Strangers on a Train (Hitchcock, 1951)

This week we’ve gone all Hitchcock... It was inevitable really. But rather than choosing one of his most seen and most revered works (because we’ve both seen them more than once I’m sure) I decided to go for one of his slightly more obscure works. That being said, I genuinely think this may be one of his best.

Wassup Rockers (Clark, 2005)

I first watched Larry Clark’s Wassup Rockers when I was 16. I was attracted to the film's use of hardcore music, the skateboard culture, and the sense of rebellion the film had. I watched it (and many other Larry Clark films, Kids specifically) many times over the next few years.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Greenaway, 1989)

So for this week I’ve recommended Alex watch the mouthful that is The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. I first watched this in my second year of university and instantly fell in love with what appears to be a cinematic oxymoron - at once brutal to watch, whilst simultaneously mesmerisingly beautiful.

Riff-Raff (Loach, 1991)

I chose Riff-Raff due to Ken Loach’s new film, I, Daniel Blake, being in cinemas at the moment. I hoped to see the new release before we spoke about Riff-Raff but when I went to see it, it was sold out; “make sure you get tickets for the later viewing, it’s a great film and it’s important you watch it,” shouted the guy working in the cinema.

Animal Kingdom (Michôd, 2010)

Over the last decade there has been something of renaissance in Australian cinema, arguably kick-started with the poetic The Proposition in 2005 (Luke Buckmaster wrote an interesting article on the ‘lost wave’ for The Guardian). Films that followed include: The Babadook, Snowtown, Candy, and my choice for your viewing assignment this week, Animal Kingdom (as well as director, David Michôd's, fascinatingly weird follow-up, The Rover).

Sweet Smell of Success (Mackendrick, 1957)

Most of things I like about this film are simple, the beautiful, silvery black and white, the feverish jazz music that runs through it, the setting! (one of the my favourite representations of New York in film- low angle shots caging the inhabitants within the concrete bars).

Victoria (Schipper, 2015)

The film spends a night in the life of a young Spanish woman living in Berlin, the titular Victoria (Costa). Victoria has only been in Berlin for three months when she's roped into a tense and dangerously exciting night by the charming and seemingly safe Sonne (Frederick Lau) and his merry band of mischievous lads.

We Started Something…

Each week Alex and I (Luke) will be giving each other a film to watch. The films will usually be ones the other hasn’t seen, or a film they desperately should revisit. We will then, as one is wont to do, discuss the films – whether we liked them or not, what our favourite part …