Jarrett the Cinephile

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

I met an acquaintance after the screening, she said she was never terrified of Anne Hathaway before, suggesting this movie was the first time. I echo her opinion. Still of Anne Hathaway in Mothers' Instinct (Credits: Anton, Freckle Films, Mosaic, Versus Production) This remake is based on the French film Duelles (2018) , which was based on a French novel by Barbara Abel. Some commenters on this film's trailer on YouTube alluded how this is a frame-for-frame remake. I have already moved past the phase of watching the trailer for a movie I'm hyped to see, and now having read that, I can safely say I have joined the club called "Why is Mothers' Instinct being remade?" That said, both Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain carried the entire film on their shoulders, pretty much like how a mother would carry her child on her shoulders. These two Academy Award-winning actresses constantly challenged and surpassed each other throughout the film. It is yet another of thos

 This will be a short one, no pictures too, sorry... Basically, I'm not able to launch my YouTube channel proper this awards year (2023/2024), because unfortunately, I don't have time. I just started my first job and am settling in and down now but my time and energy that's supposed to go into making YouTube videos and maintaining this blog have been compromised overall. Secondly, being in Singapore has always been difficult to stay on top of films to stay relevant and up to date simply because many awards contenders and players, especially smaller and foreign films, take time to reach Singapore. For instance, the below films are ones that aren't available in Singapore as of today (19th Dec 2023): The Color Purple (it only premieres in Singapore on 7 March 2024, less than a week from the Oscars itself) May December (last I checked it's gonna have a theatrical release in Singapore but I have since not seen any updates or confirmed dates) Saltburn (no news of Singa

After a two-year long wait, it's finally here. Scorsese's latest film premiered at Cannes 2023 but did not participate in the main competition. Some say if it did, Anatomy of a Fall (2023) might not have taken that top prize. Still of Lily Gladstone (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) Credit: Apple, and Paramount Pictures Starring Scorsese-usuals Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and first-time collaborating, Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon (KOTFM) tells the story of the Osage murders in the 1920's from the perspectives of the Burkhart family. You might not believe it, but this is the first time which saw Scorsese, DiCaprio and De Niro all three together in the same film even though both the actors have worked with Scorsese for decades now. First thought as I walked out of the cinema was quite simply, Scorsese did it again. At the age of 81, he remains fully current in the art of filmmaking and may just still be the greatest li