Half Empty Cinema

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Babygirl - A complex, sometime beautiful, sometimes funny, and sometimes terrifying, study of female sexuality, desire and personal projection. Stella performances from all cast members (yes, even Antonio Banderas). I am an also a sucker for any soundtrack by Cristobal Taper de Veer. #FilmSky

Hopes for the new #JamesBond franchise:

- Revisit Bond 1-5 (Dr No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice)

- Set them in the 60s

- Get modern artists to cover the original songs

- Make Bond Scottish Again (MBSA)

- Cast Jack Lowden as Bond

#FightMe #FilmSky

That’s shortly after the final scenes… where Robbie Williams fights dozens of different versions of Robbie Williams.

Personal highlight - Robbie Williams singing a Robbie Williams song over the credits of the Robbie Williams movie that Robbie Williams narrated as pictures of Robbie Williams appear
#BetterMan

We need a new version of the Bechdel test.

Rather than seeing if two female characters get to have a conversation about something other than a man, we should now check if any female characters get more than two lines of dialogue before Robbie Williams starts singing over them.

#BetterMan #FilmSky

#BetterMan ⭐️⭐️ Crowd pleasing, entertaining, and by far the most self-absorbed, egotistical 2.25 hours you’ll sit through this year. It takes a lot to make Elton John’s biopic look humble, but Robbie Williams has made it happen. #FilmSky

#Gladiator2 ⭐️⭐️ Despite some heavy lifting by Denzel Washington, Gladiator 2 lacks the emotional weight of its predecessor. Heroes are underdeveloped, villains are overly villainous, and an overuse of CGI strips away any sense of jeopardy from the previously gripping fights to the death. #FilmSky

#MuppetChristmasCarol ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heartfelt storytelling, excellent humour and a surprising reverence for the source material make for one of the best Xmas movies of all time. Michael Caine’s decision to play Scrooge straight remains a triumph and one of the all-time great portrayals of the role. #FilmSky

#LoveActually ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Right, let’s get this done:

✅ Bill Nighy plot
✅ Emma Thompson acting
✅ Billy Bob Thornton being a creep
✅ Alan Rickman‘s voice
❌ “Banoffee pie?” 💀
❌ Colin Frissell
❌ “All I want for Christmas… is you”
❌ 3 men in positions of power trying to sleep with their staff

#XmasFilms #Film

#TriangleofSadness ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wonderfully bleak satire exploring the nature of exploitation, the childishness of greed, and the absurdity of wealth. But for all its humour and occasional gleeful comeuppance, it can be hard to spend quite so much time in the company of such dislikable people. #FilmSky

It’s fine, I’ve just been playing TimeSplitters 2 for 22 years now

#HomeAlone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Rewatching this annual Xmas gem, it’s hard to ignore just how much Chris Columbus got right. Jokes for adults, slapstick for kids, family arguments, a touch of snow, moral messaging, and a pinch of extreme violence — all the ingredients of a Christmas classic! #FilmSky #XmasMovies

Glad you’re enjoying them!! I am certainly not a veteran at this and very much decided to start posting the pub chats I have after watching films 😂. Fair enough if Anora wasn’t for you. I just found myself talking about various scenes for hours and recommending it to everyone. Always a good sign.

#Queer ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Powerful source material and Daniel Craig’s performance deliver heartbreaking power and poignancy, but the unevenness is hard to ignore. Not quite realistic enough to be gritty, but not quite stylised enough to be cool, Queer sometimes feels as insecure as the protagonist himself #FilmSky

Tár ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A tense and layered tale of unravelling power. Music (and sex) flourishes when rooted in passion and empathy. But as the power dynamic changes, the line between conducting and controlling grows razor thin. That said… I’m still dropping a star for all that painful intellectualising #FilmSky

#Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lacking the unexpected beauty of Lee Miller’s photography, the film chooses to avoid artful visuals and focus instead on the war-torn dirt of her life. The result is a gripping biopic, driven by a stellar performance from Kate Winslet, and a surprisingly strong Andy Samberg. #FilmSky #Film

