Rate the last movie you've seen

[Syn]

The Worst Person in the World. 3.5/5.

[nutella]

watched Turning Red last night, it was very cute and had a good message about embracing who you are

[dunya]

watched the unforgivable (my second time) with mom and dad (their first time)

it was very rewatchable because the first time i missed big chunks while i was cooking etc

anyway 4/5 - it's like a really low budget movie tbh, but the acting is pretty great and got me crying a few times

[dunya]

watched Turning Red last night, it was very cute and had a good message about embracing who you are

is disney plus worth getting?

[Scotty]

watched Turning Red last night, it was very cute and had a good message about embracing who you are

is disney plus worth getting?

Depends if you like Disney, really. It’s got all the newer stuff (especially marvel and Star Wars IP’s) and a lot of the older canon.
They also have National Geographic shows on there too if that floats your boat.

If none of that applies to you, it’s just another streaming platform

[Syn]

Turning Red. 7/10. This is very thirteen-year-old girl. Not exactly my speed, but it does this well and it's interesting enough. It also takes place in an environment I'm familiar with; I even used to work in a Daisy Mart as a teenager.

CODA. 10/10. Technically speaking, this is a predictable movie and does not seek to entice with twists. However, the beats are hit perfectly, the cinematography is fantastic, and the casting is excellent.

Encanto. 6/10. Far too much singing, and to be honest, I found the family in this movie to be obnoxious. I wouldn't have bothered trying to protect them were I in the same position.

Dog Pound. 9/10. An intense and real look into the juvenile corrections system. This movie makes no attempt at offering a silver lining or a happy ending. It is raw and real throughout. I would not say it's for the faint of heart.

Deep Impact. 8/10. I've never actually seen this movie. It was pretty decent, though I do think the Elijah side plot could have been done without. It took up time for no actual reason and I feel it was only included because Mini Frodo was technically necessary for the introducing scene.

Moonfall. 6.5/10. This is a very good theatre movie. As just a movie, it is passable. The first half is very Roland Emmerich while the second half is very Marvel. These two things did not transition very well, and I really did feel as though the first half's character beats were far too inorganic and artificial to be authentic. If you've seen The Day After Tomorrow as many times as I have, you'll notice the similarities easily, but where TDAT felt real and compelling, Moonfall simply does not. Still, I did not regret the watch and it kept my interest.

[nutella]

spiderman no way home was bad. it sucked

[Syn]

Hard to Kill. 2/10. Witness Steven Seagal in his prime. (Don't do that.)

[dunya]

Hard to Kill. 2/10. Witness Steven Seagal in his prime. (Don't do that.)

one steven seagal movie is every steven seagal movie

[Scotty]

Everything Everywhere All At Once
What a bizarre movie. It seems just bizarre enough to elude a Best Picture nom for the next Oscars, but also is grounded. I don’t know how. I saw it a few days ago and I’m still processing it. Things that made me audibly go ‘what the fuck am I watching’ had me actually tearing up when reintroduced later in the movie. I can’t describe how that is possible but this film does it well.

It just…you should see it. It’s a dark comedy but also sci-fi action but also heartfelt and emotional? I can’t describe this genre.

[nutella]

Everything Everywhere All At Once
What a bizarre movie. It seems just bizarre enough to elude a Best Picture nom for the next Oscars, but also is grounded. I don’t know how. I saw it a few days ago and I’m still processing it. Things that made me audibly go ‘what the fuck am I watching’ had me actually tearing up when reintroduced later in the movie. I can’t describe how that is possible but this film does it well.

It just…you should see it. It’s a dark comedy but also sci-fi action but also heartfelt and emotional? I can’t describe this genre.

+++++++++++++++++++++

mindblowingly stunning experience, moving and trippy and utterly unlike anything else.

[Scotty]

Everything Everywhere All At Once
What a bizarre movie. It seems just bizarre enough to elude a Best Picture nom for the next Oscars, but also is grounded. I don’t know how. I saw it a few days ago and I’m still processing it. Things that made me audibly go ‘what the fuck am I watching’ had me actually tearing up when reintroduced later in the movie. I can’t describe how that is possible but this film does it well.

It just…you should see it. It’s a dark comedy but also sci-fi action but also heartfelt and emotional? I can’t describe this genre.

+++++++++++++++++++++

mindblowingly stunning experience, moving and trippy and utterly unlike anything else.

