Evie's 'Good Film Hunting'

I don’t like musicals. The random bursting into song feels so unnatural it immediately pulls me out of any story they’ve managed to tell so far. The style of most musical theatre songs or show tunes doesn’t align with my general music taste like honestly, where are Paolo Nutini, Radiohead and Clairo?? The run times are ridiculous, act after act and all riddled with pacing issues. I cannot comprehend how I sit through a musical while the person next to me is somehow having a good time.   Yet, unlike some of my other film opinions (which you may incorrectly disagree with), I don’t think my dislike for musicals is absolute. I have enjoyed some! The majority being the least musical-theatre-esque ones possible. Take John Carney’s  Sing Street , for example, which naturally weaves decently written, catchy new wave indie rock songs into the plot.  La La Land  took a forced second watch to appreciate, but once I was forced to watch more than just the first act of flash mobs,...

I love science and always have. Despite my passion for the creative side of things, the way I like to understand things has always been reductionist- simply put, I like picking things apart. This outlook drove my academics specifically into understanding how systems operate, attempting to define what is living. I know a pretty big feet, sorry I haven’t really managed to do yet. However, what began as my optimist pursuit of biology led to feelings of imposter syndrome during my second year of university. As the system churned through students, ticking off qualification boxes, I felt left behind. My initial enthusiasm turned into inadequacy. Mediocre grades didn't feel great, but ultimately submitting things I wasn't interested in or proud of was what really finished me off.  I was convinced at this point, science wasn’t a space for me.     But the great thing about me is that I am often very wrong about myself!   When returning apprehensively for my final ye...

Taste in films is subjective, and there has always been a difference between quality and likability for me. A film can be good, one I’ve enjoyed, both, or neither. Because of this established understanding, I have always enjoyed noting the good films that I did not like. A film that used to be in this collection was the romance sci-fi ‘Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind’, only removed after a third viewing when I learned to appreciate it more. Even so, I was—and still am—frustrated that I never fully enjoyed the film. I think the story should be captivating, the characters are quirky, and it attempts to examine love in a unique way; yet the film has had practically no impact on me. I want to emphasise that this is a subjective opinion that surprises me as much as it surprises the film's fans, to whom I have also expressed this. This context is relevant to understanding my excitement when I was introduced to Chad Hartigan’s ‘Little Fish’, which similarly tells a love story set...

  After a long hiatus, the blog is back!! I know you missed me I’ve been thinking about writing again for a while, but honestly, I was living with some crazy cinephiles, and we were watching films at a speed that was probably not healthy. Work by day, film viewing by night—it was  bliss . That being said, I spent more time yapping in person about whether the film we watched each evening was brilliant or a snooze fest, instead of writing it down! Now that my living situation has changed, it's the perfect time to bring back Evie’s Good Film Hunting, and what better way than to kick things off with a sad one.   The Coen brothers' ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ follows a struggling folk singer in 1960s New York, portrayed candidly by Oscar Isaac. Despite being ridiculously good-looking and having an obvious gift for writing beautifully crafted folk songs (how did the songwriters not get an Oscar nomination for this??), Llewyn’s career is mediocre at best. This resulted ...

Cate, fucking, Blanchett. I recently enjoyed a solo trip to my local cinema to see the new Todd Field psychological drama  Tár  with very high hopes. Reviews had the film very well received, many commenting on Cate Blanchett’s performance as being a career-defining one. Now, if you knew me more personally, you’d know I am, in fact, in love with Mrs Blanchett. I think she is one of the best actresses of this generation and deserves all the acclaim she receives—so, saying this, I was not surprised her performance was being praised, just excited to see it for myself. Tár  is a biopic-esque psychological drama about the classical composer Lydia Tár, who is widely considered one of the greatest living conductors, yet she is one symphony away from her career excellence. The film follows a relatively small cast, with the majority of dialogue coming from Tár, in a brutalist, eerie-looking Berlin that acts as the backdrop for her character's spiral into paranoia and erraticism. In...

