11 May 2006

The Malevolent DVD Awards

I’ve been renting DVDs via Amazon for over a year now, and just had a look back through my rental history…

The Good

The Machinist

A dark, quirky, suspenseful thriller that deserved far more attention.

Primer

Some may find it way too geeky, mundane and hard to follow (I lost track of some aspects towards the end), but this has to be amongst the best no-budget films made. Shane Carruth’s acting and direction manages to convey the quiet terror of discovering something too powerful to cope with.

Altered States

A barmy film from slightly barmy director Ken Russell (whose work I often find unwatchable); silliness, suspense and creative weirdness.

Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence

Worth watching just for the opening credits’ use of music and imagery.

The Conversation

A superb 1970s conspiracy thriller that I’d meant to get round to seeing for years. Well worth the wait.

2046

I was a bit tired and kept falling asleep during this one, but who cares. Every time I awoke I was greeted with beautifully atmospheric scenes.

American Splendor

Maybe it would’ve worked better just as a documentary, as the real people are more interesting than their dramatised equivalents, but it’s still fascinating.

Kind Hearts and Coronets

I shot an arrow in the air; she fell to earth in Berkeley Square. One of the few films I can watch again every couple of years.

The Bad

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Boring. Boring, Boring, boring. Appallingly boring.

The Ugly

The Plague Dogs

I rented this out of curiosity, to see if an animated film about two dogs escaping from a lab could be the most relentlessly downbeat thing produced in the history of cinema. At one point a kindly farmer spots the dogs and one of them runs over to him… then accidentally knocks his shotgun and shoots him in the face. And that’s one of the more cheerful scenes.