Right??! I also went to school with Steph Hsu and I’m so happy to see her taking off. Great acting all around, just an amazing experience in a theater

[falcon45ca]

The Batman - 8/10



Raw, gritty version of Batman, with some fresh takes on old villains. It's a bit long, with some minor pacing issues, but overall very enjoyable. Set up nicely for a sequel(s), and given it's box office numbers, we will def see more Batman films from this universe. Color me excited

It was also very nice to see

Spoiler: show

the main villain (Riddler) not get killed off, which does not happen often in Batman films

[G-Man]

Crazy Rich Asians (2008)
This was a date night movie for my wife and I when the kids were away. It's actually a really fun movie, and probably up there with When Harry Met Sally for me. Most rom-coms are mediocre, but this one really keeps it fresh.

3.75 out of 5



The House (2017)
In theory, putting Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler together on the big screen should be a lot of fun. Instead, this film goes way too far with using violence and obscenity as its source of humor. It's an interesting plotline (suburban parents setting up an underground casino to pay for their daughter's college), but everything just gets taken too far. It was probably a lot of fun to make, but it seems like more could have been left on the editing room floor. That's rough considering the film clocks in at 88 minutes with the credits. Instead of something witty and funny, it makes the leads look like shells of their former selves.

2 out of 5



Lady and the Tramp (2019)
Disney had a pretty good run with their live-action remakes, but this one flopped. Some of the changes are nice, but they took a 76-minute story and stretched it out an additional half hour. It's unnecessary, considering there isn't a lot of deviation from the original Disney film's story. I did something that I hardly ever do while watching a movie- I closed my eyes and just listened to it for a bit. I didn't miss anything, because it largely mirrored the animated version during that stretch. Like several other live-action Disney remakes, I question whether this film was really necessary.

2.75 out of 5



Zoolander (2001)
I saw this in college and it was funnier then. My wife had never seen it, so it was perfect Friday night movie fodder (my wife crashes around 8:00 on Fridays unless we're watching something funny or with a lot of action). I love the lampooning of models and the industry, but it runs too long even at just 90 minutes. It's a perfectly suitable dumb movie to turn off your brain and laugh to. It knows what it is and doesn't try to be anything more than that.

2.75 out of 5

[G-Man]

Pi (1998)
I really liked this one but my wife hated it. It's weird and eccentric, but that draws me in. It's Darren Aronofsky's directorial debut. It's low-budget, but that adds grit and intensity to the whole package. It blends science (math) and religion (numerology) in a very unique way. It might melt your brain a little, but it's a trip worth taking.

3.5 out of 5



Night at the Museum (2006)
I had never seen this before, so we watched it with the kids on Disney+ (truly a game-changer for our family). It's cute and fun. Dick Van Dyke plays a very un-Dick Van Dyke role, but of course he does it well. This isn't a deep movie, and there are a few gags and elements that either haven't aged well or were cliché already. For family entertainment, you could do a lot worse.

3.25 out of 5

[G-Man]

The Bounty Hunter (2010)

Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston have very little chemistry. They also play two pretty rotten people, and yet we're supposed to root for them? Nah. The plot and storyline could be done very well in the hands of a different director and with a different cast so there's potential. It just goes untapped here.

2 out of 5



Footloose (1984)

I've danced to the theme song at weddings and other occasions, yet I've never seen this 80s hit until just this year. I was very neutral to it. Overzealous religious adherents as your antagonist(s) is a pretty lazy foil for me. The main female character is pretty unlikable and does a lot of stupid, dangerous stuff. Overrated due to weird 80s nostalgia.

2.5 out of 5

[G-Man]

Die Hard (1988)

I've seen it several times edited for television, but this was the first time I have watched it uncensored. My wife had never seen it before, and she begrudgingly admits that it does count as a Christmas movie. Bruce Willis is great as an everyman action hero. There's a fair number of over-the-top moments that wouldn't actually happen in real life, but it's a lot of good fun.

3.75 out of 5



Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Some of the scenes in this movie were filmed in my hometown and in nearby Harrisburg, PA. There was a lot of buzz about it locally and it was supposed to be a big, Oscar-buzzy movie. I had never taken it in before now and I can't say that I missed much. Perhaps I am not the target demographic. The movie was adapted from a memoir about a woman's time as a young adult in a mental institution. The big problem I have with it is that there's not a noticeable trajectory in the main character's arc. She's surrounded by interesting inmates who have much more complicated and visible traumas and issues than she does. When the main character is also the most boring character, it doesn't make for a very memorable or enjoyable film.

