Tag Archives: movie review

Film Reviews: Don’t Breathe 2. CODA. Stillwater. Jungle Cruise. Amelie. Mary and Max. A Silent Voice. O Brother Where Art Thou? Captivated The Trials of Pamela Smart

22 Wednesday Sep 2021

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Don’t Breathe 2

When the villain becomes the protagonist. Don’t Breathe (2016) was an excellent entry to the home invasion genre with an amazing twist. Then The Quiet Place (2018) came out which followed some of the same patterns and everyone seemed to forget about Don’t Breathe. The sequel also has a crazy twist and is almost equally as brilliant. I’m devastated there won’t be another one.

7/10

CODA

I understand the pressure of being the kid who has to translate for their parents who don’t speak the language. Your family’s livelihood depends on you. It angered me when Ruby kept staring at her phone instead of interpreting for her dad. I know this is supposed to be a coming of age, teen movie, but the love plot was unnecessary. I was waiting for them to turn the sound off, and when they finally did, it was very much effective. Also, we all love Joni Mitchell, but Both Sides Now is not an audition song.

8/10

Stillwater

We’ve all seen that Amanda Knox documentary on Netflix and just by watching the trailer for Stillwater we can agree this is a rip off of her story. As shocking as Amanda’s story is, the film is even more unbelievable. They wanted to make it seem like a different story, by changing the location from Italy to France to start with and ended up going too far.

5/10

Jungle cruise

How is this not… a new instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise? If you’re in the UK, go see it at Odeon and don’t forget to pick up your A3 poster. It’s the nicest one they’ve had in a while.

6/10

Amelie

I could watch 10 hours of 6 year old Amelie’s adventures. Also, I’ve never noticed the ASMR in the opening credits before. Maybe Youtube isn’t as useless as I thought? The cinematography is beautiful, but the subject matter is too light for me to find the film to be of essence. Watch Kieslowski’s The Double Life of Veronique instead.

7/10

Mary and Max

Two lonely people from the opposite sides of the world become best friends. I haven’t had a pen pal since I was twelve and now I really want one. The ending is soul crashing.

‘You are my best friend. You are my only friend. Your American pen pal, Max.’

9/10

A Silent Voice

I don’t believe the bully could ever become friends with the bullied, but all the talk about suicide is what makes this animation wonderful.

9/10

O Brother Where Art Thou

This reminded me of The Defiant Ones (1958) with Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis and it was funny at times, but why was Holly Hunter in only 2 scenes?

7/10

Captivated The Trials of Pamela Smart

An HBO documentary about the first televised trial. This girl clearly didn’t understand she could go to prison for hiring someone to murder her husband. I’ve always loved Gus Vant Sant’s To Die For starring Nicole Kidman and never knew it was loosely based on Pamela Smart’s story.

6/10

Film Reviews: Sneakers. The Other Guys. The Mitchells vs The Machines. Paul Blart Mall Cop 2. The Briefing. Jude. All Good Things. The Producers. The War of the Roses

10 Friday Sep 2021

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Sneakers

I’ve only owned orange cars and that orange Volkswagen is hella pretty. According to IMDB, it’s the exact same car used in So I Married an Axe Murderer. The fact that only 3 of Sidney Poitier’s films are available on my services is a crime. Nonetheless, I’ll watch all 3 this week.

7/10

The Other Guys

I recognised Ice T’s voice straight away, and he’s not even credited for his narration. Foo Fighters’ My Hero plays as Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock jump to their deaths in the only interesting scene in the film.

2/10

The Mitchells vs The Machines

This was cute, but… furbys are not evil. They were the must-have toy of the late 90s and the film’s portrayal is disappointing. On the other hand, the film has an LGBT character, so all is forgiven.

‘You’ve inspired me to follow you on Instagram.’

