1001 Movies ... my own version (2020's)

Notes: Even though I did like it, to be honest, it never really blew me away though. First of all, I think there was a lack of context. Indeed, when these characters arrived in Arkansas, they had a whole life in South-Korea and then again another life in California but you learned so very little about what happened back then and, as a result, I couldn't really compare their current situation with what they had before and make up my mind on my own if it was indeed an improvement or not. The other thing that bothered me was the fact that, while Jacob maybe didn't focus on his family, at least, he had a very specific goal in mind, I don't think that Monica was given the same curtesy. Indeed, what did she actually want? What did she expect when she knew that they were going to live in a farm in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas? As a result, I was constantly rooting for Jacob which was probably unfair and I wish we got more involved in their arguments (which apparently started way before they got to Arkansas) to get a better understanding of this woman who was pretty much reduced to a whining sour wife. This lack of information was probably due to the fact that the story was told from David's perspective but, to be honest, telling such stories from the point of view of a very young child is usually rather frustrating, at least, as far as I'm concerned. Still, there is no denying that it was visually neat with a very nice nostalgic gentle mood. Furthermore, the relationship between David and his grandmother was pure gold and it's too bad it was cut short by a cruel stroke. Finally, after 'The Walking Dead' and 'Burning', Steven Yeung gave here another completely different and yet really strong performance and the range displayed by this actor so far is just quite impressive.

Notes: Well, even though it is considered as a dark comedy, I thought it was above all really nauseating to watch. Maybe it was due to the fact that I saw only a couple of months ago ‘Luckiest Girl Alive’ which was already dealing with a similar story but in a completely different way. Above all, it was a huge reminder how f*cked up men have been treating women pretty much every since the dawn of time and I can’t imagine how a guy could watch this movie without feeling any amount of guilt or disgust, no matter how many pop-songs they might throw into the mix. Even if it was probably not the original goal, I think that it was also a good reminder that, even though many Americans might argue otherwise, College is actually not so great after all. Indeed, the so-called amazing College life seems to be a lot about getting drunk out of your mind, resulting in young girls being raped by young boys and young boys rapping young girls. Coming back on the movie itself, I think it was a mistake that the only guy Cassandra would accept to go on a date with would be someone who went to the exact same school around the exact same time period as she did. As a result, even though they mentioned a whole bunch of people who went to school with hem (the thing that actually triggered her to start with her vengeance plan), they never discussed or even mentioned this tragedy which didn’t make much sense. Still, there is no doubt that Carey Mulligan was really good and she probably delivered her career best performance here.

Notes: The damned thing turned out to be quite sad and depressing, that’s for sure. Eventually, the most nauseating thing, at least for me, was the toxic masculinity constantly surrounding these poor girls. Seriously, it was pretty much everywhere, at school, at work, at home, in the public transports, … Even the seemingly gentle guy in the bus had a rather creepy agenda and helped them out just because he wanted to ‘score’. Of course, you might argue that not all guys are so bad but I’m afraid this description might not to be so far from reality. Concerning the whole abortion thing, well, it’s rather sad that, after years of women fighting to have the rights to make their own choices regarding their own body, it seems that the US are now going backwards on this matter. What they seem to forget is that an abortion will always be a traumatic experience and, by making the whole process more and more awkward and complicated, it only makes the whole experience even more awful for all these poor girls and women, as displayed in this movie. Still, even if the movie was well made and newcomers Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder both gave some really strong performances, was this movie much better than any other movies dealing with teenager abortion released during the last 30 years? Indeed, at the end of the day, it was a little bit dry and the fact that you never get to learn these two girls outside this major tragedy probably didn’t help. Anyway, it was still a really solid drama though.

Notes: The most bewildering thing was that it took a whopping 30 years until Anthony Hopkins was finally provided with a part which was actually worthy of his tremendous talent. Indeed, the guy was just amazing and gave here one of the most pitch-perfect performances even delivered on the silver screen. Beside Hopkins at the top of his game, it was also a rather fascinating movie about dementia. Indeed, one of the usual stereotypes about people suffering of Alzheimer's disease is that they don’t remember anymore who their loved ones actually are. In this case, they went much deeper than this cliché and displayed that, the more confused Alzheimer’s patients get, the more they lose their grip on time and space. This process is probably also speed up by moving to a retirement home but to keep such a high maintenance patient at home might not be a better option, I’m afraid. Eventually, that’s probably what happened at some point, the main character was brought to a retirement home, maybe weeks before, maybe months before, but instead of making some new mental landmarks, like we all do, his scrambled brain never managed to handle this big change in his life. This whole process was so well displayed and it was just so heart-breaking to see this man who might have been brilliant at some point desperately shouting ‘I’m an intelligent man’, without mentioning the ending scene during which he cries for his mother.

Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I was rather sceptical at first. Indeed, I have to admit that I had never heard of this musical of even of Alexander Hamilton himself before watching this flick. To make things worse, in general, I’m not a huge fan of musicals and the idea of watching 150 mins of non-stop singing with no straight dialogue whatsoever on a single stage didn’t sound really appealing to me. However, to my surprise, I really loved the damned thing. Indeed, right from the very first song, I was impressed by the lyrics and the singing skills of this crew and I was pretty much hooked. It did help that Lin-Manuel Miranda had some major hip-hop influence for his lyrics and it was rather surprising how well it worked within such an historical context. But the damned thing was not only seriously entertaining, it was educational and, within a little more than 2 hours, you get also some fascinating crash-course about a crucial period of the history of the United States. Eventually, this movie was also a great reminder that the USA as a country, in spite of its flaws and various mistakes, remains intriguing and, to go back to its foundations and focus on its most overlooked founding father was just so fascinating.

