Film Diary.

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Movies I’ve seen as of March 2021 (that did not get a longer review for one or another reason), with my comments on them.

 

IN ENGLISH: 

- To all the boys I’ve ever loved. (2018. Dir. Susan Johnson. Based on the book by Jenny Han).

Fairly charming romance (with bits of comedy) about and for teenagers. Certainly a better YA romance than other popular but shall we say Problematic movies like “Twilight” and “The kissing booth”. 

- The Poison Rose. (2019. Dirs. George Gallo & Francesco Cinquemani. Based on the book by Richard Salvatore).

Fairly underrated Noir story with all the traditional ingredients and trappings of the genre. 

- A Family Man. (2016. Dir. Mark Williams). 

The textbook definition of “Glurge”: A story that intends to be inspiring and uplifting and instead is such a melodramatic, preachy, moralistic mess it becomes unintentionally hilarious. Really not recommended. 

- Official Secrets. (UK. 2019. Dir. Gavin Hood. Based on “The spy who tried to stop a war”, by Marcia & Thomas Mitchell). 

Surprisingly good drama about a real-life case, helped by a smart script and effective direction. Okay performances. 

- Inside Job. (2010. Dir. Charles Ferguson)

Good documentary about the late 2000’s financial crisis and the massive corruption that lead to it. Worth a look. 

- The Dig. (UK. 2021. Dir. Simon Stone. Based on the book by John Preston).  

Good drama loosely based on a real-life archaeological dig. More interesting for the subtext than the main story, which is rather suitable for a tale about digging. 

- The last face. (2016. Dir. Sean Penn)

Take the above definition of “Glurge” and then add a level of misery exploitation that would make Mel Gibson proud. Then you get this borderline vomit-inducing disaster of a movie. So yeah, not recommended. 

- I care a lot. (2020. Dir. J Blakeson). 

A prestige movie that can’t quite decide if it’s a black comedy, a thriller, or a parody of both. Entertaing most of the way thanks to good performances, but on the whole surprisingly underwhelming. 

OTHER LANGUAGES:

- El desconocido. (Spain. 2015. Dir. Dani de la Torre)

Tense thriller with the well-worn premise of a man in  a car who must keep driving or else. Predictable, but effective and entertaining. 

- Was wir wollten. (Austria. 2020. Dir. Ulrike Kofler. Based on a short story by Peter Stamm) 

Fairly subtle drama that is helped by a uniquely European perspective: This is probably the only tale about a childless couple that ends with the message “Actually, THANK GOD we can’t have children, they just screw everything up!!”. So yeah, recommended if only for that. 

- El agente topo. (Chile. 2020. Dir. Maite Alberdi)

Peculiar yet undeniably delightful mix of documentary and mystery drama —or rather, a film that seems to be a meta-comedy only to become a ponderous drama. Powerful and thought-provoking. 

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