Drama, Movies, Uncategorized

One Battle After Another

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I watched the film after it had cleaned up at the Oscars.   Would I agree with how the members of the Academy had voted? I was so impressed by Hamlet that I was unsure whether I could recast my vote for another film. Already halfway through, I sensed that this is the very best film of the year. [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Hamnet

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Shakespeare and Hamlet are two names that you know. Maggie O’Farrell and Hamnet are two names you should know. Maggie O’Farrell is daring Shakespeare. She simply imagined the marital life of William Shakespeare and drew a connection between Shakespeare’s son, called Hamnet, and Shakespeare’s famous play Hamlet. For the first hour of this film, I grew [Read More]
Documentary, Drama, Movies, Phantasy

Sinners

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Sinners is one of the most creative films I’ve seen in a long time. It blends several genres at once: a 1920s period piece, Quentin Tarantino–style gangster violence, and—most surprisingly—a vampire film intertwined with a kind of documentary about how blues music traveled from the Deep South to Chicago.   One actor plays two characters simultaneously, and you find yourself [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Train Dreams

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Train Dreams appeared on a mini top-10 list for 2025. I was enticed to see the film by its promise to show life in nature in the early 20th century. Train Dreams initially keeps its promise and captures beautiful scenes of the Pacific Northwest that provided me energy and joy.  But over time, the philosophical [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Shameless

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A few weeks ago, I discovered the TV show Shameless. I am watching the US version, which is allegedly better than the original show from the UK. So far, I like the show very much. It follows a poor family living in South Chicago. The father is a narcissistic drunk. The mother is bipolar. Six [Read More]
Comedy, Drama, Movies

Home Alone after 35 years

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After 35 years, Home Alone holds up. It turns out I had never seen the original movie, only the sequel. The film is cute. Macaulay Culkin delivers a spectacular performance for a nine-year-old. If you want to enchant your kids, this is a wonderful holiday movie. I watched an interview with Macaulay Culkin recently on [Read More]
Comedy, Movies

Ticket to Paradise

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The best thing about this rather uninspired romantic comedy is the destination: I wanted to buy a ticket to Bali as I was watching “Ticket to Paradise.” The second best thing is the chemistry between Julia Roberts and George Clooney. You can sense that the two genuinely like each other. As they tell [Read More]