Joeblade

Short reviews

  1. One Million Years B.C.

    So utterly ridiculous on so many levels it’s practically adorable.

  2. The Lost Boys

    Actually perfect.

  3. Welcome to Me

    Dark comic piece from Kristen Wiig about a woman with borderline personality disorder winning the lottery. Funny but painful.

  4. Red Desert

    Bleak and oppressive Antonioni piece that’s probably a great choice if you’re in the mood for something bleak and oppressive.

  5. High-Rise

    All style and no substance. Could have said so much about the problems of modern living, instead said nothing at all.

  6. Ghostbusters (2016)

    I haven’t wanted to be a Ghostbuster this much since the early 90s.

  7. The Birds

    Obviously brilliant, but also worth noting for one of my favourite Big Train sketches.

  8. Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key

    The amazing title by far the best thing, but it’s still a solid bit of Italian schlock.

  9. The Man Who Wasn’t There

    Great-looking Coen brothers noir with equally great performances. Story feels a little undercooked, but it gets by.

  10. The Spanish Prisoner

    So-so drama showing how easily someone can be tricked into betrayal, especially if they’re the stupidest man alive.

  11. The Fifth Element

    So ‘90s and European I can’t help but love it all the more, given recent events. Even Ruby Rhod seems more tolerable.

  12. Leon

    Wonderful for so many reasons — cast, script, cinematography, soundtrack — but also just for Gary Oldman's "EVERYONE!" rendition.

  13. Moulin Rouge

    Watched for maybe the thousandth time, because I can can can.

  14. Bang Gang

    Vacuous teenage drama.

  15. Nice Guys

    A little looser and flabbier than some of Shane Black’s other films, but still brilliant. Great sight gags, fun performances.

  16. Family Plot

    Hitchcock’s last film, a fun comedy thriller in which wild-eyed Bruce Dern gives a great wild-eyed Bruce Dern performance.

  17. Bridge of Spies

    Fine, I guess, but lacking in the sort of depth, complexity and tension you might get from, say, a John Le Carre adaptation.

  18. Tangerines

    Perfect little story about overcoming prejudice and moving past differences. Strongly performed, genuinely moving.

  19. Rope

    An important lesson on the importance of not panicking when you think you’ve been caught out.

  20. Vertigo

    A lurid story of obsession, manipulation and fear that seemed somehow appropriate right now.

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