What ever you think is helping you, I have a responsibility as your friend to tell you that it's not.

Date: Sunday 20th January
Film: Your Sister's Sister (2011)
Director: Lynn Shelton
Starring: Emily Blunt, Mark Duplass and Rosemarie DeWitt
Running time: 01 hour, 30 minutes
Rating: 8/10

Emily Blunt is wonderful, isn't she? Your Sister's Sister proves this yet again.

The film is a slow burning exploration of the relationships between siblings, friends and more. While some of the territory is a little familiar, the film feels fresh.

Challenge day: 117
Challenge time: 07 days, 03 hours, 51 minutes
Challenge film total: 88

the light's hitting your hair in this great way. It's like a crippled tree reaching for heaven.

Date: Friday 28th December
Film: Cyrus (2010)
Director: Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei
Running time: 01 hour, 31 minutes
Rating: 8/10

One night back in London between Christmas and New Year breaks and Sunday Night Movie Club is meeting a little early (and a little late).

First up in the evening's double bill is Cyrus.

Cyrus tells the story of John who meets Molly, starts to fall for her, then meets her adult son, Cyrus, who goes out of his way to make things difficult for the couple.

It's nice to see a film in which Jonah Hill doesn't play his Superbad character yet again. Whilst he does make you laugh, he does this is a quiet, understated, borderline creepy way.

John C. Reilly and Marisa Tomei are, as they almost always are, brilliant as an older couple finding love following unsuccessful previous relationships. They both come across as vulnerable characters learning how to start a relationship again.

Don't expect this film to be a laugh out loud, riotous, comedy film. It is humourous but this isn't obvious, it's slow burning, understated, discreet.

I liked this. A lot.

Challenge day: 94
Challenge time: 05 days, 02 hours, 56 minutes
Challenge film total: 65

I have no funk. I'm totally funkless.

Date: Tuesday 18th December
Film: Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass and Jake Johnson
Running time: 01 hour, 26 minutes
Rating: 9/10

Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Den of Geek, The CW and I found ourselves in a hotel screening room that was a little bit too posh for us, me wearing the ugliest of all Christmas jumpers...

ready for a double bill of two films I've been waiting a long time to see. 

Up first, Safety Not Guaranteed. We had tried to see this at Sundance earlier in the year but tickets were hard to come by. It was definitely worth the wait.

Whilst this film is pegged as a being about a slightly odd man who thinks he can time travel, this is essentially a film about personal growth and the building of relationships. It also explores the oddities and eccentricities of human behaviour. 

There are scenes where you laugh out loud, and then two minutes later I found myself feeling an overwhelming sense of melancholy and sympathy toward the characters and the way they are treated by the world at large. 

The characters are well formed and brilliantly acted, Mark Duplass steals the film, which is saying something considering just how great Audrey Plaza is. 

If you get the chance, go see this.

Challenge day: 84
Challenge time: 04 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes
Challenge film total: 58