Oliver Battershall

Knockaround Guys (2001) 3.5/5
The one downside of committing to going into movies completely blind is it stings a bit more when you don’t find out until afterwards that most people hate the thing you just watched and enjoyed. I thought this was a tight and pleasant, if unremarkable, ninety minutes. There’s a light charm to it and it’s always fun to watch Diesel, Malkovich and Hopper even if the writing isn’t great. Maybe I’m biased having just finished my 3rd rewatch of The Sopranos but I always enjoy watching disillusioned gangsters struggling to find their way.

We Are Marshall (2006) 3.5/5
It brings me no pleasure to report I’ve been somewhat emotionally affected by a film directed by a grown man who insists on calling himself “McG”. I think this was respectfully done and had enough genuine emotion to make its inevitable pitfalls and standard sports movie clichés not weigh it down too much. Always a bit of a culture shock to see how crazy Americans are for college sports.

The Great Silence (1968) 4/5
Who doesn’t love a snowy movie, especially a snowy western. Here the snow and biting cold weather feel as entrenched into the movie’s identity as the ever-present gloopy mud in Corbucci’s Django two years prior, from the gorgeous layered costumes to the powder kicked up by horses’ hooves and stray bullets. Morricone makes his mark (when doesn’t he?) with a really intense score suitable for such a gritty film with one of the most memorable western antagonists I’ve ever seen. I’ve sadly yet again failed to resist getting lost in the wide brown eyes of a 1960s Italian woman.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958) 2.5/5
Look, when I pressed play on “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” I wasn’t expecting Citizen Kane 2. I was however expecting a 50 foot woman to show up earlier than the last 10 minutes. B-movies like these only tend to get fun when the complete public hysteria and hokey greenscreen effects kick in so this is sadly another case of the poster being way better than the movie. Not to nit-pick but the giant woman is about two storeys tall but in one scene is taller than a pylon! Pylons are massive!

Michael Clayton (2007) 4/5
I don’t come out of many thrillers immediately ready to go through it all again but this is one of the most instantly rewatchable movies I’ve seen for quite some time. Clooney is so bankable, he’s the best and coolest part of so much of his filmography. Pair him with a sharp script and you’re printing money. Being invested enough to not want to look away despite feeling anxious is one of my favourite feelings I can get from a movie and this taps into that pretty well.

Easy Rider (1969) 3/5
Some films don’t age that well but through no real fault of their own, and I’d say this is one. I think it’s mainly because of the generational disconnect. It’s hard for me to really grasp hippies and bikers being as irrationally hated as they were, so a film that simply shows them living their lives and expressing themselves doesn’t feel as pointed or bold as it probably did over 50 years ago. Definitely worth including in any discussion of how perceptions and depictions of freedom in countercultures have changed over time, but as a film it feels pretty bare. Much of it consists of long montages of characters riding from place to place accompanied with music of varying listenability. Again, this imagery probably felt much more moving in 1969 but it’s long since been adopted by generic adverts for cars, insurance, etc.

Starsky & Hutch (2004) 3.5/5
Stiller and Wilson, if nothing else, are two of the most reliable ingredients for a comfort movie this century. I definitely prefer this to Phillips’ Hangover saga despite its lower reputation. It’s very endearing and the comedy chops of its leading duo really make it. Also maybe a random movie to point this out on, and not the best example since it’s set in the 70s, but a short while ago movies used to be so colourful like this! Now everything’s so muted and cold and we have to just be alright with that!