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Manchester by the Sea (2017)

Source If there is one way to get me giddy for a film, it’s having Friday Night Lights' very own Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) in it.  Although other fans of one of the greatest TV shows ever may also be hoping for a 2 hour Chandler motivational speech, that isn't how Manchester by the Sea pans out.  Instead Kenneth Lonergan (who writes and directs) has created a deeply moving and realistic look at grief, family and loss.  A comedy it ain't, but Manchester by the Sea was a film I could have watched for another 5 hours so attached was I to it's characters and story.  It's subject matter makes it a difficult sell, but I really hope this finds an audience as it was an enthralling piece of work. Source The story is a difficult one to tell while avoiding certain spoilers, but I think that is important so as not to lessen the impact of particular scenes.  Essentially, Manchester by the Sea is about Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) -  a man forced to care fo...
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What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Source During a badly hungover train journey from London back home last weekend I turned to some classic Flight of the Conchords tunes on my iPod to get me through. The New Zealand duo have a back catalogue of parody songs and two HBO television series, and if you haven’t checked them out before then I strongly recommend. When I got home and collapsed on the sofa I began scrolling through Netflix for an easy to watch film to nurse me through the dying embers of my killer headache, and turned to a comedy co-created by one of the pair, Jermaine Clement. He and Taika Waitiki co-wrote, directed and starred in this hilarious horror mockumentary about cameramen granted full access to the house of a Wellington based vampires. What We Do in the Shadows was exactly what I needed. Source I missed the film during it’s original release in cinemas. To my mind it wasn’t out for long, and that was a shame as I was huge fan of Clement’s Flight of the Conchords work in particular. He an...
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My Guilty Pleasures

Everyone has those films they may be a tad embarrassed to admit they liked. They went to the cinema with their dark shades on and hat pulled right down. They hide the DVD in a cupboard and only take it out to watch when they’re alone and the curtains are pulled. Well here are mine. What do critics know anyway? Vertical Limit (2000) Rotten Tomatoes = 48% Source I actually remember going to the cinema with my Dad and brother to see Chris O’Donnell jump, slide and fall from icy mountain faces. The film’s story may be a bit clichéd, but the action sequences are absolutely brilliant. You’re in for a thrill ride right from the start when Peter (O’Donnell) and Annie (Robin Tunney) have to witness their Dad cut himself loose and fall to his death to save them. Years later Peter is left pulling together a ramshackle climbing crew up K2 after the elite team his sister was a part of are hit by an avalanche during a climb. With his sister trapped down a crevasse, he’s then faced with fierce...
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