legstump

It starts out with a neat premise but it becomes progressively less interesting the more we learn until it has all become rather silly. On the other hand Brian Cox owns and there is some creepy imagery so in the end it is a passable horror diversion.

65 _53%

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - Rated 21 Dec 2016

It has more interesting imagery in it's first 20 minutes than the entirety of the by-committee Star Wars madlibs of The Force Awakens and it's space battles are significantly cooler. On the other hand the plot while less derivative is full of muddled superfluity and it's characters much less well scripted and performed. Is it better than TFA? Depends what you look for in a star war I guess: I want mythic world building with cool new sights and epic battles and on that front it probably wins out.

60 _39%

The Eyes of My Mother (2016) - Rated 12 Dec 2016

55 _29%

The Accountant (2016) - Rated 25 Nov 2016

65 _53%

Don't Breathe (2016) - Rated 17 Nov 2016

65 _53%

The Wailing (2016) - Rated 17 Nov 2016

Continually fascinating moment-to-moment, but by the end (which is much too far from the start given the material) it does not entirely come together. But the quality filmmaking and performances make it worth the stretch.

70 _68%

Hell or High Water (2016) - Rated 16 Nov 2016

A tightly constructed, character driven thriller drenched in the melancholia of rural poverty, and with the dirt of a late-capitalist and almost post-apocalyptic landscape beneath its fingernails. An elegaic soundtract, pitch perfect performances from all involved, and understated but classy direction make it a totally satisfying watch. Good stuff.

75 _80%

Arrival (2016) - Rated 13 Nov 2016

Laying bare the banality of most other recent scifi puzzlers, Arrival is intellectually and emotionally weighty, visually stunning, brilliantly acted, eerily scored, and unfolds its secrets with total confidence. With Incendies, Prisoners and Sicario all among the top films of their year, and with Arrival likely to join them barring an unprecedented end-of-year crop, Villeneuve is rapidly building a case that he is one of the best directors working today. And holy shit he's doing Blade Runner.

70 _68%

The Handmaiden (2016) - Rated 31 Oct 2016