JANUARY 2022 RECAP

Part of my getting back into the habit of writing about film is my monthly recap, where I list off all of the films that I saw in the month that has just passed and talk about them if I have anything interesting to say. You can go back and read some of my old recaps if you like, I think the last one I got around to doing was probably July of 2021. I'm really interested in the role that location and community plays in the experience of watching films, so I often will talk about that when outlining my experience in watching these films. These lists are for me, more than anything, but if you enjoy reading about my watching habits then please don't hesitate to let me know down in the comments.

• The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

I'm not going to say too much about this here, because I plan to do a full-length review of not just the film itself but the context surrounding it. It's a huge, unwieldy, fascinating, frustrating and (I think) unprecedented mess.

• Vertigo (1958)

Vertigo is a masterpiece, and I took the opportunity to rewatch this film and introduce it to my partner at the same time. Like another film on this list, it tells a winding, complex story, but the real riches are to be found in the film's subtext; the unfathomably deep well of unconscious intrigue and mystery. It's without a doubt my favourite Hitchcock film, and with every rewatch it seems to creep higher and higher in my estimation of my all-time favourite films.

• The Beast (1975)

I was not prepared for this at all. There is a really great series of Blu-ray releases from Umbrella Entertainment being released at the moment called "Beyond Genres," and I bought The Beast as a blind buy based on the strength and overall tone of the other titles in the series. I was expecting genre, and I was expecting something wild, but I was not expecting anything near as daring, explicit and borderline pornographic as The Beast. My brain was so scrambled by it that I'm not sure if I can pass judgement on it's quality, but I can say that my jaw was on the floor for most of the film, which is exactly what you want from this sort of exploitation cinema. 

• The Witch (2015)

I will rewatch The Witch every year until I die. 

• Another Round (2020)

One of a number of 2020 films that I was yet to catch up on, Another Round is now one of my favourites from that year. I was excited to see Mads Mikkelsen team up with director Thomas Vinterberg again after how affecting The Hunt from 2012 was, and the film delivered in a big way on those expectations. It's funny, it's heartbreaking, it's joyous, it's dramatic - it's everything that you want from a trip to the cinema, and it's delivered in a finished product of the sort of quality that you can only receive from a filmmaker in complete control of their craft. If you missed this one when it came out like I did, do your best to try and see it.

• The Fog (1980)

Last year I went on a bit of a John Carpenter binge, but while I did see a number of awesome movies for the first time, I didn't get around to The Fog. I had been told that it wasn't nearly as good as a lot of other Carpenter films, and while it certainly doesn't live up to the heights of horror established in The Thing and Halloween, I thought it was a perfectly good creepy movie with buckets of atmosphere. It's not particularly scary in the traditional sense of the word, but it has Carpenter's eye for engaging composition and compelling visuals.

• Dumplin' (2018)

To be quite honest, I'm not sure exactly how I feel about Dumplin'. Even after having almost a month to think about it after seeing it, there is something uncomfortable about the film that I haven't quite been able to put my finger on. It's perfectly enjoyable as a coming of age comedy/drama, with performances that more than accomplish what is required of them, but there is something about the cultural implications and ethical stance the film takes that I haven't quite wrapped my head around. 

• Suspiria (1977)

I love going back to Suspiria every now and again to just revel in the glorious filmmaking and the energy that radiates from the screen. I love the 2018 remake, but this film just has something entirely singular about it that can't be replicated (credit to the 2018 remake's decision not to attempt to do so).

• Encounter (2021)

Another great performance from Riz Ahmed - I'm starting to think that he's one of the most underrated actors working today. I won't say anything plot related, other than to say that it uses elements of science fiction and body horror to tell a story deeply rooted in trauma and family. 

• La Strada (1954)

Only the second Fellini film I've seen after 8 1/2, I was really taken by La Strada. Consider me a fan that is excited to dig deeper into his work.

• The Trouble With Harry (1955)

This was one of the last films in my Hitchcock box set that I have managed to get to, and it was a bit of a tonal surprise to me, not knowing anything about it before seeing it. Essentially it is Hitchcock's attempt at a comedy film, playing with absurdism and slapstick in a way that is pretty singular to his filmmaking. Having said that, a lot of his cynicism and moral brutality still find their place in the film, and despite its tonal differences it still very much feels like a Hitchcock film. 

• Parasite (2019)

It just gets better and better every time I see it. I saw it with my partner who hadn't seen it yet, and she loved it too. 

