Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted December 5, 2023 Author Paid Members Posted December 5, 2023 Full Time (2021) A really difficult watch for me, personally, because of how intensely it portrays the difficulties of being a single parent, but I can't deny that it works superbly as a social thriller and is a ride and a half until slightly stumbling at the end. Really, really good. Manticore Another difficult watch but for waaaaaaaay different reasons. Sadly, it overreaches in its final 20 minutes but to that point it's horrifying and compelling if you're prepared to be made very angry and miserable. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 10, 2024 Author Paid Members Posted January 10, 2024 Society of the Snow (Netflix) Absolutely no idea why this is being spoken of so highly. Standard survival drama that they already did 30 years ago with Alive. Goes on forever as well. Concrete Utopia South Korea have made a batch of really good disaster films over the last several years and this is quite good, too. A bit like High Rise except not directed by a complete pillock. Afire (Mubi) German director Christian Petzold has become one of my favourites over the last few years but this is his first misfire. Awkward mix of romantic drama and impending disaster film. Paula Beer is one of the best and hottest actresses in Europe though, so there is that. Passengers of the Night As I get old(er) I'm seeking out more and more of these sorts of gentle dramas about nice people doing nice things for each other and just getting on with life and overcoming struggles. Really pleasant with a superb Charlotte Gainsbourg performance. Other People's Children Much as above, except you can replace Charlotte Gainsbourg with Virginie Efira. Lovely. Wingwomen (Netflix) Fun action comedy with the added bonus that you get to look at Melanie Laurent and Adele Exarchopoulos' faces for an hour and a half. Chases one or two too many subplots but Laurent is a really good director as well as actress. Quote
Paid Members Devon Malcolm Posted January 22, 2024 Author Paid Members Posted January 22, 2024 The Childe Superb Korean neo-noir actioner that switches character focus beautifully halfway through and barely stops for the whole running time. Like if John Woo directed Frantic. Cracking. You Won't Be Alone Macedonian folk horror! A predictable crowd-pleaser - grim and depressing for the most part but also occasionally lovelier than you'd expect from a witch possession film. Only downside - only a short appearance from Noomi Rapace. @Scott Malbranque take note. El Conde (Netflix) Disappointing satirical horror about General Pinochet being a vampire. A great idea that becomes boring after a while. Expected better from Pablo Larrain but it's the first misstep of his excellent career. Quote
The King Of Swing Posted June 3, 2025 Posted June 3, 2025 Bumpity, bump. Finally digging into those Tartan DVD's. Marebito (DVD) Remember this one getting a lot of praise back in the day, so decided to jump into it first. Directed by Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge) and staring Shinya Tsukamoto (yes the director of Tetsuo), it's an odd yet ultimately disappointing film. Starts strong but loses steam pretty quickly, despite running only around 90 minutes. I was genuinely getting creeped out at first but once "F" is introduced, it just gets boring quickly. To their credit. Tsukamoto is perfect in the lead role and Tomomi Miyashita, is also really good as F. Others might get more out of this than I did. Or maybe I was just too tired from work, to really get into it. Meh. Quote
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