Arctic (2019)
Writers -Joe Penna, Ryan Morrison.
Director - Joe Penna
Stars - Mads Mikkelsen, Maria Thelma Smáradóttir

Overgard(Mads Mikkelsen), alone in the
arctic wilderness after a plane crash
some time ago. We learn very little of
character There is no back story or
how the plane crash.

We have seen this survival story many
times before or recently.

This one captures the viewer’s mind. As we
watch him go through his day. Maintaining
a huge SOS sign in the ice, times for
fishing, transmit an electronic beacon via
hand-crank and a pilgrimage to a burial site.
He lost someone there.
He has a wristwatch, informing him every time
he needs to change tasks.

When a helicopter attempts to rescue him goes
down in a wind storm.
The crash kills the pilot and badly wounding
a young woman (Maria Thelma Smaradottir)

Overgard's internal struggle is whether or not
to leave the woman behind.
This is the heart of the film and the source
of its emotional climax.
And we asks whether he is better off
alone or with someone else.

Mikkelsen’s performance is superb even though
he does not speak often.

Gloria Bell ( 2019)
Director-Sebastián Lelio
Writer-Sebastián Lelio
Stars-Julianne Moore, John Turturro.

A remake of Lelio's 2013 own Spanish-language
comedy-drama film "Gloria".

Gloria (Julianne Moore) a free-spirited divorcee,
lives alone in a Los Angeles apartment.
A crappy job at a car insurance company just to pays
her bills. She always sings along in her car on the
way to work. Frequently likes to lose herself on the
dance floor. Spends her lonely nights in bars and
looking for guys to dance with.

Her son, Peter (Michael Cera) who has recently become
a father and her daughter, Anne (Caren Pistorius)
whose boyfriend is an extreme surfer.

One night on the singles bar she meets recently divorced
Arnold (John Turturro) an ex-marine who owns a
paintball gun amusement park. He comes at her hard.
She responds, and they soon become a couple.
The two begin a faltering relationship.
Even though he divorced a year ago, remains in thrall
to his ex-wife and demanding daughters.

Julianne Moore gives a brilliant performance.

It is a film about a woman too young to give up
and too old to start over.

The First King -2019 (Il Primo Re)
Director and Producer- Matteo Rovere
Language-Latin –subtitles in English.
Stars-Alessandro Borghi, Alessio Lapice.

The film opens with a phrase.
"A God who can be understood is not a God," wrote
William Somerset Maugham.

Based on the legend of orphan twins, Romulus and Remus.
The twin brothers and shepherds who lived near the
Tiber river. Both embarked on an incredible journey to found
Rome. Romulus is said to have founded Rome in 753 B. C.
after killing his brother.

The difference between Remus and Romulus is that
Remus comes to deny the existence of the gods,
believing it is simply human fear that creates them.
And it is Remus who in the end is alone.

A tragedy to arrive at this terrible choice to lose a brother.
Both were of one body. Destiny is already written.

Sauvage (2019)
Director-Camille Vidal-Naquet
Stars-Félix Maritaud, Eric Bernard
Release Date- April (Available)
Language-French, with English subtitles.

Leo (Félix Maritaud) is a 22-year-old gay prostitute.
with deteriorating health.Fragile, sensitive, and
lost but generous. Living hand-to-mouth and sells his
body for cash on the outskirts of Strasbourg, Paris
to pay for his addiction. Use crack, coke, meth and
rarely heroine. Leo barely knows how to read.

He doesn’t make his clients shower before sex, and
he’ll kiss on the mouth. Other co-workers are healthier
and better off. Because they have limitations.
With no regular access to washing facilities, he doesn’t shower.
If he’s lucky, a warm place to sleep at night.

Yearning for love, he can’t help but hug the woman doctor who
tends to his wounds.
But he doesn’t seek to be kept and protected when it’s offered
by an attractive older man who hires his services.

Found love with fellow street-savvy bisexual Ahd (Eric Bernard).
Working life on the streets can be dangerous and Ahd is there to
protects him. But he wants him off the streets.
Leo is better off away from him.

A mesmerizing performance from Félix Maritaud.

He just wants to be free to be loved.





