She Spoiled It

Review: The Peanut Butter Falcon

30/10/2019

This review cotains only trailer-level spoilers.
Most people have a book that they absolutely loved growing up. While other girls were reading Little Women or the Babysitters Club I was re-reading Huckleberry Finn. I read it so many times it got creased and dogeared. I dont remember much of the plot now and certainly wouldnt have been aware of the deeper themes at the time. But I do remember losing myself in those hot lazy adventures, wishing I was rolling down river instead of in my bedroom in Yorkshire.

When I heard that “Peanut Butter Falcon” (2019) was being billed as a Huck Finn style adventure I just had to see it.

Scotland Loves Anime 2019 - triple review

25/10/2019

This post contains fairly serious spoilers for Patema Inverted, The Life of Budori Gusko and Weathering With You.

The Scotland Loves Anime festival is ten years old this year. It screens anime at venues in both Glasgow and Edinburgh drawing huge audiences. This year the Filmhouse in Edinburgh saw its busiest weekend and biggest single day of ticket sales during Scotland Loves Anime.

The films on offer range from older classics to latest releases, kids films and the more gory adult fare.

I saw three films this year, PATEMA INVERTED, THE LIFE OF BUDORI GUSKO and WEATHERING WITH YOU.

Review: Official Secrets

20/10/2019

This review contains only trailer-level spoilers
Part “Spotlight”, part “Red Joan”, this film is about principles, dilemmas, and how one person’s action can have great consequences.

"Official Secrets" (2019), directed by Gavin Hood, tells the true story of GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun (Keira Knightly). GCHQ employees are asked to participate in an illegal operation by the NSA. They want to sway the UN Security Council vote in favour of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Katharine leaks this information and is arrested for breaching the Official Secrets Act.

Review: Beau Travail 20 years on

18/10/2019

This review contains major spoilers
As the 20 year anniversary of "Fight Club" is upon us I take a look at another film from the same year with a totally different representation of masculinity.

“Beau Travail” (1999) is a poetic film about French Foreign Legionnaires by director Claire Denis. It shows an unexpected side of masculinity given the setting and the characters, and it celebrates the beauty of men’s bodies.

Twenty years after it was made and Claire Denis’s Beau Travail still offers a unique perspective on a subject matter which has a potential to be plagued by in violence and toxicity.

Review: I Am Not A Witch

17/10/2019

This review contains mild spoilers
A dry humour. An uncomfortable satire. A stunning fairytale tableaux. “I Am Not A Witch” (2017) has an impact that’s hard to describe.

The film starts with a young Zambian girl Shula (non-professional actor Margaret Mulubwa) being accused of witchcraft. She is given the choice of being turned into a goat or declaring she is a witch.

Review: Waves

16/10/2019

This review contains mild spoilers
“Waves” (2019) is the third film by writer-director Trey Edward Shults. It is a powerful drama about the ripple effects of violent acts and its impact on many lives.

Shults uses different filming styles, pacing and aspect ratio to create different perspectives in each chapter. The result is a film that takes you on a journey of emotions and ends up being something rather different from how it started.

Review: Earthquake Bird

14/10/2019

This review contains only trailer-level amounts of spoilers

Based on a novel of the same name by Susanna Jones, “Earthquake Bird” (2019) is a neo-noir slow-burn psychological thriller based in Tokyo in 1989.

Lucy Fly (Alicia Vikander) is an ex-pat living and working in Tokyo creating the Japanese subtitles to English films. She falls in love with a local photographer Teiji (Naoki Kobayashi) but suspects her friend Lily (Riley Keough) of having an affair with him. Lily goes missing and Lucy is taken into questioning by the police, suspected of murder.

London Film Festival 2019 - day 5 (the last day)

13/10/2019

No spoilers here.

This was an earlier start at about 8.30am because I wanted to get a ticket to a talk and you have to go in person on the day.

But I massively overshot and so had time for breakfast on the Southbank. Apparently the posh place I went wasn't a fan of salt so my eggs and mushrooms were somewhat lacking despite costing an arm and a leg (pesky London Prices). It's just not the same if you season it after.

Anyway, I managed to get my name on the list for the talk and browsed the BFI shop. Then on to my first (and only) festival film of the day.

London Film Festival 2019 - day 4

12/10/2019

No spoilers here.

I wrote up my review of Earthquake Bird, again over tea and toast and with the company of the cat. (Read my full review of Earthquake Bird here).

It rained the entire day and I'm very glad I turned around and went back for my umbrella because it would have been quite miserable without it.

I LOST MY BODY was first - a French animation about a severed hand journeying across Paris to find its previous owner. It reminisces about the owner's life leading up to the 'incident' and can somehow see the world around it.

London Film Festival 2019 - day 3

11/10/2019

No spoilers here

I took some time in the morning to write up my review of UNCUT GEMS over tea and toast. The cat joined me for moral support.

"If you like watching people scream over each other until they’re hoarse for 2 hours and 10 minutes then this is the film for you."

(Read my full review of Uncut Gems here)

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