Room – 93%

The film that brought Brie Larsen to fame and an Oscar, Room is the story of Joy and Jack, a mother and son. Joy has been held in captivity for seven years by a person known as Old Nick, her five-year-old son only knowing the confined space of the room they are held in. The film explores what happens as Joy tries to explain to Jack that the outside world they see on television is real and that the situation they are in is a very bad one.

Saint Maud – 93%

Seen by many as one of the great horror films of recent years Saint Maud is the story of a very religious nurse hired to care for the cosmopolitan and sophisticated former dancer Amanda. It is not long before Maud’s extreme religious ideas clash with the freer lifestyle enjoyed by Amanda and we realise Maud is not just religious but prepared to do terrible things as part of her beliefs.

First Reformed – 94%

A highly critically acclaimed film, First Reformed stars Ethan Hawke as Reverend Ernest Toller, a minister of a small – but historic – church, Toller is struggling with his own faith and the future of his church while trying to offer support for his congregation. After a woman asks Toller to speak to her husband, whose behaviour increasingly causes for alarm, he agrees to help and becomes more involved in the family.

De Palma – 95%

This is a documentary by Noah Baumbach on Hollywood legend Brian De Palma, director and writer of films like Carrie, Snake Eyes and The Untouchables. This is an extensive conversation with De Palma himself and archive footage from his films, he talks about filmmaking, the difficulties of working with companies to make films and film censorship in America.

Amy – 95%

A heartbreaking documentary about singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse looking at her life both before and after she became famous as well as looking at her addiction issues and how those issues were handled by the media and what impact this had on her. The film captures a lot of the highs and lows of Winehouse’s life but what is perhaps the most striking is reviewing the media speculation on her life and the outright bullying that came with it – Amy Winehouse became a constant punchline to tv hosts, comedians and more, with no consideration given to how this would impact her and those around her.

Everything Everywhere All At Once – 95%

The newest entry on the list is the uncategorisable, undefinable and perhaps un-reviewable Everything Everywhere All At Once. This is a film so brilliant and bizarre that a whole article just reviewing this one film would be insufficient let alone a collection of reviews. The film is a martial-arts blockbuster romantic-comedy avant-garde sci-fi family drama and one of the most enjoyable films of recent years.

Menashe – 96%

Menashe is a comedy-drama about a recent widower, Menashe, trying to raise his son in New York. As Menashe is part of the Orthodox Jewish community the rabbi insists his son lives with his aunt and uncle, as a single-parent family cannot possibly raise a child (in the eyes of the rabbi). Menashe is clearly a devoted and caring father who throughout insists he knows what is best for his family, and for his son. This film is almost entirely in Yiddish, with only a few instances of characters speaking in English.

The Florida Project – 96%

The Florida Project is a comedy-drama about a struggling mother and daughter, living in a motel, a stone’s throw from Disney World. There is a near-constant contrast between the financial difficulties of the family and a titanic symbol of American culture and success, indeed, the motel is called The Magic Castle, to either evoke the theme park or trick unsuspecting tourists that it is the Magic Kingdom of Disney fame. The daughter, six-year-old Moonee, is left to her own devices as her mother works and she spends time with other guests and the area around with motel manager Bobby as a protective figure to the various children.

First Cow – 96%

A film set mainly in 1820s America with a plot revolving around the first cow of a tiny town, two men, chef Cookie and Chinese immigrant Lu, concoct a money-making scheme where they will steal the milk from the cow to make cookies and other treats. Their idea is very successful with the small and isolated town lacking just about everything cookies are a luxury that everyone wants but they both know this is a serious crime and inevitably things become more complicated. The film is a sad but loving tale of the friendship between Cookie and Lu, as well as the impossibility of a poor person to better themselves without breaking the law.

