To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it did sound like an interesting story and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Wel, making a movie about Ted Kaczynski AKA the Unabomber did sound like a great idea so the damned thing definitely really had some potential, it’s just too bad that the end-result didn’t end up to be so great after all. The first mistake they made was that the running time (barely 100 mins) was just too short to satisfyingly cover this story. I mean, the time period going from his time in Harvard at the end of the 50’s to his arrest in the mid-90’s was quite extensive so something more epic like ‘Zodiac’ which lasted 1 hour longer would have been probably more appropriate. Another mistake they made was to put so much focus on Henry Murray’s psychological experiment on Kaczynski. Indeed, they basically argued that it might have had a decisive impact on the young man but it was never convincing. Eventually, it seemed to be more like an excuse to show Kaczynski was a precocious young man in Harvard who didn’t fit in but the connection with his future terrorist activities was just too fine after all. The only interesting thing happening between Murray and Kaczynski was Murray diagnosing him of schizophrenia which seemed to be fairly accurate following what was displayed in this movie. However, in real life, even though it made sense following his actions, this diagnosis would be disputed by some after all. The reality was that Kaczynski was actually a brilliant man, even more intelligent than your average super-smart serial killer but, somehow, at some point, his intelligence (and his alleged mental issues) made him turned against humanity or, at the very least, our capitalist way of life which was something super interesting but so poorly developed in this movie. Concerning the FBI investigation taking place in the 90’s, well, I’m afraid it was also rather half-baked. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Shailene Woodley but she wasn’t given much to do here and, to be honest, she wasn’t really impressive. Obviously, the way she chased on her own Kaczynski never happened and it was pretty obvious that he had been reported by his brother at some point. In this case, it would been more interesting to focus to what had been done by the FBI during the previous 20 years following the first bombing. At least, Jacob Tremblay gave here a really strong performance but he was probably the only thing that really worked in this movie after all. Anyway, because the topic was so fascinating, I still think it was worth a look though. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, at least, the title did sound really cool. Well, first of all, Matthew McConaughey was still such a charismatic actor, he was basically born to play such characters and I didn’t realize that it was actually his first role in 6 long years. I also liked the vibe and the soundtrack was just really neat. At first, I was wondering where it was all going and, to honest, this tight-knit community in Oklahoma might seem to be too good to be true but it was nice to spend some time with these colorful characters living a seemingly more laid-back style than we do. Unfortunately, they actually killed off Amziah King way too early with a cruel heart attack after all his hives were stolen and, unfortunately, the movie never really recovered from this tragedy. I mean, there is a reason why Vito Corleone died at the end of ‘The Godfather’ and not in the middle of the movie. Anyway, after his death, the movie then focused on his former foster daughter played by Angelina LookingGlass but, in spite of her efforts, she never really managed to carry the whole thing on her own. To be fair, she wasn’t helped by the fact that she was stuck in some really generic revenge thriller. Indeed, before that, it was so sweet to see Amziah and Kateri rekindling their relationship and seeing him passing the torch regarding his passion for beekeeping. Following her becoming some kind of gangster cooking up some plan to avenge her former foster father was rather tedious. It’s too bad because, before that, it was still not really fascinating but it was definitely intriguing and I liked the fact that there was no actual plot but a succession of cute episodes involving Amziah, Kateri, and his folks. However, they seriously drifted away from this gentle vibe especially when, after deciding to not poison the beloved dog of her nemesis, Kateri eventually decided it would be a better plan to poison his very ill wife instead. The fact that Kateri, as a character, was never fully developed like Amziah King was right from the first scene probably didn’t really help. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it was included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. I also loved the title which sounded so poetic and, to be honest, it was slightly disappointing that it was after all referring to some disease the main character caught after some scouting camp. In fact, it was my girlfriend who came up with this movie on DVD and I thought she was interested in Louis Malle’s work like I was but, in fact, she had bought it because there was a very cool soundtrack with Charlie Parker (she is herself a professional jazz musician). Anyway, we both didn’t know what this movie was about and we both were not aware of its controversial reputation. As a result, we were both rather shocked by the incest between Laurent and his sexy Italian mother which actually happened rather randomly towards the end after some heavy drinking. It was the tricky thing, sure, it was obviously a coming-of-age tale and a very good one but I thought we were dropped a little bit in the middle of it without much context. For example, I wasn’t familiar with Lea Massari at all, I did notice that she had a rather heavy accent but it was only halfway through that I finally figured out that she was actually Italian. Even more later on, we found out that she was only 16 years old when she met her husband and something never told in the movie which I found later on was the fact that he was actually 15 years older than her. This information was actually quite crucial as it meant that, mentally and emotionally, she started to be closer to her boys than her husband, explaining a good deal her relationship with her children. Anyway, the movie was above all about Laurent who was one of the best depictions of adolescence I have ever seen. It also helped that Benoît Ferreux, in his first movie, was the same age as his character was and not 10 years older like you very often get with US movies dealing with teenagers. Everything what he was going through was so relatable and it reminded me a lot of who I was back then. Eventually, this movie perfectly displayed this complex confused time in your life when you stop being a little boy and start to become a grown-up. Anyway, to conclude, even though I’m not sure if everything worked in this movie, it was definitely an intriguing watch, no doubt about it. 

