Kaka

The first half is hell. A non-stop conversation about belief in God, interspersed with Rodrigo Prieto's gorgeous cinematic orgy. Unfortunately, Silence, especially in its first half, is annoyingly tedious, relatively simple, and in no way thought-provoking. But that gradually changes, and the arrival of Liam Neeson on the scene makes a fitting twist. His polemical conversation with Andrew Garfield about faith is interesting, thought-provokingly robust and to the point, and it gives the film a welcome sense of purpose and dramatic arc. The running time of Silence is monstrous considering the intimate story it tells, but as a probe into feudal Japan involving the Christian faith, it's manageable. I wouldn't have guessed Scorsese made it at all. On the face of it, it has nothing to do with his classic masterpieces. But it does with the religious ones.

A more emotionally fragile family alternative to Elite Squad or City of God. It doesn't lack the raw feel of a wild big city, a grimy slum, or the uncompromising street life among gangs. Unlike the first mentioned work, Metro Manila has a fairly solid human dimension and more than one emotionally powerful scene. It falls short of City of God in terms of direction or technical skill, but in terms of expressive devices, it certainly fits into a similar group of films and is well worth investing two hours of your time to get a glimpse of the Philippine capital.

A very well handled relationship drama (based on a true story) between a physically disabled woman and a mentally unbalanced lonely man, where in the end the greatest joy they share, overcoming all their sorrows, is painting cute pictures. Sally Hawkins' masterful performance was to be expected, but Ethan Hawke, in an uncharacteristic role for him, was a very pleasant surprise. The minimalist feel and overall spare production design excels where it's expected. There are beautiful shots of the Nova Scotia landscape and the gentle strumming of some sort of stringed instrument.

Woody Allen is still doing his own thing, so to speak, just changing the cast, the setting and the various model situations, but the core is always the same: relationships and everything around them. This is no different with Husbands and Wives, it has good drama, elaborate improvisational scenes, plus great handheld camerawork that adds to the intensity of key moments. Unfortunately, however, I found the script a little rushed in places and some of the major transformations and twists were perhaps a little too quick and abrupt.

1970s cringe. I could quibble that creating a Forrest Gump character in the Wild West and lethargically floating the overall mood of the film back and forth constantly might be a great idea, but that's probably only for nostalgia fans and big admirers of Dustin Hoffman's over-the-top performance. The movie is objectively poorly written, unengaging, and fundamentally dysfunctional. Above all that, it's technically incredibly poorly shot; so many directorial and cinematographic errors all at once – I can't recall seeing anything like this anywhere else, in any other film. An absolute waste of time and a disaster.

A mesmerizingly stylish retro ride that pays homage to both the filmmaking medium and the craft in general, and to The Godfather as a film itself. It very deftly and engagingly discusses its origins and brilliantly oscillates between a precise reconstruction of a true story/mini gangster/showbiz drama/buddy movie. With nonchalant elegance, it mixes all this into a great 1970s collage full of excellent moments, Scorsese-like dynamics, earthiness and great actors. After watching The Offer, watching The Godfather takes on a whole new dimension.

Slightly less nimble and less daring than the modern remake. A 90s adaptation with all the trimmings. It's interesting to compare the depiction of 19th century social conventions in the two adaptations and look for differences in delivery and specific nuances. Excellent performances by all involved, perhaps only the casting move of changing Kirsten Dunst for Samantha Mathis was perhaps too bold and unbelievable.

The golden days of Kristen Stewart, when she wasn't old enough to sign up for Twilight type crap, etc. It's her that gives shape to this generally mediocrely written story of high school violence. Her character, however, is by far the best in terms of acting and screenwriting, and is the only supporting pillar that makes the film worth bothering with. Otherwise, it's nothing we haven't seen elsewhere, more subtly or more comprehensively rendered.

Smart, insightful, layered and, although it doesn't seem like it at first, very entertaining once the flashbacks kick in. A deftly constructed love triangle story that offers different perspectives on different themes and playfully transcends the classic sports drama with the ease and finesse of a seasoned filmmaker. Some things may be a bit much, like the annoying sucking scene or the final cruelly long slow-motion sequences, but otherwise it's a damn catchy and original drama. Zendaya excels.

The worst of the trilogy so far. The third season does keep a linear narrative, which logically makes sense, but all in all it's a monstrous hybrid of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and a dark version of Harry Potter, unfortunately, far from taking the best of all three. It only skims the surface, it creates an intriguing fictional world full of potentially interesting people, names, monsters and settings, but it all goes to waste because the characters, their motivations and the creators' ability to guide the viewer effectively and with interest through the story don’t work. Something is wrong when we have to wait until the sixth episode for the whole thing to sort of finally start to make sense. And I'd rather not even go into too much detail about all the WTF moments that are almost unbearable. I would skip the entire penultimate episode and that freak-show of a ball is a disaster too. Where are the darkened Blaviken sets? If I'd known that the best of the series was going to happen in the first few minutes of the opening episode, I wouldn't have even started watching the whole project.