Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

I appreciated how Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown had many chaotic and crazy things going on within the plot, but kept it unique and avoided making it into a cliche Mr-Bean-everything-going-wrong type of film.
There was a focus on the relationships between all the characters in the film and it didn't have a heavier focus on the relationship between Pepa and Ivan. This made the film, for me at least, a lot more interesting to watch than had it been entirely focused on the main character's relationships.
The style of the film and the mise-en-scene was very reflective of the time, with a slightly surreal edge at times (like the view from the apartment). The style and colour reminded me of the very stylised, rather odd comedy, I'm So Excited (which I just Googled, and, coincidentally, the two films were both directed by Pedro Almodovar).

Both films feature quirky characters and fit within the comedy genre whilst dealing with the character's anxieties or drama in a humorous way. I'm So Excited also featured Antonio Banderas in a cameo role, and in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, I didn't actually realise that the character of Carlos was played by Banderas.
Whilst Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown had the opportunity to be quite slow, or have scenes that would lose the audience's interest, I found that I wasn't drifting away from the film. Almodovar has created an interesting, quirky film that I did quite enjoy (but I think I preferred the modern "throwback" style and lighter feel of I'm So Excited).

The Young And Prodigious T.S. Spivet

(IMDB)

T.S. Spivet had a very small cast and Kyle Catlett (playing T.S. Spivet) had a certain Macaulay Culkin air about him.
I thought the film was sweet and very stylised with the perspective being from 10 year old Spivet's point of view. This was clear when my family were criticising the film for being so unrealistic and too sweet - my argument was that, when following a story with a 10 year old kid, you're not likely to get a brutal, realistic narrative (and I thought the sweet story worked perfectly with the style and feel of the film).

I loved the cinematography and mise-en-scene, and there had clearly been a lot of though put into the style of the film and into making it work brilliantly in 3D (which I usually hate).
The diegetic sounds in the film were amazing - specifically the scenes when Spivet is on the freight train.

Whilst members of my family weren't keen on the 'dead brother' plotline, I found no problem with it and thought the film was good fun to watch (and with a slight Wes Anderson feel).

In The Mood For Love - response

I thought In The Mood For Love was a really interesting film that didn't fall into the trap of typical Hollywood cliches and perfection.
I really loved the use of slow motion and music in some scenes - for instance, in this scene:

The slow motion and the reoccurring music starts and ends quite abruptly during some scenes within the film and it emphasises the romance and the time taken for the romance to blossom.
Subtle wardrobe changes helped to move along the timeline in a way that kept the flow of the film which was great.

I thought the darker, grittier style worked perfectly with the film and, again, helped to stay away from the Hollywood blockbuster look. The film felt quiet and realistic.

Overall, although it wasn't my favourite film ever, I really enjoyed watching In The Mood For Love.

Frank/Harbour Lights Picture House Cinema

Frank was a very interesting film - definitely worth a watch. Good themes, characters, music etc...

However, I think I want to talk about the cinema experience.. Despite some rather loud popcorn-plunging and crunching near me *cough* my dad *cough*, I think that might have been the best cinema experience I've encountered.
I went to the 21:00 showing of Frank and there were just a few groups of 2 scattered around the room - I figured we could make up a row/a row and a half if we all sat next to each other. It was quiet and calm.
Tonight was also Eurovision (which I normally watch, but I'm glad I chose Frank over it tonight), a big event that takes up a lot of everyone's lives on the day.. As I was sat there watching the film, I was thinking about how great cinemas are. You lose all track of time, you have no idea whether it is dark or light outside, that facebook message or important email doesn't exist until you get home and you don't need to think about it. It's so nice to be extracted from everyday life to sit in a dark room and experience entertainment like this.
What fascinated me about tonight was that when the film ended, no one moved. Everyone was still sat there, soaking up every second of the credits with each other. It was actually very sweet to see couples still cuddled up, people still reading off the screen, sitting back, motionless, enjoying the music and appreciating everything they had just seen.

So.. shout out to everyone who made that cinema experience perfect - everyone who proved exactly why cinemas should still be around and why Harbour Lights Picture House will always be my favourite cinema.

Safety Not Guaranteed

Safety Not Guaranteed was a nice little movie that was a perfect mix of everything. Comedy, romance and a main plotline that is based around figuring out this mysterious, potentially insane man and his plan to go back in time.
At first, I was unsure of the characters and actors. I've seen Jake Johnson as Nick Miller in New Girl and Aubrey Plaza as Julie in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. I was hesitant about whether their characters would work, given Plaza's deadpan style and the demolishing of Johnson's previous innocent and flappy character from New Girl to a somewhat vile, composed man in Safety Not Guaranteed.
However, I was proved wrong - they worked incredibly well.

The characters of Darius and Kenneth were intense, with Kenneth being almost scary due to his potentially mad characteristics and unpredictability. You didn't feel safe, but wanted to through Darius' clear feelings for him, shown by the way she looks at him and smiles around him. (Kudos to Mark Duplass for creating such a uneasy character).

I thought the mystery surrounding the concept of the time travel was brilliant. You really don't know what is going to happen - it's restricted narrative at its finest. (And I'm not going to say what happens - spoilers).

Definitely worth a watch.

We Are The Best!

We Are The Best! is a Swedish film set in 1982 about 13 year old punks.
It has this incredibly realistic feel about it, through the use of cinematography and diegetic sounds which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. In this case, it suited the film very well but I feel that if I hadn't been stuck in a cinema, and I was watching it by myself, I might get bored.
In terms of plot, I appreciated the fact that it didn't have the big Hollywood movie plot of introduction, problem, resolution. Instead, it focused in on just a moment in time in these girls' lives.

It was amusing in places due to the script and its funny way of documenting the way young teenagers think. Moments that stood out were how slight feelings for a boy were discussed as being 'in love' and freaking out about a small cut on a hand: "I don't want to die!".

The character of Karla was interesting. She would be a bit of fun to be around, but any longer than a few minutes, I could see myself getting very irritated with her. Karla captures the essence of pesky year 7 students that push the boundaries a little too far.
The more subdued character of Bobo was just as interesting and is the one that gets left behind by everything and everyone.
I feel like there is a character for everyone to relate to in the film, be it the wannabe punks full of pretentious rebellion or the quieter characters getting upset by the tiniest of things.
The advert says it all: a film for everyone who's 13 years old, a film for everyone who will be 13 years old, a film for everyone who used to be 13 years old. 

(Although, I must admit that my favourite character had to be Karla's dad who gets an undignified yet hilarious appearance during the credits and several very funny scenes).

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - bookstore scene

Like Donnie Darko, I had this film on my shelf for a long time, completely unopened. Thanks to August, I decided to watch it last night and this scene stood out to me a lot. The film and it's aspects of mise en scene, cinematography etc have a lot of meaning because the film is so surreal.
This scene is set in a bookstore and throughout the scene, the books on the shelf are turned around so that the shelves are white and blank by the end of the scene.
Not only does this show how all the colour, memories and stories are being taken away from the main character (Joel), but the contrast between his dark clothing, the white pages and Clementine's clothes and hair emphasise the focus on Clementine's character and begin to give an insight of how colourful, bright and important she is to Joel.
Clementine's red hair, top and lipstick all symbolise her fiery character (which is seen quite a lot in this scene).
I just thought this scene was a very interesting one to think about...
And I never thought I would enjoy a film starring Jim Carrey so much - but he actually plays the character incredibly well.