What to do in Oklahoma when one doesn't live there... The Swabian gangsters from American backwaters can be visually appealing, in a way stylish, but here it becomes clear that they struggle to work with characters and the potential of their actors. Take, for example, the Brooklyn pizza man Frank Grillo, who clearly…

After watching the last episode of Shōshimin Series, I felt an overwhelming urge to revisit Hyouka, and even after all these years, I’m still loving it. Oreki is a character I relate to so much, sometimes it feels like he’s speaking directly to my inner self. It’s not that I’m lazy—I just like to conserve energy, and…

It makes sense when a romantic comedy of a more or less typical cut lands in cinemas and makes a heap of money, that it is the work of Will Gluck, who broke the bank in a similar way twelve years ago with Friends with Benefits. And because I like all his genre pieces, I was also rooting for Anyone But You, but really…

A scene-for-scene copy of the Danish original, all the way up to the climax, which is completely reworked here. The European and American versions are an exemplary illustration of the differing approaches to the viewer. In filmmaking terms, the American version is adequately well-crafted and is surprising thanks to…

An intimate analysis of the mental state of young Anne, who wants to have an “illicit” abortion at any cost, even though that could land her in prison (France in the 1960s) or even cause her death. Director Audrey Diwan, who had an abortion herself, focuses exclusively on the character of Anne, putting her in a…

It often happens in life that the first impression is completely different from the last. As long as Tafdrup's cyclical walk between the Tuscan sky, Danish limbo, and Dutch hell can build on the tension of an unknown development, it has the potential to unsettle. But when the younger version of Rhys-Davies and his…

When artificial insemination and an electric motor hidden in the frame aren't the solution. A deficit in training, self-esteem, morality, motherhood, and relationships is tackled through a struggle with one's own body. Static shots full of sterility and physicality, music at times reminiscent of the insides of an…

There's no need for Bud Spencer and Terence Hill to make Little Joe feel tired. The overused theme of body snatchers, this time from an angiosperm origin, keeps trailing behind the audience instead of leading the way. The sounds, reminiscent of Aronofsky's Mother!, are highly irritating, and the whole thing is like…

Similar to Pollack's Castle Keep, the literary origin is absolutely apparent here, which may not sit well with those waiting for machine-gun fire and guts spilling at the bottom of trenches. Just like in William Wharton's novel, the ugliness of war is more often recalled through the joys of life, while everything…

While platonic love eats away at a person, platonic infidelity, due to its "incompleteness," can be easily enjoyed. Well, except for Mr. Dorsay, who met a lady in red in an underground garage... It's fairly intelligent humor built on the inexperience of an amateur philanderer who tries to avoid mistakes based on his…