Notes: Unfortunately, even though I really admired the work done, to be honest, I can’t say I was really blown by the end-result though. I mean, as usual with David Fincher, it was visually really impressive and I loved the way he tried to reproduce the vibe of a movie from the same time period. Furthermore, Herman Mankiewicz was an interesting character and Gary Oldman gave another really strong performance. However, the first issue was already the fact that, beside Mankiewicz, none of the other characters were developed whatsoever. However, the biggest problem was that, even though this movie was obviously a passion project for Fincher (it was even written by his father years ago), it was interesting at best but never really fascinating, I’m afraid. In a sense, you could compare it to ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ which was basically Tarantino’s love songs to the end-60’s Hollywood, in this case, Fincher brought us back to the 1930's Hollywood with his meticulous attention to the details but, just like with Tarantino’s acclaimed opus, I just didn’t care much like they both did. Furthermore, concerning the conception of ‘Citizen Kane’, it didn’t go really deep after all. I mean, basically, Mankiewicz locked himself up in some lodge in the middle of nowhere and delivered one of the best screenplays ever written, that’s it. Anyway, even if I didn’t care much the material, it was still another fine directing effort by David Fincher.

Notes: To be honest, even though I did like this movie, I have to admit that I was actually expecting more from the damned thing. I mean, Dick Johnson seemed to be a great guy and I’m glad for Kirsten Johnson that she seemed to have such a great relationship with both her parents but I’m afraid I was never really grabbed by her movie. I was also not sure about the final act. It’s not that I thought it was shocking, it’s more that it all felt rather misleading to me. I mean, Kirsten Johnson might argue that she made this movie to help her father to prepare for the end of his life but I think it was pretty obvious that he did it more as a favour to her then actually for himself. In fact, in my opinion, this project was made partially out of a sense of guilt from Kirsten Johnson who mentioned that she didn’t have any footage of her mother when she was still Alzheimer free. As a compensation, she then decided to make a full-length feature focusing on her father before he became seriously demented. Still, there is no denying that the damned thing was really original, in fact, it was a unique picture, and only therefore, it gets some extra points from me.

Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I was at first not really interested as I expected it to be another predictable vintage flick about Blues. And, indeed, during the first scene, you get to see Ma Rainey and Levee performing on stage, the tension between them was just so obvious and the whole thing seemed to be about a talented jazz musician and his jealous band leader. Fortunately, it went just way deeper than that and, at the center, you had Chadwick Boseman who not only delivered his very last performance but, actually, the very best performance of his tragically short career. To think that the guy was in the middle of his battle against cancer will working on his movie was not only quite mind-bkowing but also did add another tragic layer to this tormented character. Indeed, at first, Levee might seem to be another cocky trumpet player but he turned out to be so much more complex. Basically, even though the guy had some skills and seemed to be confident, he had been also heavily traumatised by life in general and, if you expect this movie to end up with a glorious happy-ending with Levee becoming the next Jazz sensation, you will be quite disappointed. In fact, while all the black characters were constantly cracking jokes, you could feel that under the surface, they were actually all some damaged goods and they were actually almost constantly functioning in survival mode. Concerning Viola Davis, she gave here also another strong performance but even though this woman was just as complex as Levee was, I think she didn’t get enough running time to fully develop her character. Anyway, the damned thing turned out to be much more interesting than I expected and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Chadwick Boseman shining one last time.

Notes: Well, as usual with Charlie Kaufman, it turned out to be an extremely challenging movie. Basically, it is the kind of movies where nothing seems to be what it might seem to be. For example, something as simple as the name of the main character was changed various times on purpose. On top of that, the whole thing started pretty much as a rather bleak and gloomy affair and there was at first not much chemistry with this couple. However, the fact that they were both extremely articulate and much smarter than me slowly made them quite appealing to me. And who was this girl Jessie Buckley?!? I had never seen her before, she pretty much came out of nowhere, but she really impressed me and I will definitely check her other movies whenever I have the opportunity. Eventually, sometimes, this movie did feel like watching a very long episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ and to be honest, I don’t think I understood half of the damned thing. Especially during the 3rd act, when they started to dance in this school, they pretty much lost me. Eventually, what was Kaufman trying to achieve with this tale? However, even if I never fully grasped the damned thing, the fact that it made me think and wonder was well worth a few extra points.

Notes: To be honest, it took me a while to get the damned thing. Indeed, not only I was expecting a very light comedy but I’m not a huge fan of alcohol in general. However, if it might seem to be only about a group of four rather pathetic guys who decides to get drunk because they are all stuck in some kind of middle-crisis, it went actually way beyond that. Indeed, many might make the mistake of thinking that this movie was about drinking but, in fact, it was a movie about living. Basically, life can be incredibly dull and monotonous and, if you’re unlucky, it can be terribly tough and full of hardship. Eventually, the only way to live a full life is through experiences and experiments. Basically, from time to time, we should all try to get outside this tiny little box that society has given us, to go against the rules, to push our boundaries, or simply do something rather foolish because otherwise what’s the point? Of course, as displayed in this movie, it can be hazardous or even dangerous (eventually, one of them died and two nearly broke down their family in the process) but, at least, they tried something instead of going through the motions until the very end. When the movie started, the main character didn’t drink because it was the reasonable thing to do, he didn’t want to dance and was incredibly sad. At the end, at least, he was having fun with his students (something unthinkable a while back) and he was dancing again, even if he still looked sad. Eventually, even though it might seem to be a rather silly movie promoting excessive drinking, it turned out to be a really life affirming picture, something we desperately need in this time of worldwide crisis.

