Marriage Story

Marriage Story is a wonderful, wonderful movie. It's one of the year's best scripts (Parasite still is my win here) and it is truly expertly paced - it's not a short movie, but you aren't bored and even though the characters have many, many flaws you care about them enough to be curious what happens to them next.

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.

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.

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.

mother!

(spoilers!!!)

Macbeth

Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, which is one of the most cinematic Shakespearean works, opens with the still shot of a dead child laying on the ground, surrounded by heather. The film's tone is set from the very start - as raw, grim and filled with great sadness. This is a dark, bloody affair and an unpleasant one too.

If only it was a better movie.

Mad Max: Fury Road

It's really hard to describe Mad Max: Fury Road. It is first and foremost a film you need to experience. No amount of words and descriptions can really help you understand or prepare you for the film's hellish pace, spellbinding visuals and intensity.

Maleficent

I was very much looking forward to this movie when I first heard that they are planning on making a film from the perspective of Maleficent, one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history. Unfortunately, after the first trailers showed up it seemed pretty obvious that the film will be yet another cash grab from Disney - just like Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman and Oz - the Great and Powerful filled with useless 3D, atrocious to look at color palette, half assed script and a bunch of random, CGI creatures which are practically indistinguishable from each other when it comes to those four movies.

Mud

Let me just begin by saying Mud has the most heart I've seen in any movie this year. It's incredible that a story that is mostly based on characters talking and interacting, a story that unfolds so slowly and patiently on the screen, can be so gripping and affecting. But this is what Jeff Nichols does. His last film, Take Shelter, was also a slow-paced, very character driven tale. And while both films have many elements in common and I give a slight edge to Take Shelter, Mud is still among the best movies I've seen this year.

The Master

I don't know what happened to Paul Thomas Anderson. He is a great director, bot sometime after Magnolia a certain shift occurred. I divide his movies into two groups - one that has great, entertaining films with clear story and wonderful acting and other that is somewhat experimental and, well, only the words "great acting" remain when I describe it. I greatly enjoyed Boogie Nights and Magnolia. I cannot say the same for Punch Drunk Love, There Will be Blood and The Master.

Mama

It would be hard for me to find a movie that was released recently that collapses on its ass as spectacularly as Mama does. The film is actually quite decent in its first hour, but its last 30 minutes are so incredibly fucking stupid you feel as if you were watching an exclusive glimpse into Tim Burton's mind if he was imagining what Corpse Bride would be like as a horror feature film...and then as if his visions crossed to Guillermo Del Toro being high during mother's day. It's fucking crazy and not in a good way.

Moonrise Kingdom

I'm not a fan of Wes Anderson's work. I think he tries too hard to make his movies cute and quirky and in the effect they never feel effortless. They just seem pretentious and are clear examples of style over substance. That said, there are some of his movies I actually enjoyed and found to be quite charming like The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Rushmore. I really wanted to like Moonrise Kingdom, but I ended up strongly disliking it. In fact, if the movie didn't have beautiful cinematography it would probably be around 30-40 points. It has everything that could have worked beautifully - it is set in New England - magical place. It takes place in the 60's - magical time. And it has music composed by Alexandre Desplat - composer of magical scores. But you can't have true magic without strong story.

For me the most important thing in a movie are the characters. They don't necessarily have to be likable, but they should be interesting. Even if the movie is awful, if there is a single character you love watching you won't hate the movie. The problem with Moonrise Kingdom is that it only has two characters I genuinely liked - Edward Norton's Scout Master Ward and Bruce Willis's Captain Sharp - and they are not featured enough in this movie. Instead, we follow lifeless and boring adventures of two kids " in love".

Monster

A dark tale based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, one of America's first female serial killers. Wuornos had a difficult and cruel childhood plagued by abuse and drug use in Michigan. She became a prostitute by the age of thirteen and eventually moved to Florida where she began earning a living as a highway prostitute--servicing the desires of semi-truck drivers. The tale focuses on the nine month period between 1989 and 1990, during which Wuornos had a relationship with a woman named Selby. During that time she also began murdering her clientele in order to get money. This turned the tables on a rather common phenomena of female highway prostitutes being the victims of serial killers--instead Wuornos, herself, carried out the deeds of a cold-blooded killer.

