DawdlingPoet
Celluloid Junkie
Member Since: 05 Sep 2019
Location: UK
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Here (2024) - Rated 14 Apr 2025
"This is quite bizarre in terms of the way its shot - there are many, many timelines featured and following them is a bit confusing at first but I got into it after a while. It reminded me somewhat of a Terrence Malick film - it does have an arty feel to it. Ultimately I thought it was quite a touching, poignant film, given the various topics and vulnerabilities that are depicted. Interesting the use of AI to show Hanks and Wright as their younger selves (brave new world?!). Recommended."
Touch (2024) - Rated 13 Apr 2025
"Extremely poignant and thought provoking - this is a lovely film about nostalgia and returning to a previous, younger identity - reliving a youth/adolescent times spent in Japan. The music is charming too. It made me think a little of the Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I liked the dual timelines - seeing the main character in his younger years as well as trying to reconnect with those who meant a lot to him, in his later years as the pandemic started to really bite. Highly recommended."
Dà Yú Hai Táng (2016) - Rated 25 May 2025
"This is a charming and somewhat deep film, similar to The Red Turtle (I guess there must be relevance to the colour red and marine life in Asia), Spirited Away possibly, The Lovely Bones and slightly of The Little Mermaid. The themes/ concepts are thoughtful and the animation quite impressive, plus it has some philosophical dialogue to get you thinking - one for the spiritualists out there. I love the detail in some settings. I really enjoyed this and would happily recommend it."
Wings of Life (2011) - Rated 02 Jul 2025
"Some nice cinematography and some interesting things mentioned but the narration is very cheesy it certainly won't suit everyone. I did quite like the background music which wasn't overly intrusive I reckon, if i remember right... Less of the cheese though please. I know its 'DisneyNature' and all but still(!)). I do tend to prefer Nat Geo for nature documentaries. Oh and I liked that the credits were interspersed with snippets of advice type text, tips for viewers to help nature. Nice touch."
Proxima (2019) - Rated 17 May 2025
"A touching portrait of a mothers love for her child conflicting with her love and determination to go aboard a space mission and be a female astronaut. I felt the ending was perhaps a little sharp and left some unanswered questions but I kind of feel like that's the whole point. We see things through her daughters eyes. This film has a good cast and a (in my eyes) decent mix of English and non-English dialogue - possibly 50/50 or slightly less for the non English languages (subtitles provided)"
Flow (2024) - Rated 01 Jul 2025
"This was surprisingly touching by the end. I liked the mix of animals featured and I quite like that there's pretty much no dialogue. Its a rare thing these days but it does punch somewhat of an emotional impact all the same and yes I'm not overly keen on cats generally for different reasons but in this instance I was ok with the feline creature and as for dogs, birds and capybaras? cute!. Count me in. A solid 4 out of 5."
Jane (2017) - Rated 17 May 2025
"This is a great documentary film. I love that it features a lot of the person its about talking about their life, as a narrator via library/archive clips, as well as the footage showing documentation of her time spent with the chimps in Africa. Her love of the area and the work she did shines through and it really helped me feel like I got to know the person."
Bookworm (2024) - Rated 14 Jun 2025
"I quite enjoyed this - its corny, pretty random but good. I particularly like that she quotes 'Maslovs hierarchy of needs' to her estranged dad - of course she knew about that! clever girl - good on her. Its got a quirky, comic book style/feel about it. Nothing esp. amazing but as a 12 rate film, with little CGI (not a sniff of a superhero genre/theme either) I thought it was surprisingly solid and I enjoyed Elijah Wood playing the estranged/increasingly somewhat socially awkward father figure."
Close (2022) - Rated 02 Mar 2025
"A poignant and sad watch. A very believable and sometimes somewhat moving film making the viewer think about how groups of young children can be quite intolerant and judgemental at a surprisingly young age, I recommend this, though do be aware, it is sad."
Ramen Shop (2018) - Rated 03 Jul 2025
"A lovely, contemplative and perhaps somewhat meandering film. I loved it. Its like an ode to Asian cuisine but with a touching nostalgic family based plot line thrown in there. I really liked the subtle music used - it has a bit of a philosophical feel to it I guess, with some charming settings and visuals. I suppose if there were such a genre as slow TV or mindfulness films, this could be considered one example. It has emotional moments but its mostly quite a thoughtful and satisfying watch."