This post has been edited by lleihuan: Jun 27 2019, 09:23 AM

Fast Color (2019-science fiction Drama)
Release Date -April ( Available)
Director-Julia Hart
Stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, David Strathairn

Set in the American Midwest, in the dystopian near future.The Earth
is in severe drought and water is expensive and rationed.

Ruth(Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a woman on the run and being pursued by
Bill (Christopher Denham) the government authorities that want
access to her power.

She processes extraordinary power, an energy source
(like Storm from X-men). At the start, she has no control
and can cause devastating earthquake and gave her seizures.

Personal difficulties led to estrangement from her family,
a young daughter Lila (Saniyya Sidney)and her mother, Bo (Lorraine Toussaint).

And she goes home to find some answers...

This is a movie about recovery, healing, and redemption.
There’s no fancy CGI or final showdown with the big bad.
A tight 110-minute runtime.



This post has been edited by lleihuan: Jul 21 2019, 01:12 PM

Share (2019)
Release Date- 27 July (Available)
Director- Pippa Bianco(Euphoria-1 episode)
Writer - Pippa Bianco
Stars - Rhianne Barreto(Hanna), Charlie Plummer, Poorna Jagannathan.

Based on Bianco’s 2015 award-winning short of the same name.

Mandy(Rhianne Barreto) 16-year-old wakes up on her front lawn
with no memory of what transpired after a night out partying
with friends.

As she goes inside to take a shower, she saw bruises on her arms.
Mandy realizes that something terrible has happened to her.
She starts receiving texts from friends about a viral video of
a girl passed out on a bathroom floor who seems to be her.

Mandy wishes that this would all go away so that her life can
go back to normal. But her parents escalate the situation
further by taking the video to the police.

The movie questions what exactly happened to Mandy that night
and also acknowledges that the act of going to the police makes
Mandy’s life harder. It shows the complicated humanity of the
people who victimize her.

And we follow the minutiae of Mandy’s life after the incident.



This post has been edited by lleihuan: Jul 30 2019, 04:02 PM

Wild Rose (2019)
Release Date - June 2 (Available)
Director: Tom Harper
Stars: Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl), Julie Walters

20-something Rose-Lynn (Buckley)an aspiring Scottish country
singer who was recently released from prison on a drug charge.

Rose-Lynn’s dreams of only one thing, singing country music
and becoming a Nashville star. Her dreams clash with the difficulty
of her family life, her two young children who've been without their
mother for so long.

Her mother Marion (Julie Walters) has been caring for her
two young children while she spent a year in prison.
She later gets a job cleaning the home of well-off Susannah (Sophie Okonedo)
who takes an interest in her music and wants to help her along.

Rose-Lynn struggles to figure out who she wants to be.
We see her pull herself together to make good on the promise of her talent.

Wild Rose is a film worth seeing. It is touching and all-around wonderful
performance from Buckley.



This post has been edited by lleihuan: Aug 6 2019, 03:52 PM

Light of My Life (2019)
Release Date -August (Available)
Writer-Director - Casey Affleck
Stars - Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea ),
Anna Pniowsky, Elisabeth Moss.

The world has been hit by a killer plague that has wiped
out womankind. And women are a scarcity and are a commodity
to be stolen and kidnapped.

A father, Caleb Shaw (Affleck) and his eleven daughter
Rag (Anna Pniowsky) constantly moving around and trying
to go unnoticed, finding deserted locations to camp in
the woods.
To keep Rag out of harm’s way, Caleb dresses Rag up
like a boy. But her femininity is beginning to become
obvious despite her clothing and short hair.

We will see how the father prepared Rag for the world
that disfavors her gender.
And we cannot turn away from the reality that in a world
where there are conflicts, women are the most vulnerable.

A loving relationship between a father and daughter.

Affleck directs this movie with much delicate touch.



This post has been edited by lleihuan: Aug 11 2019, 02:56 PM

The Third Wife (2019-Available-internet)
Director and Screenwriter- Ash Mayfair
Language- Vietnamese with English Subtitles
Stars- Nguyen Phuong Tra My, Mai Thu Huong Maya, Long Le Vu

Vietnamese-born Ash Mayfair, tells the story of her great-grandmother’s
arranged marriage at the age of 13 to a wealthy middle-aged landowner.