7/10

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2

A few years ago I attended the Security Awards in London and the ceremony was not even remotely as eventful as what is shown in this film. The IMDB page for Kevin James says his trademark is being ‘chubby, but athletic’. I guess this series is the proof of that? There are two reasons why I watched not one, but both Paul Blart films. The first one is that I watched all 9 seasons of King of Queens back in the day, and the second one is that I spent 8 years of my life working in security. I’ve met a lot of police academy drop outs who thought they were saving the world, when in reality they were all very much replaceable.

3/10

The Briefing (original title Odprawa)

A camera follows medical students as they learn their profession by making decisions, dealing with difficult patients, talking with patients’ families and fighting exhaustion. The ending is very abrupt and accompanied by annoying sound design. I feel like this could have been something if it was a bit longer.

‘Each one of you will have their cemetery, that’s for sure.’ (oryginal: Kazdy z Was bedzie mial swoj cmentarz, to jest pewne)

5/10

Jude

Cousins fall in love and feel they’re being punished when a tragedy strikes. Rachel Griffiths is superb as always in a supporting role.

6/10

All Good Things

I didn’t realise this was based on Robert Durst’s wife’s disappeareance. I watched Lifetime’s version of events in ‘The Lost Wife of Robert Durst’ just last week. All Good Things is definitely a step up, but it’s still not a good movie.

5/10

The Producers

I have never heard of this musical, but ‘Keep it Gay’ and ‘I Wanna Be a Producer’ are really good musical songs. Will Ferrell is the perfect weirdo for his role.

6/10

The War of the Roses

The first half of the film is a generic romcom, but the other half is Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner trying to kill each other and that is super fun!

5/10

Film Reviews: Candyman. The Night House. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache. Frances Ha. Once Around. Battle Royale. 3 Faces. Legend. Little House: The Last Farewell

09 Monday Aug 2021

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Candyman

As glad as I am that this movie is a continuation of the 1992 film and not a remake, Candyman could really use another bonfire. I’m glad Tony Todd was in this one too, I was worried they had replaced him. I’m disappointed in myself for not figuring out the twist until the hospital scene.

7/10

The Night House

This may be the most tense cinema experience I’ve had in years, since Insidious probably. It’s scarier if you can’t see it. I liked the main concept, but the ending, although original, is a let down. On the other hand, the idea of a family member going to all that trouble to protect you is reassuring.

7/10

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache

If you’re a filmmaker or a film buff, you need to watch this asap. I will now go watch everything directed by Alice Guy-Blaché I can get my hands on.

8/10

Frances Ha

Frances is a typical millennial who wants to spend her 20s in New York, pursuing a creative career, but having to take various odd jobs to support herself. Frances Ha is a bigger love letter to New York than a Woody Allen film.

7/10

Once Around

Holly Hunter stars as a 20s woman in love with an old man. Her family do not seem to mind the age difference, but they sure hate his personality. I loved the idea of projecting old family videos on a baby bump.

7/10

Battle Royale

A story of Japanese teenagers forced to kill each other on a remote island. If you liked The Hunger Games, you have to watch this!

9/10

3 Faces

An Iranian girl got into an acting school, but her parents disapprove of such profession. Jafar Panahi is asked to help. I’ve been putting this one off since January, and finally found the time to watch it. The channel I DVR’d it from no longer exists too. I have now seen all of Jafar Panahi’s feature films and Crimson Gold is the only one I didn’t like.

6/10

Legend

Beautiful set design to a very average fantasy film. With long hair, Tom Cruise looks exactly like Camilla Belle.

6/10

Little House: The Last Farewell

What a depressing ending to the series. I wish they brought Harriet, Nellie or Mary back for the final episode/movie. Yes, my family did spent the entire summer rewatching nine seasons of The Little House on the Prairie.