Happy New Year! Only about 21 days too late, but this is my first film review of 2023. Not that I haven’t watched any new films so far—I’ve watched quite a few in fact—but this is the first time I’ve felt I have something to write. Starting off the new year with the new drama-comedy ‘Babylon’ from ‘La La Land’s Damien Chazelle. ‘Babylon’ was a turbo-charged, extravagant, three-hour-long mess. Starring icons like Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in a huge ensemble cast of actors, writers, producers, and musicians, all wrapped up in the booming movie days of the 1920s. The first act of this film included an elephant defecating, overdosing prostitutes, and a ‘Great Gatsby’-esque party combined with an ‘Eyes Wide Shut’-esque orgy, all chaotically and outrageously unfolding before the screen turns black, filling with the big red writing of ‘BABYLON’. Within this elaborate and innovative period in cinema, the story is told through the eyes of young, fame-hungry actress Nellie LaRoy, played by Rob...

Christopher Nolan’s  Interstellar . Now, this is a film I’ve been dying to see for donkey’s years, especially after I learnt who Mr Nolan was by watching  Inception , not knowing he was the same director of the  Dark Knight  films, which, as a fan of superheroes growing up, were a favourite. My only excuse for not seeing  Interstellar  was the quality of the viewing experience I wanted; it’s three hours long, set in space, and infamously has a near-perfect auditory experience. So, when I was home at Christmas with my cousin, who is only a fan of actually good films, and they heard I hadn’t seen it, it was the perfect timing to pop it on the quality TV at my parents’ house at 11:30 pm. Interstellar  follows engineer, pilot, and farmer Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, in a dystopian future where Earth is practically uninhabitable, with dust everywhere and food resources depleting rapidly. Classic space plot: he, along with a team of astronauts incl...

Every Christmas Eve, my family sits down after doing our new Christmas pyjamas tradition and we watch the 1989 slapstick comedy  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation . We’ve done this for six, maybe seven years now. So when Christmas Eve 2022 rolled around, down we sat to our family favourite. But this year was slightly different, as I now pretend I have extremely insightful and interesting things to say about films on this silly wee blog. Unlike my other blog entries, this isn’t a first-watch review, but just like my introductory entry, I had to write about my favourite Christmas film. Based on humorous stories written by  The Breakfast Club ’s director and ‘80s legend John Hughes,  National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation  is part of a franchise following the Griswold family, starring SNL’s Chevy Chase. The films often show the Griswolds trying to pull off the perfect family experience, whether it’s a road trip to a theme park in the first 1983 instalment, or Christm...

 Now, now, 'Avatar: The Way of Water' was 3 hours and 12 minutes long—don’t worry, this review won’t be that long. It kind of felt like I not only had to go see the much-anticipated 'Avatar' sequel but that I’d also have to write about it. You could argue that, due to its huge budget, the hype, and its box office success, it was the biggest film of 2022. I can’t really say I have a film blog if I don’t write about it. First, let me set the scene for all the opinions I’m about to dump below—when 'Avatar' came out, I was eight. Sooo, no, I didn’t see it back in 2009. I can’t actually remember when I saw it for the first time, but it was definitely in the cinema. My memories of liking it are vague, and I definitely only saw it once. Like most people at the time, it was mostly a visual experience. The first film literally embodied the ‘Pandora Effect’—something I recommend reading up on if you’re not familiar with it. Going into 'Avatar: The Way of Water',...

This review is long overdue, but so was me seeing Mark Mylod's  The Menu . I’d wanted to see it for a while, mainly because it was described as a dark, comedic thriller centered around food. Really not sure why I wouldn’t want to see it. When I did finally watch it, I went in blind—no trailer, no plot details, just the cast list, some gorgeous stills, and that dynamic film poster. The Menu  follows Erin, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, and Tyler, played by Nicholas Hoult, along with other lucky guests, as they travel to a remote island to experience the finest cuisine from renowned chef Julian Slowik, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. It opens with Erin and Tyler waiting on a dock for their boat to the restaurant. From the first glance between the dining guests, you know the film is going to offer a fun mix of characters and, potentially, intertwining backstories. Once the first meal is served, the structured style of the film kicks off, with each course introduced by a witty (and often ...