Notes: First of all, What a year for Chloé Zhao! She was supposed to release her first huge blockbuster with 'Eternals'. However, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it was postponed until late 2021 but, in the meantime, she managed to make and release this much smaller indie feature which turned out to be one of the most talked about movies during the awards season. On top of that, I have always been fascinated by such alternative lifestyles so I definitely had some rather high expectations. Well, even though I thought it was indeed a beautiful movie with another pitch-perfect performance from Frances McDormand who’s apparently challenging Meryl Streep for the title of best actress alive, to be honest, it didn’t really blow me away though. Of course, you could argue that nothing much really happened through the whole thing but it didn’t really bother me. It might have to do with the fact that, even though McDormand was brilliant through the whole thing, even though her character went through some life changing events, she didn’t seem to really evolve after all. Eventually, the biggest issue was maybe the fact that every single person on the road was just so freaking nice. I mean, I have to admit that this lack of conflict was refreshing but, to be honest, it seems rather unlikely that none of them had a bad bone whatsoever. Eventually, even if it was unintentional, it did turn the whole thing into some kind of commercial for the nomadic lifestyle. Still, even though I wasn’t completely sold, it was quite fascinating to see these people taking some distance from our rather decadent capitalistic way of life and seeming pretty happy in the process.

Notes: I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Fred Hampton and it was really neat to learn more about this inspiring guy. Indeed, that he had accomplished so much and that he had reached such wisdom at such a young age was just really impressive and it would have been interesting to find some actors who were actually around the same age of their characters (Indeed, Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield were both at least 10 years older than their characters). Still, there is no denying that Kaluuya and Stanfield both delivered such strong performances, they were both quite pitch-perfect and seriously spellbinding to behold. So, the whole thing was strong and delivered an important message in the process and, yet, it was still missing something to completely win me over though. First of all, even though it was dealing with a really interesting story, the whole thing was still rather predictable. Indeed, from the moment you see Bill O'Neal meeting FBI agent Roy Mitchell for the first time, everything else happening afterwards was hardly surprising. I wonder also if it wouldn’t have worked better if it would have been more nuanced. Indeed, even with the most controversial black character, Bill O'Neal, they displayed a lot of compassion (basically, the guy was pressured by the FBI to work for them) whereas most of the white characters didn’t get the same curtesy. I mean, Martin Sheen was praised for his performance playing some kind of monstruous version of J. Edgar Hoover but, to be honest, it was borderline caricatural. Anyway, even if it was maybe not a masterpiece, it was still a fascinating tale with 2 awesome performances.

Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that that I’m not really familiar with Bo Burnham’s work. Indeed, I did see his directorial debut, ‘Eighth Grade’, but that was pretty much it though. Well, this was something completely different but it was definitely quite a massive artistic tour-de-force. Indeed, while we were all stuck at home (myself, I have been working from home for more than a year and who knows when it’s going to end?), Burnham made this comedy special completely on his own in this little room but it was impressive how creative he still managed to be. Indeed, the guy was most of the time quite hilarious and, even though more than half of the duration was filled up with some songs, I actually enjoyed those which I didn’t really expect. As the weeks go by, even months, you see his hair and beard growing and he is basically telling the viewers that his mental state was actually deteriorating and you hope that it is an act so you can keep smiling but it might have been genuine after all. In this case, the whole lockdown didn’t have much impact on my lifestyle but many people did suffer severely mentally from this ‘new normal’. Even the room itself becomes some kind of character and you might wonder if its mess might reflect Burnham’s own state of mind.

Notes: To be honest, I have to admit that I had actually never heard of the Harlem Cultural Festival that took place in 1969 but I’m not the only one. Indeed, while Woodstock became the most famous festival that ever took place, this festival was actually largely forgotten, at least, by the mainstream audience. What was even more surprising was that they actually did film everything but it took a staggering 50 years before someone finally released the damned thing. Apparently, back then, nobody cared about spreading this magnificent piece of Black power, love and creativity which was basically censored in spite of its actually very positive message. Concerning the festival itself, I have to admit that I didn’t know about half of the performers but it didn’t matter and they were all really good. The fact that appearing on this stage meant so much for them really transpired in their performances which were very often quite electrifying. Eventually, the only thing that prevented this movie from becoming really epic was the fact that they reduced 40 hours of footage to only 2 hours. I mean, the documentary about Woodstock was lasting 3 hours for a reason and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have had the same impact if it would have been shorter. In this case, with an extra hour or even more, they could have fleshed out even more some of the performances or some portraits of the artists and people involved. Still, it wasn’t a deal-breaker and the damned thing was really awesome to behold.

