Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn

I love Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel and I think they are both wonderful movies about terrific heroines. However, I cannot fully connect with them because, while they kick ass, they are so very noble and kind. Diana grew up on a paradise island, surrounded only by loving and supportive women, and Carol doesn’t fully remember her past, which explains why they aren't pissed off. Because if they knew what we know and experience what we do, they'd be very, very angry.

Joker

(spoilers!)

I wasn't going to write a review for this because 1. the last thing I want is insecure "men" who identify with the lead character writing nonsense in my comment section 2. this movie doesn't actually deserve my - or anyone's - words, but this is entirely too long for my letterboxd so here we go. Call me a c*nt, you ain't getting published, honey.

It: Chapter Two

(spoilers!)

It Chapter One premiered two years ago and was a massive success - it got positive reviews from critics, the audience fell in love with the film and it managed to become the highest grossing horror movie of all time. As entertaining as that movie was it had a lot of problems and now in Chapter Two the same problems return. But so does the fun, the emotions and of course, Pennywise.

Midsommar

(spoilers!)

Last year Hereditary profoundly scared some and infuriated the others, but one thing cannot be denied - it definitely got people talking. Now its director, Ari Aster, is back with another nightmare and unlike Jordan Peele and his frankly embarrassing script for Us, he avoids sophomore slump. While Hereditary may be a more entertaining and accessible movie, Midsommar feels like a movie made by someone who is more sure of their skill. There were some parts of Hereditary that I felt didn't fit the movie in a natural way and took me out of it, but Midsommar doesn't have that problem. It's a more mature movie.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

5 years ago we were introduced to the deadliest Avenger of them all. John Wick, a man who has lost his wife and received a farewell gift from her - a puppy. But when that puppy is killed, in what is the most awful scene I've seen in my entire life, and John's car is stolen (let's face it - that car doesn't really matter, though) by some very bad people, John Wick will embark on the most entertaining, justified and hottest killing spree in cinematic history.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile

Ted Bundy is one of the most famous American serial killers. In addition to the fact he killed so many women and in such a horrible way, he was one of those criminals who became pop-culture icons. The media was crazy about him, the women were falling in love with him and even after he was convicted, the media circus didn't stop. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (the title comes from the words the judge used to describe Bundy's crimes) takes a very interesting approach to Bundy's story in that it is told with a lot of restraint, not focusing on the nature of the crimes, but instead depicting how Bundy manipulated everyone around him.

Us

(spoilers!)

When I first saw Get Out I liked it a lot but it oddly didn't make a huge impression on me. Howeve,r recently I rewatched the film again and then again and upon subsequent viewings my mind was blown by how clever and intricate the script is. Every moment, every shot, every line has a purpose and pretty much everything that happens in the movie obeys the logic of the universe the film is set in. It's one of the most brilliant scripts I've ever seen unfold on the sceen. The more you think about Get Out, the more you like it. Unfortunately, it's the opposite with Us.

The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos' movies are not everyone's cup of tea. They are bizarre, shocking and more often than not, very unpleasant. While they always provide a great material for actors to deliver astounding performances I was thrilled to find out The Favourite is the most accessible of his movies. And that turned out to be a correct assessment - though also strange, this film is more a dark comedy than a crazy ride like The Lobster or The Killing of the Sacred Deer.

Widows

The more Steve McQueen's movies I watch the more I realize the only film of his I truly liked was Shame. McQueen's has this jarring style which was so evident to me in 12 Years a Slave - in spite of having protagonists in his films he focuses on supporting characters too often and in the result his films completely lose focus. In the end we know a little about all of the characters but we lose sight of out protagonists for long periods of time which is detrimental to the film.

Screaming Sunday - Mandy

Movie rating - 84/100
Plot: A psychodelic tale of a quiet logger named Red (Nicolas Cage) who lives a life of serenity with his wife Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), in their dream cabin in the woods. But when the leader of a deranged cult (Linus Roache, who played Batman's dad in Batman Begins and I cannot stop being shocked by it after seeing Mandy) becomes enamored with Red's wife, he and his people terrorize the couple, leaving Red spiraling into madness.The psychodelic goes full grindhouse as Red, armed with a battle axe and any drugs he can find, goes on a violent rampage, enacting his revenge on the cult in the most gruesome ways.
The heroes: Nicolas Cage forging a battle axe as he is wearing sunglasses and a T-shirt.

A Quiet Place

(spoilers!)
It seems like it's a new tradition in movie world to lavish an undeserved praise all over at least one horror movie a year. As great as The VVitch was it's not exactly the scariest movie since The Exorcist which some of the reviewers were claiming. Then we had It Comes the Night, which is usually winning polls for "what is the worst instance of false marketing in the last few years?" these days. And this year it's A Quiet Place.

