Hemanth Kissoon

I read ARTEMIS in prep for reading PROJECT HAIL MARY, in prep for the latter’s movie adaptation due next year. ARTEMIS is a fun little sci-fi thriller set on the moon.

#BookSky #Artemis

HARVEST ★★★½☆
Very different to director Tsangari's CHEVALIER and ATTENBERG. This a cross between Malick and Loach. An idyll ruined by greed, cruelty, and ignorance. (As it's Tsangari, I kept waiting for a cheeky twist, which didn't come.)

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#Harvest

TIME BANDITS
Cracking start, the middle sags, but re-finds its groove with the lead’s gobby scene-stealing sister. Kevin Haddock is an ace character.

THE ELECTRIC STATE
Apart from occasionally vivid visual effects, this is riddled with poor storytelling, world-building & characterisation.

#movies

OPUS
The first half is cringe comedy. The second is body horror MIDSOMMAR-lite. The coda is an existential gut-punch in the vein of VENGEANCE [2022].

DEMON CITY
Doesn’t achieve the action highs it could have, but there are plenty of nifty combat sequences.

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#Opus
#DemonCity

FLOW ★★★★★
Staggering animation. A perilous adventure of survival. A cross between LIFE OF PI and PONYO. So good I actually wanted to re-watch immediately - that normally only happens to me with things like JOHN WICK 4 and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#Flow

Movies that take place at roughly the same time

It is actor Oscar Isaac’s birthday. Isaac’s top 5 best films:

-EX MACHINA
-INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
-MOJAVE
-SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE
-THE CARD COUNTER

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#OscarIsaac

THE MONKEY ★★★★☆
A rollicking gorefest with a dry, resigned humour. There’s a lot of blood. Joins the COMPANION and HEART EYES enjoyable run of black-comedy horror cinema. Prefer to director’s overrated LONGLEGS. Tackles Stephen King’s theme of bullying.

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#TheMonkey

The two best films of 2024 were:
1. NICKEL BOYS, and
2. KNEECAP.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #Oscars
#NickelBoys #Kneecap

I watched Jackie Chan’s CRIME STORY last night. A different beast to his action-comedies, with a harder, grittier tone. The same explosive mayhem, but with a tougher edge to the combat sequences.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#CrimeStory #JackieChan

It is director Mike Leigh’s birthday. Nearly 30 years on, SECRETS & LIES still astounds. If you haven’t watched, do yourself a favour, it is one of the peaks of British cinema. I hope Criterion bring out a 4K version.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #Criterion
#MikeLeigh #SecretsAndLies

SUGAR [season 1] ★★★☆☆
Initially, a conventional neo-noir, but Colin Farrell’s ethereal performance masks a monumental rug-pull. The look & disjointed editing jar. Ambitious combination of elements, though individual parts don’t excel. Am still digesting. Theme of depravity disquiets.

#TVsky #Sugar

BAD MONKEY [season one] ★★★★☆
A bingeable crime-comedy. With this and FREAKY, Vince Vaughn has dialled up the charm to delightful effect. Here, he is a one-man screwball comedy, with an on-form ensemble. The dialogue is terrific!

#TVsky #BadMonkey

THE GORGE ★★☆☆☆
A cross between THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, SERENITY, and THE LAST OF US, but not up there with any of them. A love story slash horror slash action flick, doing none of those particularly well. The ending is trite.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#TheGorge

If you’re going to the cinema, we have been spoilt with entertaining horror-comedies lately:

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#HeartEyes #Companion

ELEVATION ★½☆☆☆
Three years on from invincible monsters emerging, characters are having conversations as if they’ve never spoken about them. The lazy and perfunctory dialogue sums up the experience. Even Mackie and Baccarin can’t, ahem, elevate.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#Elevation

If only Richard Donner had made more Superman movies. If only John Milius had made more Conan movies. I watched CONAN THE BARBARIAN [1982] last night. One of my favourite fantasy films. That Basil Poledouris score!

@arrowvideo.bsky.social
#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#ConanTheBarbarian

With THE ORDER, director Justin Kurzel is cementing his status as an adept of the crime genre.

#FilmSky #MovieSky

With EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONE and LOKI season two, Ke Huy Quan is proving to be a compelling screen presence.

#KeHuyQuan

LOVE HURTS ★★★☆☆
A fun little action flick from maestro choreography production house 87North. Treading a fine line for Valentine’s Day, asking the question: Can something be gory and meet cute at the same time?

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#LoveHurts

I didn’t think it was possible, but Cate Blanchett keeps getting better and better as an actor. Check out the movie TÁR and the mini-series DISCLAIMER.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #TVsky

Over 40 years on, the song sequences still exhilarate. They sound amazing. I watched this last night:

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#Prince #PurpleRain

SEE [seasons 1-3] ★★★★★
One of the most spectacular shows of all time. The jewel in Apple TV+’s crown. Pulse-pounding, breathtaking, brutal, tragic. A cornucopia of dystopian carnage.

#ActionSky #TVsky #See

I wanted a sequel with the same creative team.

Watched BIRDS OF PREY yesterday. A ratatat bone-breaking action flick. McGregor’s trust fund man-baby is his best performance. The mayhem orchestration impresses, especially Harley Quinn breaking out a prisoner. Out Deadpools DEADPOOL.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#PhysicalMedia #BirdsOfPrey

Fancy a movie double bill looking at the brutality of being part of a family of criminals? Check out AT CLOSE RANGE and ANIMAL KINGDOM. The violence is made all the more unnerving because of the familial bonds. See also Fredo in THE GODFATHER PART II and the line Michael crossed.

#FilmSky #MovieSky

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN ★★★★½
Music biopics are a lacklustre genre; they tend to be inert and hackneyed. Normally I feel director James Mangold is mediocre with a few moments of inspiration. Here though, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is both electric and enigmatic.

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#ACompleteUnknown

ENTER THE DRAGON is a sports movie, wrapped in an espionage film, encased in a martial arts spectacular. I watched the extended version yesterday.

#FilmSky #MovieSky #ActionSky
#EnterTheDragon #BruceLee

Director Na Hong-jin has only directed three movies, and all of them are edge-of-your-seat experiences. Why has it been nine years since his last? I’m hoping his latest, HOPE, will be ready this year.

#FilmSky #MovieSky
#NaHongJin

I turned off FOUNDATION after three episodes. It is both turgid and languid. The seven novels it is based on are fantastic. I highly recommend reading those!

#TVsky #Foundation