Notes: Of course, the first thing you might think is that it was a gimmick to tell a documentary as an animated feature but I think it worked so well to handle this sensitive material. It was something that they already did with ‘Vals Im Bashir’ which was also a really haunting movie. In both movies, the advantage with this approach is that it does create a surreal vibe which does fit with the traumas experienced by the main ‘character’. In this case, it also allowed to keep their identity strictly anonymous. In general, this approach provided a lot of flexibility for the makers and you might wonder why it’s not used more often. Indeed, it’s always a drag when a character has to be played by at least 3 different actors because there is no way that they will look a like. Furthermore, some scenes were so distressing, nightmarish would be actually a better word, you might wonder if it would be doable with some very young actors or if you should inflict this on such young actors. Eventually, this movie is not really an easy watch, it was in fact super intense and I think it will take me a while to let go of the whole thing. I wonder if people who are so against immigration would be able to watch this movie, listen to this dramatic tale and still decide afterwards to look the other way. The bottom line is that, no matter the drastic measures you might take, people will keep making such extremely hazardous journey because they basically have no hope. Most of them probably don’t realize how poorly they will be eventually received which is so heartbreaking and shameful for me. That this guy was also a homosexual on top of everything he already had to face was almost too much to handle.

Notes: Unfortunately, pretty much like with ‘Phantom Thread’, ‘Inherent Vice’ and ‘The Master’, even though I admired the work done, to be honest, the damned thing never really grabbed me though. For some reasons, it did remind me of the last movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, ‘Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood’. Indeed, pretty much like Tarantino did, Anderson focused on a time and place which was really dear to him, the San Fernando Valley at the beginning of the 70’s. However, except for Anderson, did anyone else really care about this subject? Well, I didn’t, at least, not really. On top of that, there was something really awkward about this burgeoning romantic relationship between this 15 year old kid and a 25 year old woman. I mean, can you imagine if they would have switched around the genders? If a 25 year old dude was circling around a 15 year old girl? It would have been even more cringe-inducing. When I was around the same age, I have to admit that I was seriously fantasizing on my older sister’s friends so I could definitely identify with the main character but these girls were all 3 or 4 years older than me, not 10. There were also some details that bothered me. For example, what was the time line? How come Gary never had to go to school? How could a 15 year old teenager manage to open a shop selling water beds and later on some pinball palace? There was also the fact that the two main characters both looked really average and they were hardly charismatic but I have to admit that it did make them really relatable. On top of that, there is no doubt that Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim, both with no acting experience, did deliver some really strong naturalistic performances.

Notes: I have to admit that Rebecca Hall really impressed me with her directorial debut. Indeed, she gave such a heartfelt and fascinating look on the complexity and the hardship it might entail to be black or Mixed-race in the US back in the 20’s (but you could say that it still does apply for today I’m afraid). Of course, at first, you would be inclined to blame Clare for the choices she made but it is actually fairly easily to judge her if you (like myself) are white and have enjoyed all the privileges of the white middle-class through your whole life. Furthermore, even though Irene made a more moral choice, she hardly seemed to be happier than her friend. And that’s the heart-breaking conclusion made by this movie, the fact that every black and woman are stuck in some jail, no matter the choices they might make on how to live their lives. Indeed, what choices do they have? Since they are black, they always will be at best marginalized, bullied, discriminated and, in the worst-case scenarios, they might even get killed by some angry mob or some average cop just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. By pretending to be white, even it might seem to be morally wrong, there would be some clear advantages to be part of the ruling class. However, as displayed in this movie, by making this choice, they would just end up in another kind of cage. Another option might be to actually leave the country, an option argued a couple of times by Brian, Irene’s husband. The only thing I was missing was that I never really understood why Irene and Brian were so obsessed by Clare though but it was definitely not a deal-breaker.

Notes: Well, even though this movie did receive some stellar reviews, to be honest, I really struggled to connect with the damned thing. I mean, sure, it was very well made and some of the scenes were just gorgeous to look at. Furthermore, there was no doubt that the cast also delivered some really strong performances (Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirsten Dunst). And, yet, somehow, it never grabbed me. What bothered me was the fact that the 4 main characters were all rather pathetic. Let's start with Phil Burbank. Basically, the guy turned out to be a closeted gay man who was pissed off with everyone around him but probably even more with himself. He is pretty much what would have happened to Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar if they would have never met each other. Concerning Peter Gordon, he was probably the most misleading of the bunch. Indeed, at first, he might seem to be a rather fragile soft-spoken (probably autistic) young man but he actually turned out to be a rather nifty cold-blooded killer after all. Concerning George Burbank, he was probably the most enigmatic of the bunch, not because he was so fascinating but because he suddenly disappeared and only showed up sporadically during the 2nd act. Rose Gordon did get more screentime than her husband but it's too bad that, most of the time, she was just drinking herself to death which got old fairly quickly. Anyway, you might think that they were all fascinating but, as far as I'm concerned, they were all rather sad, mediocre and, above all, never really interesting to behold. Still, I have to admit that it was a decent watch though but not much more than that.

Notes: Well, maybe I wasn’t in the right mood but I actually really struggled to get into the damned thing after all. It’s not that I don’t have any affinity with the material. Indeed, I did read the book (which I really loved) and I watched David Lynch’s version (which I didn’t hate) but it was at least 20 years ago which was actually pretty cool since I didn’t remember everything in details. I don’t know, I have always been rooting for Denis Villeneuve but it seems that his SF flicks are getting not only bigger but also more pretentious each time around and I hope he will finally go for some other genre when he is done with ’Dune’. I mean, the whole thing was visually really neat, I wouldn’t expect less from this director, it is still a fascinating world and there were tons of charismatic and interesting characters and, yet, the damned thing never really grabbed me. Eventually, you might wonder if such a straightforward adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic book was the best approach and, maybe, Alejandro Jodorowsky with his completely bonkers project was actually right. Of course, you might argue that I shouldn’t muse over a movie which was never made but it seems that turning this story into another SF blockbuster extravaganza only amplified the weaknesses of this story.

