I've been anticipating Bird Box for a while, and I'll find time for it sometime this week. Got so many movies to get through. Glad to hear it's at least better than A Quiet Place.
Movies I've seen since my last post:
Roma (2018): Seen this twice already, and been writing at length about why I connect so much with it. ★★★★★
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2002): Saw this for the first time, as I'm kind of going through Alfonso Cuaron's movies. This was such a masterpiece, and I love how the last scene in the film changes how you perceive the whole film. Also like that one of the boy's prophecy comes full circle. ★★★★★
Gravity (2013): I had always postponed this movie, as I thought it was another Interstellar but it turned out completely different. It was bombastic and beautiful to look at, and I liked the metaphors for rebirth going through the whole movie. ★★★★☆
Shoplifters (2018): Probably my movie of the year so far. It was interesting getting such a close look to this family in their little home. How the father is teaching his son to steal. And what it means to take care of a stranger's girl, and how it's like to be emotionally connected to your wife in a family like this. And all the things that comes out in the last half hour. I felt this movie really hits you, and it all comes around. Loved it. ★★★★★
I've seen so many incredible movies this month and it's just gonna continue in the coming days.
Right now I'm going through the crime drama Department Q, which is a saga of four movies that everybody's going crazy for in Denmark. These are Scandinavian crime thrillers.
Department Q: The Keeper of Lost Causes (2013): A police officer has been demoted to a new department in the basement and is asked by his boss to go through lost cases from the past 20 years and close them. Detective Carl have another idea, and chooses to open cases he believes haven't been solved. One of which is a five year old case about a missing woman who is believed to have committed suicide by jumping off a ferry. Before long, Carl is introduced to a new partner called Assad who couldn't be more different from him. Together they are a very charming pair and their unique personalities really shines through. The casting is generally great, and throughout you are presented with flashbacks that reveals details about what actually happened back then. I thought the movie was solid, well acted, with beautiful cinematography and a laid back soundtrack. It's all presented in a simple way. Unfortunately I felt the suspect was one-note and his motivation weak. ★★★☆☆
Department Q: The Absent One (2014): Where the predecessor was perhaps a bit too simple, this one introduces a bunch of names and characters with a connection to each other. I felt partly lost throughout but it all comes together in a very satisfying third act. The movie once again proves to be well casted, our two lead investigators are back and is developed further with traits that defines them. The case during The Absent One is a 20 year old one about a double murder and a rape. Quickly Carl and Assad learns about a woman who knows about what happened back then but she's on the run from people who were apart of what happened. Both parties are now trying to get to this woman before the other part, and flashbacks unsolves a very intriguing case that adds layers upon layers to these characters and what went on. It's a much improved sequel that really got this franchise going. ★★★★☆
As a huge Kore-eda fan, the farther he strays from depicting average families the more I find his movies miss the mark. Both Miracle and Like Father Like Son suffer from this. Haven't seen Shoplifters yet, but the premise does not sound promising. Nobody Knows gets a pass, though.
I thought Shoplifters was absolutely amazing because of how it all comes around at the end. Loved how everything was depicted and how it plays with your emotions at the end. It was a very humane and touching story. So far my movie of the year.