  Another spontaneous trip to the cinema led me to choosing my next new film watch, TommyWirkola's 'Violent Night' starring David Harbour as the one and only Santa Claus. This was an untraditional Christmas film with the addition of several bloody deaths and swear words thought, yet I do believe I am now old enough to cope. The general plot of the film involved Santa stuck in a rich family hostage by armed mercenaries, who all of which have christmassy code names like Gingerbread, Santa is left to save the day.  When I first saw this film advertised I thought the choice of David Harbour as this some what grumpy, murderous Santa was that he could play this role very well; he has already nailed the initial miserable uninterested but loveable character in 'Stranger Things's Jim Hopper. He certainly did fit the untraditional duplication of Father Christmas. As the film opens in Bristol, England, we see Santa sat drinking heavily at the bar slurring to the barmaid and fe...

I caved and got myself an Odeon Limitless pass, which lets you watch as many films as you want with the membership. There are so many films out at the moment I’m excited to see, and the first on my list was Luca Guadagnino’s  Bones and All , starring the one and only skinny white boy of the late 2010s, Timothée Chalamet. Before I dive into my thoughts, I want to point out that all I knew going in was that Chalamet and Taylor Russell’s characters fall in love, and there’s some cannibalism. I hadn’t seen the trailer, didn’t know the rating, and had no idea who the cannibals even were—just a few pretty stills from the film that looked all romantic. Honestly, that was the best way to experience it. Go in blind and take it all in... much like they did in the film. The first thing I can say is that I haven’t watched a film that made me feel so much so intensely in a long time. The content combined the most disturbing acts with the rawest (no pun intended) romantic journey between two los...

  This past weekend I was in the mood to watch a good film, and by that I mean a film I've been wanting to watch for ages but just haven't as it would require me to sit down and process a lot either because of content or run time. This weekends choice 'Blade Runner 2049'.  To start with I watched a wee summary video of the 1982 Blade Runner so I could get some background info which was definitely needed, I can't comment on if that was sufficient but I felt I had plenty info to go into the 2017 film.  What I was expecting to be impressed with I was. I mean I already knew it has the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects, and so on; plus I've seen those iconic stills of Ryan Gosling in an orange desert, I now know to be abandoned Las Vegas. This film definitely deserved these awards. I gave the Oscars a cheeky google to see if they had much competition and it seems 'Arrival' was also a contender that year which I have...

With all the commotion surrounding the release of Olivia Wilde's  Don't Worry Darling , I think many were unaware that Mr. Harry Styles was yet again set to star in a blockbuster film, this time on Amazon Prime.  My Policeman  is a 1950s repressed love story about a policeman, played by Harry Styles, and an art museum curator, played by David Dawson, while Emma Corrin's character, Marion, gets caught up in it all. The main reason I was excited to see this film was because of Emma—I’ve loved them ever since  The Crown  and am excited to see all the work they’re in. But I can’t lie and say I wasn’t curious to see what Mr. Styles would bring to the role, especially after his (predictably) disappointing performance in  Don't Worry Darling . The main appeal of this film was its plot, which is a credit to the novel by Bethan Roberts and the adapted screenplay by Ron Nyswaner. Normally, I comment on actor performances, film scores, and a bit of cinematography in m...

  Now quite a lot of my family is Irish, whether that be my northern Irish mother or my southern Irish grandmother on my dads side, yet I have not seen that many films set in or based on Ireland. I felt like I should have brought my Irish passport to my cinema trip to see 'The Banshees of Inisherin', the demographic of the film was definitely Irish viewers over the age of 40.  Knowing very little about this film going into the viewing I was excited to understand what the plot of this film was about, knowing only it was about friendship on a  remote island off Ireland and that Colin Farrell played opposite Domhnall Gleeson's dad. Brendan Gleeson played an old  pudgy fiddle player very well, though I doubt this was a challenging role for him, whilst Farrell's character Pádraic was an inherently likeable protagonist.  I was aware this film was meant to be a comedy of sorts yet despite the few laughs scattered about the film it was a lot more darker than comedic in ...