To be honest, even though I’m a huge fan of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Toy Story 2’(I actually saw both of them in the movie theatre when they were released), I was not really dying to see again another sequel but, since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. Well, I have to admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised. Maybe because I had some rather low expectations but I thought it was actually pretty good. In fact, I enjoyed it more than ‘Toy Story 3’, I never understood why it was so popular but I have to admit that I barely remember it though (same thing with ‘Toy Story 4’, I have seen it only once and I forgot most about it). Anyway, to introduce tech devices and to show the impact it has on small children, in fact, on everyone, was a genius move and a great way to keep the franchise connected to what’s going on nowadays. They developed some interesting ideas about the fact that very young children don’t really need such devices but, eventually, it’s just really convenient for the parents to keep their children busy and quiet. I’m glad my own children are all (young) adults so I won’t have to struggle with this ‘screen time’ thing. On the other hand, isn’t it what our parents did when they would put us in front of the TV when we were kids? I know I loved to spend hours in front of the TV watching the latest cartoons. Anyway, it was also a nice touch that Jessie became this time the main character. In fact, even though Woody was displayed everywhere on the promotional material, he was actually barely involved at all after all but I think it was a good idea to have the franchise evolved beyond Woody and Buzz who were always the main focus here. I also loved the intro with this cargo container stranded with all these Buzzes going wild for some commando mission on this deserted island. Unfortunately, they never really figured out what to do with them and they never did really fit with the rest of the movie so this sub-plot did feel rather half-baked after all. The way Lily the Lilypad first acted fairly evil and then started to worry about Bonnie after all was also not really convincing (they had already used the same narrative device with Anxiety in ‘Inside Out 2’). The way she dumped herself in some donation box which just happened to be conveniently there was also rather weak. Anyway, even though I’m still not sure if I needed yet another sequel to this beloved franchise, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch after all. 

To be honest, I had some rather low expectations since this movie had a rather lame reputation but I had decided to watch a bunch of movies from this franchise. Well, pretty much like with ‘Paranormal Activity 4’, I have to admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised by the damned thing after all. Sure, it was obviously nothing great whatsoever but I thought it was actually a solid instalment. Indeed, what I liked with this movie was how they didn’t bother explain anything which was also the reason why the previous instalment also worked for me. In fact, as far as I was concerned, the weakest scene was the one involving Molly Ephraim explaining to the main characters what was actually going on. I have to admit that I didn’t remember at all that her character was also involved in ‘Paranormal Activity 2’. In fact, I didn’t remember this movie at all but, to be fair, I saw it only once more than 10 years ago. I get that some fans might find it frustrating that the makers kept making new sequels without explaining anything about this (convoluted and boring) lore but it was exactly the opposite for me, the less they explained, the more it became intriguing for me. In fact, it was the reason why the very first ‘Paranormal Activity’ was so successful, not because you saw tons of scary stuff but it was exactly the opposite, you didn’t see anything much happening and, yet, it was so unsettling somehow. In this case, it was also pretty cool that it was taking place in a completely different environment (many consider this movie actually as a spin-off than an actual sequel), even if the actors involved were, as usual, rather weak. The ending with this portal thing bringing you all the way back to the house of the very first ‘Paranormal Activity’ was also really wild, too bad I saw this movie too long ago to actually remember it but it definitely looked familiar. Anyway, to conclude, I was maybe too generous with my rating here but I thought it was actually not bad at all. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it was included in the ‘They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’ list, I thought I might as well check it out. By now, I have seen my share of Soviet movies but most of them were much older (except for Andrei Tarkovsky’s work). Anyway, even though the Soviet Union was after all a political failure, they certainly delivered some really interesting movies and this one was a perfect example. I have to admit that I had never heard about it before but, even though it might seem to be pretty obscure, it is actually considered by many as one of the best animated films of all time, no less than that. Well, it was definitely quite fascinating, that’s for sure. Indeed, the animation was so unique, it was really quite beautiful. Unfortunately, I had seriously no idea about what was going on and the whole thing was rather incomprehensible for me. The fact that it was so difficult to follow made it even more intriguing but, unfortunately, I’m afraid it was also rather frustrating after all. Apparently, they were not telling some actual stories but some memories which would explain its random and surreal aspect which was such a lovely concept. I was especially touched by the men seemingly leaving to go to war, it was so evocative. And, of course, I loved this little wolf who was so charismatic, he was basically some kind of Soviet version of Mickey Mouse which was so cool. Finally, this little Russian lullaby was so mesmerizing but, again, it’s always tricky to engage with a short movie with no dialogues, no narration and no intertitles. I will probably re-watch this short in the future to see if I can get this time a better grip on the damned thing (to be honest, I always struggle with such surreal short movies). Anyway, to conclude, even though I didn’t completely connect with this movie, it was still quite mesmerizing and it is definitely worth a look. