T
tom_hobbes
Guest
Pontypool
This is a thoroughbred masterpiece, and it will be a cult film - if it isn't already. Pontypool is set in a late night talk radio station with a charismatic DJ, zombies, semiological terror, and it's lean, smart and deadly funny. This is a film more than usual about ideas. you'll see what I mean.
Let The Right One In
Let me say immediately I don't particularly care for vampire films, books, stories, lore. Not interested.
However. Let The Right One In, is a Swedish language vampire film directed by Tomas Alfredson, and it's already been remade by a Hollywood studio. Please see the original subtitled version first if you can, it's a memorable experience.
Veiwers might mistake this tale as the heart warming story of a typical outsider, the smart, often bullied and lonely Oskar, who finds a kind of love in the embrace of an extraordinary outsider. What I love about this film is that many of the critics who love it the best seem to have understood it the least, in my view. The story is like a steel trap. Or to put it another way, it's like a kitten, sleek and beautiful, vulnerable and utterly predatory.
Code 46
Like the two films above, I'd never heard of this. A Micheal Winterbottom film and something of a Tim Robbins vehicle. A film about crime and punishment in a near future where the reasons of the heart are the crime and the punishment is both humane and terrible. If you enjoyed Gattaca, well, this is far better.
Paperhouse
An oldie from 1989 you might not know but well worth seeking out is Paperhouse by Candyman director, Bernard Rose.
A film which concerns sickness and death through the eyes of a child might not seem like an appealing prospect. I had cause to watch this again recently and it's still every bit as amazing as I remember. As imaginary worlds go, this is altogether more interesting and unusual than the standard hollywood fare and doesn't suffer from being low budget.
The Orphanage
J.A. Bayona's Spanish language ghost story is set in, you guessed it, an old orphanage, but with a terrible burried secret. A beautifully crafted, old fashioned ghost story, with moments of real terror. Every aspect of the setting is exploited for atmosphere and visual suspense. The film reminded me very much of Nicholas Roeg at his best with all the attendant strangeness. As beautiful and otherworldly a cinema experience as you will find.
This is a thoroughbred masterpiece, and it will be a cult film - if it isn't already. Pontypool is set in a late night talk radio station with a charismatic DJ, zombies, semiological terror, and it's lean, smart and deadly funny. This is a film more than usual about ideas. you'll see what I mean.
Let The Right One In
Let me say immediately I don't particularly care for vampire films, books, stories, lore. Not interested.
However. Let The Right One In, is a Swedish language vampire film directed by Tomas Alfredson, and it's already been remade by a Hollywood studio. Please see the original subtitled version first if you can, it's a memorable experience.
Veiwers might mistake this tale as the heart warming story of a typical outsider, the smart, often bullied and lonely Oskar, who finds a kind of love in the embrace of an extraordinary outsider. What I love about this film is that many of the critics who love it the best seem to have understood it the least, in my view. The story is like a steel trap. Or to put it another way, it's like a kitten, sleek and beautiful, vulnerable and utterly predatory.
Code 46
Like the two films above, I'd never heard of this. A Micheal Winterbottom film and something of a Tim Robbins vehicle. A film about crime and punishment in a near future where the reasons of the heart are the crime and the punishment is both humane and terrible. If you enjoyed Gattaca, well, this is far better.
Paperhouse
An oldie from 1989 you might not know but well worth seeking out is Paperhouse by Candyman director, Bernard Rose.
A film which concerns sickness and death through the eyes of a child might not seem like an appealing prospect. I had cause to watch this again recently and it's still every bit as amazing as I remember. As imaginary worlds go, this is altogether more interesting and unusual than the standard hollywood fare and doesn't suffer from being low budget.
The Orphanage
J.A. Bayona's Spanish language ghost story is set in, you guessed it, an old orphanage, but with a terrible burried secret. A beautifully crafted, old fashioned ghost story, with moments of real terror. Every aspect of the setting is exploited for atmosphere and visual suspense. The film reminded me very much of Nicholas Roeg at his best with all the attendant strangeness. As beautiful and otherworldly a cinema experience as you will find.