film reviews

spoilers ahead. these are the films i've watched since 2024. no previous listings. also, i've left out any i didn't write about.

film	information	review
	Waterloo [Sergei Bundarchuk, 1970] 4.0/5.0	date of writing this :- 16/06/2024 just watched waterloo and man.. this film is INSANE. wasn't even planning on writing anything about it but i can't stop thinking about it again. the sheer scale of this film is smth else. 15 thousand real extras, real uniforms, real cavalry charges.. also, no CGI, no special computerised effects. it's literally a freakin battlefield come to life. the way bondarchuk directs those huge formations, chaos, fights, the marching.. it does feel like you're right there, watching history irl. napoleon's downfall in this film hits much me more harder than it does when i read books around him. his expressions, breakdowns.. the actor rod steiger absolutely nailed it. felt like he WAS napoleon. wellington in the film is cool asf, calculated side was the perfect contrast too. i still cant get over how this was made in 1970. everythings practical, no modern tech, just pure effort and vision. and man, that final act? the buildup to napoleon's defeat, the intensity of those charges, the music.. just pure goosebumps, man. this didn't felt like a war film or smth, but a damn visual time machine. idk man, i've seen quite a lot of war films, but nothing really comes close to this in terms of ambition and authenticity. this film isn't that "oh yea, war is bad"(i do like those kind of films) but a film on real historical battle. you can absolutely feel the weight of every moment. for anyone who gives a shit about history or cinema on a MASSIVE scale.. this film's a freaaakin must. will definitely revisit again sometime. its just that good!
	Taxi Driver [Martin Scorsese, 1978] 4.5/5.0	Just finished taxi driver '76 and here's what am thinking... 13/12/2024 It's around 2:00 AM, just completed the film.. that first hour was smth else. all the loneliness, alienation, mental health stuff.. raw. kinda felt it, or like TRULY felt it. travis's spiral into this detached, kinda broken guy in a decaying world felt great. but the second half? thats where i got kinda lost. he goes from stalking a senator, wanting to kill him for god knows what reason, then boom.. suddenly its all about a random 12 year old. outta nowhere. yea, saving iris gave him a "purpose" or whatever, but the way it all escalates.. shooting up those pimps and goons felt too quick, almost rushed. i mean, its good, don't get me wrong, but i kinda wish it took more time to.. idk.. 'build'? the first half nailed the slow unraveling, but the second half? its just chaos. which i get, maybe the alienation and isolation build that thing to do? the guy was gonna kill the senator for what reason idk but when this girl came in, his ambition changed and that probably in some way or another made him a.. accidental hero? overall tho, the film is brilliant. made me feel gross and uncomfortable in all the right ways. just left me wondering if the second half could've been better if it went deeper like the first. but whatever, in the end, am stuck bw seeing travis as this accidental hero or just a guy completely lost in his own head who happened to do one thing right. the movie doesnt really spell it out for.. which i guess is why its still talked about. i will definitely re-watch it someday for sure!
	Blue Velvet [David Lynch, 1986] 5.0/5.0	date of writing : 29 June, 2025 as i've mentioned, i will act like i've never watched films before '24, and will exclude my past experiences; when i played this film, it felt like i'm watching smth real. VERY real. the opening credits with the track blue velvet going on in the background, with the surreal imagery.. it's just SOOO great, hypnotic. also, one of the major factors of the film which i liked was the colour grading of the film, i mean how fabulous the color grading is, man. i usually love media from 70s till 90s, and i love footages of that era.. the eerie, spooky and grainy quality is smth which attracts me pretty much. apart from these, the first 30 minutes of the film felt like a wholesome detective film until beaumont enters dorothy's apartment, everything starts getting disturbing from here. i mean, i was loving the chemistry b/w sandy and beaumont, but then the film takes a whole ass drift from that path. i think it kinda embodies the fact that how good and evil things are present in this world, like sandy's innocent character to a terrifying and disturbing plot of dorothy and dennis hopper. i was also kinda astonished due the fact that actors were REALLY naked thru many scenes. i freakin loved the acting of the antagonist and dorothy vallens. frank booth, to be precise, he's performance is SOOO great, that it still disturbs me. also, the soundtrack in the film is pretty great as well, david lynch can utilise silence in some of the best ways, also loved those tracks like blue velvet, in dreams.. i'm 16 rn, and i skipped abit of those scenes, i wasn't emotionally prepared for all this and it was too disturbing for me. i'm definitely gonna rewatch this when i turn 18, 25 and numerous times subsequently. this film literally changed my perception of a "film". i love this film, my first david lynch film of 2025, and i absolutely adore it.