What Have You Been Watching? (Week of January 24, 2016)

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[u/isarge123]

I had an absolutely incredible week. I forbade myself from any re-watches and as a result I discovered some new favourites! As always, I'd love to discuss any of the film's below, and any further viewing suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Rocky IV - Dir. Sylvester Stallone:
By the time Paulie had a robot girlfriend I knew I was watching a cinematic event for the ages. I might have to watch it again soon, because there's a lot of thematic material and poetic imagery that I didn't fully appreciate the first time. In all seriousness, the killer soundtrack is rousing, the montages are edited very well and the fight scenes are typically well handled (the Apollo fight is genuinely punishing to watch). Everything else is fun but disposable. 5.5/10

Bringing Up Baby (1938) - Dir. Howard Hawks:
Cary Grant is a palaeontologist trying to obtain the lost bone of a brontosaurus. Katherine Hepburn is a possible nutcase trying to obtain Grant's heart, and keep her pet leopard in check. These characters inhabit one of the greatest and funniest comedies I've ever had the pleasure to see. The screenplay is excellent, but it's Howard Hawk's manic direction and the wildly energetic performances that keep this rollicking ride as fun and as fast as it is. Katherine Hepburn is frankly amazing. She explodes off the screen with such chaotic force that it makes you want to duck for cover whenever she opens her mouth. Cary Grant is also at his best as the poor soul destined to endure Hepburn's harassment and the wild adventure that follows. 9.5/10

The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964) - Dir. Jacques Demy:
I've gathered that it would take a true genius to make The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg work nearly as well as it does. I've also gathered that Jacques Demy is that genius, despite this being the first film I've seen of his. His camera glides around the vibrant sets with stunning fluidity, perfectly reinforcing the film's dreamlike nature. It's infused with emotions so strong and true, that you begin to believe that they only could be conveyed through melodious song. Ever since I first saw Singin' In The Rain I was convinced that it was the greatest musical I'd ever seen. I'm now a little uncertain. Umbrellas is a must see. 10/10

The Big Short (2015) - Dir. Adam McKay:
I was sceptical about this one because I haven't liked many of Adam McKay's films. Anchorman and The Other Guys were convoluted but had some nice directorial flair, while Anchorman 2 and a slew of his other films were awkward, lifeless messes. This is easily his best film, and it features his most intelligent writing and direction. I loved how it openly acknowledges that the material needs to be dumbed down for audiences, and how Ryan Gosling's narcissist breaks the fourth wall to provide information via various people playing themselves. "Hey, this guy's got a PhD. That means you can trust him. He and Selena Gomez will explain." It might be lazy, but at least it's funny and self aware. It also takes a complex narrative and brings it together into a tight, accessible and very entertaining package. It was frequently hilarious too, mostly due to the terrific ensemble cast. And as much as I love Bale being Batman or an overweight conman with a ridiculous toupee, it's nice seeing him play a relatively average guy with social problems. I still have a few tiny issues with it, but this was very well done for the most part. 8.5/10

The Docks Of New York (1928) - Dir. Josef Von Sternberg:
One of the most beautifully shot silent films I've ever seen. The plot is trivial, but Sternberg tells his story through the performances and visuals. Every shot is deeply layered and elegantly lit to the point of total immersion, from the hazy exterior sequences to the warm and cozy interiors. The version I saw was accompanied by a terrific score too. 8.5/10

The Conversation (1974) - Dir. Francis Ford Coppola:
I was so affected by this that I actually made a lengthier post about it, which can be found here: https://reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/424pto/discussion_francis_ford_coppolas_unsettling/
To summarise, I think it's an absolute masterpiece, and quite possibly Coppola's best film. DON'T read my post if you haven't seen it yet. I suggest that you watch it as soon as possible with no prior knowledge. 10/10

The Navigator (1924) - Dir. Buster Keaton:
Typical Keaton genius, with an epic scope unrivalled by any of his other films, except for perhaps The General. 9/10

