The films we watched in November 2011. Only three this time? In a whole month? Yes. But all good ‘uns.

Submarine (UK 2010)

J – That weird one from The IT Crowd’s directorial debut and it’s nothing short of brilliant. The first and only decent representation of being a teenager in 90s Britain, with characters who actually seemed like people I know. Probably the best film I’ve seen this year.
V – A time machine taking me back to James’s childhood. A shame the subtitles were so bad that I couldn’t understand most of it. I love the British style.

Shadow of a Doubt (USA 1943)

J – Proper early Hollywood Hitchcock (V didn’t realise how early) and a surprisingly effective thriller, disguised (initially) as a Capra-esque small-town-USA family drama. Not bad.
V – Not Hitchcock’s most horrible movie, but after watching I can’t help thinking of the infinite black hole of humanity’s dark side.

Eat Drink Man Woman (Taiwan 1994)

J – I swear I can spot an Ang Lee film in thirty seconds now, and this one had all the tropes and more – and it’s the best of his I’ve seen (thanks to V that’s quite a few). Excellent cooking scenes which reminded me of Hukkle or Big Night.
V – One of my favourite films, what can I say? The first time I saw it was the first time I really knew what it was to be Chinese.