#oscars 53

I'm genuinely a bit baffled by this one, because the plot is kind of bonkers? I mean, it's about a playwright time travelling via hypnosis to fall in love with an early 20th Century actress. The writing is...mmm....Not Great, but there's a charm to it anyway between the lovely score and the fun (albeit mixed) cast. If you feel like a kinda bad, kinda trippy romance with Christopher Plummer playing what's basically a moustache-twirling bad guy, this is worth checking out, but it's probably one you have to be in the mood for. 4/10.

Oh, I really loved this one. From the lush and thoughtful cinematography, to his question of whether or not it's possible to have morals in war, to the shifting dynamics of the British, the Australians and the Boers. It's layered and compelling and a good story well told. Both one of the best war films and one of the best courtroom dramas I've seen in a long time. 8/10.

God, this movie is just wonderful. There's such a bounce to it in humour, in character, in plot, which carries it through even the more absurd plot points. It captures the way women are pitted against each other professionally and ground down by the heel of both the patriarchy and capitalism, while finding hope and joy in community and solidarity too. Magic stuff! 8.5/10.

Men are trash, Polanski included, but this movie really is something special. 8.5/10.

I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to. Yeah, it's pretty disjointed and frenetic and grittier than it has any right to be, but it really captures both the headrush and the grind of what these kids experience. It's messy, sure, but it also surprisingly really works. 7.5/10.

A pretty solid documentary that looks at the man behind a terrible invention. The strength of this is really in the interviews with the people who knew and worked with him, and it's exploration of the toll his creation had on both him and the world. Insightful and compelling, but not quite as nuanced I think as it maybe wanted to be. 7.5/10.

Goldie Hawn has charm for days, but even she can't save this one. 3/10.

This isn't my favourite Kurosawa, but a not-fave-Kurosawa is still a pretty transcendent movie-watching experience. The use of colour is sublime and you really do feel steeped in this storyworld, even if the narrative drags sometimes. Magic! 8/10.