2019.009 Wings of Desire

Wim Wenders' classic about angels watching humanity in 80s Berlin, and one angel who falls in love with a circus trapeze artist and decides to give up his immortality in order to experience life as a human.

Philosophising about life and love, Peter Falk as himself (or is he?), stage performance by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, some really incredible shots of Berlin cityscapes, this film has everything.

2019.008 Day of Wrath

No trailer available, see Rotten Tomatoes link

Accusations of witchcraft and forbidden desire in deeply religious and superstitious 17th century Denmark. I particularly liked how the veracity of the accusations is left ambiguous throughout.

2019.007 Floating Clouds

No trailer available, see Rotten Tomatoes link

In post-war Japan a woman seeks both a way to survive and to rekindle a relationship with a man she met during the war. Neither goal is easily achieved.

An engrossing film about the pain and struggle that can result from love, and for me it was interesting to see the post-war period from a Japanese perspective.

2019.006 84 Charing Cross Road

Low quality trailer, but it is at least an actual trailer as opposed to the other ones listed as such on YouTube.

This was just one of those films that, on a rough day, I wanted to sink into and not feel challenged by. Bancroft and Hopkins both doing serviceable work in a tale of transatlantic correspondence and book buying/supplying over a twenty year period. A somewhat uncommon example of a film where the heavy use of voice-over really works well.

2019.005 Amour

A great film about a relationship facing the challenges of old age. Amazing performances by Riva and Trintignant. Haunting too, a film that will stay with you.

2019.004 High-Rise

A second watch for this dystopian black comedy from director Ben Wheatley, after having watched it on release in 2016.

I didn't like it the first time, but wanted to give it another try after a friend's positive reaction. Unfortunately it didn't work any better for me the second time around. Perhaps absurdist black comedy isn't my thing, but I found very little to be amused by (I think I counted a single line in the whole film that made me laugh) and an almost complete lack of sympathetic characters. Maybe that's the point, maybe you're supposed to dislike everyone involved, but it doesn't result in a very satisfying experience for me.

2019.003 The Favourite

A period drama with real bite; Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone are fantastic as the three leads, as they manoeuver, feint, threaten, seduce and back-stab in a dance of one-upmanship. Highly recommended.

2019.002 Inside Out

"Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley's main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school."

My second viewing, and it's just as wonderful as it was the first time. Clever, funny, sad, fantastic to look at, it's exactly what I want from a Pixar film.

2019.001 Heart of Glass

"A small village is renowned for its "Ruby Glass" glass blowing works. When the foreman of the works dies suddenly without revealing the secret of the Ruby Glass, the town slides into a deep depression, and the owner of the glassworks becomes obsessed with the lost secret." - YouTube Movies

After watching Tarkovsky's Nostalgia on New Year's Eve, I thought a Herzog film would be a good way to open the year. I was disappointed; this turned out to be a lot less engaging than the other Herzog films I've seen. I discovered after watching it that apparently the actors were performing while hypnotised (except for the actor playing Hias, the visionary) which I can only say was an experiment that did not pay off at all. There are some mesmerising scenic shots and a curious final section shot on the Skellig Islands that made me wonder whether a location spotter for The Last Jedi had seen this film, but other than that it's scene after scene of confusion, stilted dialogue and bizarre behaviour (or acting?) that was a struggle to get through.

Perhaps, as Roger Ebert says in his review (this is one of his Great Movies), it improves on repeated viewings but personally I don't think it's worth the effort to find out.