There won't be another Camelot.

With awards season in full bloom and Hollywood hot on the scent of freshly caught Oscars the cinematic world of early 2017 is filled to the brim with heavy dramas, slice of life pieces and the customary biopic! And it is this later category that our brave Cinenauts find themselves exploring the depths of today.

But first let’s take a little step back to the year that was 1963, The Angel’s were smashing the airwaves with My Boyfriend’s Back, Beatle mop tops were king, and the world was hypnotised by the startling new adventures of Doctor Who! But as our bristling Timelord hit the tubes, across the pond the USA was reeling as one of it’s most promising and promiscuous presidents was cut down in his prime. And as the eyes of the world turned towards this tragic affair no one would have expected the legacy that was about to be forged.

Directed by Pablo Larraín and Staring Natalie Portman in the title role, 2016’s Jackie is an entrancing study into the life of whom some call America’s first Queen. 

Told through interview, and supported by frequent flashbacks leading up to and after the assassination, Larraín constructs a compelling account of how the death of a president is not only a loss of a leader but the loss of a man. If there was one thing that surprised me about this film was just how easily Larraín manages to avoid having JFK on screen at all. In the entire 140 minutes the commander in chief is on screen for less than 5 and his face even less so, forcing the narrative to focus solely on Jackie and the momentous ordeal she must face.

Portman puts in a performance like I’ve not witnessed before, wholly embodying the first lady, from her sense of poise, to quiet anger, and even nailing the raspy Mid-Atlantic accent, something which puzzled potential audiences upon first trailer release but becomes so significant of the person she portrays it’s almost as if we have been taken back to the event itself. And ultimately this is the effect Larraín is painstakingly attempting to achieve, splicing real archive footage with live action scenery and even going as far as shooting on super 16mm film stock to recreate the look of the time.

Overall this film is absolutely gorgeous, from it’s incredibly personal cinematography that captures every moment unashamedly, to it’s pinpoint accurate costuming that leaps off the screen, to even it’s choice of soundtrack with exceptional use of Richard Burton’s rendition of “Camelot” from the titular musical of 1960. Every aspect has been meticulously selected to stage this story as stylishly and realistically as possible, and for that effort it has easily become one of my favourites of the year.

Stories are Wild Creatures.

2016 was a shocking year for cinema with phenomenal box office busts and amazing little gems spread sparsely throughout. It was also just as shocking off screen with many beloved silver screen icons taking their final bows and departing our theatres for the last time. With these losses in mind we kick off the year with a film that above anything teaches us that it's okay to not be okay when we must say goodbye to those that hold a special place in our hearts.

Based on the book of the same name and penned by the same author, Patrick Ness's, A Monster Calls is a small but powerful look into the way we deal with grief and the inevitable knowledge that sometimes we are powerless to help the ones we love.

Whilst the basic story treads familiar boards of an everyday family dealing with a terminal trauma, seen in such films as 2009's My Sister's Keeper, and more recently The Fault in our Stars (2014).
Director J.A Bayona manages to subvert our expectations of established tragedy by weaving the issue into the background and choosing instead to focus on telling a tale thats far deeper and ultimately more complex.

As our main protagonist Conor O'Malley (Lewis MacDougall) is visited each night by an ancient monster (voiced by Liam Neeson) he is forced to endure three grisly tales that not only change how we see the world around him but also propel Conor into facing the truth of his nightmares.

Whilst visually spectacular on the big screen through a mastery of digital water colour, the three tales do much more than add a showpiece to to the film. Allowing the audience to question what is really going on behind the closed doors of Conor's experience and ask just how reliable is the viewpoint of teenage boy. And it is this viewpoint that A Monster Calls manages to capture so skilfully, putting us into a mindset most haven't experienced since puberty. A middle ground between childhood and grown-up where you're expected to shoulder the same responsibilities but given none of the same freedoms.

Numerous times throughout the film Conor asks why he is not punished for the acts of violence he has committed, always meeting the same answer of "what would be the point?" Before the fourth and final story is told, Conor and much the audience, are unable to think outside the basic rules of story established in childhood and grasp concepts beyond good and evil. But as the nightmare plays out we share in the experience as Conor must confront his truth and transition not only through the stages of denial to acceptance but also from child to adult.  And so begin to understand the grey areas of life where good people make bad choices, cruel acts are often not met with justice, and fairness is an ideal rather than reality.

This murky look into the complexity of human behaviour in the face of grief and the various ways it can manifest in the best of us is what makes this movie shine. Pile that with a stellar cast, some fantastic visuals and a script that smacks with quotable lines and you've got yourself a recipe for one the best films to emerge from 2016.

Episode IV: A New Hope

A long time ago on a computer far far away...

Your cosmic Cinenaut began a journey to discover 183 new films within a single year.

Tragically due to the limitations of being a human who also needs to sleep, eat, and contribute to society at large, our brave adventurer was unable to complete this mission, scraping to a halt at only 96 acquired viewings.

However, with the turning of the year a secret resistance has been building and now stands poised to strike once more into the celluloid heart of the kino universe. 

Our new mission, to explore strange new films, to seek out new genres and artistic interpretations, to boldly go where no Cinenaut has gone before! 

So come on a journey as each week I travel through cinema history to find the strange, the occult, and the downright classics of the Cineverse.