Notes: To be honest, it really took me a while to get into it. Indeed, at first, I was wondering why I should care about the supposedly difficult life of a girl who was young, healthy, bright and attractive. The fact that she did cheat with her boyfriend in every possible way, except for having sex, with a random stranger definitely didn’t help. It’s only afterwards that I understood that it was actually done on purpose, to show that she wasn’t just another cute perfect girl in your typical romantic-comedy, that she was an actually really flawed and messed-up human being like everyone else. I just loved this slow built-up and I’m just amazed how they made me slowly invest myself in this character for who I felt very little at first. Eventually, from the moment that she dumped her first boyfriend, I finally started to care more about what she was going through and, by the time she did eat these mushrooms, I was completely sold. It was actually such a deep humanist portrait of a young woman struggling to find herself and making sense of her life. However, to be honest, I did think that the ending was rather weak though. Indeed, I wish that she didn’t end up with a really cool fancy job, like most of us do. Furthermore, to make her witness her 2nd ex-boyfriend ending with another woman with a baby (when they probably did break up because she got pregnant) was just a really awkward choice that the makers made because they explicitly wanted to go for the completely opposite that you usually get in the romantic-comedy genre. Still, except for that, the whole thing was pretty much flawless and seriously spellbinding to behold.

Notes: Asghar Farhadi delivered here another fascinating humanistic tale and the end-result was once again quite spellbinding to behold. In fact, the story itself which was based on something that apparently really happened in Iran was not the most interesting aspect in this movie. As usual with this director, what was mostly interesting was the attention and depth he gave to the characters, especially the main character. Indeed, the guy was quite charismatic with his gentle smile but, fortunately, he turned out to be so much more complex than just a pretty face. Indeed, at first, you obviously root for the guy but, eventually, even if he was never really dishonest, he was never completely honest either. I mean, what if these gold coins would have been enough to cover his debt? What if his debtor would have accepted the 70.000 tomans and let him pay the rest over time? In these cases, it would have been really doubtful that he would have given them back to their rightful owner. There was also the fact that he got into an ugly fight with Bahram which displayed how flawed and also self-centered he was. But, on the other hand, are you sure you would handle much better such a situation? Indeed, with almost all conflicts, we are all always convinced that we are doing the ‘right’ thing at least for our own benefit but, as displayed in this movie, what is right and what is wrong is highly subjective. Eventually, you get such a mirror effect and it made me reflect on my own life wondering if I really did act the right way during such major conflicts.

Notes: Since I kept hearing some really good things, I had some rather high expectations but, to be honest, I didn’t expect to be blown away like this. Indeed, it turned out to be quite a rollercoaster of emotion. The recent war in Ukraine also added an extra emotional layer as, in any war, the biggest victims are always the children as, any war, civil or not, is something completely incomprehensible for them. Above all, it completely shatters their world as it was clearly displayed in this movie. So, after reading this, you might expect a heartbreaking drama but it went so much further than that. It was also so sweet and displayed that Belfast, before it was destroyed by decades of conflict, was actually a bright community where kids and people lived in peace and harmony in spite of the economic hardship. As a result, as a viewer, you want them to leave as soon as possible because we all know what will eventually happen but it was easier said than done for this family who loved their lives in this city and would have to leave everything behind for a (probably hostile) new country. And, yet, in spite all this, it was often actually quite hilarious because you see everything through the eyes of this funny little boy whose innocence had not been completely tarnished by this dreadful conflict. Of course, you might praise his parents for doing the ‘right thing’ by not taking sides but it is anyone guess how they long they could have remained neutral without facing the consequences. Eventually, the result was Kenneth Branagh himself, a heralded British director and actor who, after all these years, finally decided to look back at this pivotal moment in his life.

Notes: Well, as far as I was concerned, I thought it was visually impressive and I really enjoyed the tense dark ominous mood. I have to admit that I was little concerned after I saw the trailer which, to be honest, didn’t really impress me as it made the whole thing look like a rather basic vengeance tale. Indeed, the biggest challenge for Robert Eggers was to turn this classic Scandinavian legend which had inspired countless other stories such as ‘Hamlet’ or even ‘The Lion King’ into something new and, if I have to be honest with myself, he didn’t really succeed. Sure, I loved the visuals and how was I completely immersed in this vintage Viking world but the whole thing was still too predictable. I have to admit that I didn’t see coming the scene when Amleth’s mother pretty much shattered his already fairly demented psychological state by revealing her true feelings about his father and even himself. However, it was the only surprising thing that occurred during more than 2 hours of mayhem. Still, the general madness and the bleakness of the whole endeavor was very much appreciated. Eventually, if you see the current state of our world, 1000 years later, our inclination for violence didn’t really change, the only thing which has evolved is that we don’t use such seemingly innocent axes anymore but missiles capable of wiping out a whole building. In the meantime, we still manage to fight for the most dubious reasons and we will keep doing it because that’s our tragic nature.