9/10

Film Reviews: Cruella. Dream Horse. Fear Street Part 1: 1994. Arizona Dream. Lords of Chaos. Destination Wedding. Made in Italy. Balto. Here and Now

23 Wednesday Jun 2021

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Cruella

From the moment Emma Thompson appeared in that brown wig, I spent the rest of the movie thinking Helena Bonham Carter would have made a better Baroness. I went in a bit sceptical, thinking the film is just another excuse for Emma Stone to practice her British accent, but she is really good as Cruella. 101 Dalmatians was never a film I liked as a kid and at least Cruella is much better than both of the Glenn Close films.

6/10

Dream Horse

How did they get Toni Colette to star in this little Welsh film? This movie is a one time watch you’ll forget the minute it’s over and a film you would never check out if it didn’t star Toni Colette. They crammed so many British things into the first five minutes of this film, I thought for sure this wasn’t written by a British person, but to my surprise, I was wrong. Oh yeah, and I was the only person at my screening.

6/10

Fear Street Part 1 1994

Goosebumps books and TV show were a big part of my childhood, so I will always watch anything based on R.L. Stine’s work. I have never read the Fear Street books, but this film made me want to buy some of them and pretend It’s 2002 all over again.

6/10

Arizona Dream

Do you guys remember how big Johnny Depp’s career was in the 90s? Between What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Edward Scissorhands and many other hit films, he was the A-lister people wanted to see in every film they watched. Arizona Dream, one of the few 90s films starring Depp I haven’t seen before is expiring from Mubi tonight. It has many memorable scenes, but since I’m a sucker for nostalgia, my favourite part is Depp’s character reminiscing about his childhood. I wasn’t paying attention to the opening credits and was nicely surpised when Lili Taylor and Faye Dunaway walked into the shop. Also, this made me want to act out the plane scene from North by Northwest just like the characters in this film. I need to get this on DVD.

8/10

Lords of Chaos

A good example of ‘necessary’ exploitation. I loved the film’s portrayal of self harm and that shocking suicide scene.

7/10

Destination Wedding

Keanu and Winona’s characters are skeptical and sarcastic and spend the entire weekend complaining and bickering. Apart from that, it’s a very average romcom.

5/10

Made in Italy

Liam Neeson and his son Micheal Richardson star as a father-son duo in a film about grief. There are parts that are painful to watch because of what happened to Natasha Richardson. It’s a touching little film you should check out.

6/10

Balto

I didn’t know this was inspired by a real story, nor have I ever heard of this story, as I’ve never been to Central Park, but this was a moving film for kids and the fact that it’s partly true gets an extra half star from me.

6/10

Here and Now

Replace Paris with New York and you have a US version of Cléo from 5 to 7.

4/10

Film Reviews: Sound of Metal. The Passion of Joan Arc. Punishment Park. A Quiet Place Part 2. Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. Rocco and His Brothers. My Week with Marilyn. Blue Dessert. The Last Family

10 Thursday Jun 2021

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Sound of Metal

The film features excellent sound design and a beautiful performance from Riz Ahmed. There were three scenes I particularly liked, the one where we learn that he didn’t understand he would never hear the same despite the cochlear implants, when he finally found solace in silence and when that morning light hit her self harm scars. There was a pre-recorded Zoom Q&A after my screening, where Paul Raci talked about his day job of being an interpreter for 40 years and the differences between growing up with two deaf parents in 1950s Chicago, and living in more inclusive Los Angeles in the 90s. First film I watched at the cinema since the third lockdown started back in October! I’m glad I started 2021 with this one.

9/10

The Passion of Joan Arc

When I was a kid, older women would often say, ‘oh yes, after Joan of Arc’, when I introduced myself to them when accompaning my parents to the shops (I was born in a country where 92% of the populaton identify as Catholic, probably even more then. I do too, despite being the only kid in class to refuse to have their confirmation, because 15 was my time to rebel and I also disagreed with the church on a few things). No one’s mentioned Joan of Arc’s name around me in 20 years, but I still remember it to this day. I’ve seen this film before many years ago, it was on TV every Christmas and Easter, but I didn’t remember it well. I love all the close-ups and Maria Falconetti’s acting.

‘Why do you dress like a man? If we give you a dress, will you wear it?’