  My house is full of movie night fiend, especially a thriller, so over the past few weeks I have seen quite a few thriller, crime, psychological films. Most recently a new one I hadn't seen before called 'The Silencing' staring that incest twin from 'Game of Thrones' Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.   The film was a classic teen girl abducted from a small remote American hunting town, the parents are now split up mum leaving the drunken dad and a new city cop thinking she will be Sherlock Holmes. So to begin with the plot wasn't exactly something to write home about. However the abductor murderer was something relatively creative, only ever seeing something similar in an episode in 'Criminal Minds'; he let his victims go in a vast forest and then proceeded to hunt them for sport.  Where ever this film was filmed was beautiful, with spanning shots of the isolating landscape. Cool tones and an almost twilight appearing skyline did create an eery atmosphere to backd...

Writing this about an hour after seeing Olivia Wilde's  Don't Worry Darling  in the cinema with my mum, I can tell you her review of the film would be very different from mine. This was Wilde's second directorial film, following the teen comedy  Booksmart . That’s a fan favorite for many, including myself, because of its original spin on a classic genre. Unlike her debut,  Don't Worry Darling  has had a lot more media attention surrounding the cast and crew's activities and behavior. Who doesn’t love a bit of Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, Florence Pugh gossip? I don’t have a strong opinion on Wilde herself, though I wasn’t a fan of her “Miss Flo” comments. However, I didn’t plan on focusing much on the gossip surrounding the film—mainly because I have a lot of thoughts on the actual movie—but I will say this: if the director were a man, would it be different? Anyway, onto the film... Florence fucking Pugh. As many of us already thought, Pugh is an amazing actress....

I hate horror films. Not because I actually hate them; I’ve enjoyed the very limited ones I’ve seen. However, it takes convincing for me to watch them—either by peers or some self-motivation. Until about a year ago, the only horror film I had seen was  Bird Box , and to me, that was terrifying. I’m pretty sure I had to stop watching because it got too dark, so I could pick it up the next day during daylight. When it comes to horror, I’m a huge wimp. I hate jump scares, but more importantly, I hate the suspense building up to the scare—which is what makes a good horror film. Based on this, this review of a horror film I recently watched will be a rarity. I recently watched  Bodies Bodies Bodies , the Halina Reijn comedy horror slasher film, in the cinema. Despite being a comedy slasher film, I was still scared to watch it, especially since this was the first time I had seen a horror film in the cinema. The complete darkness and inability to hide behind a cushion or use my phone...

When I tell people I am a big film fan people will often ask who my favourite director is, which is a question I will answer at a later date but today Im just edging you. One of my favourite directors is Wes Anderson. I find it hard to not appreciate his films, they are known for their eccentric and niche visual style which when hundreds of films are churned out every year experiencing something different is always a joy. I haven't watched a huge amount of his films but have been enjoying going through his discography (especially since I've leached off my brothers Disney Plus). Of course I have seen his more 'main stream' classics like 'Fantastic Mr Fox' or as many say his best 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. However the first Wes Anderson film I ever watched was 'Moonrise Kingdom' when I wasn't even aware who he was. The hazy colour platte was nothing I had really seen before in film and the absurdity of the storyline always stuck with me.  The ...

I've just visited my family and was in charge of choosing the film to please both the younger lot (early 20s) and the eldest (80 yr odd), I seized this chance to watch a film from my very long watchlist- 'Captain Fantastic'.  I had been recommended this film both by friends and by streaming likes suggested "because you liked..." so expected to enjoy it and it did not disappoint. Matt Ross's 'Captain Fantastic' will join the ever-growing list of my favourite genre of film; the sort of indie, sort of comedic, sort of heart stringer pulling film. Like the rest of films in this list, the film often used wide shot cinematography with crisp colours that bring a sense of nostalgia even on first watch. Alex Sommer's was responsible for the soundtrack and boy did he deliver. I have been a fan of listening to film scores ever since my friend introduced me to revising to the 'How to train a dragon' soundtrack nearly five years ago, hence my preference...