Monster is a movie that is most remember for Charlize Theron's work as Aileen, rewarded with almost every possible acting trophy including Oscar. But at its core Monster is the heartbreaking story of broken dreams and failed expectations, a tough tale of survival where a person can't afford a luxury of caring about what is right and what is wrong. In its opening we hear Aileen's narrative who talks about her dreams - cliche dreams so many of people share - becoming famous, falling in love, getting rescued. Aileen's dreams came true for a while - she found someone she loved but it was too late for her to be rescued.

The Moth Diaries

62/100 (81 min, 2011)
Plot: Rebecca is suspicious of Ernessa, the new arrival at her boarding school. But is Rebecca just jealous of Ernessa's bond with Lucie, or does the new girl truly possess a dark secret?
Director: Mary Harron
Writer: Rachel Klein (novel)
Stars: Sarah Bolger, Sarah Gadon and Lily Cole

Sex, blood, Lily Cole

The Moth Diaries is not yet another teenage take on vampire/monsters legends. It has something movies rarely have anymore - genuine style and atmosphere. Mary Harron who directed American Psycho and captured the essence of the novel without even showing off most of the events is again on the director's seat here. It's bizarre how her career went from being very close to success to approaching the oblivion. Whilst American Psycho was not the masterpiece of directorial work, it was better than most movies out there yet Harron only went on to make TV movie The Notorious Bettie Page (as lovely as the film was it didn't get much acclaim) and then pretty much disappeared.

While a lot of bad things can be said about The Moth Diaries and its story, which is its weakest link of the film, it tells a tale many of people will relate to - the roots of the protagonist's fragility lie in the loss of a parent, here in quite dramatic events. Her father was a famous writer who committed suicide. The main heroine Rebecca, asks interesting questions in her search for her own self - does it mean she is prone to taking her own life too?

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

79/100 (2011, 133 min)
Plot: The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Director: Brad Bird
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg

Mission accomplished

I'm not a fan of "Mission Impossible" movies. Not that they are not entertaining and the visual effects aren't stunning, but for some reason they aren't particularly memorable. With James Bond series I remember a lot from the movies - icy Rosamund Pike in "Die Another Day", funny geek from "Goldeneye", The scene where Sophie Marceau tortures Pierce Brosman in "The World is not Enough" and Sean Connery, lots of him, because he is well, Sean Connery. With "Mission Impossible" series apart from the famous scene from the first movie where Tom Cruise hangs from the ceiling and the fact how shocked I was Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared in 3rd one, I don't remember that much. But "Ghost Protocol" is a well made movie with fun characters and for me, the best one in the series.

The film opens with impressive sequence where a man (Josh Holloway) runs out with a bag on his shoulder, escaping two guys chasing him. Then a delicate looking woman (Lea Seydoux) appears in front of him, on the empty street and mercilessly shoots him. As he falls on his knees, the woman embraces him and takes the bag. After that she walks away and leaves him there to die.

My Week with Marilyn

53/100 (99 min, 2011)
Plot: Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl.
Director: Simon Curtis
Writers: Adrian Hodges, Colin Clark (books)
Stars: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh

"What it must be like to be the most famous woman in the world?"

"My Week with Marilyn" is a dull movie with very good performance, but apart from Michelle Williams's work there is really not much to admire here. Marilyn Monroe's life - and death - are the things that fascinate people to this day. Out of all the events in her life Simon Curtis chose her time during shooting of "The Prince and the Showgirl" to be the subject of his film. While the movie shows many interesting events, its the storytelling - from the perspective of a young man who desperately wants to be a part of a movie business - is one of its biggest problems.

Colin is a rich boy who loves films - all he wants is to get inside this fascinating world of motion pictures and because of his parents' connections and money he gets a job as a third assistant to the director in Laurence Olivier's movie studio. The problem is that Colin is the dullest character in the film yet he is the main hero here, not Monroe, not Olivier, not Olivier's wife - fascinating Vivien Leigh.