Notes: The damned thing turned out to be so much more interesting than I expected. Obviously, there is the fact that there is a war in Ukraine right now, a war seemingly completely insane for anyone living outside Russia, which makes this movie even more topical. However this movie turned out to be above all a spellbinding thriller about the failed attempt to kill Navalny and how the guy discovered himself most of the conspiracy behind this murder attempt. I’m actually surprised that this incredible story didn’t get more media coverage at the time. I mean, I remember that they mentioned that Navalny probably got poisoned by the Russian secret services but the details provided in this movie were just flabbergasting and, at times, you wonder if Putin and his goons didn’t watch too many average spy thrillers. Concerning Navalny, I did appreciate that they didn’t display him as someone perfect but his dedication to this cause was really impressive and inspirational. I mean, most people after surviving such a murder attempt would definitely never go back to Russia (after all, there is always the possibility to fight the regime from abroad) but Navalny, instead, decided to go back there as soon as it was physically possible for him. Of course, he got arrested the minute he arrived there and you might wonder if we will ever see him ever again. If you combine these dramatic events with the current war in Ukraine, you get such a grim image of Russia and, especially, of Vladimir Putin.

Notes: Since I’m a huge fan of ‘Oldboy’, I was just so eager to see this movie. First of all, I have to admit that it was rather tricky to watch a South-Korean movie with Dutch subtitles and, as a result, it took me a while to get a good grip on this rather complex story. Unfortunately, even though I did enjoy most of it, even though it turned out to be really intriguing, I never thought it was really fascinating though. Still, the damned thing was pretty good though. Indeed, I didn’t expect that, on top of being an entertaining detective story, it would be also such a romantic tale as well. It displayed that, solving the case and finding who’s guilty is not everything. As displayed in this movie, it can be so much more complex than what you usually get with the genre, especially when feelings might have a major impact on the proceedings. Concerning the two main characters, the Chinese woman was really complex and I really appreciated the depth they gave to this character. It was also thanks to Tang Wei who gave a really strong performance. On the other hand, I had more trouble to care about the South Korean investigator. I won’t blame Park Hae-il who did a fine job, it’s just that the guy was so clean and straight and, eventually, I never thought that his character was really interesting. The whole gimmick of the insomniac detective was also rather derivative but I have to admit that it did create a interesting surreal dreamy mood. Anyway, all in all, it was definitely another fine directing effort from Chan-Wook Park.

Notes: To be honest, even though I really liked the damned thing, I have to admit that I was actually surprised by the lack of information you actually get, regarding volcanos in general and but also regarding Maurice Krafft and Katia Krafft as indivuals and as a couple. Still, there is no doubt that the footage and pictures shot by the Krafts during their decades long career was just mind-blowing and only therefore you should definitely watch the damned thing. However, even if in the trailer and during the movie itself, they kept claiming that they had a ‘volcanic’ relationship but this statement was vastly exaggerated in my opinion. I mean, there were a few times that they mentioned that Katia was angry that Maurice took too many risks but it never really went further than this. In fact, it was probably one of the most harmonious romantic relationships I have ever seen and this movie was basically some kind of poetic tribute to them, especially with Miranda July’s nostalgic voice narrating the whole thing. Still, to be honest, at the end of the day, as I mentioned before, you learn actually very little about this intriguing couple. Basically, they met fairly young, they fell in love and they went around the world hunting 100’s of active volcanos, that‘s basically all the information you get. It’s also interesting that, with such a tragic ending, they could have gone for a thriller vibe but, instead, it felt like a logical and almost beautiful conclusion for these volcanologists.

Notes: It’s too bad that Netflix did provide only the version dubbed in Hindi instead of the original version in Telugu. Still, it turned out to be such a f*cking blast, I have seen around 7000 movies and I had never seen anything like this. Seriously, it was probably one of the craziest movies I have ever seen. Basically, they took so many different genres such as action, romance, comedy, drama, historical epic, patriotic propaganda,… and cranked up all these genres to the max and, even though it should have been a total disaster, it actually worked so well. On top of that, it featured some of the most exhilarating action scenes I have seen and, without ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, it would have been hands-down visually the most impressive movie released in 2022. It also featured one of the most fascinating bromances. Eventually, I still think that there were a (few) dull moments. Above all, I didn’t care much for the half-baked romance between Bheem and Jenny and it was pretty obvious that this romance was added just so that Bheem could find Malli in a completely random way. In fact, since he knew that Malli had been abducted by the governor and his wife, I don’t understand why it was supposed to be so difficult to find Malli’s location. Still, it was some minor flaw and the whole thing was just so freaking entertaining.

Notes: Even though I have a little voice constantly telling me I’m actually overrating these movies, I have to admit that I actually really enjoyed the damned thing though. First of all, for Daniel Craig, if he was ever scared to get stuck by James Bond like so many actors before him, well, he couldn’t have wished a better rebound than Benoit Blanc. Indeed, it is so obvious that Craig has such a blast with the character and I thought he was once again so damned entertaining (However, it is apparently not everyone’s cup of tea since my wife thought he was awful in ‘Knives Out’). Once again, they had also a all-star cast involved and they were all game. Of course, you could argue that they were all playing some really vapid and dislikeable characters so I can understand that if you didn’t care much about them. Concerning the story, I wonder if some viewers were actually capable of finding out what was actually going on early on. I certainly didn’t, I was expecting someone completely different to get killed and the damned thing was just so intricate but that’s what made this movie so entertaining. Anyway, at the end of the day, the conclusion, at least for me, was that, even if you become super successful and super rich in the process, it doesn’t automatically mean that you are super smart which was pretty awesome. Was it better than its predecessor? I don’t think so but it was definitely at the same level. The brilliant thing done by Rian Johnson was that there were so many similarities and, yet, both movies were still quite different.

