Die Hard

1988, US, directed by John McTiernan

The Death of Stalin

2017, UK, directed by Armando Iannucci

The consistency of tone is impressive, and among the large and distinguished cast, Steve Buscemi in particular is exceptional -- it feels like the first time in a while that he's really gotten into his groove (on film at least). You feel a little guilty laughing given the subject material, but that is, I'm sure, quite conscious on Iannucci's part. 

Shopping

2013, New Zealand, directed by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland

A very decent coming-of-age story: although this is well-trodden narrative ground, the juvenile performances are really excellent, and the storyline is careful to steer clear of sentimentality, with virtually all of the characters possessed of more than a few rough edges. There's also a very strong sense of the reality of lives in a particular place at a particular time -- the details of work and of familial relationships and dysfunctions are highly convincing, and set the stage for some moments of real emotional heft. 

Murder on the Orient Express

2017, US, directed by Kenneth Branagh

The Post

2017, US, directed by Steven Spielberg

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2011, UK/France, directed by Tomas Alfredson

Thor

2011, US, directed by Kenneth Branagh

Set It Up

2018, US, directed by Claire Scanlon

Mission: Impossible -- Fallout

2018, US, directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Winter of our Dreams

1981, Australia, directed by John Duigan

A mixed bag of a film, with the central drama perhaps less interesting today than the Sydney backdrop, with Bryan Brown trying to retrace the life of an old flame in the aftermath of her suicide, and connecting with a mutual friend, played by Judy Davis. Brown's character is frustrating in his emotional closure (some critiques appear to fault the actor for this, and perhaps he and Davis didn't hit it off, but his character's affect is clearly motivated by the plot), a contrast to his usual garrulous charm of the period, whereas Davis is much more engaging even if her character lacks nuance. The sense of characters reliving and re-evaluating their youthful enthusiasms is at times quite sharp, as is the sketch of Sydney politics/development of the time, however much in the background.

Mother

2009, South Korea, directed by Bong Joon-ho

L'Eau froide

1994, France, directed by Olivier Assayas

A formative film for me, one I saw originally on the big screen in November 1994, and it was as impressive as I recalled, the large screen really enhancing the immersive experience, particularly in the lengthy, and quite extraordinary, party sequence. It's interesting, though, how the memory plays tricks -- that sequence looms so large in my mind that I had forgotten just how much of the film precedes it, and how much additional detail we get on the lives of the protagonists. I had forgotten entire sections, too, such as the extended scene in the police station where Virginie Ledoyen speaks with Jean-Pierre Darroussin (indeed, I had no recollection that the actor was in the film). The film is incredibly rich in detail, feeling very much of that post-1968 moment in which it is set -- the challenge to parental and social authorities (schools, doctors), the integration of various immigrant populations, the hints at the desirability of a return to the land, the apparent hopelessness of youth in the Pompidou years, etc. There are details of performance and filming structure, too, that make a big impression -- the repetition of the motif of handing something from one hand to another (records, money, a hash pipe), the way that Jackie Berroyer fretfully holds his hands together, even the contrast between how young and old dress and interact, as well as the bone-deep chill of the weather (people putting on coats even inside, never mind in the frigid final sequences). 

120 battements par minute

2017, France, directed by Robin Campillo

A fascinating fictionalized counterpart to the American documentary How to Survive a Plague; both films look at the early years of their respective countries' Act Up movements, combating official indifference or indeed active malfeasance in relation to those with HIV/AIDS. The film doesn't hew strictly to the historical record, but is deeply invested in depicting Act Up's unique, tension-filled internal debate process, never sugarcoating the robust discussions. It also gives an exceptionally strong sense of how the realities of the time period impacted gay identity (gay men are the most prominent activists, though part of the French debate was to ensure adequate representation of all affected constituencies), with the suggestion that this is very different for subsequent generations. 

Le Roi du coeur

1966, France, directed by Philippe de Broca

Madame de...

1953, France/Italy, directed by Max Ophuls (aka The Earrings of Madame de...)

There's not much for me to add to the thousands of words already written on this wonderful film, featuring perhaps the most significant object in cinema, around which Ophuls constructs an exceptional human drama.

Kiss Me Deadly

1955, US, directed by Robert Aldrich

A deeply cynical, and ultimately exceptionally bleak, film -- though of a piece with much pulp writing of the 1940s and 1950, this must have felt like a real cinematic slap in the face in 1955, with its generally anti-heroic characters, easy betrayals and casual violence, and the pall of broader threat. The location work is also striking -- some fascinating shots of mid-century LA.

Das letzte Schweigen

2010, Germany, directed by Baran bo Odar

L'Homme de Rio

1964, France/Italy, directed by Philippe de Broca

White Material

2009, France, directed by Claire Denis

Isabelle Huppert in is top form here, while Claire Denis's work is typically strong, and less elliptical than in some of her 2000s work -- which is perhaps the more effective for this particular film. The sense of societal collapse is cogently and succinctly sketched in, and if I still have some vague sense of discomfort about the depiction of the African continent, Denis is trying to tease out something very challenging, including in her critique of the role of white settlers, about both her own relationship with Africa and cinematic depictions thereof.

Un Condamné à mort s'est échappé

1955, France, directed by Robert Bresson

My first viewing of the Criterion Collection restoration of this remarkable film -- and as much as the visuals are striking, it was the soundscape that came across even more strongly on this occasion (particularly in the tension of the titular escape). I still find Bresson to be tough going at times, primarily for his unique and uncompromising approach to performance, but this is one of the key texts. Bresson's star, François Leterrier, went on to a career as a director in his own right, though in a very different register, helming several scattershot popular comedies in the 1980s.