The Farewell – 97%

The Farewell is based on the true life experiences of director and writer Lulu Wang; Billi is an aspiring Chinese-American writer living in New York and finds out that her grandmother, Nai Nai, still living in China, only has a few months to live. The family have made the decision to not tell Nai Nai and let her live her life unaware of the terminal diagnosis, and arrange a large family gathering in China. Billi’s family suspect she will turn her Nai Nai the truth and much is made of the different cultural norms in China and America, Billi feeling like her Nai Nai has a right to know the truth versus her family’s idea that they can spare their beloved relative fear and suffering.

Lady Bird – 99%

Already considered one of the great coming of age movies Lady Bird is an emotional and hilarious film and goes through many of the typical teenage dramas everyone goes through. The film was written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her first major directorial role and with a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes and five Oscar nominations, she probably considers it a successful first outing.

On The Seventh Day – 100%

Despite having a truly spectacular 100% score from Rotten Tomatoes this is not a particularly prominent film. A 100% score means that all of the thirty critics listed on the site reviewing the film gave it a positive review. On Rotten Tomatoes The Godfather has four critics willing to damn that film and no one said anything bad about On The Seventh Day. The film is a story about a young undocumented immigrant, Jose, in America who as well as working as a delivery worker plays on an amateur football team and with the championship coming up, Jose’s boss insists he works that day. The film takes place during the seven days between Jose learning his boss wants him to work and the championship game as he tries to work out what he should do.

Also Read: The Unlikely Success of A24

The post The Highest Rated A24 Movies On Rotten Tomatoes appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Side By Side

Citizen Kane is the story of Charles Foster Kane, a poor child adopted into a rich but loveless family, he achieves great wealth and becomes a titan of the age before inevitably falling into unhappiness – his huge wealth, priceless treasures and pleasure palace providing no contentment. The film is directed by, written by and stars Orson Wells, 25 years old at the time, which I add just to make everyone older than 25 who hasn’t made arguably the greatest film in existence feel sad.

Paddington 2 is the sequel to Paddington, Paddington being a bear from Peru who is adopted by the Brown family. Paddington is the ursine embodiment of kindness, decency and friendship and while occasionally getting into scrapes is a wonderful addition to the Brown family. In Paddington 2 the bear is wrongly imprisoned for stealing a book, the real culprit being a devious actor played by Hugh Grant (I personally think Grant should have played himself instead of the wonderfully named Phoenix Buchanan). Paddington is played by Ben Whishaw and directed by Paul King, previously best known for having directed The Mighty Boosh.

To compare these films seems a somewhat ridiculous task but Citizen Kane is considered an incredibly original and inventive film and is perhaps now the default depiction of the idea that “money doesn’t bring you happiness”. Paddington 2 is a family film that is very funny and very sweet and both Paddington films have been praised for their ideas of acceptance, the importance of family and friendship and doing the right thing.

What The Critics Said

Looking at the reviews collected from Rotten Tomatoes on each of these films and quite frankly some of these reviews are masterpieces in their own right –

Paddington 2 :

“The thing about the Paddington movies is that they are perfect” – Karen Han, Polygon

“Everything that a kids’ movie should be: sweet and adorable and kind, and adults can enjoy it too” – Alonso Duralde, What The Flick

“‘Paddington 2′ is ‘The Godfather Part II’ of Peruvian bear movies, a sequel that surpasses the superb original“. Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal (presumably after writing this Morgenstern walked off into the sunset knowing he would never write anything better).

Citizen Kane (all of these are of the time of the original release):

“It is daring, different, thrilling and revolutionary, a power play of startling brilliance” – Harold V Cohen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Welles is the most exciting thing that’s happened since sound” – Josephine O’Neill, Daily Telegraph (Australia), we would have to assume O’Neill is referring to the still relatively recent addition of sound of movies, rather than the auditory phenomenon that has existed for billions of years.

“Welles has shown Hollywood how to make movies” – Gilbert Seldes, Esquire Magazine

Of the now infamous of Mae Tinee – “You’ve heard a lot about this picture and I see from the ads that some experts think it “the greatest movie ever made”. I don’t” – Mae Tinee, Chicago Tribune.

Rotten Tomatoes has recently gone through a process of adding old reviews for classic and historic films and Citizen Kane is not the only film to have its rating adjusted in this process.