2.75 out of 5

[fingersplints]

Jurassic World Dominion

I watched this over the weekend. Wow how far from the original Jurassic Park has this franchise come. There was some cool looking scenes, but a lot of it felt more like a fan fic than actual movie. Just giving the fans moments they think they want to see/hear. Nothing special. None of the suspense of the original.

My cheapo self actually rented this and I’m full of regret

1 out of 5. Maybe 1.5. Seriously underwhelmed

[Scotty]

Jurassic World Dominion

I watched this over the weekend. Wow how far from the original Jurassic Park has this franchise come. There was some cool looking scenes, but a lot of it felt more like a fan fic than actual movie. Just giving the fans moments they think they want to see/hear. Nothing special. None of the suspense of the original.

My cheapo self actually rented this and I’m full of regret

1 out of 5. Maybe 1.5. Seriously underwhelmed

Yeah that movie reeked of cheap fan service.

Also the conflict had almost nothing to do with dinosaurs.

[Epignosis]

Jurassic World Dominion

I watched this over the weekend. Wow how far from the original Jurassic Park has this franchise come. There was some cool looking scenes, but a lot of it felt more like a fan fic than actual movie. Just giving the fans moments they think they want to see/hear. Nothing special. None of the suspense of the original.

My cheapo self actually rented this and I’m full of regret

1 out of 5. Maybe 1.5. Seriously underwhelmed

Thanks for this. I trust your judgment and this likely saved me some time.

[nutella]

Glass Onion was very fun!

[tutuu]

Indeed, Birdy was my favorite character

[G-Man]

Way behind on catching up from being already way behind. Here are a few quick ones:

Marty (1955)
This won Best Picture back in 1955. It's about an average, unassuming guy who's just not had much luck finding a girl. Now in his 30's, he meets a nice woman stuck in a similar position as himself. Their connection forces Marty to make a few tough choices about finding love that add tension to his relationship with his aging mother, whom he still lives with. It's all very real-life, everyman content with a solid performance by Ernest Borgnine.

3.5 out of 5



The Wild (2006)
A lazy, half-baked computer-animated tale involving animals getting into trouble when they venture too far into the human world. Zoo animals band together to rescue a lion cub when he runs away from the zoo after having a fight with his dad. It's all very predictable and lackluster. One of the side characters is pretty funny at the very least.

2 out of 5



For Richer or Poorer (1997)
Creaky fish-out-of-water tale about big-money eminence-front type city folks on the verge of divorce getting a reality check and learning lessons about what's most important in life when they hide out amongst an Amish community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania- pretending to be relatives coming for a visit. This was made in Tim Allen's heyday in the mid- to late-90s, but it's an inferior project that only delivers minor chuckles at the expense of sterotypes and clichés.

2.25 out of 5



Smallfoot (2018)
This was s cute fish-out-of-water tale about Migo, a Yeti, who gets banished from his mountaintop village when we claims to have discovered a smallfoot (a human) at the edge of their civilization. Determined to prove the town elders wrong, Migo heads down to a land the elders were keeping secret from everyone for generations. High jinks ensue. It's cute fun, but not as good as Abominable.

3.25 out of 5.



Tron: Legacy (2010)
A visually impressive but otherwise unnecessary sequel to the 1982 original. Whereas Tron felt longer than its 96-minute runtime, Tron: Legacy feels way too fast for its 2-hour runtime. It features a lot of cool VFX upgrades for the Tron lore, but the story is thin. The frantic pace feels designed at times to distract you from the thinness of the story. This could have been even better than the original, but it wasn't.

3 out of 5



Cruella (2021)
I didn't ask for an origin story for Cruella DeVil, nor does the world really need one. This film exists in its own universe, apart from any prior 101 Dalmatians product. Set in the late 1970s, the film sees Cruella adopting subversive punk aesthetics and attitudes to wreak havoc on her enemies. It also features a backstory that totally waters down the fur-loving, dog-killing wickedness from the original animated film. It works well enough as a sassy, modern character study, but it never truly justifies its own existence. The soundtrack is swell though.

