2020 has started. It is coming towards the end of January, and I feel like I need to verbalise some general thoughts about January 2020 releases  (or US December 2019 releases) that I have seen.

Is that the introduction? Yeah… that’ll do.

UNCUT GEMS (Josh & Benny Safdie)

I really, really thought GOOD TIME deserved more recognition than it actually got. Which, is what I thought UNCUT GEMS would finally do for Adam Sandler and the Safdie Brothers. But lo-and-behold the Academy don’t recognise brilliance.

This is excellent work from all involved. The tensely panicked narrative involving Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) is brillaintly constructed, and it is the best performance I have seen from Sandler since PUNCH DRUNK LOVE.

Go see it. Just do it. Just go. I mean, theres a bejeweled Furby for fucks sake.

JOJO RABBIT (Taika Waititi)

This is a difficult film for me to really summarise my thoughts on. On the one hand this is a very sweet film, funny in places, tragic in others. On the other, it does seem to mishandle the more overtly problematic themes that are present within.

I did enjoy the film, a lot. Which is perhaps down to the performances more than anything, however, the more I seperate myself from the viewing experience, the more issues that I seem to find.

A recommendation. Purely because of the fascinating debate the film can spark.

1917 (Sam Mendes)

First things first. Technically, this is masterful. I am quite amazed that they managed to pull off some of the sequences in this. The way the camera moves, has me boggled about how they did it. Some of the shots a breathtakingly beautiful, as one would expect from the great Roger Deakins.

But, the story is almost too simple. I feel that for a story about WWI and the horrors of those 4 years, it should be more affecting. But it isn’t. The ‘one-shots’ should’ve immersed me and made it more affecting, but it just removed me from the films narrative.

See it, maybe. I mean, people are going to see this one regardless of my recommendation.

I may do this in the future. Instead of trying to write 800 profound words on one film, just a hundred or so on a couple. Acting as a recommendation list. May even branch out to Netflix/Amazon Prime/iPlayer recommendations, seeing as my parents outright refuse to go to the cinema.

Films I am looking forward to watching in February: THE LIGHTHOUSE (Robert Eggers), PARASITE (Bong Joon-ho) & PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (Céline Sciamma).