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We Made A Beautiful Bouquet - A Truly Beautiful Film.

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We Made A Beautiful Bouquet - A Truly Bea utiful Film Introduction Running late for a train. Finding someone who watches the same films as you. Someone who reads the same books as you. Someone who also uses movie tickets as a bookmark. Running in the rain. Looking through old pictures. Finishing a really good book. Sitting by the beach. Taking pictures with a disposable film camera. These are all really small, intricate details that can be found in our lives. These are the moments that make our hearts beat, that puts a smile on our face, that gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. This feeling is exactly what We Made A Beautiful Bouquet exudes. This film feels like a hug on a rainy day, like someone blow-drying your hair after a bath, like sharing one side of your earpieces with someone else. More importantly, director Nobuhiro Doi tells us that although flowers wilt, and stories end, they made a beautiful bouquet.  Masaki Suda and Arimura Kasumi in the film The Little Things As mentio
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Monster - 2023's Finest Film

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 Monster - 2023's Finest Film Introduction Amidst the blockbuster giants in cinemas, Monster silently enters the fray and manages to stand strong. Layers and layers are peeled back slowly and ever so gracefully by director Hirokazu Kore-eda, as he explores how different perspectives can warp our opinions. Featuring incredibly strong performances from the cast, and a subtly powerful score from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Monster manages to stick the landing wonderfully after asking for the trust of the audience. If there's one film so far this year that I would have to choose as my "cannot be missed" film, it would be this. Layered Narrative I went into Monster almost completely blind, so I was pretty blown away by just how complex and layered this film is. The film makes you think it’s going in a certain direction, but it keeps you guessing with its tight and ever-winding screenplay, making sure that you’re kept on your toes constantly. From the beginning of the film, Kore-eda
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Tokyo Godfathers

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 Tokyo Godfathers Introduction A tale that is as ridiculously hilarious as it is heartwarming, Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers hits all the right beats and manages to make this rather absurd story realistically moving. Intricately Written Characters I have seen tons of feel-good films, and Tokyo Godfathers has to be among the top of the bunch. Satoshi Kon so effortlessly brings us into the world of our three homeless protagonists, and makes us uncontrollably care for them, more and more as the film progresses. The characters are so well-written and their distinct characteristics, backstories and beliefs make for very interesting conversations between them, as well as incredibly satisfying character arcs. Throughout the film, Kon manages to deal with sensitive subject matter in a respectful way, and that is thanks to how our characters are written and how they interact with each other. Our protagonists - Gin, Miyuki, and Hana Kon's Twisting, Turning Plot Ever heard of a Christmas mir
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Aftersun - Charlotte Wells' Beautifully Tragic Elegy

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Aftersun - Charlotte Wells' Beautifully Tragic Elegy Introduction When I got home after watching this film, I went into my parents' room and saw my dad sleeping. I stared at him for a while afterwards. You may think it's weird, but you'll probably do the same if you had just seen Aftersun. The amount of stress that he tolerated for 19 years trying to provide for me is something that I'll never fully understand, not in the near future at least. The physical and mental burdens of adulthood and parenthood are things that I don't relate to yet, but perhaps I had gotten at least a sliver of an idea from Charlotte Wells’ directorial debut. Charlotte Wells' Aftersun introduces us to the father-daughter pair Calum and Sophie so perfectly brought to life by Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio, and follow their holiday in Turkey through the eyes, and mind, of Sophie. Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio in Aftersun Post-viewing Thoughts This film took me some time to appreciate. T
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Coda

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Coda Introduction Coda is Siân Heder’s brilliant film about Ruby, a Child Of Deaf Adults (CODA), and her family, as she struggles to balance her responsibilities helping out the family and pursuing her dream of singing. Coda may seem like your traditional coming-of-age film and possesses the same beats and elements that we have all seen before, but it has a unique twist to it. In the hands of the wrong filmmaker, the themes and subject matter discussed in the film could have been handled disrespectfully and even inappropriately. However, in the hands of Siân Heder and the insanely talented ensemble cast, Coda beautifully enlightens the audience about the deaf community and allows us to gain a deeper knowledge about the community. Coda manages to capture the beauty of family and music, the struggles and perseverance of youth, all the while maintaining faithful to its roots of being a film about the deaf community - their struggles, hardships, and their beauty and uniqueness.  An Explora
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Barbarian - The Decade's Best Horror Film So Far

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Barbarian - The Decade's Best Horror Film So Far Introduction Barbarian, directed by Zach Gregger, is a film that you really have to know very little about before you see it, so I will make this review short and sweet, and be as vague as I can be. For the sake of ambiguity, I shall lift the synopsis from IMDB - A young woman discovers the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger. And I shall leave you with just that amount of information about the film.   For years, I have been hoping for a horror film that would, again, truly shake me to my core. To truly give me the creeps and the chills down my spine. Many mediocre films later, it seems that I have finally found what i was looking for. Barbarian is an excellently directed, terrifically well-acted, original horror film with claustrophobic tension and great scares throughout its runtime. It’s a story that twists and turns, never truly letting you know what exactly is going on until it all eventually comes to light
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring - A Writeup

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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring - A Writeup Spring Spring : a time for new beginnings. A young monk opens his eyes. A temple, which floats majestically in the middle of a crystal-clear lake. A forest of a deep, verdant green. The lush flora teeming with wildlife surround the two monks, and us as well. Filled to the brim with scenic shots of nature, we watch on as the young monk frolics around and gives in to his curiosity. A fish. A frog. A snake. What he does to them is wrong, and his master knows it. Repentance. Remorse. The young monk learns his lesson the hard way, and as he reflects, he is cleansed of his sins and starts fresh. Summer Summer : a time for happiness and fun, with endless opportunities awaiting in the future. Years have passed at this point, and the young monk is now a teenager. A young woman is left at the floating temple to be cured of an illness by her mother. A fleeting look, or two. An innocent, yet indecent act, or two. Feelings of love fill the summe
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