The Apartment (1960) - Dir. Billy Wilder:
A truly amazing film, comedy-wise, romance-wise or otherwise! It's absolutely hilarious, but it went much deeper and darker than I was expecting. It's rendition of a hapless suck-up was one of the most realistic and likeable that I've seen, and Jack Lemmon's nuanced and energetic portrayal is absolutely extraordinary. The Apartment works incredibly well as a romantic comedy, an intimate character study or a drama and it's richly entertaining and beautifully constructed however you look at it. I admire how Wilder takes some difficult themes and tackles them head-on with such candidness and wit, particularly for the time in which it was released. 10/10

Double Indemnity (1944) - Dir. Billy Wilder:
Not quite a noir masterpiece (for me at least), but a damn good film nonetheless. The plot and character interactions are absolutely gripping, but I do have some problems with it. Fred MacMurray (from The Apartment) plays another dubious character, but not nearly as well. The other performances were fine (Edward G. Robinson is great as always) but MacMurray's facial expressions and line delivery were frequently devoid of any believable emotion. The noir aesthetic ensures that it always looks interesting, but I wish that the filmmakers had taken more chances with the visuals. But overall, the positives far outweigh the negatives. 9/10

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) - Dir. Robert Altman:
Altman's unconventional western is sheer brilliance. It's a lavish production (they actually built an entire town and the houses were used to accommodate the crew), and so richly detailed that you feel as though even the most minor characters have stories to tell and lives of their own. I don't know how he did it, but Altman shoots snow in such a beautiful way, and the whole film is full of stunning imagery. 9.5/10

[u/awesomeness0232]

I had a lot of fun this week. I honestly don't think that I watched one movie that I didn't enjoy. It was one of my best weeks in a while and there was more than one film that I was thinking about for days after watching:

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Elio Petri, 1970)

I got this on Blu Ray in a bundle of a few Criterions that I got for a good price. It was the only movie in the bundle that I really wasn't familiar with at all, so I really didn't know what to expect. What I got was a really compelling and unique crime movie that made a very interesting statement. It followed the structure of crime/police dramas in many ways, but it also took a cool twist in addressing corruption in the legal system and how a police officer might not be viewed as a suspect for a crime, simply because of his involvement with the legal system. It was a daring statement, and the end really punctuated the point that Petri was trying to convey.

8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)

I almost don't want to write about this movie here, because I think it deserves two viewings before I judge it. It's so complex. It's a film made for filmmakers, which is probably the reason that so many filmmakers regard it as one of the greatest films ever made. Even without trying to follow the story you can see why, just in the beauty of how it was shot. Every shot is so deliberate and well orchestrated. I know I'm being vague, but I mean it when I say that I really need to watch this one again to form a full opinion on it.

The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953)

I watched this one on YouTube, just searching for something quick to watch. It has fallen into the public domain, so it's readily available. I was pretty much expecting a very simple and predictable B-movie. However, it was actually quite gripping and suspenseful, and featured some really good performances. It was yet another movie that proves how loose the constraints that define "film noir" really are. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys those early, gritty Hollywood dramas.

Detour (Edgar G. Ulmar, 1945)

It wasn't until now that it occurred to me that I watched two film noirs this week that were based around hitchhiking. Either that's a really common theme, or a total coincidence in my film selection. The best compliment I can pay this film is that it is entertaining, but forgettable. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it. It's just that my enjoyment is all that I really remember about the viewing experience. I had to go read a plot synopsis just to jog my memory on a film I watched on Monday of this past week. It's a fairly typical film noir, and its plot depends on some outrageous and borderline impossible events, but if you're into noir, I'm certain it'll be an entertaining watch at the very least.

The General (Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman, 1926)

There were so many iconic moments in this movie. It's one of those films that you watch and realize you've already seen half of it compiled of ten second clips referenced in other works. Still, it's as hilarious and fun as any other film of its era. I guess my only criticism would be that some of the sequences went on a little long. I think there are more refined works in Keaton's filmography, and this one has a couple of gags that could stand to be trimmed down by a couple minutes, but that doesn't stop it from being a classic of the slapstick silent era.