3.25 out of 5

[Ricochet]

Haven't posted / rated here in a very long time and it's not something I entertain much anymore (my letterboxd page is now totally dead), but I seem to have gotten my movie-watching mojo back (after a serious dry spell, due to very busy projects or just no-mood, no-desire) and watched a movie every day during August. To honor that, I'll summarise them here (long post ahoy). They're mostly auteur / high-(f)art / kino stuff, you know me (or maybe you do not).

Living (2022)
For which Bill Nighy got a rather peculiar, odd-one-out Oscar nomination last year. I do like Nighy, but even with that in mind his range can be fairly one-style. A remake of a 50s Kurosawa classic, Ikiru, which I have not seen, so cannot argue if it was a good or even necessary remake (at least it was of an old movie, not one of those immediate English redos, meant for those who can't stand subtitles at foreign movies). Overall watchable, a moral tale totally up to viewers' interest. Had an odd narrative jump in its last third. Also appeared to prep up a young protagonist, only to cast him aside a good chunk of runtime, then bring him back, was rather clunk.

Un amour impossible (2018)
I fancy Virginie Efira a lot, which is probably why I end watching a lot of what she stars in. Does its "frenchiest" to craft shocking ramifications out of a romance premise and voice them liberally and reflectively (reminded me of François Ozon's twisted ideas, in that regard). Dragged on during its 2 hours plus, with all said ramifications. The acting quality of the actress playing the adult daughter made it hard to connect with that character's distress.

Heat (1995)
Not much to argue against this movie's coolness and cult-ness, to the point of tolerable runtime sweats or crazy action setpieces (in which I assume a lot of fantasy was put: surely full-on metropolis-open shootouts are not a thing in America… right?). As for its De Niro v Pacino hype, I found De Niro coming off better and just right, whilst the latter oozed heavy levels of HAM - though I imagine this was an intentional subversion of any banal protagonist-villain depthless scheme. Put it on to enjoy, and did so.

The Green Knight (2021)
Certainly an outlier, unconventional and very "kino" presentation - which may be its biggest strength and worth of recommendation (David Lowery, too, is the kind of auteur worth rooting for and keeping faith in with each new project). Oozes c i n e m a virtue, richness and boldness at all times. How woe then, even with such artistry, that the first thirty minutes were electrifying, yet the rest couldn't keep up a similar pulse and immersion (and story intelligibility, if it matters).

Broker (2022)
By Hirokazu Koreeeda, who won the Palme d'Or five or six years ago with Shoplifters. Feels like a return to similar social commentary on low-class Japan nomads, good-hearted crooks and odd birds. Quality filmmaking, intriguing premise, somewhat endearing on a human level (so much that you could attribute it a feel-good value in the end), though all these also felt parked in a "safe" niche for this filmmaker. Wasn't the most serious, patient watch on my end, either.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Because never seen it, so why not? For a genre-defining movie, it gave off a proper vibe of a concept "done right". Did not mind its low count of fright and startles - not the horror type in general, myself - it was all artistic and psychological rather than sensationalistic. Was already spoiled to the ending, but still found it a big vault in intensity.

Yomeddine (2018)
View into the indigent quarters of Egypt, from the perspective of a leper colony resident who embarks on a long journey, together with a young orphan sidekick, to find his real roots. Played by a non-professional lead, himself stricken in real life with leprosy disability, whose natural expressivity has to be seen to be fully appreciated. A humane approach, avoids miserabilism, though at the same not without some sugary touches.

Benediction (2021)
Terrence Davies is a very particular, graceful, profound filmmaker, which is easy for me to acknowledge, but often adds to the chagrin of not connecting with some of his works (The Deep Blue Sea, Sunset Song) in particular). This one (a biopic of poet Siegfried Sassoon) fared better. First 10 minutes felt a bit edgy, due to not-quite-organic montages of old war footage and very short, hopping biographical moments. Then a sanatorium arc was simply breathtaking (especially scenes of dialogue between Jack Lowden with Julian Sands). Then the biographic lens expanded further, almost inevitably lessening the strength of the early set pieces. Bit lopsided overall between focusing on Sassoon’s conscientious opposition to the war and his dandy-driven, romantic-turmoiled life. Great, passionate acting from Lowden (though he also looked close to a Michael Fassbender doppelganger). Not clean of mannerism and melodrama, but well worth seeing.

