Tag: Clearing the backlog

September Movie Round-up

fullsizeoutput_8aeCatching up with my backlog of posts, here we have the films I watched (to be accurate, mostly re-watched) in September

Avengers: Infinity War

Seems fitting to be revisiting the Avengers in the week that we lost Stan Lee. I enjoyed this movie very much in the cinema but didn’t really review it properly; I’m ready to put that right. Given this is a story with eleventy-billion characters which brings to a partial climax a story that’s been told over the previous 10 years worth of movies, this is surprisingly well put together.

It’s fair to say that it probably works best for fans than it does for the casual viewer But sometimes that needs to be done – focus on the audience that will definitely be attending. The best bits for me (and for many others I’m sure) are where members of the Marvel Universe who haven’t come across each other before meet up and build new alliances; my particular favourite being of course Thor, Rocket & Groot. Very excited to see the follow-up next year.

The House with a Clock in its Walls

A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.

I’ve never read the book but was drawn into this film having seen the trailer on previous cinema visits. I liked it. It’s not a great film – it seems very much like a lot of others I’ve seen before, but the cast is engaging – I really like the way Cate Blanchett and Jack Black spar with each other and the actor playing young Lewis is very sweet and not at all annoying. It is quite an old-fashioned film

I still want to call it the Clock with a House in its Walls though…..

Deadpool 2

This was a re-watch on the arrival of the DVD. My original review is here; laughed like a drain second time around, but with a better appreciation of the various cameos. So much fun.

Phantom Thread

fullsizeoutput_895I love all things fashion so was very excited to see this film. Unfortunately, I missed it in the cinema but treated myself to the DVD on release and I’m so glad I did. It was very much worth waiting for.

Phantom Thread is set in the world of couture in London in the 1950s. Reynolds Woodcock (played by Daniel Day-Lewis) is a renowned dress designer who is famously difficult and requires his home and working space to be rigidly ordered to his particular requirements. Supported by his sister Cyril (the amazing Lesley Manville), he is captivated by a succession of young women who act as his muse, but who are despatched by Cyril once Reynolds inevitably becomes tired of them. Into this set-up walks Alma (Vicky Krieps), a very different type of young woman willing to stand up to Reynolds and his frequently appalling behaviour.

This is a beautifully constructed film. We are quickly brought up to speed with the type of man Reynolds is; a self-absorbed creative talent who uses his position as an artist to get away with demands and behaviour that would be completely unacceptable elsewhere. Obsessed with his late mother, reliant on the practical skills of his sister, he favours young women with his attention until boredom hits and he dismisses them out of hand. When Alma is brought into the household we expect the same pattern to repeat itself, but she is more than capable of holding her ground and will not go willingly. Over the course of the film the two of them battle for supremacy and eventually reach a solution which to my mind is rather drastic but seems to satisfy them both.

The acting is, as you would expect, wonderful; the whole cast seems to thoroughly enjoy delivering a succession of fabulous lines with an air of waspishness which I loved. And of course the clothes are so sumptuous and beautiful I could stare at them for ever. I would love to see them exhibited somewhere but not sure if that will ever be on the cards.

I also absolutely love House Woodcock, a combined living, working and selling space which would suit me to a tee.

If you are interested in fashion and want to experience overbearing masculinity subtly put in its place in a somewhat Gothic setting then I recommend this highly.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread is 2hrs 10 mins long and rated 15 for strong language.