Over the past couple weeks of parental leave, I've found myself alone with the tv most evenings, so have been enjoying clearing my backed-up "to-watch" list:
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996): Definitely one of the lesser oeuvres in the Tarantino canon, but has its moments.
Rush - Clockwork Angels Tour (2013): Instrumentally, Rush are still on top of their game, but Geddy Lee's voice is starting to flag pretty badly and at its worse sounds like a warbly yodel.
Up In The Air (2009): George Clooney is entertaining as a frequent flyer mile-collecting jet setter whose job consists of flying around the country firing people for a living. It's a superficial and ultimately empty life, as is hammered home a little too forcefully in the film's overly formulaic and moralising conclusion.
Planet Terror (2007): another piece of self-indulgent Tarantino homage-porn which comprised half of the "Grindhouse" double feature (in which it was paired with the pretty decent "Deathproof"). It's pretty forgettable fare but, as seems inevitable where Tarantino is concerned, there are some entertaining performances: Jeff Fahey and Michael Biehn are resurrected to particularly good effect, while Rose McGowan (who was a favourite of mine in her Charmed days) is excellent in the lead role.
Blackfish (2013): excellent, very sad documentary film about the plight of killer whales (orcas) that are kept in captivity for the amusement of that other breed of large blubber-girded mammals that is endemic to North America and is peculiarly entertained by silly circus routines and cheesy marketing. It's a disgrace that we can continue to exploit intelligent animals in this way, but unsurprising that it's being done by a big company (Seaworld) in the name of making a buck.
Coffy (1973): a Blaxploitation classic featuring Pam Grier, who would later star in Tarantino's Jackie Brown. Worth it for the soundtrack and spectacularly gratuitous toplessness.
Holy Motors (2012): one of those weird arthouse French flicks that's so arty it doesn't even try to make sense. It didn't really work for me.
Waking Up With Sam Harris (2014): slickly produced lecture and Q+A session exploring the themes of Harris' recent book of the same title. I find Harris an entertaining and convincing speaker, but on the topic of spirituality he is entering some murky philosophical waters and the Q+A discussion reflected that.
Dire Straits - On the Night (1993): live concert video from the early nineties. Mark Knopfler is totally rocking the Jerry Seinfeld jeans + sports jacket look.
Hot Fuzz (2007): the second part of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's "Three Flavours Cornetto" trilogy. Some good laughs but at 2 hours felt a little long — a trimmed-down 90 minute version might have been more effective.
American Hustle (2013): very decent yarn about a pair of con-artists in 1970s News York. Heavily redolent of Goodfellas, and though it's not quite as good as that film, it's the closest thing I've seen in a long time. The cast is top notch, and Christian Bale in particular is excellent.
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