Asteroid City (2023)
Fatigue towards Wesandersonian bulk-moviemaking and golden ratios is real for me, for some time now, so I try to take it as a light as I can with each new movie. I can just about say that it’s better than French Dispatch, but fa(aaaa)r away from Grand Budapest Hotel greatness. Schwartzman and Johansson play really well – the former even more so, given that his character is handcrafted to be quite insufferable – otherwise, the usual multicast, multi-quirked polyphony. Middle act got into a really good gear, the rest, ech. But yeah, I’m tempted to resist critical effort for someone so intent to keep playing the same tricks in the book forever.

Old (2021)
Shyamalan doing his usual thing. People stuck on a beach, age very quickly and beyond control or escape. Wasn’t worth processing much. Poor reasoning and communication between characters fueled much of the drama flow. Much of the time-flow gimmick is done to wow with special effects, makeup and quirky ideas, yet a lot of it wasn't even that good. Most actors don’t act well or weren’t directed to do so or just didn’t care. Twist is within shyamalanian range, not great, not terrible.

EO (2022)
Intentional homage or variation on Bresson’s Au hazard Balthazar – widely credited as one of the greatest movies in history (haven’t seen it) – except that, from what I understand, the experiences of this donkey protagonist range, thankfully, beyond just different shades of human cruelty. Once the fella gets wandering, the movie turns into several vignettes, really, but they’re quite well sustained by variety (including the visual kind: several sequences are downright trippy) and a good amount of empathising. Some divagations go awry, so that for a bit the camera lens forgets about the donkey and suddenly there’s Isabelle Huppert on screen, for some reason, going through some family drama. Really curious, but good movie, might even reach for the heartstrings.

The Terrorizers (1986)
By Taiwanese director Edward Yang (of Yi yi later fame). Was intrigued by its promo image and liked it, though I can’t describe it in too clear detail. Works on multiple storylines that in the end intertwine, against a backdrop of street unrest, noir-ish nightlife or different individual tumults. Mix of minimalistic, chic, existential; goes a bit bonkers in the last 15 minutes.

Beau is Afraid (2023)
……………. well. I wrote to a friend during the watch that it felt like a three-hour anxiety attack or like the "Mr Incredible goes Uncanny” equivalent of psychological miserable tropes. Had a first half hour that was electrifying and worth going along with its lunatic pace and absurdity, but even so there was little hope that would hold on for another two and half hours, and it did not. In fact, I zoned out completely during its last half hour. Thing is, this is by all account Ari Aster’s most daring, audacious, f’d up step yet … buuut that still doesn’t mean much, given that it was also gruesome, excessive and bit pointless, even if were to be taken for art’s sake.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
Never cared to watch the sequel, but was saved and was in a popcorn evening mood. Expected it to give Emily Blunt her shining moment, but it actually hypes up the kids' heroics. Better monster effects than in the first movie, iirc? Prologue was sort of better than the entire rest of the movie, now that I recall. Otherwise, storyline of just one main survival objective, with a lot of risk-taking set pieces tallied up. Wasn’t invested, wasn’t interested.

Benedetta (2021)
It’s Verhoeven, so of course it did not hold back on covering catholic nun Benedetta Carlini’s blend of bio and myth into something that, let’s just say, could be labelled “steamy”, “supernatural” and “controversial” on streaming platforms. Virginie Efira, though <3.

Ali and Ava (2021)
I’m a fan of Clio Barnard (2013’s The Selfish Giant is on my "gentle movie" favourites list, and I still remember how its ending broke me) and this new one is fine, though also feels a bit low-stakes and sticking to the same lower-class social commentary, by crafting an unlikely romance between people from different cultures. Even its predictable racial tensions seemed to fizzle out halfway through, as If common sense was to win the day (or maybe that’s the message desired). Anyway, casual, understated, charming, even has a couple of cool electro bangers, but did not feel forward-pushing in her filmography.

Shiny Happy People: Dugger Family Secrets (2023)
Guess I’ll count this mini-series as well. Was already on holiday and friends wanted to binge it. What can I say, “great” family and cult stuff. Seizes more with its many unfolding layers than its documentarian virtues themselves. One detail I wanted to have more depth was expanding on how former IBLP members managed to break out (it does so for one interviewee, but it also feels that it was simply because her story had more harrowing weight).

