4th November 2012, 03:34 PM
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 | Cultist on the Rampage Good Trader | | | |
Beast of the Southern Wild - Stunning, lyrical film about a child growing up in a Southern American bayou, trying to process the illness of her father and the inevitable destruction of their fragile community from a forthcoming storm the best way she can - by imagining giant, frozen prehistoric creatures have been unleashed from the melting icecaps and are heading for them. I've heard Oscar buzz for 6 year old Quvenzhané Wallis, and she deserves it. A beautiful film, with a soundtrack that sticks in the head, and yet another stand out cinema trip this year. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a film that felt this alive.
Rust and Bone - For fear of sounding like a philistine, I never got the appeal of director Jacques Audiard's A Prophet. I found it a chore, and full of the conventional tropes one generally associates with prison dramas, despite its rather sumptuous, languid cinematography and dreamy metaphysical approach to its subject (don’t tell anyone, but I had a similar bemused disinterest for Haneke’s much lauded The White Ribbon – and I generally adore Haneke) Rust and Bone is far more grounded (thus will probably take less plaudits), and even more heart-warming as a relationship develops between an orca trainer (the ever stunning Marion Cotillard) who loses her legs in a work accident, and a handsome, roguish, bare knuckle fighter/part time security guard played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Affecting without every descending into melodrama, it's a love story for those who don't like twee, cloying love stories. Like me.
Skyfall – My hand’s up, I'm not a Bond fan. I don't mind them - I used to watch them on TV as a kid - but I've never cared that much for them. Never owned the videos, the DVDs, nor will I on shiny blu ray. So it was absolute indifference that I approached Skyfall, finding Casino Royale 'ok' in a gritty, grizzled kind of way, and Quantum of Solace a shambolic mishmash that I can barely remember. As for Skyfall, yeah.. was fun. Loved the credits (not a bad opening song too) and got the in-jokes. I also liked its sense of melancholy and Javier Bardem’s camp villain. Wasn't blown away; will forget about it in a week or so, but pretty good. Y’know, for a Bond film.
That's it recently. All cinema flicks and nothing particularly cult. : )
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