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jwaterworth
Reviews
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The best crime thriller since the great days of film-noir
I watched this in a hotel room early in the morning after jet-lag woke me up. I sat on the end of the bed and started the film, intending to go out to the vending machine for a drink at some point. An hour later I managed to grab a glass of water, but otherwise I hardly moved.
Brilliant ensemble performances, twisty plot, blink and you'll miss it action. The final action scene is a little drawn out, but otherwise this film is close to perfect.
The Godfather (1972)
Great moments, but disjointed and slow in parts
Some memorable sequences, in particular a string of assassinations intercut with the family at church, but too many overly long scenes. To me the film seems disjointed, and is let down by poor central performances (yes poor) by Brando (hammy), Pacino (stiff) and Keaton (invisible).
The Conversation, which Coppola directed a couple of years later, is a better film, with a brilliant performance from Hackman. But even that takes an hour to get moving.
Andrey Rublyov (1966)
An epic tour through medieval life and art
I first saw Andrei Rublyov when I was a teenager in a late night TV showing of one of the longer versions. I was transported, and those three hours gave me a deeper understanding of medieval life than all my school history lessons.
Tarkovsky manages to mix tiny details of everyday life, desperate tragedies, deep theological arguments and huge historical events into one epic story. The film remains one of my all-time favourites.
Jour de fête (1949)
A masterpiece of quiet humour
When I first saw this film I couldn't get it out of my head, and put it in my all time top ten. The magic has faded a little, but this remains a classic for its strange mixture of gentle slapstick, sight gags and verbal jokes, and its beautifully atmospheric portrait of French rural life.