Set in the late 19th century rural Vietnam. 14-year-old May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My)
being delivered by ceremonial canoe to her new home. Forced to grow up fast as she
becomes the youngest of three mistresses to wealthy older Hung (Long Le Vu)
Waiting alongside her soon-to-be husband is first wife, Ha (Tran Nu Yên-Khê),
and sexually frank second wife, Xuan (Mai Thu Huong Maya)

Young and innocent, she quickly aware of the wifely responsibility. To get pregnant
and that giving birth to a boy will secure her in Hung's favor.
She’s barely sure what to expect as a mother.
Her purpose a means to fulfill her husband’s needs.

May spends free time with Xuan’s daughters, Lien(Lam Thanh My) who are closer
to her age than the older wives.

The two wives consider May a little sister, helping her through womanhood and
motherhood but there is still biological competition over who will produce the
second male heir first.

Then there is Ha's adult son(Nguyen Thanh Tam) is having an affair with the second
wife free-spirited, Xuan.
And secretive affair be hers as well?

Most of all, the cost of innocence and to be born a girl in a broken world of arranged
marriages and polygamy. A teenager with very few options available in her life.

The Third Wife is sensuously beautiful.
This one is for film-goers who are fans of arthouse.

Angel of Mine (2019)
Release Date- 30 August(Available)
Director- Kim Farrant
Stars-Noomi Rapace (Alien: Covenant),
Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale)

A remake of the 2008 French film L’Empreinte de L’Ang.
Set in Melbourne, single mom Lizzie (Noomi Rapace)
is in an emotional shambles, on the verge of a breakdown
since her infant daughter died in a hospital fire
several years ago.

Lizzie isn’t coping with her life and is in a
custody battle with her ex-husband Mike (Luke Evans)
over their young son Thomas (Finn Little).

Her mind intensifies when she meets a married couple,
Claire(Yvonne Strahovski) and their 7-year-old daughter,
Lola (Annika Whiteley)
Lizzie becomes convinced that Lola is the child she
considered to be lost as she appears to bears a physical
resemblance.

The twists and turns that lead to the conclusion........

A plainly shot film.
And despite the material is not the best to work with,
Rapace and Strahovski give their all, excellent performances.



This post has been edited by lleihuan: Sep 1 2019, 02:18 PM

The Parts You Lose (2019)
Release Date- 4 October (Available)
Director- Christopher Cantwell
Writer- Darren Lemke
Stars- Aaron Paul, Danny Murphy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Ten-year-old Wesley(Danny Murphy) does not have a comfortable life and is
constantly getting bullied at school. He is not totally deaf
but needs sign language to communicate.

He is much happier at home with his mother (Mary Elizabeth Winstead)
and younger sister. He loves his mother.

Wesley's abusive dad (Scott McNairy) returns home after
long stretches at a time. He refuses to learn sign language
to help the boy to communicate with him.

When Wesley stumbles across a wounded fugitive (Aaron Paul)
lying in the snow on his way home from school, he slowly
nurses him back to health in their unused barn.

They strike up a wary relationship until...

With limited material for the 3 leads to work with,
still a strong performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead,
Danny Murphy and Aaron Paul.


This post has been edited by lleihuan: Oct 6 2019, 02:26 PM

Portrait of a Lady on Fire(2019)
Release Date: 2020 (Available)
Director-Céline Sciamma
Writer-Céline Sciamma
Language-French with English subtitles
Stars-Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel.

Set in 1760 France, Marianne (Noémie Merlant)a young professional
portraitist arrived by sea to a secluded island in Brittany.
She’s been commissioned by Héloïse’s mother (Valeria Golino)
Her subject is Héloïse (Adèle Haenel)

The painting will be a gift to Héloïse’s future husband,
(a sort of a kind of receipt), to a Milanese whom she never met before.
Héloïse isn’t interested in marrying and hence defied her mother’s wishes
to sit for a portrait to painters.

The family’s maid, Sophie (Luàna Bajrami), believes that Héloïse's sister
killed herself to avoid marriage.

Marianne initially present herself as a friendly companion, discreetly
observing Héloïse’s features and expressions and committing them to canvas
secretly.
Her first attempt is a failure because she can’t see her in all of
her emotional texture.

As the two women begin to let their guards down and get to know each other,
their gaze, electrifying chemistry and studying each other across rooms.
Their passion melting the barriers between them.

Painfully beautiful ending.