• The Power of the Dog (2021)

I plan to write more extensively about The Power of the Dog in a later blog post, because I connected with this film quite deeply. Cumberbatch is unbelievably good, and Jesse Plemons continues to be one of the best, most consistent performers of this new era of cinema. The aesthetic elements of the film felt transcendental and overwhelming to me in a way that films rarely do.

• Platoon (1986)

Platoon was sitting on my shelf for years and years, and I finally saw it. You don't need me to tell you how good it is. It's Platoon. 

• Mulholland Drive (2001)

I got my hands on the new 4K release of Mulholland Drive, a film that I have loved for a long time. As a die-hard David Lynch fan I have obviously had an ongoing relationship with Mulholland Drive, and seeing it on 4K with the sound up loud was no less of an engrossing, mind-bending experience as any of the other countless times I have given myself over to Lynch's Hollywood nightmare. If you haven't seen it in a while, let me recommend it to you again and encourage you to revisit it through the lens of the progress the entertainment business has made over the last few years in taking workplace abuse seriously. The film takes on a whole new light.

• Burning (2021)

Burning is a documentary about the bushfires of the 2019/20 summer in Australia. Some of the footage is pretty amazing in capturing the brutality and horror of nature, but for me it started to become a little less engaging when it became less about depicting the events and more about pinning the blame. 

• Halloween Kills (2021)

Halloween Kills is nowhere near as efficient and well-conceived as its 2018 predecessor, but it is so schlocky and dumb that I actually kind of loved it. 

• Starry Eyes (2014)

I was really surprised by how good this was! I was just flicking through horror films on Stan and was drawn to it because of Alex Essoe being in the lead role, but by 15 minutes in I was totally hooked. It's tough, thematically tight, tastefully edited and not afraid to happily indulge in elements of exploitation cinema. I thought it was glorious. 

• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

It's Twin Peaks, do I need to have a reason to rewatch it?

• The Evil Dead (1981)

This is another recent 4K upgrade that I couldn't wait to lay eyes on. One of the things I love most about this first Evil Dead film in particular is how cynical and mean-spirited the film is. 

• Lake Mungo (2008)

I love showing films I love to my friends, and I got to show Lake Mungo to two friends in perfect conditions - middle of the night, slightly creepy holiday house. It was an awesome experience.

• Baby Driver (2017)

I'm not sure what it was, but Baby Driver didn't connect with me as much as I remember it doing in theatres. I was still excited by the choreography and action sequences, particularly the ones that make great use of incorporating music, but ultimately it left me a bit cold. This seems to be an ongoing theme with me and Edgar Wright's films.

• Ugetsu (1953)

Ugetsu is a beautiful and melancholic ghost story from the great tradition of Japanese ghost stories. I was given the Criterion edition for Christmas, so you know that the transfer was beautiful and detailed. I love seeing these types of films, especially in contrast to the similar ghost stories that were being made in the West at the time and moving into the '60s.

• The Father (2020)

I wrote up a more in-depth review of The Father over on the Instagram page, so you can go and read that over there if you like. Long story short, The Father is pretty good, but it's not Relic. 

• Shane (2022)

A very safe, unsurprising documentary about an Aussie icon who was anything but. 

• Relic (2020)

Relic was one of my favourite films from 2020, and I rewatched it upon getting my hands on a beautiful slipcover Blu-ray edition. Just watch it if you haven't already, especially if you liked The Father, because it is the most touching, horrifying, nuanced and heartbreaking exploration of dementia and the effects it has on the person and surrounding people you will ever see. 

• Scream (1996)

This was my first viewing of Scream, and I thought it was time to finally see it given the new film has just come out. This might be a controversial thing to say, but I don't think Scream is as clever as it thinks it is. Either that, or everyone I have talked to about it has been massively overestimating the intent and intelligence of the film, because while I definitely had a stack of fun watching it, overall I wasn't particularly impressed or engaged by the meta elements of the film. It's also pretty hard to follow up those opening 15 minutes, and unfortunately I don't think Scream ever does live up to its opening sequence. 

• Synchronic (2020)

Awesome premise, occasionally interesting, overall pretty forgettable. 

FAVOURITE FIRST WATCH: Starry Eyes (2014)

FAVOURITE REWATCH: Mulholland Drive (2001)

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Halloween Kills (2021)

FILM YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH WITH YOUR PARENTS: The Beast (1975)

There you have it! Now that you've heard from me, I'd love to hear from you - what did you watch this January? Did anything stick out to you? Let me know in the comments to keep the conversation going.