SSP Thinks Film

Review in Brief: Perfect Days (2023)

Posted on May 26, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Beginning life as a tourist documentary proposal and developing into a narrative feature, Wim Wenders’ PERFECT DAYS is a modest, meticulous and beautiful 2 hours. Tokyo toilet cleaner Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) is content with his daily routine and takes immense pride in his work, until a number of small changes in his life in quick succession upsets his equilibrium. Perfect Days is only repetitive as far as it wants to be – Hirayama’s routine does vary, as does the cassette soundtrack to his day, but he likes things to be a certain way and relies on his little comforts to keep sane. The time we spend with him and the unhurried pace of the piece as a whole quickly gets you in Hirayama’s headspace and can become an almost meditative experience. It’s not a film of fireworks but you’re completely and utterly compelled by our quiet, enigmatic protagonist, his passions and his appreciation of the moment. SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief | Tagged Arisa Nakano, Drama, Koji Yakusho, Perfect Days, Wim Wenders, World Cinema | Leave a comment

Where to Start with Frank Capra

Posted on May 18, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/frank-capra-where-to-start/ SSP

Posted in Film, Film Feature, The Film Magazine | Tagged Arsenic and Old Lace, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Classic Film, Claudette Colbert, Frank Capra, It Happened One Night, James Stewart, Mr Smith Goes to Washington | Leave a comment

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) Review

Posted on May 16, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/kingdom-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-2024-review/ SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, The Film Magazine | Tagged Freya Allan, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Owen Teague, Planet of the Apes, Sci-fi, Wes Ball | Leave a comment

Review in Brief: Dune: Part Two (2024)

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

That’s how it’s done. After joining the nomadic Fremen and taking his place as their reluctant messiah to tap into new powers drawn from the planet Arrakis itself, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) takes the fight to the murderous Harkonnens and the paranoid Emperor (Christopher Walken) who engineered his family’s downfall. Book purists might decry the omission of some characters and scenes but Denis Villeneuve delivers on all the moments that matter and then some. He also packs his spice-rich world with satisfying little details like the lengths to which the Fremen will go to preserve water and the cultural differences between the Great Houses of the Imperium. It’s all impeccably performed, meticulously crafted and, credit to masterful cinematographer Greig Fraser, even more visually stunning than the first film, with Paul’s sandworm-riding trial and the introduction to the depraved Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) in the Harkonnen arena shot entirely with infrared cameras being particular highlights. SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief | Tagged Austin Butler, Christopher Walken, Denis Villeneuve, Dune, Dune: Part Two, Greig Fraser, Sci-fi, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya | Leave a comment

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver (2024) Review

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/rebel-moon-part-two-the-scargiver-2024-review/ SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, The Film Magazine | Tagged Djimon Hounsou, Netflix, Rebel Moon, Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver, Sci-fi, Sofia Boutella, Zack Snyder | Leave a comment

Alex Garland Directed Films Ranked

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

https://www.thefilmagazine.com/alex-garland-directed-films-ranked/ SSP

Posted in Film, Film Feature, The Film Magazine | Tagged Alex Garland, Annihilation, Civil War, Ex Machina, Men | 1 Comment

Review in Brief: Orion and the Dark (2024)

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Charlie Kaufman’s latest exploration of existential dread is, unexpectedly, a kids’ animation from Dreamworks and director Sean Charmatz. Highly neurotic eleven-year-old Orion (Jacob Tremblay) is swept off on an adventure by the anthropomorphic personifications of night, lead by Dark (Paul Walter Hauser). Will Orion learn to look at the scary wide world differently and overcome his fears, and just who is really telling his story? Despite the cutesy character designs and goofy humour, the themes and emotions of ORION AND THE DARK still makes this of a piece with Kaufman’s other work (as does its slightly convoluted meta levels later on), and also means this is another family animation much like INSIDE OUT that may well be appreciated more by the adults watching than their children. Funny, thoughtful, big-hearted stuff. SSP

Posted in Film, Film Review, Review in Brief | Tagged Animation, Charlie Kaufman, DreamWorks, Family Film, Fantasy, Jacob Tremblay, Netflix, Orion and the Dark, Paul Walter Hauser, Sean Charmatz | Leave a comment

Review in Brief: All of Us Strangers (2023)

Posted on April 21, 2024 by Sam Sewell-Peterson

Andrew Haigh’s ALL OF US STRANGERS opens with one of the most beautiful shots I have ever seen and doesn’t let up from there. Lonely writer Adam (Andrew Scott) living in a near-deserted tower block in London simultaneously begins a passionate relationship with neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal) and meets the time-displaced ghosts of his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) while visiting his childhood home. As well-honed as all four performances are and as emotionally intelligent as the script is, what really makes All of Us Strangers hit as hard as it does are the questions it prompts. If you were gifted more time with someone you loved and lost, how would you use it? What would you ask them and what would they ask you, no matter how difficult the question? This is one of the most moving films of the year, one that subverts expectations in fascinating ways and speaks to all the quiet outcasts out there on a particularly profound level. SSP