After the death of Braveheart’s William Wallace, came Robert the Bruce. This film is based on the true story of the 14th century Scottish hero. It’s an entertaining but imperfect action / biopic. Any flaws are made up for with the battle sequence at the end. Outlaw King manages to touch on the good parts of historical war films like Mel Gibson made, without spoiling things with their Hollywood cheese. This was directed by the man behind the excellent Hell or High Water, which also starred Chris Pine. He does a damn good job in the lead role too.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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This recommendation is specifically for fans of director Ben Wheatley. I have seen the majority of his film output, and have enjoyed everything. The critical response to Rebecca has been unfavorable as Alfred Hitchcock made a very highly regarded adaptation of the book in 1940. I am a fan of Hitchcock but not enough to watch a mystery / romance (the latter being a genre I avoid). That was not the case with Wheatley’s film, which actually happens to be more faithful to the book. I took this 2020 adaptation for what it is, and I enjoyed it. I’m not going to watch it multiple times like High-Rise, but it’s a damn good film that I absolutely suggest Wheatley fans check out. If you like it, take a look at this article for an added layer. Thank you David Graham for nudging me into giving Rebecca a shot.
PS – Yep, since posting this I’ve learned that star Armie Hammer is a scumbag. I gotta separate the art from the artist in this case, but I’d add that House of Hammer is definitely worth watching (it’s on Discovery+).
Not available on Blu-ray.
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Streaming on Netflix | imdb | trailer (English – WATCH THE MOVIE IN SPANISH W/ SUBS)
Netflix delivers another entertaining Spanish thriller. The whole thing is improbable to the extreme, so forget about suspending your disbelief. It doesn’t matter because The Occupant looks great, the performances are spot on, and it has some wonderfully twisted moments. A word of warning though, some people HATED this movie. I’d say watch without expectations. Let the movie do it’s thing. If you generally appreciate the films I recommend on Anomalous Cinema, there’s a good chance you’ll like this as much as I did. Not feeling a little adventurous? Pick something else.
Not available on domestic Blu-ray.
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I almost didn’t recommend this one as it was on the Netflix Top 10 when it was first released, and has received a lot of press. However, The Platform deserves that attention AND is very much Anomalous Cinema. This movie skillfully blends horror and sci-fi, into a borderline-art film. Now let’s hope this leads to Netflix releasing more even more daring and intelligent weirdo features.
FYI – I recommend if you watch ANY foreign content made after 1990 on Netflix, you do so in it’s original language with subtitles. Netflix’s English dubbing is absolutely horrible 99% of the time.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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I think this one got overlooked or underrated by a lot of people as it is a bit long and deliberately slow. This is not in-your-face horror or blockbuster action. The crafted look and pace lean more towards an art film. If you can get yourself into the right frame of mind you will see that Hold the Dark is an almost flawless movie. Director Jeremy Saulnier has made three excellent films in a row (plus work on True Detective), and I’m looking forward to his next one, Rebel Ridge.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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Here’s a damn good historical drama based on Henry V. It’s got all the top quality elements in place: production design, cinematography, soundtrack, and performers. The film also features knights in full armor doing battle in graphic detail. I don’t recall anything else I’ve seen using period accurate (to my layman’s eye) outfits in combat like this. The movie is a bit on the long side, but don’t let that deter you. I didn’t fast forward even once.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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This is an original thriller that verges on action at times. I may like some silly movies, but little details like unrealistic firearm use can ruin it for me. This almost completely suspended my disbelief. Just watch The Decline, in it’s original French Canadian language, and let it do it’s thing.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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Beasts of No Nation is an excellent drama about a West African boy who is made into a child soldier. The movie is brutal, but tells an important story. Here’s one interesting bit of trivia, at one point in the film the colors all shift to ultra-violet. This was a reference to visual artist Richard Mosse’s series “The Enclave.” I got to see his stunning multi-screen video installation at the Portland Museum of Art in 2014.
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There’s been a lot written about this movie. I’m just going to focus one one man who helped make Orson Welles’ lost film available for all to see. Bob Murawski.
Who the hell is that?
Well, Murawski first came to my attention as one of the founders of Grindhouse Releasing (the other was Sage Stallone RIP). Before the advent of DVD they released essential cult films like Cannibal Ferox on Laser Disc. Once I finally got a DVD player I bought the disc version of Ferox and was blown away by the quality of the film restoration and the truckload of extras. Every single movie that Grindhouse has worked on is worth seeing, and a few are downright essential to own.
Later I learned that Murawski was a respected film editor. Grindhouse restored Lucio Fulci’s legendary film The Beyond and Bob managed to edit a shot from Lucio’s film into his work on a little movie called Spiderman (2002). How crazy is that?
Years later Grindhouse resurrected the lost cult film Gone With the Pope. The level of work that went into that restoration is mind boggling. Shortly thereafter Bob was contacted to put those film re-animation skills to work on a certain legendary Orson Welles project. Netflix made a documentary related to The Other Side of the Wind, so naturally I assumed that Murawski’s work would be covered. Nope. While the doc They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead is well-worth watching, if you want to know about Bob’s work you’ll have to read the following interview. That ain’t right.
For all the above mentioned awesome things and more let me say this… Thank you Bob. You are a true hero to the history of cinema.
Oh yeah… I enjoyed The Other Side of the Wind too.
Not available on Blu-ray, but it looks like it may be released by Criterion Collection eventually.
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Here’s a solid overview of one of the more high-profile Chinese visual artists. Guo-qiang is known mostly for his epic firework performances. The movie also covers the artist tackling a major project that challenges him on every level. Sky Ladder is an absorbing documentary that I wish had a slightly longer run time. You won’t hear me say that very often.
Not available on Blu-ray.
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