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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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A charming fairy tale, well told. Not extraordinary, or exceptional, the Oscar Nominations told you that, but sometimes you just need a break from "Film as Art" and this was it.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
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I've been using my time off to catch up on a few movies. I'd like to say "wisely", but the movies, they've been all of them, every one, the stuff of nightmares.
The first, Oldboy, Korean, dark, I mean way-dark, black-dark, pitch-dark...Good, well acted, some great ideas, but - fucking hell, was it ever dark.
The second, Holy Motors, a variety of Tableaux set in and around Paris. Moments of brilliance, and - of course - of bleak and unrelenting darkness. And a curious - Theme? - if that's the word, brilliantly acted, the fuel of nightmares. I'm still not well, coughing, waking up in the night, I don't need this...
And finally The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Brilliant, savage - and - hey, do I gotta say it? Dark. Fucking bloody hell. In this instance, however, I forgive the darkness, the movie - the most linear and understandable of anything I've watched for a while, but still not even a ray of sunshine - that said, admirable in it's cinematography, execution, in the darkest of personal moments, clipped dialogue ...
...but at the moment I need to find something a bit lighter, a bit more cheery, not necessarily mindless - do the two always have to be mutually exclusive? But I'd like something that rather lifts my spirits for a change, I'm open to recommendations...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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I don't know what I was thinking. I mean, I do, after the lightness of the holiday fodder I wanted something with a little more depth and substance, and so I watched "Winter Light" by Ingmar Bergman. It's all that, but it's as well bleak and unforgiving, a masterpiece, perhaps, but not one tuned to my circumstance.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
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And a few of the films I watched over the holidays with and without the daughter: Shot Caller - her choice, absolute BS Prison film. Like LOL ridiculous. Bullshit. The Sixth Sense, which she liked, the twist and all, but then described it to a friend as "about a dead child psychologist"...No spoilers here. Weiner, about the infamous politician of the same name, and while it's easy to judge there's too often the confusion between a politician - his or her professed viewpoints and politics, with the politician, the person, and not many people are good at both. "Sausage Party", and yes, I certainly have to admire Seth Rogen for imparting his own brand of pot-addled brilliance to ... well, really, what was I thinking? It was brilliant, for sure, but entirely not my thing and life's a little bit too short. And finally, the clear winner of the season - "Nice Guys" - which was that funny and then some. If you see one make it the last one.
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
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Which reminded me a bit of Jodorowsky's films, well shot, well acted with a handsome young Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave, amongst others, and delightfully, obscenely perverse. The true, if not somewhat stylized, history of the Church in France. Makes me curious to see the uncensored version..