LivraisonduCinémaFilm reviews

Carnival of Souls by Herk Harvey It's a stunning visual masterpiece from 1962, probably one of the best movies I've seen recently. A perennial classic. Captivating, dark, sinister. Making both Ingmar Bergman and Alfred Hitchcock proud, and somewhat envious. I sure liked Christian Petzold's 2007 rendition of Carnival of Souls in Yella (definitely not a remake, more like inspired by, and truly unique in its own way), but this film is absolutely insane. The real issue is which of these two to watch first, as either gives away a huge spoiler for the other. I would suggest starting with Yella, though. And I was sad to learn this is Herk Harvey's only feature film, the overlooked genius who never had a second chance. Think debut Velvet Underground album kind of vibes. We get it now, sure, but Candace Hilligoss and Herk Harvey didn't get their due in their time. Ссылка скрыта

Yella by Christian Petzold It's surprising and interesting how this small-cap vulture venture capitalist drama suddenly turns into a blood-chilling Hitchcockian tale, with none other than Nina Hoss at its heart. Unexpected is the best word I can find for this movie. On the other hand, Phoenix is Petzold's most original rendition of Hitchcock's Vertigo theme in reverse, and it brings Nina Hoss back as another mystery woman, so here you go. At least now I understand and relate more to the water theme of Petzold's Undine, which I definitely need to watch again, as the first time it didn't quite touch me. And no, I haven't seen Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls, so I can't compare the two. But I will. Ссылка скрыта

Barbara by Christian Petzold A classic Nina Hoss film, and one of Petzold's very best — probably the first of his I ever watched, a little over a decade ago. It's a story of pain, despair and an oppressive state, yet also a tale of hope, love, the sparkle of life and deliverance. Solid. Ссылка скрыта

Grave by Julia Ducournau Sick and sickening, Grave (Raw), Julia Ducournau's feature film debut, is quintessential cinema: pure arthouse, unmissable body horror, but above all cinema with a capital C. Rawer than steak tartare, brutal and brutally honest, it is the benchmark of filmmaking for this decade. No wonder Titane won the Palme d'Or; it couldn't have been otherwise. Ducournau seems to be one of the loudest voices, the poet of this fucked-up, jilted generation, an emergency siren. So far, all three films she has made are instant classics, perennial works of art that any Louvre of celluloid should be proud to hold. Never mind Alpha's mixed reception; it's a masterpiece. Bravo! P.S. Don't watch Grave. As I said, it's sick, and it's quite sickening. But how do I watch her TV debut Mange, huh? Ссылка скрыта

The Way of the Dragon by Bruce Lee Strange, but it seems I never watched Meng Long Guo Jiang before, first time ever for me to fully savor one of Bruce Lee’s classic ones. To tell you the truth, there is more historic value here than artistic one, I’m so surprised it managed to make USD 130M in its time (equivalent to almost 1B today) … Bruce must have been a true film magnet back in his era. Ссылка скрыта

Missing in Action by Joseph Zito Classic Chuck Norris fare, Missing in Action is a quintessential Golan-Globus action film and something of a Rambo knock-off, except that here a patriotic Vietnam War hero gives those bad communists what they deserve instead of fighting the local police, state troopers and the National Guard. It has an air of nostalgia and is less cardboard and self-glorifying than most Chuck Norris films. It's a guilty pleasure and a burst of American patriotic fanfare at the same time. Strange delights, eh? Ссылка скрыта

Mercy by Timur Bekmambetov Russia's best-known action film director seems to be doing okay in the US. Mercy is a quality, fast-paced thriller with an A-list Hollywood cast in Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson. Not too deep, not too boring, a little oversimplified towards the end, but quite engaging. A box-office bomb, but what can I say? Not all chewing gums can become Wrigley’s. Ссылка скрыта

Spider-Man: Brand New Day by Destin Daniel Cretton And here I was, certain that chewing gum was banned in Singapore. Well, some of it is widely available — and freely sold to our happy, self-indulgent kids. Ссылка скрыта

Terminal Island by Stephanie Rothman When exploitation takes a serious turn, uncovers a moral dilemma and runs with it - well, it suddenly becomes less exploitative. Less casual and less fun. Despite its critical acclaim, I sure prefer Rothman’s Group Marriage to this tale of no-rules survival. Ссылка скрыта