Annihilation

You dig in places till your fingers bleed 

Spread the infection, where you spill your seed 

I can't remember what she came here for 

I can't remember much of anything anymore 

 She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away 

She's gone, she's gone, she's gone away 

Away...*

(spoilers!)
Alex's Garland's wonderful new science fiction film Annihilation made headlines this year for quite strange reasons. The studio, Paramount - as in the studio that gave Daren Aronofsky 30 million dollars to make a movie based on a script he wrote after he, presumably, dropped acid and his eyes locked on the copy of the Bible on his bookstand - didn't have much faith in the movie. In the result, they sold the distribution rights for most of the markets to Netflix, forcing people like me to watch it at home instead of on the big cinema screen. The move proved to be misguided - the film opened to great reviews and made 3/4 of its budget in US theatrical distribution only.

Miss Sloane & Molly's Game

"Depression and anger gave way to blinding rage at my powerlessness over the unfair whims of men"

This month I saw two movies where the lead role was played by Jessica Chastain - terrific Miss Sloane and entertaining Molly's Game. Chastain was Golden Globe nominated for both, missed the Oscar nomination last year and who knows if she makes it next week. I decided to do a double post feature on them, because while it's Molly's Game that is getting attention right now it's a shame Miss Sloane, a much better movie, didn't get the spotlight last year.

Dunkirk

(spoilers!)

Every Christopher Nolan's movie is an event. In the world were practically every big, spectacular movie out there is a part of a franchise, Nolan is one of the few who still manages to do something unique. And while Dunkirk is yet another huge movie event that surprises, it surprises in more than one way. Nolan often works with complex stories and world building- the magnificent magic tricks he pulls on the audience throughout The Prestige with the film's multiple twists and misdirections, the complex way to unlock the film's mystery rooted in the infliction of protagonist of Memento, the layered world of dreams in Inception - here the story is simple. Soldiers are in need of rescue. Other soldiers and ordinary people are trying to help them. Meanwhile the enemy is trying to kill them all.

Dolores Claiborne

The story goes that when Stephen King came to visit the set of Misery he was so impressed with Kathy Bates that he wrote the character of Dolores just for her. The book was quickly adapted into a wonderful film, with Bates in a lead role, the film that is sadly very underrated and didn't get the acclaim it deserves. Unlike most of King's work, Dolores Claiborne is not a horror film dealing with supernatural. However, the themes featured in the film - of domestic violence, abuse, growing old and dying are universally horrific.

Ghost in the Shell

 (spoilers !!!)

The studio executives these days are becoming progressively dumber. I think we can all agree that the lead role in this movie went to Scarlett Johansson because the studio thought it needed star power to make the movie successful. Unless international box office saves it, Ghost in the Shell is a bomb. Scarlett, who is largely the most profitable actress on the planet due to her involvement in Marvel cinematic universe (where she really doesn't do much) is not the person who people go to see in the movies. I really, really love it that's it's Melissa McCarthy who is probably the biggest draw out of female actresses right now.

The Handmaiden

The Handmaiden is based on the novel "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters The novel is set in London during the 19th century, but the film is set in Korea in the 1930s, under Japanese colonial rule. The pickpocket Sook-Hee (Tae-ri Kim) is hired by the Japanese heiress Lady Hideko to be her personal servant. Hideko is supported by her Uncle Kouzuki and the gold-digger "Count Fujiwara", who is indeed son of peasants, wants to marry her to steal her inheritance. Sook-Hee is a small-time thief of the ring of the conman "Count Fujiwara" and is sent to help him in the confidence game. But soon Hideko and Sook-Hee get close to each other and become lovers.

 I saw this movie while knowing very little about it, all I knew is that there is a conspiracy against the heiress and the girl who is pretending to be her maid falls in love with her. The twist before part 2 (the film is divided into 3 parts) really took me off guard which is very rare, but I knew the movie was fantastic long before then.

Nocturnal Animals

 (spoilers!)
2016 is officially the worst year ever. Not only a whole bunch of awful and tragic stuff happened but with the exception of The Witch every single movie I was waiting for and had its very own header on this website sucked. The Revenant. Suicide Squad. And now this.

The Neon Demon

Nicolas Winding Refn is a weird guy. We all heard of his bizarre feud with Lars Von Trier. Apparently throughout production the of The Neon Demon, when filming was to resume, he wouldn't yell "Action!" to set things in motion. Instead he yelled "Violence, motherfuckers". Then there is the fact he is one of the directors who uses the color best in modern movies, yet apparently he is color blind and can only perceive contrast. Then it turns out he is one of those dudes who would use those takes that went a bit too real than they were supposed to - Abbey Lee accidentally punched Elle Fanning for real. Because of Fanning's genuine reaction, Refn ended up using that take for the final cut.

The Conjuring 2

Three years ago James Wan gave us one of the best horror movies in recent years in The Conjuring which introduced us to new horror heroes Lorraine and Ed Warren, gave us the spin off in Annabelle and got everyone afraid of the clapping sound. And now Wan and the main characters return in The Conjuring 2, a film that, while only slightly, is actually better than the predecessor.