Falcon Lake (2022)
Greatly acclaimed debut from Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon and, while I don't recall having been awed in the superlative, it was very poised and beautiful. Banks it all on its young cast and they pull off a great, believable mix of assured, moody, independent demeanours (though several times I was also wondering why the adult figures are portrayed so liberal as to act so disconnected and uninvolved in their childrens’ existence). Might require box of tissues during the last stretch – speaking of which, the ending was tad wonky, not for the resolution chosen per se (even if it enforces a big neon-flashy “actions have consequences, and dumb/impulsive actions sometimes have even bigger consequences” banner), but in how trimming out several sequences and revealing less would have worked even better.

Close (2022)
Having followed after Falcon Lake, it proved a double dosage of frail, tender, heart-rending kids-growing-up stuff, perhaps even more so than the former (or at least the tone and heft of it was dialed to eleven). Might for sure require box of tissues as early as halfway into the movie; it certainly creates (very well) at least two super intense moments, in that regard (my lady friend bawled through the remaining stuff, to the point of freaking me out, but she assured me it was just emotional stuff, and that the movie was beautiful). The child actors were pretty amazing.

Top Gun: Maverick (2023)
The holiday group asked for a breather after the emotional dramas above, heh, so popcorn movie pick it was. “Does the job” was my overall impression. Action wowzing, otherwise not a lick of storytelling that didn’t felt lazy or a mere prop to fan service / nostalgia lane driving. Laughed a bit even at the fact that the “enemy” was not specified in full, probably out of political restraint.

Scanners (1981)
An early 80s Cronenberg flick, which I enjoyed the heck out of, to be honest. Does a great thing diving right in, no exposition, no ease into, nothing. The following analogy might not be apt, but it felt very shonen-like (aka a certain genre of manga): peoples with special abilities exist, secret collective monitors them, a lucifer-like character intends to burn everything to the ground, a gifted protagonist must master his skills in very short time to defeat da baddie. Entertaining, nice supernatural gimmick, cut to the chase mostly. Definite thumbs up, might even prove a classic of Cronenberg’s for me.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
Venice-winning, Oscar-nominated documentary on photographer Nan Goldin’s life and anti-Oxy/Pharma/Sacklers activism. Felt the biographical rewinds were much stronger (and longer, and more worthwhile) than the activism detailing. Goldin’s own voiceover recounts were quite gripping. Very interesting artistic figure, the documentary is commendable with the given material.

Near Dark (1987)
The only rewatch in the list (hence during my movie month as well), though first watch was way back in 2015, so might as well count it as a fresh new look. It seems I rated 5/10 back then, to which I’d say it improved now, there are certain aspects that I felt were smart and tight, at least for a B-movie cult range. I think I also watched it back then as part of a side-project to check all the movies that were scored by Tangerine Dream (and in this aspect, half of the music material doesn’t fit the movie). This is Kathryn Bigelow’s solo debut, a filmmaker towards which I still heavily oscillate between the extremes of being gripped (The Hurt Locker) and giving very little farts (Zero Dark, Detroit). There’s little I could say that the Half in the Bag guys didn’t review better. Bill Paxton goes crazy, probably my favourite part.

Blood Simple (1984)
Coen Brothers’ debut (though I think only Joel had directing credit). Really slick, sharp lines of dialogue and suspense. Builds some of their trademark styles: Southern neo-noir vibe, slow-boil violence, farce of errors and misreckonings between the characters (which I didn’t even pick up in full, until I read some reviews afterwards). I’m a sucker for good/great debuts in music, and this is one of the best, most confident and razor-sharp examples.

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (2022)
Richard Linklater goes animated, with a fantasy story (that works bits of self-reflecting biographical cues) about a boy tasked to test the moon landing before the real mission. A lot of the movie backs up into a coming-of-age sequence that was quite charming and humorous (at least it made me watch intently, since 10 minutes in, I was sure I was going to just faze out through it all).

Love Sick (Legături bolnăvicioase) in original (2006)
Quite an oldie already in the Romanian New Wave canon (notably aged from the get go with its old gadget, non-HD, unfocused filming). Tudor Giurgiu, from what I recall, goes for both arthouse and mainstream touches, with a penchant for controverse-brewing ideas, and here there’s a daring love triangle between not just lesbians, but also incestuous siblings, wowie. The mix of best friend/lover chemistry between an assured/unstable force of temper (Maria Popistașu) and an innocent-dear-like sensitive type (Ioana Barbu) is both believable and predictable – to which the brother figure inserted himself as a salty, obsessed, total douchebag, the actor (Tudor Chirilă) overplaying it, so that all his scenes got pushed into cringe. Some famous Romanian acting faces added to the decorum, but you could change their scripts and they’d play the same way, really. No strong feelings about this one, it was watchable, it had a standout in Popistașu, it took a non-judgmental approach in depicting these romances. At one point one of the girls wondered out loud if their romance was normal or sick, which felt self-referential, in terms of actual depth.

