So Long My Son – The Film Ramble

The Unnominatables: 2020 Ramble Awards

February 8, 2020February 9, 2020Posted in Awards, FilmTagged Atlantics, David Copperfield, Dolemite Is My Name, Greta Gerwig, Hustlers, Jojo Rabbit, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Last Black Man In San Francisco, Little Women, Marriage Story, Monos, Oscars, Oscars 2020, Parasite, Peanut Butter Falcon, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, Rocketman, Shuzhen Zhao, So Long My Son, The Farewell, Uncut Gems, Us, Waves, Weathering With You, Zack Gottsagen

Last year, when I started this blog, I started with a post about my favourite of the Oscar nominees. While that post is on its way, I also decided it would be a fun exercise to give Ramble awards to films or actors who weren’t nominated and really should’ve been. 2019/20 was a great year for films which meant some were going to miss out. Unfortunately the Oscars are safe and bland and really not worth the time as we celebrate Scorceses and Tarantinos over fresh film ideas. The films and actors I will nominate will hopefully represent a greater plurality of film making. With 12 films gaining 16 awards (and another 7 nominated), hopefully you get some ideas of what to watch. I’ll take my invite as a BAFTA judge in the post…

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Lookback: January 2020

January 26, 2020February 4, 2020Posted in Film, Look BackTagged 1917, Atlantics, Breakfast Club, Brief Encounter, Brokeback Mountain, Coco, Fighting With My Family, Guys and Dolls, Jojo Rabbit, Kore-Eda, Our Little SIster, Paddington 2, Psycho, So Long My Son, Terminator, Tokyo Story, Uncut Gems, Waves, We The Animals, Weathering With You

As we conclude this month, civilisation is still just about standing. Britain has left the European Union, although the Corona Virus will make sure to keep news anchors busy over the coming weeks. In the meantime, all this Brexit fatigue has kept me busy trying to watch films. This month’s selection of twenty (Yep, that seems like way too many now) include cult classic films and modern masterpieces from the innocent adventures of a marmalade loving bear to a scene which made one look over their shoulder while showering since. There weren’t any rubbish films this month and be sure to read to the bottom to get my top 5 picks. (I have also given out star ratings for each one).

[N] – Netflix, [P] – Prime [B] – BBC IPlayer

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Review: So Long, My Son

January 14, 2020January 19, 2020Posted in ReviewTagged So Long My Son

When a film is over 3 hours, it needs to do two things. Firstly it needs to justify its length of time. Secondly. it needs to look after the audience. At 186 minutes long (22 minutes longer than 2001: A Space Odyssey), So Long, My Son does pack in a lot of content.

The film starts with the major pivot. Xingxing and Haohao are two young best friends who were born on the same day. At a young age, Haohao suggests they play in the reservoir. Xingxing is nervous, and doesn’t really want to go. We fast forward and see that Xingxing has died from drowning here, but we’re not sure what events lead to this.

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