Oliver Battershall

Broadcast News (1987) 4/5
The three main characters are flawed to the point of me not fully connecting with them all, so why did I still really like this? I think it’s almost entirely down to excellent writing. These feel like people, not characters. They act and talk realistically in an environment that feels separate from the confines of a movie. Everyone loses their cool, no one covers themselves in glory and there’s no fairytale ending. But when the credits roll you feel like that’s what made the whole thing work, and you suddenly appreciate each character more now that you don’t have to think of them as pawns in a story. A worthwhile watch.

Houseboat (1958) 3/5
This was my first Sophia Loren film, and a pretty good performance from her combined with a similarly decent one from Cary Grant turned this from a snoozefest into a fairly decent time with only mere sprinkles of snooziness. Aside from them it’s pretty typical 50’s family movie stuff, the annoying kid who couldn’t ever put that damn harmonica down wouldn’t have looked out of place in Deliverance with that ukulele lad.

North by Northwest (1959) 4/5
I love paranoid thrillers, and loved everything leading up to and including that phenomenal crop dusting scene. From there I think it lost its way, ending up a bit drawn out with too much explained to the viewer to be left with the eery feeling in my stomach I always want after finishing a film like this. But this was still thoroughly enjoyable, I wouldn’t have minded some Hitchcock/Grant Bond films. It’s always satisfying to tick off another classic film, it feels like adding another piece to a jigsaw puzzle. (Coincidentally I did do a movie watchlist jigsaw back in December, though it didn’t include this sadly.)

Ball of Fire (1941) 4/5
Howard Hawks in the director’s chair working with a Billy Wilder script is about as close as you could get to gold dust in the Old Hollywood era. This is my first Gary Cooper film and his role of a kind, yet bumbling and nervous nerd was a pleasant far cry from what I imagine Tony Soprano meant when he complained to Dr. Melfi that no one’s a strong silent type like Gary Cooper anymore. He and his small army of other like-minded inept nerds were incredibly endearing to watch and Barbara Stanwyck made a decent romance plot pretty special. The film starts to lose steam slightly as the comedy gets toned down but presents a brilliant third act that carenes this properly into the screwball comedy territory it was always meant to be in. Seeing those silly elderly gentlemen team up for the final face-off like Power Rangers in a megazord was lovely.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) 3/5
It’s funny to compare and contrast this to the 1993 film, this was pretty decent but when you look back you realise no one ever takes weird and interesting risks when adapting existing IP anymore. I enjoyed this a bit more than I was expecting though, I have to say. The arrangements of different classic Mario songs were fun and there’s a breezy pace kept throughout. However the hyper-polished look of Illumination’s animation irks me a tad and the voice acting was mostly underwhelming. (Why don’t the Mario brothers sound Italian anymore??? 1-0 to Hoskins and Leguizamo). Also, where was the GOAT Mario character Funky Kong. Another one to add to the pile of 3-star films I’ve watched at work.

The Jackal (1997) 2/5
Bad writing, bad acting and bad accents come together to make this feel three hours long. It’s nice to tick off another Sidney Poitier movie after going a while without one, though I don’t even think more of him would’ve made this any better in the circumstances. And this is coming from the guy who’s freakishly obsessed with him!

Bitter Lake (2015) 4/5
The intern locked up in the basement of BBC HQ with the sole responsibility of sourcing archive footage for Adam Curtis documentaries is holding the entire world on his back like the turtle from Discworld. As usual for Curtis this explains a complex and long-standing issue with aplomb and entertains without feeling disingenuous. I’m starting to get the slight feeling that The West might not be benevolent geniuses after all! Also now I want to watch the original Solaris again even though I thought it was pretty dull the first time.

Die Hard 2 (1990) 4/5
Replicates the grubby, gripping and triumphant tone of the first movie brilliantly. A few issues aside (e.g. the acting ability of John Amos) this was a great time with memorable characters and a hefty dose of crowd-pleasing moments.

Shooters (2001) 3.5/5
A gritty little docudrama that feels like an homage to British New Wave Cinema. This all feels very real due to the work of the non-professional actors weaving together retellings of true stories. Every film I’ve seen that just uses normal people in the roles has had great performances, and I wonder if that’s more down to a rigourous casting process or high quality directing.