The Future Tense (2022)
Docu-styled series of accounts and anecdotes from the two filmmakers, mostly focused on personal and historical tensions of Irish identity within the British community. Total mismatch for me, could not connect with the chosen presentation – i.e., two thirds of the movie had just the two of them on camera, reading from the script pages, with the Rode microphone even showing in frame (they blamed this choice on the pandemic), the rest field footages or odd-reenactments with different locals or non-prof actors. Also, some of their musings veered into total silliness, like the guy at one point saying how he developed a tooth gap throughout the years, only to ponder if it was a sign of the disconnect he felt living in the UK as an Irishman. I rolled my eyes hard and picked up the Switch right after.

Frankie (2019)
Isabelle Huppert o’clock, here as a temperamental but secretly frail old celebrity, who invites an ensemble-cast of various family members and friends in rural Portuguese paradise, wanting (or rather scheming) to connect (with) them (something that most often fails, as each character turns into an individual wanderer). Dunno why I expected this to be a more zany, mad-lady type of movie, but I guess I pre-judged Ira Sachs, who turns out to go for more poised and sentimental drama-making. Each story thread is sort of loose and fragmentary, striving for resolution, but in the end coming to terms with little, besides the idea of living the moment.

Passing (2021)
Story about two women, former childhood friends, that meet again, only to discover that one of them leads a tightrope life white-passing in 1920s New York. Drama is quite tense and arresting, a lot of it placed on Tessa Thompson’s shoulders in dealing restlessly and self-destructively with the revelation (though there’s also some pretty strained marriage interplay between her and André Holland’s character). Unsure how much of the black and white lens was a necessary artifice – I personally can’t picture either Thompson, or Ruth Negga passing as white in real life.

Miracle (Miracol, in original) (2021)
Had this Romanian movie saved on my Max watchlist, figured I’d give it a go already. Divided in two halves, about a young convent novice who goes in secret to town to solve some personal issues, only for bad stuff to happen to her; then switches to an investigator looking into what happened, only to exhibit the wildest amount of irate, unprofessional, evidence-tampering actions, until it slowly becomes clear what motives drove him to do so. A fresco of misogynism, anti-clerical tirades, low-class corruption, though I also sensed it was keen to build up a lot of shock value. Final moments provide a twist that undoes everything, unless you treat it as pertinent to a message about cruelty and self-interest (towards women).

Creed III (2023)
Was both in a popcorn mood and wanting to wrap this trilogy up. Pointless expansion – at least Creed II had a nostalgic / fan service link to the Rocky series, this one constructs an unresolved past-coming-to-haunt-you conflict. Stallone/Rocky is poof and lore-wise doesn’t even get a single mention as to why. All the Creed movies were helmed by different directors and this time it’s Michael B. Jordan himself, who seems least inspired. Even the action got worse, imo, or at least leaned into the worse tendencies (like slow-motion).

Taste of Cherry (1996)
[blank, this and The Terrorizers were two movies during which I fell asleep – not due to their quality in any way, just got real late and real tired watching them – and, contrary to the former, I never got back yet to rewatch this properly]

Armageddon Time (2022)
James Gray is another distinct filmmaker, whose movies I tend to at least like, if not love, and would always recommend. (Ad Astra, the Brad Pitt version of Interstellar and 21st-Century-Space-Odyssey attempts, might be his most well-known, if also his most off-orbit [no pun intended] stylistically). With this one he goes back to period-set (think The Immigrant), slow-paced, dark-hued, moody, introspective dramas – coming-of-age story about a sensible kid who aspires to be an artist (against all pragmatic family wishes, as well as strict school tenets) and bonds with a loose-cannon, poor, destined-to-go-dirtbag Afro-American classmate. Child protagonists and Anne Hathaway were pretty great, while with Jeremy Strong I suspect his usual method acting bullshit was on; Anthony Hopkins also in and about. Very novelistic in tone as well, felt often in the vein of reading something by Roth.

[Epignosis]

Saw Us.

Us sucked.