Oliver Battershall

SLC Punk (1998) 4/5
A really great coming of age movie that knows how to keep things in perfect balance. It’s fun but emotionally powerful. It both celebrates and critiques the bubble that subcultures can act as for naive teenagers looking to find their way in the world. A tender touch is injected into plotlines and characters that on the surface level are sardonic and wry.

Where the Wild Things Are (2009) 4.5/5
This made me realise there is a part of my brain that gets a heavy emotional trigger from “Boys going on a little adventure in a little boat” media. I feel like there were loads of books I read as a kid that started out with that premise. Obviously the original version of this that I remember fondly, then another one called ‘A Boy and a Bear in a Boat’ which I also loved and had the whimsical added element of an ursine companion, and another one I don’t remember the name of but it always made me cry. Speaking of which, this made me cry too! Like properly, for the first time in quite a while. I really like films about childhood, though they tend to bomb at the box office (like this did) because kids aren’t old enough for self-reflection and mainstream adult audiences don’t really want to watch a kids film unless it’s Disney.

High and Low (1963) 4.5/5
I’m generally against the idea of there being objectively good or bad movies as I am with any art, but sometimes films have an element about them that feels to me completely, undeniably, objectively fantastic. In this case it’s how it looks, find someone who inexplicably gave this 1 star and I bet even they would admit it looks beautiful, that’s the true mark of Kurosawa’s mastery. Every now and then it hits you, the reflection in some sunglasses, white light glistening on a shiny black car in hot pursuit, and those final few moments, whew. It’s hard to describe why I didn’t see this as perfect. I think I like my crime mysteries to have more noir stylings and consistent eerie atmospheres to them, where it’s more about the characters than the plot itself. But this really was fantastic, I like films where you can feel a heavy theatrical influence.

Demon City Shinjuku (1988) 4/5
This absolutely rocks. The monsters and their fight scenes all look fantastic and sufficiently gruesome, and I also love how the lack of intense or upbeat music during the tense bits of the story just served to make it a bit more eerie. The plot is just standard Hero’s Journey stuff, and I wish it was longer, but it was a great time regardless. Luckily I found a version with the original audio, I think I’d like this far less if I watched it in the annoying english dub like most people online seem to settle for.

Lonely are the Brave (1962) 4/5
Pair this with Midnight Cowboy for a great double-bill of 60s westerns about the traditional cowboy archetype battling the reality that modern society just isn’t built for him anymore. The chase section in the mountains was a little drawn out and the film definitely loses steam there, but it sticks the landing perfectly with a brilliant ending that’s the cherry on top of the film’s ultimate message. This is Michael Douglas’ favourite of his films, and although I definitely wouldn’t agree you can’t say he isn’t in his element here as usual. Some unexpectedly good dry comedy between the sheriff and his deputy too.

Malcolm X (1992) 5/5
I’ve now officially watched enough great biopics to stop prefacing every review I do of one with “Most biopics are clichéd nonsense but THIS is great!!!”. This is Spike Lee’s masterpiece and it’s completely outstanding. Denzel *is* Malcolm X in a way I’ve never seen from someone playing a real person on screen before. Full and vibrant spectrums of emotion, palpable joy, gut-wrenching pain, gripping paranoia are explored to their full potential in a poetic and cinematically beautiful ode to an icon.

The Fast and the Furious (2001) 4/5
Despite what the more snide among us would believe, there’s absolutely zero shame in being a simple action movie when all the simple things are done so well. Okay, the script is a bit crap but the many turns in the story combined with well-paced action and corny but very fun editing and visual effects make it a great time.

Speed Racer (2008) 4.5/5
As a kid no film seemed to understand my mind like Speed Racer did. I loved it. It looked and felt like a comic book incarnate, the absurdist neon kaleidoscopes of colour hypnotised me, and most of all the racing scenes gripped me. Some things never change. (Other things do change, I had a toy Mach 5 that I’d drift around the living room and hop over obstacles. I don’t have that anymore.) People say this was ahead of its time. I disagree. No era deserves this film, only the kids who watched it do. It would’ve bombed anyway because no one knows joy anymore. If anything it’s perfectly 2000’s. A little bit Frutiger Aero but turned up to 11 Wachowski style. Anyway, Emile Hirsch is the perfect Speed Racer, the editing is absolutely blissful, and I truly feel like a kid again.

Nowhere (1997) 4/5
A rhapsody of differing attitudes towards the ambiguous absurdity of the looming Y2K threat. Do you abandon social norms and unleash pansexual carnal desire or take refuge in nihilism and more traditional human connection? The answer isn’t that simple when teenage hormones are pumped into the equation. A crazy, ravenous ride with irresistibly lurid set design.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009) 3/5
An interesting little Herzog and Lynch collab that’s about as odd as you’d expect from that pair. Struggled with awkward pacing which is the last thing you want from a hostage drama, but it wasn’t entirely uncharming. Great performance from Michael Shannon and it’s nice to see the mum from Twin Peaks retained her creepy vibe after 18 years.