The Greatest Film Ever Made

As pointless an exercise in trying to work out what is the greatest film ever made the idea of combining critic reviews is as good a method as any but many an eyebrow was raised at the suggestion Paddington 2 was the superior film. Part of this is because Paddington 2 is a film about a talking bear, it’s a family film, or as some would see it, it’s for children. To make a film that would genuinely entertain a whole family is no easy feat and Paddington 2 shouldn’t be looked down upon in that that is its goal.

Brett Goldstein’s brilliant podcast Films To Be Buried With poses a question – what is objectively the greatest film ever made, not your favourite, the greatest. Early on in the podcast, a good explanation was given to perhaps what this meant: if aliens came to Earth with no knowledge of cinema, what film would you show them to exemplify cinema? Citizen Kane could well be the film that would be chosen for such a prestigious task but that does not mean it is the most entertaining, the most moving, the funniest or most exciting. I will perhaps give the final word to Bob Fredericks of the Miami Herald who reviewed Citizen Kane at the time of its release, “I would say it is a great picture but… It is one of those things, like the Pyramids, which are impressive and definitely interesting to have seen, but one can have more fun than looking at the Pyramids.“

Also Read: 30 Years On: The Godfather (Part 3)

The post Rotten Tomatoes: Citizen Kane & Paddington 2 Fight For The Top Spot appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

The post 60 Seconds of Film – Episode 13 appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

I’ve always sought out reviews of the latest releases to help me decide on what films are worth the immediacy that a trip to the cinema elicits and which films I can happily wait to arrive on my screen at home. Most recently, this was the case for John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place; the rave reviews did not disappoint.

But what happens when the film doesn’t live up to the hype?

Ari Aster’s film Hereditary received high praise when it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival this year, with many critics describing it as one of the most terrifying horrors of all time. It received an 89% rating from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes, yet only 57% as an audience score, with some calling it the worst film they had ever seen. The stark contrast in opinion is often difficult to fathom. Perhaps it is important to consider whether it is the film that is an issue here or those providing the reviews.

A recent study by the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism entitled Critic’s Choice? found that of the top 100 films of 2017, only 24% of the top critics, those featured in major publications, were female, and 11.2% were from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups. It is questionable whether a critic can give a true review of a film in which a multi-cultural audience can engage with if they themselves are analysing it through a narrow lens.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group which selects the Oscar nominations, has this year extended invitations to 928 people in a bid to diversify its group of critics. Now, 38% of the Oscars’ governing body is made up of people of colour, with 49% being female. Not a moment too soon, considering there was talk of the event being boycotted due to its primarily white nominees in recent years.

The Time’s Up Now campaign recently posted on their Instagram: “When top critics deciding which movies are ‘good’ are overwhelmingly white and male, audiences aren’t getting the full picture….”  While it is vitally important for the issue of diversity in film to be addressed until it is no longer an issue, would film criticism be doing its job if it only talked about what was “good”?

Alissa Wilkinson, in her article for Vox, does not feel that it would be. She believes that critics are art makers in their own right, stating, “the art a critic makes is a review or an essay, something that is less about ‘supporting’ a movie and more about drawing on an individual’s experience with a film to make an argument about that movie. It includes evaluation of the film, but it also, done well, is a passionate argument for the importance of art itself.”

With the rise of social media and websites such as Rotten Tomatoes, anyone can now be a “critic” and due to the viral nature of the internet, these are often the first reviews that potential audiences see. However, these people are often just criticising the films they have not enjoyed, whereas a good film critic analyses and evaluates a film, discussing both the positives and negatives. Yes, it is influenced by their own experience, but the majority of critics do their job for the love of film rather than just to say what they like or don’t like at the box office at that moment in time.

Critics can offer a unique interpretation of the films they review, as can audiences who also offer their opinions, it is necessary to add diversity to those with the power to influence in order to provide audiences with a cacophony of voices to help form their own interpretation.

Also Read: Class Rules: The Representation of UK’s Social Class in Film

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