Oliver Battershall

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) 2.5/5
Sometimes after a long day at work you need to just sit down and watch Godzilla wreak havoc on some unsuspecting mofos. Mechagodzilla, what a compound word, it looks like robot Preston from that Wallace and Gromit film. There’s barely any Godzilla in this (mecha or otherwise) and when he rears his head the action is very tame (until the end) and he doesn’t look good. The human characters aren’t a hit either and their story is very bizarre. The final fight kicks ass but felt over-stimulating in complete contrast to the rest of the movie. By the way, no inclusion of the iconic Godzilla theme? Pretty disappointing.

Peeping Tom (1960) 4.5/5
Fantastic atmospheric horror with nuance ahead of its time. Brilliant dialogue, thoughtful shot composition and terrific acting in the lead role by Karlheinz Böhm. It’s hard to make a film about voyeurism not seem sleazy but this masters it. It’s sad that this was completely misunderstood upon release and killed Powell’s directorial career. Looking through the reviews at the time, the Daily Express called it “more nauseating and depressing than the leper colonies of East Pakistan, the back streets of Bombay, and the gutters of Calcutta”. Bloody hell!

The Bourne Identity (2002) 3.5/5
This era was cooking when it came to action thrillers with a hint of mystery. Simple and engaging, the time flew by.

The Music Lovers (1971) 4.5/5
A triumphant film that’s beautifully shot and irresistibly cerebral. The best biopics make you fascinated by someone you had little knowledge of or interest in before. A grand, ornate, symphonic experience that’s warped by a tinge of comedy and plenty of perversion.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) 3/5
There are a few great songs but many of the sequences feel like filler with samey and uninteresting melodies. The instrumentals throughout are mixed pretty low so it’s hard to really rock out. The sung-through element made the storytelling fall flat at points and beside Judas I wasn’t crazy about the casting. The anachronistic stuff is my favourite bit, I only wish it could’ve been ramped up even more for peak camp/sacrilege.

The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) 3/5
Sadly wasn’t able to really parse what this film was getting at thematically, though I really liked the setting and child characters. The atmosphere was nicely subdued and haunting.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) 2/5
This is one where you’ll just have to trust me when I say I’m still doing that thing where I let the Random Movie Roulette letterboxd list decide everything I see. I’d already used my two skips, I was helpless! Anyway this was as drab as the name suggests with laughable dialogue. You can tell it was originally fan fiction, aka the worst thing to happen to literature, or indeed art itself, or indeed anything ever. Also a minor detail that annoyed me, why is she using a flip-phone in 2015, and how does she type that fast on a T9 keypad!