Death by Hanging (Nasiga Oshima, 1968)

When I turned this film on, I had no clue what I was in for. It starts out kind of strange, but it gets very surreal very quickly. I think the thing that was most clever about it, was mixing these abstract and thought provoking images and plot points, with a lot of goofiness and humor. There were parts of the films that were straight up laugh out loud comedy, parts which were dark and upsetting, and parts that were thought provoking and left you scratching your head. All put together, whether you like the film or not, it'll stick with you for days. Personally, I'm still trying to figure out bits and pieces. It ultimately achieves what many surreal films cannot in that it is entertaining while being thoughtful rather than one or the other.

Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)

I'm really brushing up on my classic 90s cult comedy lately (having watched Dazed and Confused last week). This was one of those movies I'd just never gotten around to, so when Mubi added it a couple days ago, I had to watch it. You can see how it built it's cult following. When a film tries to be both intelligent and immature, it can either come off as brilliant or horrible. This film succeeded in this measure. It has moments where it is incredibly poignant and philosophical, and other moments where it is making dirty jokes and getting cheap laughs. I found it to be very enjoyable. What do you guys think, is it worth taking a leap on Clerks 2?

Harakiri (Masaki Kobayashi, 1962)

I blind bought this during the B&N Criterion sale back in November, and it was the last stand alone title I hadn't watched yet. I have a tendency to procrastinate on movies that I buy, and the ones I put off for the longest tend to be the ones I like the most. Wow, this film really floored me. When I reflected back on it I really wasn't sure how Kobayashi even consumed well over 2 hours with this story, because it hadn't felt like 2 hours. My measure of enjoyment always tends to rely a lot on how engaged I am in a movie versus how much I feel like it's just working toward its ending. This whole movie was so well done, I felt like it could've gone on for another 2 hours and I would've barely noticed. Having only seen it once, I'm not well trained enough to get really specific on this topic, but it did some things visually, that I haven't seen in many other Japanese films of the era. The number one criticism that I read of this movie in reviews was that it was slow, but I just can't wrap my head around that. Sure, for a samurai movie it lacked many violent scenes until the end, but the story was so compelling, more violence wouldn't have occurred to me. This was definitely my favorite movie of the week.

Cleo from 5 to7 (Agnes Varda, 1962)

This movie was interesting because so much less happened than I expected. The unique thing about it was that it wasn't really about the events of the movie, but the inner turmoil of Cleo as she went through the events of a normal day. Up until the last 15 minutes, it's more of a mundane day in her life, but you can see through her conversations and reactions, the anxiety which is building inside of her as she awaits here diagnosis. The ending was truly though provoking, as it opens the viewer up to ask what is worse, the question or the answer. It seems that Cleo was more upset by the possibility that she had cancer, than by the reality that she actually did.

Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2013)[REWATCH]

I basically never include rewatches in these posts, but I was compelled to do so with this film. I watched it this week for the third time. I watched it once when it first came out, again about a year ago, and then this week. I really like it the first two times, but this time it really clicked for me. This movie is so packed with meaning and symbolism, it's pretty tough to "get it" after just one viewing. I don't claim to understand all of it now, but I think I have a firmer grasp on the message and it really enhanced my enjoyment. After this viewing I found myself walking away feeling like it was really one of the Coens' best films. I was never as impressed by films like No Country for Old Men as the general population seems to be. I've typically been more enamored by their work in the 90s, but for me Inside Llewyn Davis should be held in high regard right up there with Fargo and The Big Lebowski. It's a tale of deep and true meaning, and yet it ultimately goes nowhere. Therein lies the brilliance of this story, ever enhanced by beautiful musical accompaniment, that trademark Coen Brothers' black comedy, and a stand out (incredibly under-celebrated) performance by Oscar Isaac. I hope he takes more roles like this in the future, because he was absolutely phenomenal. Anyway, if you haven't seen Inside Llewyn Davis, or you haven't seen it twice, go watch it. That's my advice.

