Anomalisa

It's been a long time since I've seen anything by Charlie Kaufman. The last film of his I saw was "Synecdoche, New York", which I found altogether too strange and off-putting. But this film, this Kaufman let unfold slowly like a rose, one perfect petal at a time. It took a full hour for the true nature of the plot to be revealed, and I was stunned and very affected by it. It's wholly original in the way that his first film "Being John Malkovich" was. It's amazing and tremendously tragic and I will remember this one for a long long time. If you've given up on Kaufman, please do watch this one - you will not be sorry. 5/5

Anomalisa on Netflix

Queen and Country

In my quest to watch every film Caleb Landry Jones is in I found this period British dramedy. I almost didn't recognize Jones without his glorious ginger locks, but he was captivating as ever even without them. I wish I had known this was a sequel to "Hope and Glory", which I have never seen, as it might have made the seemingly disjointed plot a bit more clear. I found the story jumped around too much and couldn't seem to settle between drama and comedy for more than a few minutes, which was off-putting to me. However, the acting was superb all around, and the film kept my attention throughout. All in all, good, but not great. 3/5

Queen and Country on Netflix

Legend

Make no mistake, Tom Hardy has proven he is the finest working actor in cinema today, and his performance in this film simply cements that. His versatility and prowess is evident in all his work, and his nuanced portrayal of the infamous Kray twins is just exquisite. The problem with this film isn't Hardy, but rather the lackluster script that goes nowhere and only scrapes the surface of what could have been a far more fascinating story. As such, this was just average for me, but I'm shocked Hardy didn't get an Oscar nod for this. 3/5\

Legend on Netflix

Macbeth

This most recent version of Macbeth isn't just bad, it's offensively bad. Fassbender and Cotillard drone their dialogue in near monotones - there is no intensity or emotion present. Indeed, apart from a few scenes, the entire film is devoid of emotional impact. There is no madness, no passion, nothing. The changes made to the text made little to no sense, and, were it not directed so beautifully, I would have one starred this. I actually started fast-forwarding after the banquet scene. So not good. 2/5

Macbeth on Netflix

Stonehearst Asylum

What an utterly intriguing thriller, I never saw most of it coming. Excellent acting all around as well. 4/5

Stonehearst Asylum on Netflix

The Theory of Everything

I've still to write about "Birdman" and "Whiplash", but I'm finding this review considerably easier. If one sat down to design a movie to attract Oscar attention, if one tried to distill everything conventionally seen as "Oscar worthy", one would produce this movie. All of the tropes about what types of films win Oscars are present and accounted for here. They are all done exceptionally well, don't get me wrong. Redmayne is as exceptional as he's ever been, and Jones is positively luminous throughout. But it's just so expected, so ordinary a film, so utterly and completely Oscar bait that I found myself drifting. This is as safe of a film as one can make in Hollywood, and, in good conscience, I can no longer award such safety with glittery awards. And as good as Redmayne was (and he truly was exceptional, let's make no mistake there), I cannot see his performance being better or more tranformative than Scott Haze in "Child of God" or James McAvoy in "Filth". Neither of whom, of course, were nominated, because "Child of God" and "Filth" were most certainly not safe films. So my review of "The Theory of Everything" boils down to it's good, but far too safe and basic to garner award notice from me. 4/5

The Theory of Everything on Netflix

Naked

David Thewlis is mesmerizing but I never really got the plot in this odd & muddy thriller. More clarity was needed. 3/5

Naked on Netflix

London Boulevard

This film has great acting but boiled down it's just "Drive" with less clarity & development. I'm kinda meh. 3/5

London Boulevard on Netflix