Substance

Pretty  girls should always smile

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Year: 2014
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Writer: Coralie Fargeat
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Edward Hamilton-Clark, Gore Abrams, Oscar Lesage, Christian Erickson, Robin Greer, Tom Morton, Hugo Diego Garcia, Daniel Knight, Olivier Raynal
What is this about: Elisabeth is beautiful celebrity making career with her looks, but when job opportunities start to fade because of her age she agrees to try experimental medical care.

Content warnings: Violence, body horror
Best about it: I loved the absurdness, especially during conversations. The movie is entertaining yet it has a slightly surreal art movie feeling. The very trivial everyday theme of women expexted to be pretty and looking youg has become the matter of life and death.

How did I felt: Amused, entertained, repulsed
Goodness: 4,5/5
Weirdness: 5/5

The Double

There aren't too many like you. Are there, Simon?

Year: 2013
Director: Richard Ayoade
Writer: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Ayoade, Avi Korine
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Yasmin Paige,Noah Taylor, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Phyllis Somerville, Gabrielle Downey
What is this about: Dark mystery art movie about young man, who somehow seems bland and plain to everyone whether he is at public place, work or trying to talk to girl he likes. He is so invisible that nobody even seems to notice when new co-worker looks exactly like him. Movie is based on novel by Dostoevsky.

Content warnings: Suicidal behavior, violence
Best about it: Uniqueness, retro sci-fi atmosphere, use of colors
How did I felt: I was expecting quite basic entertaining thriller so I was very suprised when what I got was quite minimalistic, slow art movie. In some parts watching it felt like seeing a dance koreografy. All the moves were very carefully planned as well as lightning and sounds. Atmospehere felt quite heavy because the lack of natural light and some other filming choises.
Goodness: 4/5
Weirdness: 4/5

The occasion of remembering the turning gate (Saenghwalui balgyeon)

Why don't we - lets kiss to break the ice 

Year: 2002
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Writer: Hong Sang-soo
Starring: Choo Sang-mi, Ye Ji-won, George Georgiou, Hak-Seon Kim, Kim Sang-kyung
What is this about: Korean romantic drama about actor Kyung Soo, whose career isn't going so great and he decides to leave Seoul for a while to meet an old friend. Movie is divided by two sections, first chapter is when Kyung Soo is with his friend and second part of his trip home.

Content warnings: Adult content
Best about it: Some dialogues, shabby aesthetics, attempst to describe the pain of living
How did I felt: For some reasons the characters we'rent realistic so it was really hard for me to take this movie seriously. I liked the frinedship theme but the way love was described made me feel that this was written by someone who has never been in love or maybe some teenager with big feelings.
Goodness: 2,5/5
Weirdness: 1/5

E

Men and graveyards. Sex and death. That's all we ever talk about.

Year: 2025
Director: Anna Eriksson
Writer: Anna Eriksson
Starring: Anna Eriksson, Parco Lee, Johannes Haasbroek, Elize van Huyssteen
What is this about: E is a surreal mystery art movie about former priminister Eva Vogler currently working at Blair Witch institute. After anasyrma gesture at Nobel price event she gets lost in the never ending desert. E is final part of the trilogy.

 
I participated q&a with the auteur after seeing the movie and here's some interesting facts about the process: The movie was filmed in desert in Namibia, only one hour a day because of the lightning of the perfect evening sun. Filming took three months and they had only one camera. Some actors were found in the area and the filmimg crue wanted to respect the nature of the area: all the sets were build without cars. Sound design was done after filming. The author also told about the use of female body - it should be seen as a tool to tell a story about human kind, it doesn't mean that story would be personal.

Content warnings: Sexual and violent scenes
Best about it: Visuality, atmosphere, themes such as politics, queerness, homophobia, insest and hysteria. I also ejoyd some smart references to resent events such as former priministers new job and high electricity prices.
How did I felt: Watching E has similar feeling than the two previous movies - it's slow, torturing, smart and beautiful. It feels like you're watching some secrets you should not see. Compared to two other movies this was little bit less heavy visually, as seeing endless dessert is almost meditative experience.
Goodness: 5/5
Weirdness: 5/5

Previous parts:
M 2018 
W 2022 

The Royal hotel

 You'll have to be comfortable with a fair amount of male attention

Year: 2023
Director: Kitty Green
Writer: Kitty Green, Oscar Redding
Starring: Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Herbert Nordrum, Ursula Yovich
Alex Malone, Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Nic Darrigo, Adam Morgan, Adam MacNeill, Ben Eggleton, Barbara Lowing, Daniel Henshall, Bruce R. Carter, Toby Wallace
What is this about: Psykological thriller road movie about two backpackers working in a distant pub in australian countryside

