Jarrett the Cinephile

It's been five years. Have we all moved on? Lou Ye returns with perhaps his least film-looking film, and very much one which also lives up to its title, An Unfinished Film  (《一部未完成的电影》). The artificial documentary from the Chinese auteur has recently bagged the two top prizes at this year's Golden Horse Awards (金马奖) - best directing and best narrative feature (aka best picture). On top of those, it has also won viewers' hearts with the Audience Choice Award at the 35th edition of the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF). Do you remember your first instance of being restricted due to COVID-19? Lou Ye's film takes us on a journey through a perspective that perhaps not many among us experienced. The film follows a film crew who, upon reviving a decade-long idle computer, decides to continue shooting a half-done movie, only to be smacked with the ensuing COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown just when the movie is almost completed. Still of Qin Hao (left) and Ma Xiaorui i...

Jeff Nichols' latest feature took as many twists and turns since its 2023 Telluride premiere till its recent release akin to those a roaring motorcycle would have taken. Thanks to Focus Features (and Universal), the film finally meets global audiences after some ten months approx. Still of Austin Butler ("Benny") in The Bikeriders (Credits: Universal Pictures and Focus Features) Nichols owed it to Danny Lyon's book of the same title (and in it, Lyon's interviewed accounts) of the American Midwestern motorcycle community in the mid-1960's through to the early 1970's for his inspired screenplay, which to me is mediocre at best. A community and their history much relegated to the margins of mainstream attention and discussion, it was interesting to learn a thing or two about this somewhat forgotten part of American culture and history through this film. A fine ensemble of performers salvaged this lackluster inspiration/adaptation. Still of Jodie Comer ("...

Impartiality shall make this film review the most difficult one for me just yet. On a personal level, I dig Challengers and would gladly do a spontaneous watch just about anywhere, anytime (especially after it goes on video and stream). Technically, I am also fully aware it has noticeable flaws, even one or two rather fundamental slips if I may say so. Allow me to put on permanent record first, of what I said about Luca Guadagnino on social media before, in particular regarding this film - this filmmaker is for sure going to hell for the lust he both commits and brings out in us. Challengers spells tension: tension on the tennis court of course, but just as intense, if not more so, was the sexual tension throughout the film. Sure, this movie is no Basic Instinct (1992), but a lot is going on beyond the highly anticipated intimate scene in the first act, and Reznor and Ross's score is responsible for 50% of that easily. Still of Zendaya in Challengers  (2024) (Credits: Amazon MGM...

Usually, I'm not particularly happy to see the vast majority of audiences (beyond critics and cinephiles) divided on a movie, but I am with Alex Garland's latest feature. I can also confidently put that he probably intended it anyway. Still of Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Nelson Lee in Civil War . (Credit: A24) For me, I had a positive cinematic experience coming out of the film. In hindsight, I realized it's inappropriate to say I "enjoyed" it, since much of the film was stressful and offered a terrifying "what-if" of the United States in the foreseeable future. Unlike most reviews I've seen or heard, Civil War was my first Garland film. Having also continued my habit of not watching the trailer and voluntarily avoiding spoilers everywhere, I must say I was impressed by the film's technical excellence. I will and can only revisit this remark after I watch Ex Machina and Annihilation (looks like I can get by witho...

Dev Patel just "springboard-ed" his own career. What an electrifying filmmaker debut. It's hard to imagine an intense action-thriller like this with SO much passion, perseverance and personal touch to it was almost shelved onto Netflix directly. Jordan Peele deserves even more respect professionally for bringing this killer (literally) debut by Patel from the depths of Netflix's catalog and having it screened worldwide, deservingly, for moviegoers to witness the sheer potential, and hardwork, of Dev Patel. Still of Dev Patel in Monkey Man (Credits: Universal Pictures, Bron Studios, Thunder Road Films and Monkeypaw Productions) Monkey Man (2024)  is not a perfect film, both objectively and subjectively. By setting this straight, I think we can all appreciate Patel's efforts better. The story he tells here is one probably seen by cinephiles at least fifty times throughout their lives - the underdog-revenge tale. What Patel does, however, that sets both him and this ...

To be frank, I think I'm not so used to seeing (drastically) raved reviews of, not just Dune: Part Two , but any movie, and then to have to objectively lower my own expectations before seeing it on the big screen myself so as to avoid any sort of disappointment, and also to be able to review it as neutrally as I can. Still of Zendaya (right), "Chani", and Timothée Chalamet ("Paul Atreides") in Dune: Part Two Credit: Warner Bros. My first viewing of Dune: Part Two was on its day of release in Singapore, in IMAX. Because of the above-mentioned, I finished the film impressed nonetheless, but also couldn't quite quantify the film's quality, resulting in a rating-less review on Letterboxd . A month passed, and I took my mum to my second viewing (which was her first), and I finally managed to collect my thoughts about the movie. I'm just gonna say that I find parts one and two vastly different, and to rank one of them above the other is probably impossibl...