INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1989) Still my favourite of the series. If I started talking about it I'd take up a whole page. It gets a personal 10/10 or A+ from me ALIEN (1979) & ALIENS (1985) Love them both. Can't make up my mind to which is better, though I might give the edge to Alien, which is the scarier of the two (that scene in the air ducts :shivers:), but Aliens absolutely nails it as well. They both keep you on the edge of your seat, and the possibility of survival genuinely feels slim. I like how Aliens goes off into its own territory while still remaining faithful to the spirit of the original. They're two of the best sci-fi films of all time, easily. SILENCE (2016) Right, this was my most anticipated film of 2016, as I love the novel and Scorsese's been trying to get it made for years, but due to its limited release in Australia (like my other most anticipated film, "Heck" or High Water), I was unable to see it. Living in the Outback has its drawbacks. Anyway, Netflix very kindly put it up, so I was at last able to watch it. Note that since the film is concerned with religion and history, my discussion of it will be limited. PROS - Cinematography and Direction: The easiest way to describe the cinematography of Silence is Ozu meets Dreyer, with a dash of Scorsese. It's a lot more static and locked down that most of Scorsese's films, but still has a fair few of his trademark whip pans. The compositions are gorgeous, though. Since Scorsese hasn't made a film like this for a long time (and in such locations), I didn't find myself thinking about how it was shot or made throughout. The film is definitely one of the best-looking of last year, while also managing to be realistically grimy. - Acting: Andrew Garfield has really come into his own, now. He's no longer the second Spider-Man but a formidable actor in his own right now. Adam Driver convinced me he was a really good actor in Paterson, and he's superb here. Liam Neeson's performance is good, but despite his crucial role, he's hardly in the film so I'm not really going to comment on him. Shinya Tsyukamoto and Yosuke Kubozuka were definite standouts, while Tadanobu Asano was also very good and Issey Ogata handled his complex role excellently. - Examination of Faith. In a time when cinema's examination and contemplation of serious religious and existential questions in an intelligent and thoughtful manner has practically slowed to a trickle (particularly in the first aspect), Silence is a torch. It's thought-provoking and, though restrained, quite powerful. I felt quite emotionally blasted by the film, as I was by the novel, but left feeling better for it. It expresses all the opinions laid out in Endo's novel, and never tries to force any upon you, leaving you to form your own. A reviewer said, "It poses all the right questions but only a few answers." It leaves the rest up to the viewer. CONS - Length. While I wasn't bored by Silence (though many others were), I reckon it could have been trimmed by perhaps 5 minutes, maybe more. - Accessibility. If the subject doesn't interest you to some extent, you probably won't like it. But then, I had some mates who did like it, but they like pretty much everything by Scorsese regardless. The film also moves at a slow pace, so it depends if you like slower movies. Personally, I feel that it's Scorsese's best since Casino (1995), though there are people who'll probably disagree with me (I love Casino btw, I'd read the history behind it when I was younger and so I didn't pass it off as a GoodFellas retread like many people did). It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but I left moved and . If you liked the novel you'll like the film, probably. Shusaku Endo gave Scorsese his seal of approval back in the '90s. to make the film. Silence is a film that requires intellectual involvement with its questions, and I mean this sincerely (perhaps why it didn't do very well at the box office). It's not a film you pop into the player as a good way to spend a Friday night, it's an often confronting and tough experience. I give it a 9/10 or an A+, but as I said, it's not everyone's cup of tea. If you're religious or at least interested in religion, you'll probably appreciate it.