But I never wanted fame, I just became a Kennedy

JACKIE

Acting: 9
Dialogue:8
Score: 10 (icing on the cake)
Cinematography: 10

Someone said this movie was exploitative and honestly I just want to 'talk' to that person...
Jackie is everything I imagined it would be and of course this was the perfect role for Natalie Portman to show her acting depth in case that wasn't obvious enough in Black Swan. This movie is not a typical biopic/drama, it comes of more artsy and I expected this knowing Darren Aronofsky was involved. Although the movie was directed by Pablo Lorrain, I got strong Terrence Malick and Darren Aronofsky vibes; psychological with a strong theme of existentialism. This movie shows Jackie's state of mind throughout JFK's death and we get to see a woman without the facade dealing with loss, her faith and the world. I also love how the writers skipped the storytelling and focused more on feeling, the conversation Jackie had with the priest is beautiful and I absolutely enjoyed the dialogue on purpose and faith. Everything was laid out perfectly, from the amazing cinematography to the beautiful score.

It is evident the amount of soul Natalie put in this performance because after watching the actual footage of 'The White House Tour' I can 90% say Natalie nailed it.


No one talks about Peter Sarsgaard and I do not get it. He is definitely a gem (who needs more lead roles) and it showed once again in this movie. Just like Black mass, his presence is undeniable and it's a shame he always goes unnoticed.


This is definitely my favorite movie of 2016 so far and anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for any movie with a theme of living and existence (Melancholia, Boyhood, Before Sunrise etc)

I do not think I can do justice in 'reviewing' the intricate and amazing work Stephane Fontaine did with the cinematography. Props to Pablo Lorrain for a well directed movie! The pacing and sequencing were great!

Son of Saul (2015)

• Acting: 10 
• Dialogue: 9 
• Score(music): There is no music
• Cinematography: 10 
• Repeatable/Rewatchable: Yes!

Before I saw Son of Saul, I had heard vaguely how it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. But nothing could prepare me for the beautiful film I saw. The movie tells the story of Saul, a Hungarian working in a concentration camp. He finds the body of his son, and tries to give him a proper burial. There is almost no music in this film, which adds to the rawness of the whole thing.

There is almost a POV story development, and it helps to make more intimate the horrors of WW2, especially what the Jews had to go through. I counted about only 10 cuts in the entire film, so virtually every scene is long, filled with rugged people whispering to each other. You can literally feel their suffering. And that’s how you spot a good movie: it sells an emotion to you. One of standout scenes for me was when the Nazis were shooting Jews and dumping them in pits to be burned. Just look at these visuals.

But my best scene has to be the very last scene. Without revealing too much, I will just say that Saul’s smile to me bore the pain, and hope of every Jew that lived through that nightmare. Just look at those eyes.