Viewing Log: 2016
An on-going list of films I watched for the first time in 2016, arranged in the order in which I saw them.
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51 titles
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMichael DouglasMatt DamonScott BakulaA chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.Impeccable craftsmanship combined with standout performances from the leads. As much as I love Soderbergh's observational aesthetic, he's perhaps too dry, too distant for this type of material. You wonder what a filmmaker more prone to melodrama might've made of this. While it does well to show the seamier side of celebrity & the machinations of an abusive relationship, it needed the punch of someone like Fassbinder.
- 8/10
- DirectorBen KellettStarsBrendan O'CarrollDermot O'NeillEilish O'CarrollA company tries to shut down Mrs Brown's fruit and veg stall. They can feck off.
- 5/10
- DirectorIain ForsythJane PollardStarsNick CaveSusie BickWarren EllisWriter and musician Nick Cave marks his 20,000th day on the planet Earth.
- 8/10
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.An intense, neon-lit, existential character-study; as much about the psychology of the imprisoned mind as the more obvious crime story theatrics. Frank is a character who finds himself being slowly incarcerated by circumstance; his need for freedom forcing him down a path of almost Samurai-like self-cleansing through violent self-destruction. The first flicker of Mann as American cinema's preeminent modernist master.
- 10/10
- DirectorTed PostStarsClint EastwoodHal HolbrookMitchell RyanInspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan pursues a conspiracy of vigilante cops, who are not above going beyond the law to kill San Francisco's undesirables.
- 9/10
- DirectorJames FargoStarsClint EastwoodTyne DalyHarry GuardinoInspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan reluctantly teams up with rookie Inspector Kate Moore to foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans.
- 6/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockePat HingleWhen a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.
- 9/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockePat HingleA hard but mediocre cop is assigned to escort a prostitute into custody from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so that she can testify in a mob trial. But a lot of people are literally betting that they won't make it into town alive.
- 8/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodFreddie JonesDavid HuffmanA pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter that can be partially controlled by a neuralink.A shaggy dog effort that mixes scenes of suspenseful & often beautifully staged espionage with lengthy special effect sequences of the protagonist sitting in front of a blue screen. While both parts of the film still contain some exceptional moments, Firefox never finds a level of consistency. As actor & director, Eastwood seems to be taking things very seriously, but his co-stars chew the scenery out from under him.
- 6/10
- DirectorRichard TuggleClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGeneviève BujoldDan HedayaNew Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.Eastwood apparently took over directorial duties mid-way through; true enough, several scenes show the mark of the auteur behind Sudden Impact; the silhouetted blackness & red hued degradation carrying across from that particular film into this tale of psychological disintegration. While not as powerful or compelling as his own credited effort, the idea of a character being corrupted by violence is an intriguing one.
- 8/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodCharlie SheenRaul JuliaA veteran detective is assigned a rookie partner after his previous partner is killed by a car theft gang. He is determined to apprehend those responsible for his friend's death but his new partner isn't really up to the task.Too busy watching the way the film was made to be concerned about the content. From the opening dream sequence, with stark silhouettes & fragmented cutting, to the jaw-dropping image of the car erupting from an exploding building, this highlights some of Eastwood's most audacious direction. The casting & characterisations are weak, but lighting, editing, colour & composition are not just excellent but often intrepid.
- 7/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockeGeoffrey LewisAn idealistic, modern-day cowboy struggles to keep his Wild West show afloat in the face of hard luck and waning interest.Is the big top a microcosm of the American heartland or a stand-in for the cinema itself? Arguably Eastwood's most personal film, 'Bronco' takes some of the same wacky comedy & good ol' boy archetypes of his earlier orangutan movies, but punctuates them with something more reflective & yearning. It's a film about the end of the West; about performers & performing; the business of show; about Eastwood & his audience.
- 8/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMeryl StreepAnnie CorleyPhotographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.
- 9/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodKyle EastwoodJohn McIntireA boy with a music talent goes on a journey with his uncle for a stage concert.
- 9/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanEd HarrisCareer thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) witnesses a horrific crime involving U.S. President Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman).Fails to connect. Pacing is sluggish, set-pieces lack confidence & plot falls apart under scrutiny. If there's interest to be had it's in the heft of the film's rich thematic subtext; the air of political corruption & the disillusionment with modern justice exploiting those without power capture the (pre-Clinton scandal) zeitgeist. Early scenes establish a theme of voyeurism & objectification, but this goes nowhere.
- 5/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodIsaiah WashingtonLisaGay HamiltonCan an over-the-hill journalist uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?
- 8/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodTommy Lee JonesDonald SutherlandWhen retired engineer Frank Corvin is called upon to rescue a failing satellite, he insists that his equally old teammates accompany him into space.
- 5/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJeff DanielsAnjelica HustonStill recovering from a heart transplant, retired F.B.I. profiler Terry McCaleb returns to service when his own blood analysis offers clues to the identity of a serial killer.
- 6/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKevin CostnerClint EastwoodLaura DernA kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.
- 9/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockeChief Dan GeorgeMissouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
- 10/10
- DirectorJacques RivetteStarsMaria SchneiderJoe DallesandroDanièle GégauffElizabeth sends telegrams to her old boyfriend Ben in NYC and to her younger sister Leo in Rome to join her in Paris, where she is selling her dead father's estate. When Ben and Leo arrive, a mysterious adventure begins.
- 7/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMarsha MasonEverett McGillHard-nosed, hard-living Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
- 7/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJeff FaheyCharlotte CornwellA thinly fictionalized account of a legendary movie director, whose desire to hunt down an animal turns into a grim situation with his movie crew in Africa.
- 8/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsJohn CusackKevin SpaceyJack ThompsonA visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.The promise of Eastwood approaching the worlds of the Southern Gothic, magical realism & black comedy seems incredibly enticing, but the film disappoints. It's directionless; the story meanders; the comedy isn't funny & the drama isn't engaging. While the first act captures a sense of atmosphere & picaresque wonder, it soon gets lost in the flow of an uninteresting assemblage of plot with its weak characterisations.
- 5/10
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJessica WalterDonna MillsThe life of a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan.
- 7/10