Notes: I have to admit that I actually ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. Maybe it was due to the fact that my expectations were too high after hearing some many great things about this movie or it was because I saw it at home and maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had managed to see it in the movie theater. Still, there is no denying that it was a really satisfying sequel and even an improvement on its predecessor. Indeed, the damned thing was just so spectacular, you have to appreciate all the efforts they took to avoid green screens and to make it look as real as possible. As a result, the action scenes were just visceral and quite thrilling to behold. It was also pretty neat how they tried to emulate Tony Scott’s directing style, especially with the intro. However, what made this movie really stand out from its predecessor was the emotional baggage involved. Indeed, Maverick did grow older, by the time this 2nd movie was taking place, the guy should have retired or at least been promoted but he basically spent his whole career burning bridges which was maybe cute when he was younger but not so much nowadays. On top of that, he was still struggling with what happened to Goose so many years ago and the scene with Val Kilmer, himself a cancer survivor, was quite heartbreaking. Basically, Maverick was this time much more vulnerable which made him a much more interesting character.

Notes: Well, even if this movie won’t be for everyone, I really enjoyed the damned thing though. Indeed, it is dark, nihilistic and, above all, really funny. In fact, I was actually expecting something really over-the-top and absurdist but I was amazed by how realistic it turned out to be after all. Basically, the bottom line with this movie is that even though, after millions of years, the human-being has become the most advanced specie on Earth, we still make incredibly idiotic decisions on a daily basis. I think they focused on the rich and super-rich above all because it is even more frustrating and pathetic with them because they have access to endless resources but, most of the time, they don’t do anything worthwhile or interesting with these resources. However, as displayed in the 3rd act, the rest of the population is probably not much better after all. Indeed, as soon as Abigail took command of the operation on this (supposedly) deserted island, you could feel a general cheer in the movie theater. At that point, we all believed that she would do better than the rest but, unfortunately, as soon as she was on top of the hierarchy and had a powerful position, she started to take some questionable and even moronic decisions. In my opinion, it displayed that, well, humanity will probably always be doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again, no matter the circumstances. Eventually, I guess the only way to handle this rather ghastly conclusion is to keep your sense of humor.

Notes: The cool thing about this movie is that I saw it with my mother who is also a major movie buff and she was the one who introduced me to the movies more than 30 years ago. Anyway, to be honest, I had actually a hard time to judge the damned thing after all. I think that the biggest issue I had was that I actually really loved so much the first 15 mins. Indeed, it was just so awe-inspiring to see this little kid watching a movie and getting his mind blown in the process. This sequence was just so identifiable and pretty much pitch-perfect and, for a moment, I thought this movie could turn out to be an amazing masterpiece. Unfortunately, it seemed that this movie delivered its climax right at the beginning and even though everything else was interesting enough, I never became really much more than that and it never reached the level of awesomeness displayed during the opening scene. The basic idea was to show how his parents' divorce would greatly influence his work but, eventually, I thought that none of them (his mother, his father, Uncle Bennie) as an individual really influenced him as a film maker after all. The fact that none of them was really intriguing as a character probably didn’t help either. It is interesting that, even though everybody involved claimed that all these memories were accurately portrayed, Spielberg did modify something crucial. Indeed, for maybe a couple of decades, he actually blamed his father for this separation but, in this movie, he actually completely changed his point of view for something more nuanced (in fact, in this movie, you could say that his mother was more the one to blame). Eventually, whether you like his work or not, there is no denying that Spielberg's impact on Cinema as an Art has been huge but I'm not so sure if his life was so fascinating after all.

Notes: Well, I didn't expect to be blown away like this. To be honest, it's not an easy movie, in fact, it turned out to be a very complex character study and I'm not sure if it really required almost 3 hours of running time. Indeed, it takes forever before the world of Lydia Tár starts to finally unravel and, while I was watching the damned thing, I thought it was rather frustrating that we didn't get more information about her past, her lies and her alleged abuses. The fact that so many elements were kept in the dark probably didn’t help. It's only afterwards that I understood that we saw this whole story only through her own perspective and, eventually, this approach was quite brilliant. Basically, to reach this position, she did many great things and a lot more that was probably not so great but, above all, she created her own bubble from which she (thought she) could control her own narrative. As a result, she constantly filtered everything that didn't fit in the character and story she had created. She did it so much at this point that it was not a wonder that she started to loose her grip on what was real or not but I guess that's something rather common with pathological liars. In a similar way, you don't see or hear what other people really thinks of her. Basically, it's a tale about how power corrupts people and the fact that it centers on a woman (a fact which has been criticized by some viewers) was really intriguing. Eventually, it was a fascinating character and, of course, Cate Blanchett delivered here a career-best performance.

Notes: Martin McDonagh had a rather spotless track-record so far but it was easily his best most gorgeous movie so far. Indeed, the action was taking place on some remote island on the coast of Ireland and McDonagh definitely made the most of this beautiful place. On top of that, the cast all gave some really top-notch performances (Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan). My appreciation also had to do with the fact that I understood the point of view of both men. Indeed, I was actually much younger than Colm, around 16 years old, when I became seriously bored by the people around me and I had a strong desire to take my distance. On the other hand, Pádraic’s reaction to the change of behavior of his best friend was also quite understandable and I get why he tried to get back this relationship because, according to him, there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. Another thing about this movie that really worked was how they perfectly managed to match some seemingly contradicting tones. Indeed, you had a lot of sweet quirky humor but also some dark period drama and it was really neat how McDonagh managed to make it all work together. Unfortunately, even though it all seemed to work out, the final act seriously derailed the whole thing though. Indeed, towards the end, it became terribly bleak and, to be honest, well, they actually lost me there. Anyway, even if the ending did feel like a cold shower, it was still a solid movie.