10/10

Punishment Park

‘Why do you dress like a man? If we give you a dress, will you wear it?’

7/10

A Quiet Place Part 2

I was supposed to see this on March 20th last year, but we went into the first lockdown a few days prior. Glad I finally got to see this. It’s obviously not as good as the original, but it’s still plenty eventful and I can’t wait for the 3rd one.

7/10

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

The soundtrack including a Green Day song took me back to the early 2000s. I didn’t grow up in the UK, so I haven’t even heard of these books as a kid, but how cute are these films?

7/10

Rocco and his Brothers

And this is exactly why I love Italian films. This movie is currently 146th highest ranked film on Letterboxd.

9/10

My Week with Marilyn

So this guy became famous by claiming he made out with Marilyn?

5/10

Blue Dessert

Blue Dessert has been on my watchlist since the 90s. This film is exactly what I was expecting, in a good way. You can find it on Amazon Prime.

7/10

The Last Family

Zdzislaw Beksinski has always been my favourite artist. His dark paintings are unique and truly exceptional. While this was a good film, I recommend you watch The Besksinskis A Sound and Picture Album documentrary instead.

6/10

Film Reviews: The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It. Friends The Reunion. Those Who Wish Me Dead. Wake in Fright. The Cold Day in the Park. Plan 9 from Outer Space. Krisha. Fantastic Planet. 300 Miles To Heaven.

25 Tuesday May 2021

Posted by in Angelina Jolie, movies, Vera Farmiga

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The Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It

The second one was a love story and this is a continuation of their beautiful relationship. I also loved that straight-from-The-Exorcist shot of the priest standing in front of the house. This series will always be superior because it’s based on real people. I used to google the Warrens’ cases as a young teen and I’m so glad their cases inspired this series. Please tell me there are another 3 films I can look forward to?

8/10

Friends The Reunion

Friends was a huge part of my childhood and early teen years. I still have a giant poster hanging on the wall of my childhood bedroom I doubt I’ll ever take down. I’ve rewatched the show 10 times, and stopped myself when I wanted to start it for the 11th time back in 2010. For years the box set was my most prized possession. I know some fans wanted this to be a proper 17-years-later continuation, but I’m glad it wasn’t. I want the characters to stay happy and in their mid 30s, when life is still relatively simple.

10/10

Those Who Wish Me Dead

This felt like the last 10 years never happened and Angelina never ‘retired’ from acting. I wish she chose a better film to make her comeback with (I’m ignoring Come Away, because she had a small role there and I didn’t like the film anyway), but it still made me happy. I definitely would have liked Those Who less if it stared some random actress whose career I didn’t follow closely since late 90s. Also for smoke jumpers, they didn’t do much jumping, did they?

6.5/10

Wake in Fright

This was brutal. Can we not hunt kangaroos please? I know I say this every time I watch an Aussie film, but this made me miss Australia. Thanks Mubi, you truly never disappoint!

‘It’s the best place in Australia!’

7/10

The Cold Day in the Park

I’ve had an awful couple of days, and yet this is what I chose to watch? It’s expiring from Mubi soon.

‘She was very masculine, our English teacher. But quite…pretty. And many of the girls had crushes on her.’

6/10

Plan 9 from Outer Space

This film had a budget of only 60 000 dollars and the funny thing is, if it wasn’t a sci-fi film, we would have never noticed it. I watched Tim Burton’s biopic on ‘the worst director ever’ Ed Wood starring Johnny Depp a few years ago, but I never actually got to see Wood’s work, until now. I lasted 20 minutes, but then again I don’t have the patience for sci-fi unless it’s Jurassic Park, so I’m not the best person to rate this.