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it was included in the ‘They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’ list, I thought I might as well check it out. I have to admit that I had never heard of Artavazd Peleshian before but, right away, after watching only this short, he became already one of my favorite Soviet directors. Indeed, from all the Soviet movies I have seen so far, it was probably one of the most fascinating. By now, I have seen my share of movies in this genre and, even though they are always intriguing mostly because they were so different than what was made in the West, the propaganda involved was always rather tiresome though. Well, here, there was none of that, or then it was really subtle which was really appreciated. Furthermore, I always had a weak spot for documentaries without narration or commentaries as, in my opinion, it makes the images so much more evocative this way. However, I was not sure if I should call this movie a ‘documentary’, I guess it was more some kind of visual poem. Indeed, there was something quite mesmerizing about these images which were repeated again and again, very often in slow motion. To use Vivaldi's Four Seasons as a soundtrack might seem easy but it was also a master move which made the whole thing even more mesmerizing. The fact that there was no context, no explanation whatsoever, made me wonder what the hell these guys were doing sometimes but I doubt that explaining any of this would have made it more interesting. What was also striking to me was how you saw only men and animals for a while giving the feeling that the action could have taken place 100 years before and, suddenly, cars were added to the mix reminding me that it was actually contemporary. Anyway, I might have to rewatch it at some point as I keep thinking about it but I really loved the damned thing, that’s for sure. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it was included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest,  I have to admit that I had never heard of George Kuchar before but he was apparently a prolific underground filmmaker who made more than 200 films during this career. Well, this movie was definitely something else, that’s for sure. Visually, it was actually rather ugly, even though its vintage look might be an acquired taste though. Above all, I was intrigued by the many layers displayed in this short. Indeed, it was trashy and it did feel rather exploitative but it was also rather funny, at least, it tried to be. It was also pretty meta since George Kuchar himself played this frustrated indie director who couldn’t get his actresses to go naked on his film. In fact, he went into this direction not because nobody wanted to get undressed but because Donna Kernes got sick from all the shower scenes in the movie and had to quit. As a result, he decided to put the focus on himself instead showing how miserable making a movie can become. As a matter of fact, there is not a single movie in the world which actually ended up exactly as the director originally intended it to be which shows how serendipitous and crushing this Art form actually is. On the other hand, you might wonder if Kuchar was looking for such deep meaning in his work and, while watching this movie, I was also wondering if you could make something like this nowadays following the whole #MeToo movement. Anyway, it was definitely an intriguing watch and it is worth a look, at least, if you are interested in such experimental movies. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but, since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I’m not surprised that it turned out to be one of the lowest grossing Star Wars movies ever made. I actually did like the TV-show and I don’t think it was a bad idea to focus their next full-length feature on this really cool character. However, it seemed that this movie was only made for the people with a Disney+ subscription which did limit their audience for this movie. Anyway, I was actually surprised by how boring it turned out to be and it took me around 3 hrs to finish the damned thing. Eventually, it felt as if they took 3-4 episodes of the TV-show and stitched them together. To have the Mandalorian doing some bounty hunting was maybe not original but it is always neat to have this character going on such missions. However, it was just lame to having him work for the New Republic as the character should be neutral and should be working only for his own gain. Another issue was how Grogu basically ruined such a bad*ss character. Sure, I get that Baby Yoda became viral and super popular and I have to admit that he was at first intriguing but why on Earth would the Mandalorian constantly bring him with for some seemingly really dangerous mission? At this point, it seemed pretty obvious that Grogu was still pretty much an infant and it might take a couple of centuries before he really matured but, anyway, in the meantime, one of the most lethal men in the galaxy was basically turned into a nanny which was, narratively speaking, not a really strong choice. Concerning the rest of the movie, the Hutts have always been some dependable bad guys in this franchise so, even if they were not an original choice, they worked. However, Rotta the Hutt, some kind of muscular version of his father Jabba, was probably one of the most ridiculous characters I have seen in Star Wars (Jar Jar Binks was maybe notoriously annoying but, at least, he was an original creation, not some weird pumped-up version of some other famous character). I was also seriously annoyed that they couldn’t help removing his helmet, even it was for a short time period, just to show that Pedro Pascal was really underneath it. At least, this movie did look good and the score was fine but it was rather sad that, after 7 long years, they managed to deliver something maybe even more tedious than ‘Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker’.