Perfect mood to start 2021 with and despite of the obligatory whiskey, it's a good hangover movie too! There's something magical about the way a movie can seem like an old friend. Rio Bravo is that. Stumpy might be the greatest comedic relief to exist. Can't every movie have Stumpy?
Happy new year! May your year be filled with great movies :)
"So what have I got after all those years? A big house, a kooky wife and a kid who wears sneakers."
Stunning. The godfather of independent movies with another slam dunk. One hell of an emotional roller coaster. So uncomfortable, painfully real and honest; a manic-depressive portrait of the dissolution of a marriage and middle-age boredom. Middle-class America as a bleak dystopia. Pathetic, self-centered people rambling, drinking, arguing, falling in and out of love, fucking each other over, doing terrible and cowardly things. Gena Rowlands crying while singing is the essence. Final shot is an all-timer.
A beautiful, sad and thoughtful exploration of masculinity, ego, regret, and of jealousy so deep-rooted that it can destroy lives. Its almost entirely plotless, has hardly any dialogue and is slowly paced; everything is so magnificently understated and subdued to great, poetic effect. The performances are naturalistic and by its hypnotic visuals and rhythm (those training drills really have an almost musical feel to it), and its great use of music, it becomes a real treat with an ending so sad but so sublime.
A devastating, poetic and heart-wrenching depiction of war and loss of innocence. There are no battle scenes, all we experience is the consequences of war: one moment Ivan is taking or making commands and works like a soldier, the next he's dreaming of his childhood with his mother. Its a very simple film, but there's such a strength and power underneath because of the direction, cinematography and its atmosphere. The shot of Ivan sleeping with the camera then sweeping away…
