Harry_Gleeson

As far as coming of age stories go, 'Coda' is one of the best I've seen in a long time. It certainly has the cliche elements of a story that involves someone finding their identity, but the way the film truly focuses on heartfelt themes like family, love and friendship is the key to the success this film has garnered since it's August release last year.

I am writing this at the time of its recent awards success (BAFTA and SAG awards) and the supporting actor winner for Troy Kotsur really was deserved for the uniqueness of his performance. He evokes humour, love and passion throughout the film and all that is made even more incredible due to him being deaf. Emilia Jones as the central character Ruby was equally as good, she will be a fine actress no doubt and her music tutor Mr Villalobos played brilliantly by Eugenio Derbez was a hilarious gem consistently throughout.

Likewise, the score by Marius De Vries compliments the film perfectly. The various tracks produce a variety of feelings that elevate your emotions towards the characters. It's exactly what a soundtrack should do and it played a major part in me loving this film as much as a I did.

As most films though, it's not perfect. Perhaps it is predictable come the end, but it's narrative is simple and for me it works well. It was slamming any message down your throats, it's a film you can just observe and learn from, as films should make you feel.

A really enjoyable film with many memorable moments, I'm so glad to see it doing well in awards season and while it might be a long shot for Best Picture, you just never know.

The most pleasing aspect of this iteration of the famous comic character, is I think director Matt Reeves provides a story that focuses on the best qualities of the Batman, the detective. It's not a theme that has been succinctly explored on screen before with this character, which I think will please any type of cinema goer when they watch this.

I loved the blend of genres that the narrative uses, the horror and crime tropes both working hand in hand to delightful effect as the films noir-ish atmosphere had such an immersive impact on my experience watching it. 'Se7en' was a film that was definitely referred too during production because the similarities were so apparent. The 'noir' elements of the film were my favourites, worked so well.

However the outstanding positive from the film was Greg Fraser's cinematography, simply beautiful art. The intimate close ups, the pristine landscape of Gotham and the gorgeous colour palette all shot with Fraser's expertise.

Performances were all to a great standard. Pattison's portrayal suited this film and its theme really well. His voice, persona was typical of the character, but I'd love to see his Batman again. Zoe Kravitz was a great Catwoman, Paul Dano was typically excellent as the Riddler and Colin Farrell was AMAZING as the Penguin, such an underrated actor.

An excellent film that excelled in many aspects. Can't wait too see more, while it might not be anywhere near The Dark Knight, it still provides high levels of entertainment that left me wanting more.

LA Confidential is as brilliant as you perhaps expect it is. From the thrilling screenplay to the aesthetically pleasing cinematography, there is a lot to like about this 90's noir showpiece

The performances from all involved are brilliant. I particularly enjoyed Russell Crowe's intense and ferocious portrayal of Bud White, while Guy Pearce provided the intelligent and calculated base to play Edmund Exley, and finally Kevin Spacey brought the sly and wise humour that embodies his character Jack Vincessens. These are all heavyweight actors who all produce a career best performance, they all bring something richly different to a heavy narrative that requires attention. Couple these with the psychotic nature of Cromwell's character, Dudley Smith, and this film has about just everything a detective narrative needs. Kim Basinger's performance alone is great

The screenplay from Brian Hegeland and Curtis Hanson is perfect, a very precisely told neo-noir story that has its twists and turns placed brilliantly.

This is an essential noir film to watch, it's paced very well too meaning the runtime rarely drags, a brilliant film from Curtis Hanson.