[u/ajvenigalla]

I finally got around seeing Saving Private Ryan. Of all the films of Spielberg I watched, I think it's my favorite of his other than Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I admire its intensity, particularly in the battle scenes. The opening Omaha Beach battle is so intense in its realism and its disorienting chaotic visual style mixed with the desaturated color. It works brilliantly.

I admired Tom Hanks's brilliant portrayal of Captain John Miller, as well as Matt Damon's depiction of Private Ryan. I also enjoyed the sniper dude, the Jewish dude, and even the brief Vin Diesel man.

I personally enjoyed it entirely, though the second half is perhaps not as strong as the first half. But the entire film is solid through and through, and everything works well for the film. Even the bookend scenes, while not the best, work for me.

10/10

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Man on the Moon (Milos Forman, 1999)
Having seen Forman's other films and knowing nothing about Andy Kaufman I wasn't sure what to expect but now I think no other director could handle the absurdity that was A. Kaufman.
Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2003)
Absolutely amazing cinematography. One endless 90' shot through the Hermitage. A film that requires multiple viewings just to understand it all. I think I could get more out of it if I knew more about Russian history and culture.
Megaforce (Hal Needham, 1982)
A schlocky, overacted, 80s action romp. Directed by a stunt coordinator. This movie was the inspiration for Team America: World Police. Bonkers and ridiculous.

[u/extremely_average_]

World of Tomorrow Don Hertzfeldt - An interesting concept with a compelling message. The animation was brilliant, the shapes and colors all mesh together well. There were some funny moments and some sad ones that made you think about your own life. The music was also very good.

Jane Eyre Cary Fukunaga - Jane Eyre is a film that takes a classic story and puts a unique and enjoyable style to it. The direction is outstanding, the pace never flatlined and the visuals are stunning. Michael Fassbender is impressive and Mia Wasakowska is great as Jane. The emotional complexity both of the lead characters exemplify only helps the audience connect to the characters on a deeper level. It adapts an excellent source material to the screen very well. I will not judge this film in comparison to the book, but I will say that as a modern day adaptation, it stays fairly true and its unique style helps convey this great story to newer audiences.

John Wick Chad Stahelski and David Leitch - John Wick is a perfect example of how to make a great action film. The fight choreography is brutal and slick, the physical acting is great, and the story is engaging and the world building is fantastic. The camera work is smooth and impressive which elevates this film to another level. I know it's really early to say, but I believe this could be my generations Die Hard even above Fury Road. Mad Max is polarizing as some people hate the lack of dialogue and story, but John Wick provides enough character and story combined with slick and fun action, creating one of the best action films in recent history.

Started my Coen Brothers marathon leading up to Hail, Caesar!

Blood Simple Joel and Ethan Coen - Blood Simple is a fun crime/mystery film and a pretty entertaining and impressive debut feature film. It is not without its problems, however. There are some corny cuts, edits, and zooms throughout that had me chuckling when I really shouldn't have been. The characters were over the top but that's to be expected from the Coens. What you can also expect is superb technical quality paired with strong writing and a perfectly paced and unraveled narrative. It's not their best work, and it lacks the unique style they have developed, but it is fun and entertaining the whole time, definitely worth a watch.

Raising Arizona Joel and Ethan Coen - I liked Raising Arizona, it was fun, unique, and original. I really enjoyed the story and the way the camera was used to create a lot of entertaining comedic effects. The acting was fairly poor with the exception of Goodman, but he never had a chance to truly shine. It was definitely the start of what I would call the Coens style, with unique narratives, funny and extreme characters, and superb camera work tied in with excellent technical aspects. It is a fun film with an interesting narrative but it falls flat when it makes you try to care for these ridiculous and irrational characters.

And then there was a sometimes weekly bad movie night, this was so bad I couldn't justify it with a review, so I wrote a short sentence.