2/10

Krisha

If everything else fails, write a script slightly based on your family and cast them in it. I love that Krisha is shown as an introvert, who feels uncomfortable surrounded by a large group of people. She tells her pushing-30 son or nephew (played by the director) he needs to go to film school while he’s still young, otherwise he will become trapped in something else (the actress who plays Krisha didn’t start acting until she was 35) and that he should do it because he had a great passion for it as a kid. I can relate to all of the above. I also loved the thrilling score heard in the background through most of the film. I watched 4 films on Mubi today, and this one is my favourite.

8/10

Fantastic Planet

Let’s… torture some humans. This was on my watchlist for the longest time and I finally got to see it thanks to Mubi.

7/10

300 Miles to Heaven

I love that this is inspired by a real story. I also loved the scene with the parents telling their kids not to come back, because they knew they would have it better in Denmark than in 1980s Poland.

8/10

Film Reviews: Gentleman Jack. The Fountain. Muriel’s Wedding. Mulan. Isle of Dogs. The Lie. Love, Antosha. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The Fruit Fix

06 Thursday May 2021

Posted by in Jodie Foster, movies, Rachel Griffiths, Rachel Weisz, tv series

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Gentleman Jack

I’ve been putting this series off since it came out, saving it for a special occasion, but I couldn’t possibly put it off any longer. The parts of Anne breaking the fourth wall to mischeviously smile at the camera are my favourite.

‘You do know what people say about her, don’t you? That she can’t be trusted in the company of other women.’

‘Not me, I was there to study anatomy’.

9/10

The Fountain

I read a review once saying this film is Aronofsky’s love letter to Rachel Weisz and I can certainly see that. After several attempts over the years, and with complete lack of patience for sci-fi or fantasy, I finally decided to give it another go, since it’s on Mubi now and all. The Fountain is metaphysical, artistic, slightly pretentious and visually beautiful.

6/10

Muriel’s Wedding

My obsession with Australia and my love for ABBA started with this film. And Rachel Griffiths and Toni Collette of course. Whenever my parents listened to ABBA when I was a kid, I would roll my eyes and say they were lame. And then I watched Muriel’s Wedding at 12. Since then I cannot listen to ABBA and not tear up thinking about this film. Favourite quirky film right here.

‘When I lived in Porpoise Spit, I used to sit in my room for hours and listen to ABBA songs. But since I’ve met you and moved to Sydney, I haven’t listened to one Abba song. That’s because my life is as good as an Abba song. It’s as good as Dancing Queen’.

‘You listen to 70s music. This is the 90s!’

‘I’m not alone. I’m with Muriel.’

10/10

Mulan

This was added to HBO Go today and I finally got the chance to watch it. Despite all the controversy, I enjoyed it a lot. Gong Li stars in a supporting role as the Witch. I also really like the fact that Disney cast a 32 year old Liu Yifei to play teenaged Mulan.

7/10

Isle of Dogs

It took me 7 sittings to finish it. I am glad I refused to see this at the cinema, because I would have slept through this fairytale and wouldn’t have understood anything. This surely could have been told just as effectively without sending dogs off to an island and teaching them how to talk. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is much better.

6/10

The Lie

‘This is a paid advertisement for birth control’. Convince me otherwise.

I miss The Killing, it was one of my favourite shows. I would have seen this sooner had I known it was co-written and directed by Veena Sud who created the US version of The Killing, and yes it also stars Mireille Enos. I liked the scene on the bridge at the beginning when the father finds her and tries to figure out what has just happened.

‘How long has she been cutting herself?’
‘She started a few months after you left. I had her talk to somebody, but she didn’t stop, so I don’t know what to do.’
‘She was such a happy little girl.’
‘Yeah, she was.’

5/10

Love Antosha

According to Letterboxd, I’ve seen 15 films starring Anton Yelchin, but as it turns out I didn’t know much about him. I didn’t know anything about his parents or that he had cystic fibrosis. Anton was extremely talented and passionate about his craft and it’s a real shame we lost him so soon.

8/10

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Why are they wearing the stupid red beanies? Bill Murray looks like Papa Smurf for crying out loud! This might just be my least favourite Wes Anderson. At least they played/sung David Bowie’s Life on Mars a couple of times. Also Willem Dafoe steals the show.

