Waves – 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: Waves

January 26, 2020January 28, 2020Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Film Review, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russel, Trey Shuts, Waves3 Comments

There is one moment in Waves where I let out a quiet “Oh Shit” (You’ll know when you watch it). This non-compliance with the usual BFI’s morally coded audience thankfully wasn’t disapproved as I wasn’t the only “Shit”-ter. There were many audible gasps and ooh’s and one woman who shouted “OH FUCK!”. If a film-snob-cinema audience is releasing that sort of reaction, then the film is certainly doing something right in it’s experimentation of sight and sound.

Waves primarily follows black middle class teenager Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and his perfect life. He’s doing great as the wrestling jock. He has a stable family and is in a happy relationship. However, things soon start to go wrong. His relationship with his father (Sterling K. Brown) is straining as he is being pushed too much. This happens alongside his shoulder joint becoming worn down meaning his wrestling days may be over. His girlfriend (Alexa Demie) is also worried she is pregnant. This perfect cocktail see’s him take a spiralling journey into madness.

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