Top 100 Favourite Films: #90-81

#90: Polyester – The tragedy of camp

Honestly, first time watching this, I didn’t see what was so funny about seeing a disaffected housewife deal with the kitsch version of the Book of Job. You know, having every bizarre bad thing happen to her at once. Of course, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t engaged; I was just engaged under the impression that this was a tragedy, and between Divine’s solid performance in the lead and the rather over-the-top forces working against her, I was not displeased with the result. Sure, upon rewatching it, some of the more farcical elements made themselves more noticeable, not to mention the origins of the nuanced title, but part of me will always remember this as the tragic tale of Francine Fishpaw, her complete dick of a husband and the extent to which he inflicted his dickery on that poor woman.

Big Eyes (2015) - Movie Review

It’s fan-boy time again, this time looking at the newest film from Tim Burton, one of my favourite directors. Of course, openly admitting to such things isn’t exactly the safest of prospects considering his more recent output like Alice In Wonderland and Dark Shadows, some of his older work like Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Sleepy Hollow or even just the fact that his style is just that recognisable that, quite frankly, an awful lot of people are getting sick of seeing it, especially given how influential it has become. But I couldn’t give a monkey’s about any of that: I grew up watching his films from Beetlejuice to Sweeney Todd, I’ve always dug his garish yet Gothic style and I genuinely think that his cinematic sensibilities helped make me the person I am today… although, to be fair, that might just give readers another reason to hate him for all I know. Not to say that all of his films follow his usual aesthetic, as today’s film will no doubt attest ; this is the first Burton film I can remember seeing that wasn’t playing at a mainstream cinema and after seeing it, I kind of get why.