Control review

 Number 523 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2007 biopic 'Control.'

Control focusses on the true-life story of Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) the troubled lead singer of the English post-punk band Joy Division. Control explores his relationship with his bandmates, his record label and his wife Debbie (Samantha Morton.)

As you will be very familiar with by now, I am not a fan of biopics. Nor am I familiar with Joy Division or Ian Curtis. But as somebody who couldn't even name a Joy Division song, I found Control entertaining and watchable. It was accessible even for a non-existent fan like me.

Filmed in colour and then rendered to black-and-white, Control hearkened back to a 1970's Cheshire. Everything was stark and bare, which gave the film great atmosphere. There was some great use of shadows and lighting especially the shots where we see the silhouetted Ian Curtis.

 Sam Riley brought Ian Curtis to life in his debut role. I did enjoy his performance. It was nuanced with plenty of gravitas. Anybody else thinks he really looked like Rami Malek? I had to keep doing double-takes, because the resemblance was so striking. I wasn't as keen on Riley's singing voice, but he was doing an imitation of Curtis, and I guess I'm not keen on post-punk music.

But Samantha Morton was every bit his equal. Dare I say she was better than Riley. She certainly proved why she has no less than two Oscar nominations. Their marriage was every bit as disturbed as Curtis, but Morton was a powerhouse. She spends much of the film with tears in her eyes. It is difficult not to feel sorry for her, after everything Curtis puts her through.

While Riley and Morton were good separately, they weren't so good together, but that was more down to the writing. It was obvious from the start that their marriage would not be a happy one, least of all to those who know the story. When the two started arguing, it was no surprise to me.

But they seemed to spend most of the film arguing. So much so, you wonder why they were so attracted to each other in the first place. We definitely needed to see more of the good before we saw the bad. Their relationship was rushed.

In fact most of the more tender moments seemed to be reserved for Ian and his Belgian mistress Annik (Alexandra Maria Lara.) They got on much more than he and Debbie ever did. This tenderness was missing from their marriage.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy Control. I'm not sure I'm going to become a Joy Division acolyte, but even to a non-existent fan like me, it was an entertaining and accessible watch. 

Everything Everywhere all at Once review

 I'm taking a little break from the top 1000 films of all time to review the winner of the 2023 Best Film: Everything Everywhere All At Once (EEAAO)

Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh) is a Chinese-American immigrant running a laundromat that is being audited by IRS agent Ms Deirdre (Jamie Lee Curtis.) Evelyn runs the laundry with hr meek husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) rebellious, gay daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) and ageing father 'Gong Gong' (James Hong.) But Evelyn's life is turned upside down when she is introduced to the multiverse and told that she is the only hope in defeating the evil being Jobu Tupaki.

If I could describe EEAAO in one word, it would be surreal. It is weird, absurdist but endlessly creative. Although that is very much the point of the film. And, despite this, it never lost sight of its heartfelt message of the importance of family. Things start innocently enough with the establishment of Evelyn as our overworked, stressed out laundry over en route to an audit. But things take a turn for the insane when Waymond says that he is actually a Waymond from another universe. And he is Evelyn's guide to the multiverse. cue craziness as we're introduced to universe after universe with each one more random than the next.

EEAAO not only swept up at the Oscars, but many of the other award ceremonies too. Directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing, and it is easy to see why. This film has its share of fantastical fight scenes which are choregraphed brilliantly. We see the Alphaverse Waymond beating up a group of security guards with his bumbag. Ridiculous, yes, but great to watch. Maybe you could argue that EEAAO indulges a little too much in its absurdism, but it was no less entertaining for it.

But it is also very heartfelt with powerful performances. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis all picked up Acting Oscars. Curtis won for Best Supporting Actress, beating out Stephanie Hsu, who I was equally deserving of the win. But I think Ke Huy Quan was the best. He effortlessly went to meek, brow-beaten husband to badass action star. It's difficult to believe that this is the same actor who starred opposite Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones before taking an extended break from acting.

Despite the wackiness of the narrative, EEAAO still had a lot of heart. It is the story of a divided family coming together. At the beginning, Waymond wants to divorce Evelyn, while Evelyn is cracking under the pressure of running her laundry. Meanwhile, she is finding it difficult to accept Joy's lesbianism, creating a deep divide between her and her daughter. Lastly, Gong Gong has always disapproved of Waymond, even vowing to disown Evelyn if she marries him. Yet by the film's end, the family learns to love each other again; Evelyn and Joy have a tearful reunion where both actresses show off their acting talent.

EEAAO is certainly not for everyone. Its absurdism and surrealism might put off a lot of viewer, but if you look past the seemingly random weirdness, you'll be treated to one of the most creative and heartfelt films of the year. 

Whale Rider review

 Number 606 on the top 1000 films of all time is the New Zealand drama 'Whale Rider'.

Set in modern-day New Zealand, Whale Rider is about Kahu 'Paikea' Apirana (Keisha Castle-Hughes,) a twelve-year old Maori girl who dreams of becoming the chieftain of her tribe, despite the fierce opposition of her grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratene) who is adamant that the chieftain should always be male. Paikea works hard to overcome these patriarchal traditions.