I Believe in Unicorns Leah Meyerhoff - Fuck this movie.

[u/EeZB8a]

Youth (2015), Paolo Sorrentino ★★★★★

Some scenes need to be seen on the big screen. Soylent Green, the closing credits when we once again see what Sol (Edward G. Robinson) saw during his closing moments. Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty has a similar scene during the credit roll down the canal that glues you to your seat, I imagine, as I missed it at the theater and had to settle for a DVD viewing. Youth has a few, including the final scene, which is breathtaking.

Far from Heaven (2002), Todd Haynes ★★★★★

In the middle of M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happaning when Elliot (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife (Zooey Deschanel) take refuge in an elderly woman’s home and are sitting down to a meal, the old woman says:

So what’s with you two? Who’s chasing who?

I’m sorry?

Ain’t no time two people staring at each other, or standing still, loving both with their eyes are equal. Truth is, someone is chasing someone. That’s the way we’s built. So, who’s chasing?

Most will miss the melodrama going on behind the scenes in The Happening.

Which leads to Todd Haynes’ signature shot; an alternating close up of two people staring into each other’s eyes. This shot in his latest film, Carol, is more than memorable, and The Happening’s question applies. In Far from Heaven, there are two such shots, and Julianne Moore nails it, both times opposite Dennis Haysbert (The Unit, 24).

[u/Luksius]

Lord of War (2005)

One of the coolest opening shots that I've seen and clearly the thing I'll remember most about this film. Other than that, it was good. I felt that the story wanted to go through main character's rise to power a bit too fast and left out information that I was curious about. But it's a great character study, about one man's hell, from which he can't escape. Also, you'll know some more useless facts about weapons.

8/10

Creed (2015)

From the good ratings, I've expected "Creed" to be a formulaic, but well-made boxing film. And it was just like that. And I had a great time watching it. I think "The Fighter" has the same plot structure as "Creed". However, having a childhood hero Rocky on board was used to great effect and gave some story surprises. The characters were likable and the fights were intense. The middle fight, filmed with a single take, was a blast and it was a bit disappointing that the final fight was not as good. Still, "Creed" left a lot of good feelings and motivation.

9/10 +

A Few Good Men (1992)

Another well made courtroom drama. Interesting characters, Jack Nicholson is fun to watch, while Tom Cruise's character's jokes felt a bit too forced. Story has you on a hook from the beginning, provides a couple of twists (some a bit cliched) and a tense final showdown. Nothing particularly mind-blowing, but still an interesting watch.

8/10 +

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

I was blown away with the art style of "The Corpse Bride" and was surprised to see that people didn't like it that much. Now I know why. Because they've seen it all before in this film. Now this time I wasn't that much impressed with "The Nightmare Before Christmas". It's still beautiful to look at and the presentation of a nice tale is so creative. Yet I was constantly annoyed with the storytelling, as I felt that the film just drags and teases the story with these songs. With the runtime of 76 minutes, it still felt too long. That was the problem with the "Corpse Bride" too, but then I didn't care. But seems like this art style doesn't impress on second viewing.

7/10

Toy Story 2 (1999)

As awesome as the first one. It's just a smooth ride with a simple story, great characters and plent of chuckles and laughs. Two new things I've noticed. One: I loved how a few simple jokes at the beginning rolled into entire sub-plots that smoothly tied themselves into the main story (Zurg videogame, for example). Two:

• No Buzz, I am your father!

• Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!

I get it now.

9/10 +

Joy (2015)

I loved "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle". And yet, I couldn't enjoy "Joy". Rough storytelling made me often question what's happening and wonder how she miraculously gets all the solutions. The acting was also meh, Robert de Niro and Bradle Cooper didn't get a chance to shine, while Jennifer Lawrence was just good. There were a couple of moments where she tries to channel Heisenberg, but these scenes feel a bit awkward. There are some signs of director's energy and quirkiness, but these are too faint to matter.

