I’m drawn towards investigating:
– Film Theory: After reading ‘Film On Film’ by VF Perkins, Pauline Kael reviews, Zizek’s ideas on form vs content, Godard
– Nature: Filming around Darebin parklands
– Shooting on an iPhone 7: Testing out focus, areas, colours, lighting, times of day
– Shooting on a camcorder: VHS aesthetic, lo-fi
– Voice Memos: Poetry, reflections, statements, thoughts, ambient sounds, conversations
– Music: Atmospheric (new age, house-ish, ambient, lo-fi, cassette)

Ideas
– The beauty of nature
– The importance of reflection

My 4th favourite film of last year was Eli Roth’s ‘Knock Knock’. Eli Roth is an under-appreciated filmmaker. He is not trying to make the next Shining. His films are a lot deeper than people give him credit for, and this is because he (intentionally) masks his themes with hilariously excessive violence and a cheesy script delivered by terrible actors.

Knock Knock was Roth’s second film released last year, after The Green Inferno (a brilliant social satire). A remake of Peter Traynor’s 1977 film ‘Death Game’, Knock Knock follows father-of-two Evan Webber (Keanu Reeves), who spends Father’s Day weekend alone while his family go away to the beach. Two beautiful women knock-knockity-knock on his door, and all hell breaks loose.

There are a few aspects that make Knock Knock the gem that it is. One is the acting. Keanu Reeves performance is so brilliantly over-the-top that you can liken it to peak Nicolas Cage. The two girls, played by Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas, have the amazing ability to be both your fantasy and worst nightmare. Aaron Burns and Colleen Camp also put in memorable performances. If you hate the film, you will at least find the performances entertaining (and that’s a Ryan Rosenberg Guarantee™). Two is how refreshingly perverse it is; Knock Knock is bold and unforgiving, which is rare in today’s safe, politically-correct world of cinema. And three is Antonio Quercia’s cinematography, which is terribly underrated.

I work as a delivery driver, and thus have a lot of time where I am at work with nothing to do. During this time I tend to re-watch Knock Knock, and I think I’ve probably watched it 40 times by now. The greatest thing about this is that I enjoy each viewing as much as the last.

This film is pure sensationalism and I LOVE IT.

Since I’ve posted my favourite album of this year on my blog, I thought I’d share my favourite short film (so far):

We are lucky to be living in an age where we can witness the greatest contribution to sound art since Miles Davis.

Does anybody have Letterboxd? If so, give us a follow and I’ll return the favour.

I’m of the belief that assessments shouldn’t be 50% Project Brief and 50% Blogs. A 75/25 split should be the maximum. Just an opinion.

2015 was a horrible year for film, the worst in its existence. Sentimental victim narratives have taken over the industry, providing the sanctimonious with even more reason to congratulate themselves, and denying film to be the boundary-pushing medium it once was. In saying that, 2016 so far has been decent, but it won’t be long before the PC films of the year are released, polluting the industry once again.

As I feel quite passionate about film, I thought I’d write about what films I have seen this year that have had an effect (positive or negative) on me. I feel more strongly about the worst than the best, so I’ll keep the latter brief and use the former as an exercise in hatred.

The best:

5) Hail Caesar
The fact that people didn’t get and/or like this film proves cinema is dying.

4) 45 Years
I’ve been waiting years for that “great drama” – and 45 Years is certainly that. Andrew Haigh’s subtle direction and tight-knit script allows for Rampling and Courtenay to deliver truly incredible performances. But what really steals the show is the atmospheric backdrop of Norfolk. Haigh is probably Britain’s most interesting filmmaker right now, and I can’t wait to see what he creates next.

3) The Hateful Eight
This film is everything that the culture desperately needs right now. Warm Black Dingus is probably the scene of the year (so far). And what a score!

2) Anomalisa
How the hell was this film made? Not the technique (though it is extraordinary), rather the fact that a production company would produce such a thing. Putting money into a Charlie Kaufman stop-motion film is not a wise investment. But who cares! Thank god for this film. 

1) Son Of Saul
Winner of Best Foreign Film at this years Oscar’s (the only category with any integrity), Son Of Saul is the directorial debut of Laszlo Nemes. Directorial debut. How? Quite extraordinary. I don’t remember seeing a recent film that was as captivating, gritty and realistic as this.

And the worst:

5) Spotlight
How to win an Oscar:
1) Write a script that prioritises victimhood as it will naturally elevate the film’s importance
2) Cast actors who excel in self-righteous roles (a la Mark Ruffalo and Michael Keaton)
3) Hire any director, doesn’t matter who it is, it’s a victim film, if you don’t like there is something wrong with you
4) Submit to the academy who suffer from guilt and will do anything to prove to the world that they are progressive
Also, this film looked like TV. And if there is one thing that is completely unacceptable in cinema, it is a film that looks like TV.

4) Steve Jobs
I’ve never been a Danny Boyle fan, so coming into this, I wasn’t expecting much. And my expectations were met. Wow this was boring. Yes, the performances were decent, but who cares? I also found it hard to engage with Aaron Sorkin’s script; his dialogue becomes too much of a distraction. And that crowd-pleasing ending? Gross. I don’t care about you or your daughter, Steve.

3) Room
**See Spotlight above** (except this did’t win (thankfully) – though it was still nominated)
This film was laughably awful. If you’re going to play the victim narrative, don’t play it so safe.

2) The Big Short
I hated absolutely everything about this film. It was so poorly directed; the intended ‘balance’ of the comedy and drama was about as successful as ’The Room’; the only times I laughed were the more ‘dramatic’ moments because they were so jaw-droppingly bad. Everything was so contrived; it tried so desperately to be outrageous that the film was begging me to be impressed by it. The breaking of the fourth wall failed miserably. But the cutting to ‘celebrities’ to explain things was the absolute worst; when a film is so pathetic that it will do literally anything for mainstream relevance, well, it becomes completely irredeemable.

1) Trumbo
Bryan Cranston, I love you, but what the hell were you thinking? I probably hate the above films more (for their message) but this was just really bad cinema. I doubt this year will witness a worse script.

Most Anticipated Release: The Neon Demon

If you’ve read this far, feel free to comment any opinion(s) you may have, recommendations, etc.

FULL LIST: http://letterboxd.com/francisroz/list/2016-ranked/