6/10

The Fruit Fix

I don’t have time to watch anything for another 2 weeks, but a friend sent me a link to this short on social anxiety, and I decided to watch it between meetings. Over a decade ago, I developed a really bad social anxiety after a traumatic event, and I’m glad it’s gotten better with age. I still feel anxious and uncomfortable with people who don’t know me and often rethink every single word, but It’s manageable now.

6/10

Film Reviews: I Care a Lot. Kajillionaire. Amy. Tales From the Darkside. Strange Planet. Across the Universe. Return to Horror High. R.L. Stine Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls. The Expecting

29 Thursday Apr 2021

Posted by in Julianne Moore, movies, Rachel Griffiths

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I Care a Lot

This could easily be mistaken for a sequel to Gone Girl. Rosamund sounds a lot like Geena Davis in this film. Pike has been in so many good movies since I first saw her in Pride and Prejudice. I was also surprised to see Alicia Witt in a non-Hallmark movie. I didn’t know being a legal guardian is an actual job, or that someone could be a legal guardian of someone they don’t know personally. Maybe we should all consider it.

‘You’re my guardian robber!’

8/10

Kajillionaire

I would watch more than fourteen episodes of Jane the Virgin if it was this gay. Seeing characters who cannot afford to shower never have greasy hair is one of my biggest pet peeves.

This is the 5000th film l’ve logged on Letterboxd!

7/10

Amy

This is touching, funny and very Australian. The script is flawed, the last 30 min has two extemely random and unnecessary plots, a drunk chasing the girl and random youth trying to kidnap her. I have now seen almost everything Rachel Griffiths has been in.

7/10

Tales from the Darkside

I’ve been watching reruns of Tales from the Darkside and thought I’d re-watch this in between. Julianne Moore stars and shines in the first 40 minutes of the film. While some stories are clearly better than others, it’s still an entertaining ride.

6/10

Strange Planet

I tried buying this on DVD five or six years ago, I got it on Ebay and the film I received was a different title (it was Next with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore, which I already had on DVD). I never complained, because I only paid a couple of quid, but it took me this long to reach for the film again.

6/10

Across the Universe

Some songs worked better than others, the film’s version of Come Together worked extremely well. The film looses its plot, literally, and turns into an abstract piece no one asked for. The differences between the US and the UK are jarring. Who would want to live in our tiny semi-detached UK houses, when there’s all that space in America? When this came out, my middle school English teacher spent a good month telling us about this film, and yet it took me 14 years to watch it.

6/10

Return to Horror High

This randomly played on TV and it seemed exactly like something I would have loved as a teenager. I loved 80s slashers, so I decided to watch this. Young George Clooney stars in a tiny role and his character is the first person to die. I was expecting something similar to Slaughter High, but got a very average horror instead. It still made me want to check out the first Horror High though.

5/10

R.L. Stine Monsterville: The Cabinet of Souls

There are three Fear Street movies coming to Netflix this summer and I’m looking forward to them. Goosebumps was my life as a kid, both the TV show and books. I have about 30 books somewhere in my parents’ house I will never give away. Letterboxd doesn’t even credit R.L Stine with writing the novel this was based on and I completely forgot this existed until it appeared on Netflix earlier this week. I will forever watch anything R.L. Stine. I remember watching the Haunted Mask and Slappy episodes of Goosebumps, among many others, like it was yesterday.

6/10

The Expecting

This was directed by Mary Harron, who directed American Psycho? I never would have guessed. I also would not have guessed that this is the role AnnaSophia Robb shaved her head for. The scene in the bathroom with blood dripping down AnnaSophia’s legs reminded me of the scene with Hilary Swank noticing blood dripping down AnnaSophia’s legs in The Reaping, 14 years ago. Also, Cassie from Skins is also in this.

First and last Quibi original I’ll ever watch. RIP, Quibi.

4/10