Notes: Right away, it reminded me of her girl I used to know back in France who was also born in South-Corea and was adopted as a baby. We always got along very well and I wonder if her journey to self-discovery was similar to what happened in this movie (it was probably not so messy though). On top of that, because I'm half-French and half-Dutch, I could easily identify with the main character, even if her struggle was so much heavier for her than it was for me. As a result, this whole tale of conflicted cultural identities deeply appealed to me and it was handled in such a subtle way. The fact that it was dealing with a complex and flawed character made the whole thing even more fascinating to behold. Park Ji-Min, who was not even an actress before this movie, should also be praised for her performance which was pretty much pitch-perfect. Eventually, the only aspect that slightly dragged down the whole thing was possibly the fact that the structure was quite chaotic. Indeed, the main character kept making some drastic decisions and it was sometimes a little bit difficult to keep track of what was actually going on in her life. On the other hand, this approach actually made sense as it actually displayed how confused she was most of the time. Eventually, you might wonder if she eventually managed to find some peace of mind at some point but there is a fair chance that she will always have to deal with her inner struggle some way or another.

Notes: I just loved the damned thing after all and I'm really glad we managed to catch this amazing sequel on the big screen this time. Anyway, it was again visually so neat, there were maybe slightly too many details but the end-result was still quite amazing to behold. It's also the reason why such multiverse features actually works better with animation because, this way, they could tweak each dimension, give its own specific visual identity, which would be much harder to achieve with a live-action feature. It was also neat to see Miles Morales growing up and becoming an anxious and insecure teenager. In general, it was a much more emotional feature, probably the most emotional Spider-Man feature ever made so far. I mean, not only Spider-Man had to live a life of secrets and loneliness but, in this case, he was even called an anomaly which was then tracked down by 100's of other Spider-Men and Women. Eventually, the only minor issue I had was that, nowadays, we get just too many movies dealing with multiverses (Hell, even the last Best Picture Academy Award winner was a multiverse feature), even if, in this case, I have to admit that it is slightly unfair since its predecessor was the first movie to explore this genre. It was also impressive that even though it was really long, even though it was only half of this story, there was never a dull moment and I was completely entertained from the beginning until the end.

Notes: In fact, it was already the 4th movie directed by Wes Anderson watched by our filmclub, more than any other director, which was pretty cool. Anyway, how was the damned thing after all? Well, it was definitely a decent effort from the American director, no doubt about it, but it was definitely not one of his best movies, I'm afraid. Visually, as usual with Anderson, it looked amazing though as each scene was turned into some kind of gorgeous painting. Concerning the cast, well, I won't name all the famous and insanely talented actors involved but it's obvious that they had a blast with this material, especially with the dialogues which were often quite hilarious. Eventually, the only issue I had was with the story. Indeed, even though it seems that there was a lot going on during each individual scene, as a whole, I had the feeling that it was in fact about nothing much after all. It was like focusing on the guy who wrote the play this story was supposedly based on, sure, I have to admit that it was fun but, as far as I was concerned, it didn't have much added value. Basically, this movie displayed an endless succession of nice ideas but it might have been more satisfying to keep only a few of these ideas and actually develop them. I have to admit that I still enjoyed the damned thing though.

Notes: A usual with Christopher Nolan, this movie it was visually really neat and the directing was top-notch. Above all, Oppenheimer was such a fascinating character, easily one of the best characters Nolan as ever worked with. His quest to create the first atomic bomb was also so interesting because it would change our world forever and its impact is still topical nowadays. So, the story was great but I’m not sure Nolan’s approach completely worked. Indeed, at times, it felt as if you either needed to have read the book or have Wikipedia at all times open or that you had to be a massive history buff to keep track of everything and above all everybody involved. Concerning the cast, well, Cillian Murphy was rightfully praised, the guy was amazing and easily delivered one of the best performances of his career. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the cast though. It’s not that anyone was bad, I was more bothered by the fact that so many showed up for barely nothing. It was especially frustrating with Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh who all seemed to have some more substantial characters and, yet, they were given so little to do after all. Even Robert Downey Jr., after getting stuck playing Tony Stark for so many years, who was finally given the opportunity to do something else, didn’t really impress me because the focus on this conflict with Lewis Strauss was, in my opinion, a rather poor idea. Anyway, even though I might seem harsh, the damned thing was still really good though.

Notes: It actually reminded me of 'The Super Mario Bros Movie' which was also released the same year as both movies were dealing with some seemingly hopeless and lame topics but both movies turned out to be extremely successful. In this case, I have to admit that it was quite impressive how much Greta Gerwig managed to get out of this material. Furthermore, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, probably the best candidates to represent some really life Barbie and Ken, were perfectly cast. In fact, Robbie turned out to be rather bland after all but she wasn't helped by the fact that she had to play 'Stereotypical' Barbie while Gosling got to play some kind of unhinged frustrated moronic version of Ken and he definitely stole the show in the process. Concerning the rest of the movie, Gerwig tried to tie a seemingly deep critic of our sexist male-dominated world with a very generic tale of Barbie adventuring into the real world but, while it was a decent attempt, it was a little bit too much. Indeed, even though it was and still is the most famous doll ever produced, it is still only a plastic doll after all. Eventually, did it really deserve to be such a massive blockbuster success? Well, it seems that the audience got tired of all these sequels, reboots and remakes and we are apparently all yearning for something more original, even though, in this case, it was dealing with one of the most popular toys in the world so it was still some famous IP.