Moneyball

94/100 (133 min)
Plot: The story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
Director: Bennett Miller
Writers: Steven Zaillian (screenplay), Aaron Sorkin (screenplay), Stan Chervin (story), Michael Lewis(book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game")
Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright and Jonah Hill

When I was going to see this film I was certain that I will see a typical sports movie - you know, lots of cheering,  the games and the practice, players being worried and nervous, fans being ecstatic as the team wins, etc. But I didn't know that the writer of the script for the film is none other that Aaron Sorkin, who wrote "The Social Network". The two scripts are incredibly similar, as are both movies - they are based on the true story, they have a protagonist whom the writer and the director don't make into instantly likable character, they are centered around revolutionary ideas and the big pay off to them. "Moneyball" is very slow burning, it focuses on the details and giving the movie a sense of  realism, which makes it into a very unusual movie dealing with sports.

Martha Marcy May Marlene

65/100 (102 min, 2011)
Plot: Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.
Director: Sean Durkin
Writer: Sean Durkin (screenplay)
Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson and John Hawkes

She's just a picture

"And this caravan it becomes an alter
And the priests, the priests are big as none
And I'll share, share our time together
Until our time together is done
But your skin it was pretty
And I loved, I loved another one
Now she, she's just like some picture
That has faded in the sun"
- Marcy's Song, Jackson C. Frank

"Martha Marcy May Marlene" is a fascinating but deeply flawed movie. It follows Martha, who seeks shelter at her older sister's house after fleeing the cult. The movie provides intense look into cult's proceedings and Martha's mind - she is horribly disturbed young woman, who will never be the same after what she has been through. Martha falls deeper and deeper into isolation as the movie progresses, being unable to disclose what happened to her to her family and constantly fearing that the cult members will come back to claim her.

Midnight in Paris

(94 min, 2011) 
Plot: A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.
Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates

From Paris with magic

“The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the only lasting thing you can create.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Choke

I went to see “Midnight in Paris” because ever since I was fifteen I haven't missed any of Woody Allen's movies. I knew nothing about the film and I really didn't expect for it to have a fantasy element. I thought it's going to be typical Allen's movie with neurotics and amusing situations, witty dialogues and classy cinematography. Well, “Midnight in Paris” has all of that but in the fashion of “The purple rose of Cairo” it also has fantasy in it. It's not the best movie Allen made since “Hannah and her sisters” as many overeager reviewers seem to think, but it's certainly one of his best films.

Gil is about to marry Inez, but before they get married he goes on a trip with her and her parents to Paris. Gil is an aspiring writer and he instantly falls in love with the city. All he wants to do is walk in the rain and soak up the atmosphere. One evening he is walking around the town alone and when the clock hits midnight, much like for fairy tale's Cinderella, a carriage appears and magically takes him back to the 20's – Gil's favorite era. There he meets Scott Fitzgerald and his erratic wife Zelda, Ernest Hemingway and others. He also meets Picasso's muse Adriana and falls in love with her.

Melancholia.

(136 min, 2011)
Director: Lars von Trier
Writer: Lars von Trier
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland

Life is only on Earth. And not for long.

“Melancholia” is the only Von Trier's movie I liked – actually it's an understatement – I loved every second of it. It's also – quite possibly – the most impressive movie about the end of the world. There are no happy turns of events, no chance for survival. Bruce Willis doesn't hit the planet and saves the Earth, rest assured. All that humanity facing is destruction and the ultimate end and perhaps it's because of that the movie works so well – it's the perfect metaphor for impending death that awaits everyone.

The film consists of two parts, each entitled with the name of two sisters who are protagonists of the film. First one is Justine, peculiar girl dealing with strong depression and the other is Claire, who is married, has a son and tries to help out her troubled sister. The film shows how in facing tragedies people who under normal circumstances appear to be weak deal with situations better than functioning humans. When all hope is gone Justine is calm, prepared. She appears to be sensing doom and danger way before the others and because of that when the end is near she doesn't panic. She even lies naked looking at Melancholia, awaiting the inevitable, already understanding it and sensing a deep connection with mysterious planet. Claire on the other hand falls into hysteria and the roles turn – it is Justine who needs to help her sister. The movie's best scene is the conversation the sisters have about how they will behave when the planet hits. Claire wants to make it almost normal, light up candles, drink some wine – do all of those ordinary things, that ultimately won't matter. Claire despises those rituals, as she despised her own wedding party during which she undressed and took a bath.