https://www.thefilmagazine.com/harry-dean-stanton-best-appearances/ SSP
Review in Brief: The Fall Guy (2024)
It’s a shame so few people went to the cinema to see one of the most fun movies of the year. David Leitch’s ode to stunt performers, romance and power ballads is a real treat that hopefully more people discover on VOD. After sustaining a terrible injury in an on-set accident, stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) returns to a movie directed by his ex Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) to double for a troublesome star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who has just gone missing. Let’s not pretend this isn’t a story we’ve not all seen told hundreds of times before, but the presentation of THE FALL GUY, the care and attention given to crafting every action scene and the sizzling chemistry of the stars makes it stand out from the crowd. It was probably always going to take a stuntman-turned-director to really get the stunts as an Oscar category debate some real attention, but if you have any doubts, just stick around through the credits to have your mind changed. SSP
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Action, David Leitch, Emily Blunt, Romance, Ryan Gosling, The Fall Guy
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‘The Lion King’ at 30 – Review
Posted in Film, Film Review, The Film Magazine
Tagged Animation, Disney, Family Film, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Matthew Broderick, Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers, The Lion King
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‘Chinatown’ at 50 – Review
Posted in Film, Film Review, The Film Magazine
Tagged Chinatown, Classic Film, Faye Dunnaway, Film noir, Jack Nicholson, Mystery, Robert Towne, Roman Polanski
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Where to Start with Hirokazu Kore-eda
Posted in Film, Film Feature, The Film Magazine
Tagged Hirokazu Kore-eda, Like Father Like Son, Nobody Knows, Shoplifters, World Cinema
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Review in Brief: Perfect Days (2023)
Beginning life as a tourist documentary proposal and developing into a narrative feature, Wim Wenders’ PERFECT DAYS is a modest, meticulous and beautiful 2 hours. Tokyo toilet cleaner Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) is content with his daily routine and takes immense pride in his work, until a number of small changes in his life in quick succession upsets his equilibrium. Perfect Days is only repetitive as far as it wants to be – Hirayama’s routine does vary, as does the cassette soundtrack to his day, but he likes things to be a certain way and relies on his little comforts to keep sane. The time we spend with him and the unhurried pace of the piece as a whole quickly gets you in Hirayama’s headspace and can become an almost meditative experience. It’s not a film of fireworks but you’re completely and utterly compelled by our quiet, enigmatic protagonist, his passions and his appreciation of the moment. SSP
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Arisa Nakano, Drama, Koji Yakusho, Perfect Days, Wim Wenders, World Cinema
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Review in Brief: Dune: Part Two (2024)
That’s how it’s done. After joining the nomadic Fremen and taking his place as their reluctant messiah to tap into new powers drawn from the planet Arrakis itself, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) takes the fight to the murderous Harkonnens and the paranoid Emperor (Christopher Walken) who engineered his family’s downfall. Book purists might decry the omission of some characters and scenes but Denis Villeneuve delivers on all the moments that matter and then some. He also packs his spice-rich world with satisfying little details like the lengths to which the Fremen will go to preserve water and the cultural differences between the Great Houses of the Imperium. It’s all impeccably performed, meticulously crafted and, credit to masterful cinematographer Greig Fraser, even more visually stunning than the first film, with Paul’s sandworm-riding trial and the introduction to the depraved Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) in the Harkonnen arena shot entirely with infrared cameras being particular highlights. SSP
Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief
Tagged Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Denis Villeneuve, Dune, Dune: Part Two, Greig Fraser, Sci-fi, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya
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