t all that interesting to me. Oh well, it’s still a very solid film about a legendary filmmaker.
P365 Film #287
Well, I’m now all caught up and ready to embrace the very promising-looking The Avengers (2012) next year. This entry is probably my least favourite of the pre-Avengers films, to be honest. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) is my favourite, I think. So, yeah, I did like this film but it felt a little all-over-the-place and quite cheesy. I understand that a certain amount of cheese is necessary in comic book films, and they did really try to walk the line between being silly and fun while also making sure the audience cares about the characters. However, they didn’t always succeed. I liked when the film poked fun at itself though, as there were some pretty funny moments; putting Thor and his companions in a modern day setting achieved some humourous results. I liked Chris Hemsworth as Thor. He should do well when surrounded by the other Avengers. Overall, it was a fun movie but not without its problems.
P365 Film #218
Having been watching all these Charlie Chaplin films recently, it was nice to see the story behind the actual man, not just his iconic Tramp character. Robert Downey Jr. was pretty perfect in the role; sometimes making me forget that he wasn’t actually Chaplin. There was also a great supporting cast. The film was a fairly typical biography movie, but still nice and not feeling long, despite its nearly 2.5-hour runtime. It covered all the things you’d expect - his childhood, his first big breaks, his most famous films, his decline and the obligatory titles that explain what happened to each person after the events in the film. Overall, it was an entertaining film about an incredibly talented, complex and interesting man.
P365 Film #182
It seems somehow appropriate that a Kazuo Ishiguro novel adaptation (Never Let Me Go (2010)) began this P365 project, and now at the approximately halfway point, I’ve now viewed another one. I read the novel this film is based upon not too long ago, and enjoyed it. It wasn’t thrilling, but quietly interesting. The film is much the same, not really deviating from the novel. It’s about a man recalling his time as a butler for another man who was somewhat of a Nazi sympathiser. However, at its heart, it’s more a sad story of this butler who devotes his life to serving someone else and remains so proper and reserved that he doesn’t let himself live his own life. It probably isn’t for everyone, but I thought it was a really solid adaptation with excellent performances.
