Oliver Battershall

HyperNormalisation (2016) 5/5
I’d watched small bits of Adam Curtis documentaries before when I’d seen my dad watching them, but this was my first time watching one all the way through. What an incredible thing this is. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to make a documentary based on not one person, event, era or ideology, but a sprawling concept with tendrils in so many of those things. It covers so many aspects of modern history, yet hardly ever spreads itself too thin. Every inclusion is methodical, connected and relevant. The selection of archive footage, editing and music choices are all perfect finishing touches to a documentary that deconstructs the fabric of our modern simulacrum with eery poise and calm. Three hours completely flew by. A real experience.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) 3.5/5
Haven’t actually seen the TV show that came a few years after this and was vastly more popular, but I enjoyed this! Seemingly a lot more than most people did. Maybe going into this without the show as a reference point was a good thing. It’s fun and a bit silly, and by 90s high school movie standards Buffy is fairly well-written, though I’ll have to take people’s word for it that Sarah Michelle Gellar’s version is far better and more feminist. Worth a watch I’d say.

Kuroneko (1968) 5/5
Maybe the most stunningly beautiful looking black and white film I’ve ever seen? The second in Shindo’s “mother and daughter-in-law luring and killing samurai” duology, I loved this even more than Onibaba (though the two films are unrelated plot-wise). The cinematography and shot composition is simply perfect, and at times left me moved and speechless. In Onibaba most of the symbolism came from the objects within the physical environment of the film, but I’d say here it comes from the characters themselves who are all acted phenomenally. Such palpable senses of grief, longing and duty are conveyed through these performances. I also loved the spooky and confrontational scenes, especially how the soundtrack shifts during them.

Superman (1978) 4/5
Fun, hearty and wholesome superhero action, the likes of which I don’t think could be successfully replicated today given how much of a corporate force superhero franchises are now. There’s instant chemistry between Superman and Lois, as well as a classic soundtrack and an impressive knack for making an all-powerful all-American god amongst men not seem preachy, propagandised or unlikeable, which can only be a testament to the performance of Christopher Reeve.

Big Sun (2015) 4.5/5
Only discovered Chassol the other day and I’m going down quite the rabbit hole of his stuff. Big Sun is the final of his trilogy of “ultrascore” albums, which add beautiful symphonic harmonies to the noises of the real world, adding vertical noise to horizontal noise as he likes to put it. Because of this it’s a step above most visual albums that are just made as an accompaniment after the fact, in that this artwork’s contents by default are audiovisual, and we see all the layered sources of these real world sounds in the film. Chassol revisits his Martinique heritage and samples the human and natural sounds of the island to phenomenal effect. I often hear rhythm and melody in the world around me but I really wish I could have his skill in effortlessly elevating these sounds to jazzy masterworks. Give ‘Birds, Pt. I’ or ‘Samak’ a listen, if you’re into it then go watch this (free on YouTube) as your first foray into the full album.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) 3/5
The CGI is very shaky (sometimes very bad indeed, perfectly spherical explosions included) and the plot needed a lot of work. Yet, I can’t pretend I didn’t enjoy this. The steampunk elements were quite cool, it was nice to see a character from my favourite book (Dorian Gray), and it was generally just quite good swashbuckling fun.

Hatchet (2005) 4/5
The 40 or so minutes that they spend setting up the actual slasher bit is some of the most I’ve laughed at a film in ages. Really self-aware and really funny. Then the kills and gore come and they’re of surprisingly high quality. Very fun, just wish it was a bit longer.

Daisies (1966) 4.5/5
A brilliantly fun and experimental expression of girlhood, liberation, rebellion and mischievous indulgence in the face of communist rule. You’d struggle to find many films that use colour more beautifully than this, it complements the lavish tone of the film perfectly. Also the Czech language just sounds so lovely and playful, especially from these two radiant leads donning the most killer eyeliner you’ll ever see. I’ll make an effort to watch more Czechoslovak New Wave stuff because what I’ve seen of it so far (not just the old Švankmajer shorts) has been so fun and inventive.

T2 Trainspotting (2017) 4/5
It seems that for whatever reason, I like the original slightly less than most, and like this slightly more than most. Enjoyable for many of the same reasons as Trainspotting, including the cinematography and editing. Does the job of a legacy sequel well, the many nostalgia hits harkening back to the original are very leaned into but it doesn’t make them less effective. A more engaging experience than I was expecting.