Content warnings: Violence
Best about it: Ominous and nicely mysterious atmosphere without really being scary, dusty aesthetics
How did I felt: Entertained, interested
Goodness: 3/5
Weirdness: 2/5

Gyesirok (Revelations)

 Things like devils and monsters are created by humans to justify themselves

Year: 2025
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Writer: Kyu-Seok Choi, Yeon Sang-ho
Starring: Ryu Jun-yeol, Shin Hyun-been, Shin Min-jae,Han Ji-hyun, Kim Bo-min,  Kim Do-young, Moon Joo-yeon, Bae Yoon-gyu, Oh Chi-woon, Woo Kang-min
What is this about: Crime mystery movie about pastor of a small church who is suspecting a pedophile on parole to be kidnapper. The pastor believes he is following a divine revelations to punish sinners.

Content warnings: Violence
Best about it: Intruiging plot, many plot twists and nicely ominous atmosphere.
How did I felt: Entertained
Goodness: 4/5
Weirdness: 2/5

Caught Stealing

Let's go back to your place and you can take advantage of my poor judgement

Year: 2025
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Charlie Huston
Starring: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Griffin Dunne, Dominique Silver, Shaun O'Hagan, Action Bronson, Kitty Lawrence, Matt Smith
What is this about: Ex-baseball player Hank is having pretty normal life: working as bartender, calling his mother everyday, dating a dream girl and strugling with his drinking habits. When he promise to pet sit for his neighbors cat things starts to get too wild with incidents with cops and Russian mobsters.

Content warnings: Violence
Best about it: Strong performances, nice plot with enough plot twists. I expected to see something a bit lighter but it was nice suprise how rough the movie actually was even tho having some comedy in it.
How did I felt: Entertained, shocked, excited
Goodness: 4/5
Weirdness: 3/5

Kneecap

Do you want it in your chest,
or your knees or your head,
DJ Provai has the lead,
You can beg, you can plead,
You can tell us what we need.
You can change your name but
you're all the f*cking same!

Year: 2024
Director: Rich Peppiatt
Writer: Rich Peppiatt, Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara
Starring: Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds
Adam Best, Simone Kirby, Michael Fassbender, Matthew Sharpe, Cathal Mercer, Donagh Deeney, Marty Maguire, Saorlaoith Brady, Aidan McCaughey, Lalor Roddy, Emily Lamey
What is this about: Story of hip hop band Kneecaps rise in Belfast during activists fight for Irish language. Based on real events.

Content warnings: Some violence
Best about it: Hearing the iri language, overall very inspirational and full of energy, great amount of political aspect. 
How did I felt: Excited, interested and entertained
Goodness: 5/5
Weirdness: 2/5 

Sexmisja

Sexmission

Briefly speaking we owe all the world's evil to you. From religious wars to cervical cancer. 

Year: 1984
Director: Juliusz Machulski
Writer: Juliusz Machulski, Pavel Hajný, Jolanta Hartwig
Starring: Wieslaw Michnikowski, Jerzy Stuhr, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Dorota Stalinska, Janusz Michalowski, Piotr Stefaniak, Zofia Plewinska, Bozena Stryjkówna
What is this about: Polish dark sci-fi comedy taking place in near future. After 50 years of hibernation, two scientists wake up and it turns out they are the only two males left in a new underground society.

Content warnings: Nudity, violence
Best about it: I watched this purely from curiosity but it was pleasant supprising - not just crazy goofing around comedy, but actually clever plot in the end. Very nice visually also.
How did I felt: Entertained
Goodness: 4/5
Weirdness: 3/5

Doom generation

You're like a life support system for a cock

 

Year: 1995
Writer: Gregg Araki
Director: Gregg Araki
Starring: James Duval, Rose McGowan, Johnathon Schaech, Salvator Xuereb, Dustin Nguyen, Margaret Cho
What is this about: Romantic dark comedy thriller road movie about youg adults being carefree, exploring their sexuality and getting involved crimes so badly they need to start a getaway.

 
Content warnings: Nudity, sex, violence, sexual violence
Best about it: Visuality, complex emotions of the main characters
How did I felt: Attracted, amused and repulsed
Goodness: 4/5
Weirdness: 3/5

Hatsukoi (First Love)

The cat is out of the bag now 

Year: 2019
Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Masa Nakamura
Starring: Sakurako Konishi, Masataka Kubota, Takahiro Miura, Becky, Masayuki Deai, Mami Fujioka, Jun Murakami
What is this about: After promising boxer loses a match and finds out he has brain tumor he bumps in to Monica, girl who is forced to work as prostitute because his fathers depts.

Content warnings: Violence
Best about it: Themes of the movie were deep and almost devestating but somehow the movie was overall easy to watch
How did I felt: Entertained
Goodness: 4/5
Weirdness: 3/5