6/10

The 400 Blows (1959)

Childhood years were fun, but after watching this, I don't want to return being a ten-year old. The story neatly unfolds, showing how some small childish decisions and bad parenting can irreversably damage one's life. An interesting watch with a good child actor.

8/10

[u/strattonoakmont11]

Floating Weeds (1958)

Dir. Yasujiro Ozu

This is my first Ozu film. Wow it is good, it is one of my new favorites. Regarding the way he films, he really makes "less is more" work. No fancy camera movements at all, just straight cutting. However, the mise en scene and angles he uses are simply dazzling. Probably one of most gorgeous movies I have ever seen. Really is reminiscent of Wes Anderson, but it's not cutesy and twee, it's just a damn good movie.

9.5/10

[u/AnalogBubblebath]

You Can Count On Me - 9/10

Inspired by news of Manchester by the Sea's sale at Sundance, I finally took a chance on Lonergan. Didn't realize he was a successful playwright before he got into film, so I made the connection that he's kind of like John Patrick Shanley. Which is to say, his character development will probably be more thorough and indepth and his plotting will probably be less setup-payoff like the majority of movies. Unsurprisingly, here is another great performance from Mark Ruffalo. Laura Linney is great, as is Matthew Broderick. It's neat how some of the storylines, like the plot about the father of Linney's son, aren't tied up cleanly and perfectly.

Mozart in the Jungle (first 4 eps) - 7/10

The most startling revelation of this series is that Malcolm McDowell is just an out-and-out bad actor. I literally had no idea. He is just bad. Not "my lines are bad", but "I can barely act" bad. His voice and presence are interesting. If you were to get an average employee at McDonalds, McDowell would be better. But Gael Garcia Bernal is great, Lola Kirke is OK but there could have been better casting here. Don't really know what the show is about or trying to be, but following Bernal around can get interesting. In fact, it's pretty much the only interesting part of the show.

Solaris - 8.5/10

A story so thin on plot, I felt surprised at the end that it was actually feature length. This isn't to say its bad, it's just that almost nothing happens. It's an interesting mix between psychological horror and philosophical science fiction. The music is fantastic, the editing is swift and interesting. It's kind of Soderbergh at his more experimental.

Diary of a Teenage Girl - 8/10

This film is kind of unintentionally creepy. It's essentially about an affair between a 35 year old man and a 15 year old girl. It's great that a movie can focus on a young girl's sexuality in a frank manner and even look at the less glamorous aspects of that without flinching, but it's kind of hard to not see that this girl is more or less being taken advantage of by this older man. It's also interesting to note that the main actress is apparently in consideration for a major leading role in Star Wars 8. She's pretty good, but I don't quite see her in a Star Wars movie.

The Exorcist - 7/10

Saw this for the first time. The great parts are great. Linda Blair is beyond amazing. When the priests are actually performing the exorcism, that's amazing. When the girl has tests performed on her, that's horrific and amazing. When she gets progressively worse and Burstyn has to finally seek out the priests, that's so cool. But there's so much setup and so many unnecessary scenes. Soderbergh's Solaris and also You Can Count On Me were interesting because they just cut through a lot of stuff and got right to the point. I think this is essentially a staple of modern film sensibility. The whole subplot of Damien's mother was pretty much irrelevant except for the Devil's handful of taunts.

Movies that were started by not finished and need to be finished: The Vanishing aka Spoorloos, The Falling, Stephen Frear's The Hit, The Naked Kiss, Warrior

[u/[deleted]]

Been on a bit of a horror kick this week...

