julesbarnett Reviews

Mondo Hollywoodland (2019)

I miss you WeHo

[8/10 · 22 October 2021]

I miss LA so much right now, I'd visit once a year and embrace it as my 2nd city (from NZ - in a long, badly managed lockdown right now), So I'm really pleased this popped up on my radar.

As the 5th dimensional viewer, I enjoyed the feeling of blues skies, red curbs, and familiar landmarks washing over me.

This "LA Hang Out Movie" took me deeper though than Jackie Brown or Under the Silver Lake - hanging out in the hills, the studios, catching a rooftop drink at The Standard, taking in a little cabaret, observing an actor's workshop, even tripping balls at a protest rally DTLA.

Without giving too much away: we're hanging out with Doyle, a boutique mushroom chemist who has a sweet sublet up in the hills with rats in the attic, if he'd just lay off the 'shrooms he's dealing, his life wouldn't be so Mondo and he'd maybe find his missing cat.

His customers and friends are the 'Titans', 'Weirdos' and 'Dreamers' we'll also be running with. Some of the character vignettes are Christopher Guest level hilarious (The Big Picture has the same style) I'm looking forward to re-watching just for the 'personal trainer' and 'night at the Oscar viewing party with the deadbeat agent'.

Great acting, music, and obviously was a fun film to make.

Yakuza and the Family (2020)

Highly engaging.

[9/10 · 13 September 2021]

Very glad I watched this today, absolutely top notch acting and cinematography.

Heartbreaking but also very beautiful.

It (I) (2017)

Float....Float On

[8/10 · 7 September 2017]

First of all it was a successful trip to the movies on my part. At no point did I shush the speculative whispering behind me or throw my box of popcorn over the squad to me left (apparently they got a lot of the film's humour I kept missing As teenager of the 80's I loved Stephen King although IT was never a particular fave. The book felt like Stand By Me with a killer clown and got very dodgy near the end. I've tried twice to make it through the mini-series, both when it came out and recently to no avail. I think the problem is clowns don't scare me. That aside I love a good horror film and the trailer for IT 2017 sold me. Don't watch the trailer though, just get along and see IT.

If you enjoyed the book, you'll love IT. If you haven't viewed the trailer, you'll love IT even more as the movie's most effective sequence is somewhat spoiled by the trailer, shame too as it's truly a frighting thrill ride moment of the film that like a roller coaster, leaves you out of breath and clapping at the end.

My only gripe with the film is it lacks patience and strives to key up feelings of terror too soon by way of every sound/trailer trope in the book: WHHHoooosh...booom. screeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH *sudden silence* BBBBBOOOOOMMM THUMP... They even used the 'ringing ears/everything sounds muffled for 10 seconds' bit usually reserved for war movies. Meanwhile on screen, nothing is really happening yet but oh boy, the soundtrack is almost unrelenting. I felt like screaming "Okay, I get it! I'm at a f***in' horror movie!" and may have at one point stood up and done just that during an ice cream and coke black out....on reflection now I really can't be too sure.