Some movie recommendations from Mark (Patreon)

Something you may not know about me is that I am a big fan of film. If I’m not playing a video game, chances are I’m watching a movie. 

I recently totted up my Letterboxd profile and realised I watched 100 films last year! Blimey!

So, I’ve decided to offer my backere some recommendations for recent-ish films you might not have seen. Not big award winners or blockbusters, but smaller titles and indie films. (They’re my favourites, anyway). 

Most of them are on streaming services like Amazon and Netflix so have a watch and lemme know if you like any of them. 

Blue Jay is an intimate monochrome drama about a guy who bumps into his high school girlfriend - which then turns into a whole thing. I love movies driven by conversation, argument, and personal drama. And I especially love it when Mark Duplass is one of the people involved (I adore Hump Day, and really like Your Sister’s Sister). 

Elle, from Paul Verhoven, is a pitch black psychodrama about a woman dealing with a sexual assault. It’s a strong character study of the titular character, played wonderfully by Isabelle Huppert. Weirdly, she runs a video game company and makes those Styx games.

A Ghost Story is a claustrophobic story (it’s shot in 4:3, complete with rounded corners, for a very closed-in look) about love and loss. Most of the movie involves Casey Affleck standing around with a white sheet on his head. It’s slow, quiet, and very moving. 

James White is a character study of a guy who needs to grow up fast to help his ailing mother battle cancer. Some of the scenes are a complete emotional gut punch. Tough watch but very memorable. 

Mindhorn is very different to these other films! It’s a comedy, which parodies goofy gimmicky detective shows from the 80s. A murderer will only talk to fictional detective Mindhorn, so his aging actor must help out. It’s all a bit Hot Fuzz, very funny, and I got to see it before a Q&A with the writers which was rad. 

Personal Shopper is a bit weird. Kristen Stewart is a shopper for a celebrity, and a spirit medium. And the film flits between horror, drama, and even crime thriller at times. It didn’t all work but a central scene that thats communicated through iMessage texts is a belter.

To be honest I should probably have just recommended Olivier Assayas’s previous film Clouds of Sils Maria, also starring Kristen Stewart, which I preferred. 

Certain Women is from one of my favourite directors: Kelly Reichardt (see: Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy). This one offers three stories about four women, who are all dealing with their own stuff. Like all of Reichardt’s movies this is slow, quiet, and subtle. But if you’re down for that it’s a terrific experience. 

The Handmaiden is a twisty turny erotic thriller, which you’ve really got to pay attention to if you want to keep up with all the surprise twists. I’ve watched a bunch of Korean movies lately like but Handmaiden was the best of the bunch. 

Victoria is a movie that is shot in just one take. And while some might write that off as a gimmick, I felt it gave the movie an incredible sense of energy and tension. The film finds plenty of excuses to keep the relentless pace going, despite having to capture everything in real time, making for a total thrill ride. 

Paterson is a thoughtful, gentle film about a bus driver who wants to be a poet. That’s all. The film is kinda about the everyday minutiae - but there’s also something slightly surreal and dreamy about it. I felt entranced by the whole thing. Plus, it’s got a sharp sense of humour. 

Krisha is a tense time bomb of a film about a troubled woman who reunites with her family for Thanksgiving. To be honest, this film is maybe more of a horror movie than Trey Shults’ follow up, It Comes At Night. 

Sing Street is just a charming ass movie about a kid who starts a band to impress a girl. The 80s style songs and music videos are on point, and the movie made me feel, like, emotions and stuff. 

Anomalisa comes from Charlie Kaufman, who I love from stuff like Synecdoche New York and Being John Malkovich. Anomalisa is a bizarre stop-motion nightmare of a film that comes complete with an awkward puppet sex scene.  

Two Days, One Night is about a woman, played wonderfully by Marion Cotillard, who has to convince her colleagues to give up a pay rise so that she can keep her job. Wonderful acting and writing, and you’ll be on the edge of your seat as you follow her quest. 

Okay bye.