#Scrooged ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This retelling of A Christmas Carol packs an adult punch but lacks holiday cheer. Practical effects and Bill Murray’s trademark sarcasm carry the film, but if you want to watch a narcissistic Bill Murray learn life lessons from a supernatural event… watch Groundhog Day.
#XmasMovies

#DeadPool ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ While lacking the heart of 2010’s Kickass or the dark humour of 2019’s The Boys, 2016’s Deadpool brought a welcome degree of mischief to the stagnating superhero genre. The sassy postmodern hero plays both to Reynolds’ strengths and to its desired audience. #ThrowbackThursday #FilmSky

#WhatHappenedMissSimone ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A tragic reminder of how anyone, no matter how talented, can become a victim of both circumstance and mental health. It’s a harsh reminder of the suffering people create and endure, and a wake up call for anyone harping back to the “good old days”. #FilmSky #MusicSky

#ANightmareOnElmStreet (40th Anniversary) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Back on the big screen, Wes Craven‘s dream-infecting slasher is still bags of fun. 40 years on and the gripping premise and knowing humour stand the test of time. With only 7m of Freddy screen time, it proves that in slashers, less is more #FilmSky

Strangely, I think it will stand the test of time, as a cult Halloween classic. The addition of MacArthur Park is especially strong, which will now be added to Halloween playlists forever more. #Film

#BeetleJuice2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Burton’s world remains bizarre and beautiful. But where the first movie revels in a postmodern rebrand of good vs evil - country life vs city life, homebodies vs yuppies, the living vs the dead, Beetlejuice 2 lacks a clear concept, with multiple villains struggling for screen time.

#BuyNow ⭐️⭐️ An important story but one that offers few surprises for anybody mildly aware of fast fashion, marketing or the climate crisis. The strong interview cast feels underused, while the AI GLaDOS rip off simply doesn’t land. It makes for an irritating narrator and a distraction from the facts.

#TheSubstance ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Body horror becomes body-image horror in one of the bloodiest, most visceral, and most watchable films of the year. Demi Moore was made for this, bringing personal realism to a film which could have been deeply unreal. Beauty isn't just skin deep, it’s under your flesh. #FilmSky

#WomanOfTheHour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut avoids “write the theme toon, sing the theme toon” territory, delivering a gripping feminist thriller. Kendrick explores “what women are for” through the eyes of serial killers and ordinary men… and the answers are scarily similar. #FilmSky

#TheWildRobot ⭐️⭐️⭐️ At its best/funniest when playing up to the harsh realities of nature. The second half makes an unforgivable tonal shift to sickly feel-good cringe, desperate for ‘Pixar feels’. If you watch one film about an environmentally-conscious lonely robot this year… watch WALL·E. #FilmSky

#TheBoyandtheHeron
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mind bending colour, tastes and sounds provide a psychedelic treat for the senses. It’s less structured than previous Miyazaki works, which, combined with a misleading Western title, results in a slightly confused but deeply powerful entry in the SG catalogue #FilmSky

#Anora ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sean Baker continues to humanise the dehumanised. Those without power grow more likeable with every scene, while those with power grow more awful. The closing sequence alone is a remarkable portrayal of the complex relationship sex work creates between love, sex and sadness.
#FilmSky

#Joker2⭐️⭐️⭐️ Joaquin‘s Fleck remains a triumph, but it’s not what you expect and it sure ain’t what fans wanted. It’s a spiteful Last Jedi. An FU to universe builders and the fans who idolised this man in #Joker. Artsy reflection has replaced dark cynicism. Ya get what ya f’ing deserve! #Film #FilmSky

#BrawlInCellBlock99 ⭐️⭐️ Not for everyone. Not even for most. But for genre fans it’s a depraved, cynical and loving homage to grindhouse. The choice to cast Vince Vaugh is both oddly perfect and bafflingly distracting. See it. Go with it. Never watch it again. #ThrowbackThursday #FilmSky #Film