It was a joy watching this film. I was fortunate enough to visit New Zealand in early 2020 and even more fortunate to attend the Tamaki Maori village. This was a fantastic experience which taught me a lot about the Maori culture and Maori traditions. And it was lovely revisiting some of these memories within 'Whale Rider.' And it was also great seeing the beautiful New Zealand landscape again.

One of the things I've loved about this challenge is that I get to watch films that I would otherwise have never heard of. And Whale Rider was a film that was definitely not on my radar, but I did enjoy it. It's strange, because the film seemed to give off a very low-budget feel, despite having a budget of almost 10 million New Zealand dollars. There wasn't any explosions, CGI or special effects and the film quality never seemed that high, but maybe that's because this was filmed in 2002. Despite that, I did enjoy watching it. Keisha, in her feature film and acting debut, gave a great performance as Paikea. She was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar and deservingly so.

I feel like it's all too common for a lot of children to feel like the black sheep of their families. They feel like they don't live up to expectations or have unsupportive, strict parents. A lot of well-meaning, but misguided parents can fail to properly support their children to realise their goals. Or as in Koro's case, they do everything in their power to stop them. This could have made Paikea a bitter and resentful character, but, instead, she was empowering and inspirational. She was determined to overcome the obstacles placed before her and that determination made her very endearing to watch. After her conflict with her grandfather comes to a head, Paikea gives an emotional speech in front of her family and friends that is dedicated to Koro and the traditions of her tribe. Keisha delivered it well. And it was difficult not to feel for her.

I also enjoyed Rawiri Paratene as Koro. He provided a lot of depth to what could have been a cardboard cut-out character. Instead of being only a grumpy grandfather, Koro is just an old man desperately clinging to his traditions in an ever-changing world. It was a sensitive portrayal of how sometimes we have to abandon tradition in the favour of progress.

The only thing that I took issue with was the ending. MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT. Koro throws his rei puta (whale tooth) into the ocean and  sets a challenge for his male proteges to recover it. The winner will become the new chieftain of the tribe. After they all fail, he despairingly summons the ancient ones - a group of whales as tradition stated that the first leader of their tribe rode to land on a whale - for guidance. Paikea also summons the whales in an attempt to help. The next evening, a pod of whales beach themselves. Despite the efforts of the whole tribe, they fail to get them back into the sea.

Just when it looks like all hope is lost, Paikea mounts one of the whales and coaxes him back into the water. The rest of the whales follow suit, but instead of returning to land, Paikea rides the whale back into the open water, seemingly ready to drown. I thought this went against the key message of 'Whale Rider.' This whole film is about her becoming the first female chieftain of her tribe. She is determined to smash open the traditional patriarchy. Why would she be so ready to die like this? If she does die then all of her efforts would have been for nothing. The audience has been invested in her journey and what have they received for it? A dead heroine? Unless she was hoping to be a martyr who would go onto inspire other women, but I didn't buy that.

Of course, this drowning was just a fake out. Paikea survives and is nursed back to health. Realising the error of his ways, Koro declares her the new chieftain. So Paikea achieved her goal, but I think this was a really extreme way of doing so.

The ending was a shame, as it did spoil an otherwise really good film. But that shouldn't stop you from watching Whale Rider. I would argue that it is an underrated movie that deserves all the recognition it can get.

Halloween Review

 Number 411 on the top 1000 films of all time is John Carpenter's slasher-horror classic 'Halloween.'

In 1963 Illinois, six-year old Michael Myers stabs his older sister to death. Fifteen years later, he escapes from his psychiatric institution and begins hunting down a group of high school students including Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis.) This is all while he is being pursued by his psychiatrist Dr Loomis (Samuel Pleasence.)

There is definitely something to be said about modern horror films over-relying on tacky CGI and jumpscares to terrify their audiences. The 2018 It Chapter Two was particularly guilty of this. However, John Carpenter was far more subtle. Instead, he made brilliant use of silence and a brilliantly simple piano score to boost up the tension. And similar to what Spielberg did in Jaws, Carpenter made careful use not to show Mike Myers too much. He only appears when he is needed and yet his menace is felt throughout the film. A simple shot of him staring at Laurie by a car is far more effective than him going on a ten-minute killing rampage. 

And, of course, Mike Myers, spends the entire film in his trademark grey boiler suit and white, expressionless mask. This anonymity only made him all the scarier. It could be anybody hiding behind those clothes, even a seemingly invincible serial killer. Despite how Laurie supposedly kills him twice, he comes back every single time with a vengeance. His only weakness comes at the film's conclusion where in Laurie's desperation, she tears off his mask. He scrabbles to replace it, distracting him enough for Dr Loomis to shoot him. But not even this is enough to kill Mike Myers.

Although despite being so invincible, Mike Myers isn't the most effective of slasher horror villains. Okay, he kills his sister and Laurie's friends, but despite getting the jump on Laurie on many occasions, he botches it every single time. But how else would Halloween fit the "final girl," horror film trope? Also I'm not really sure why Myers waited right until the film's climax to try and kill Laurie, but I guess it was nice that he made sure he tried to kill her at such a pivotal moment.

Those small quibbles aside, I did enjoy this film. John Carpenter put forward a truly scary ninety minutes, not with a million jumpscares and tacky CGI, but by creating an atmosphere worthy of Halloween night.