What Films did You Watch Last Week (03/04 - 09/04)

Mine:



The Estate (Dir. Dean Craig) Via Hulu - Toni Collette, Anna Faris, David Duchovny -

Although these type of silly films seem to be NOT my cup of tea, i enjoyed this, mostly because Duchovny was fantastic, but also because its better and more enjoyable than usual films of its kind. Anna Faris annoyed me at times though. - 6/10 [First-Viewing]


Another Round (Dir. Thomas Vinterberg) via Hulu - Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang -

One of my favorite directors’ latest. Another Round sees Mads giving us another great performance, though the entire cast shines here. Solid film with some great production (cinematography, sound, score, editing), and really vintage Vinterberg moments. 8/10 [First- Viewing]

Pasolini (Dir. Abel Ferrara) via Mubi - Willem Dafoe, Ninetto Davoli, Ricardo Scamarcio, Valerio Mastandrea -

6/10 [First-Viewing]

No Date, No Signature (Dir. Vahid Jalilvand) via Tubi - Navid Mohammadzadeh, Amir Aghaee, Hedieh Tehrani, Zakieh Behbahani, Saeed Dakh, Alireza Ostadi, Iman Farzam -

The quest to confirm Navid Mohammadzadeh as the Leonardo Dicaprio of Iran continues. Another amazing performance, although this time accompanied by some great acting from Aghaee and Tehrani as well. Jalilvand’s film examines issues of guilt, accountability and empathy in this story about a doctor who is involved in an accident with a motorcycle, only to run into the family on the motorcycle again in the worst of fashions. Great cinematography from Payman Shadmanfar and editing from Jalilvand himself along with Sepehr Vakili. 9/10

All Quiet on the Western Front (Dir. Edward Berger) - via Netflix - Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Moritz Klaus - 8/10

A gripping depiction of war which features some of the best cinematography of the last year, with some very good editing and sound work as well. Overall production values are at an all time high here, while story telling is ample -


Long Shot (Dir. Jonathan Levine) via HBO Max - Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen, June Diane Raphael, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Ravi Patel, Bob Odenkirk, Randall Park, Andy Serkis, Tristand D. Lalla, Alexander Skarsgaard, Lisa Kudrow - 7/10

Witty, just corny enough but not too corny. This is a comedy I can appreciate. Not like top tier comedy, but still solid comedy. Also it helps that I felt Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron and Bob Odenkirk, well especially Bob Odenkirk, make the script even better with accentuated performances. Although formulaic, its enjoyable and some very funny vintage seth rogen lines/scenes/dialogue.

Tar (Dir. Todd Field) via Peacock, Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Mark Strong, Noemie Melant, Sophie Kauer, Sydney Lemmon - 8/10

Cate Blanchett in her 8th oscar nominated performance, enigmatic and breathtaking as expected, but overall the film has a solid pace and interesting story arc. Solid film about one of the best composers of all time.

I Smile Back (Dir. Adam Salky) via Hulu - Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Skylar Gaertner, Shane Coleman, Mia Barron, Thomas Sadoski - 7/10

Sarah Silverman shines in this story of a housewife who battles with depression, drug abuse and alcoholism. Other than Josh Charles, whom wasn’t bad but his character seemed to be written a little to one-dimensional, I felt the film was heartfelt and felt pretty real (I have first-hand experience with addiction in the past so I could relate to subject matter a little more than zi would want to). Overall this exceeded my expectations.

Amsterdam (Dir. David O. Russell) via HBO Max - Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro.

Visually stunning, has some great moments, but overall, just lacked something that great films have and decent or good film lack. There’s a lot of great dialogue, acting, set design and production values are great, but overall it lacks that overall depth and story arc that gives it the WOW factor. 6/10

Goodbye Shirazi Girl (Dir. Afshin Hashemi) via Tubi - Shabnam Moghadami, Afshin Hashemi, Aysan Hodad, Mona Farjad, Hossein Mohebi Ahri, Shahram Masoudi, Majid Rahmati, Roya Teymourian, Rasoul Sadr-Ameli

A charming dramedy from Afshin Hashemi, who plays the main role as well. Both him and Shabnam Moghadami shine in this story of a single mother who gets an unexpected visitor in the middle of the night who claims he has the renting rights to her apartment. -6/10

Lolo’ (Dir. Francisco Athie’) via Mubi - Roberto Sosa, Esperanza Mozo, Lucha Villa, Damian Alcazar -

The film suffers in technical aspects, which i actually thought helps it in ways, nonetheless thrives in storytelling and acting. A tale of crime, poverty and everything in between. It shows Lolo battling two scenarios, his new love interest, but more importantly the pickle he finds him in after he kills a well known local thug who attemps to rob his mother’s golden watch. - 7/10

Land of Dreams (Dir. Shoja Azari & Shirin Neshat) via Tubi - Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Isabella Rossellini, Christopher McDonald, Anna Gunn, Joaquim de Almeida, Robin Bartlett, Gaius Charles, Nicole Ansari-Cox

I tend to like political satires, and although I’m familiar with Shirin Neshat, as a personality, this is the first film I’ve Seen. Sheila Vand is amazing in this and Christopher McDonald, Anna Qunn, Matt Dillon and the wonderful Joaquin de Almeida are perfectly cast. - 7/10

Sleepers (Dir. Barry Levinson) via Cinemax) - Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Billy Crudup, Ron Eldard, Minnie Driver, Bruno Kirby, Brad Renfro, Jonathan Tucker [Repeat Viewing]

One of my favorite films of all-time, Levinson crafts this tale of revenge to near perfection - 9/10

Best Film: 1. Sleepers 2. No Date, No Signature
Best Actor: 1. Maads Mikelsen (Another Round) 2. Willem Dafoe (Pasolini)
Best Actress: 1. Cate Blanchett (Tar) 2. Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back), Sheila Vand (Land of Dreams) 4. Margot Robbie (Amsterdam)
Best Supporting Actor: 1. Navid Mohammadzadeh (No Date, No Signature), 2. Robert DeNiro (Sleepers), 3. Kevin Bacon (Sleepers). 4. David Duchovny (The Estate)
Best Supporting Actress:
Best Directing: 1. Vahid Jalilvand (No Date, No Signature) 2. Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) 3. Barry Levinson (Sleepers)
Cinematography: No Date No Signature, Another Round, Amsterdam, Tar
Best Editing: Tar, Another Round
Best Writing: Sleepers, Another Round

TV:
Wu-Tang via Hulu
Season 3 - Episode 8 - 9/10

Fleishman is in Trouble via Hulu
Season 1 - Episode 5- 9/10
Season 1 - Episode 6- 8/10