Carrie (1976, dir. Brian de Palma): This was really interesting for me, because I went into it expecting a horror film. And that's not really what Carrie is. Instead, most of what I saw was the charming story of mean girl Sue Snell trying to mend her ways and help poor Carrie White come out of her shell... just with the unexpected addition of telekinetic powers, a manic religious mother, and pig's blood. The distance between each narrative thread couldn't be greater, but somehow it all comes together to create an intriguing, entertaining and unique movie. While there's certainly a lot of build-up, once things finally kick off at the school prom, everything goes to hell in spectacular fashion, and the prom scene really is an amazingly horrific yet stylish showcase of destruction. The cast is also brilliant: Sissy Spacek is fascinatingly fragile and vulnerable, an excellent portrayal of a lifelong victim of abuse at every turn, while Piper Laurie deserves special mention for her wonderfully unhinged portrayal of the terrifying Margaret White. Utterly captivating. 8/10

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989, dir. Shinya Tsukamoto): This movie... Wow. I don't think I've seen a movie this bizarre and mind-breaking since Eraserhead. Like Eraserhead, words can't quite sufficiently describe how I felt watching this film, but suffice it to say, I was on edge nearly the whole time. There's some of the finest body horror I've seen in a while on display here - the film actually opens on a man shoving a metal bar into his leg, and it only gets more repulsive from there, with detaching ears and peeling faces everywhere. But there's also some fantastically nasty and surreal Freudian horror here: the main character dreams his girlfriend sprouts an animate metal tube and sodomizes him; they consume dinner erotically, the sounds of metal scraping on every bite; and I won't even get started on the fact that the protagonist's penis turns into a massive drill on which he fatally impales his lover. There's also some great direction - the stylized chase sequences are a particular highlight - and an awesome pounding, industrial electric soundtrack. Tetsuo is an experience you won't forget anytime soon. 8/10

Rosemary's Baby (1968, dir. Roman Polanski): I really loved this. The cast are great - Mia Farrow is really sympathetic as a tortured mother being prayed on by sinister forces, whilst her asshole husband and annoying neighbours are brilliantly unlikeable. There's some great visuals - the trippy and unnerving dream sequence, the black cradle adorned with an upside-down crucifix - a wickedly dark sense of humour in parts, and (thank God) barely any jump-scares. Instead, you are allowed to share in Rosemary's terror and feel her paranoia, as the atmosphere slowly becomes more sinister and every face becomes less friendly. Amazingly creepy. 9/10

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920, dir. Robert Wiene): Caligari is, first and foremost, an amazing example of German Expressionism. It's wonderfully stylized - the crooked buildings and angular landscapes are really eye-catching. As well as great visuals, you have the fantastic combination of Werner Krauss as the unkempt and wild-eyed Doctor with his Cesare, the stunningly haunting Conrad Veidt, who creates such powerful emotion through facial expression and body language alone. The film is brilliantly creepy even without sound, and I was genuinely surprised by what might be one of the earliest plot-twists in film. 10/10

The Revenant (2015, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu): I already loved Iñárritu's Birdman, so I was pretty excited to see this, and I am so glad to say it did not disappoint. Revenant is a relentlessly gruelling and unflinching portrayal of the brutality of the natural world, and the cruelty of man. Leonardo DiCaprio is, of course, brilliantly intense as Glass, even when spending a large portion of the film nearly silent, and Tom Hardy is also entertainingly coarse and slimy as the treacherous Fitzgerald. There's a ton of beautiful cinematography to feast upon here - the sweeping and majestic landscapes are utterly stunning. And there's some amazingly horrific special effects - I still don't know how they filmed the bear attack. Simply awesome. 9/10

Psycho (1960, dir. Alfred Hitchcock): This is just a fantastic film, with some surprising twists in the story that I won't go into detail on here, just in case. The direction is obviously great - the shower scene, that transition from plughole to eye, and the overhead angle during the other murder. There's a fantastic screeching Herrmann score to accompany the horror. And the cast is great: Anthony Perkins is amazing as Norman Bates, a terrifyingly intense and warped little man, hiding so much behind a shy and stuttering façade. And it's got some great quotes as well - "A boy's best friend is his mother" says everything about Norman, and I will quote Norma's hilarious "You want to put me in the fruit cellar! You think I'm fruity!" for the rest of my life. In all seriousness, a terrifying classic, and rightfully so. 10/10