James' World 2

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Spanish: Bardo, falsa crónica de unas cuantas verdades), or simply Bardo, is a Mexican epic black comedy-drama co-written, co-composed, edited, produced, and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The film follows a journalist/documentarian who returns to his native country of Mexico and begins having an existential crisis in the form of dreamlike visions. It is Iñárritu’s first film to be fully filmed in Mexico since Amores perros in 2000. Of course, I watched this film (I never heard of it til now) because it was nominated for an Oscar. It has English subtitles and is over two and a half hours long. I found Bardo confusing but is a good literary piece that could probably be enjoyed more by a critic.

FYI: The title refers to the Buddhist concept bardo, a liminal state between death and rebirth.

Silverio Gama (Daniel Giménez Cacho)

Turning Red is a computer-animated fantasy comedy produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Domee Shi (in her feature directorial debut) and produced by Lindsey Collins, from a screenplay written by Shi and Julia Cho, and a story by Shi, Cho, and Sarah Streicher. The film marks the first Pixar feature film solely directed by a woman. The plot follows a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who transforms into a giant red panda when she experiences any kind of strong emotions, due to a hereditary curse. Because Turning Red was nominated for an Oscar, I was obligated to see the film, which I thought was a little over the top but still an entertaining story.

In 2002 Toronto, 13-year-old Meilin “Mei” Lee (voice: Rosalie Chiang), who lives with her parents, Ming (voice: Sandra Oh) and Jin (voice: Orion Lee), helps…

The Sea Beast is a computer-animated adventure directed by Chris Williams, who co-wrote the screenplay with Nell Benjamin and produced with Jed Schlanger. The film tells the story of a sea monster hunter and a young orphan girl who joins his group of sea monster hunters on their search for the elusive Red Bluster back in the 17th century. Learning of The Sea Beast and its Oscar nomination, I of course wanted to watch the film. I must say, The Sea Beast dished up a very profound message and was entertaining.

For hundreds of years, sea beasts have surfaced to wreak havoc against mankind. In response, sailors known as ‘hunters’ venture outward on their ships to hunt the beasts across the ocean, the most famous and successful of these being the crew of the “Inevitable”, which is led by the legendary Captain Augustus Crow III (voice: Jared Harris),

Missing is a screen life thriller written and directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson (in their feature directorial debuts) from a story by Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty, who also produced the film with Natalie Qasabian. The film is a stand-alone sequel to “Searching”, (2018).  A teenager tries to find her missing mother after she disappears on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend. The trailer for this film looked so exciting that I was immediately hooked. After seeing Missing, I thought the movie turned out to tell a pretty decent story.

In an archive video, a young June Allen (Storm Reid) is with her deceased father James (Tim Griffin), who died from a brain tumor shortly after the video was made. Presently, June plans a house party once her mother Grace (Nia Long)leaves for a week-long trip to Colombia with her new boyfriend Kevin (Ken…

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a live-action/stop-motion animated comedy-drama directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (in his feature directorial debut), with a screenplay by Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, and Nick Paley from a story by Fleischer Camp, Slate, Paley, and Elisabeth Holm. It is based on a series of shorts of the same name written by Slate and Fleischer Camp. Slate reprises her voice role as Marcel, an anthropomorphic shell living with his grandmother Connie. I am not a fan of animated films, having said that, I’ve learned to accept them because they have improved drastically over the decades. Because of the Oscar nominations, I watched Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Having nothing to do with the animation, I disliked this feature as it was boring and annoying. Of course, this is just my opinion, others may enjoy the film.

Following the end of his marriage, documentary filmmaker

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a historical comedy-drama directed and produced by Anthony Fabian, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, and Olivia Hetreed. It is the third film adaptation of the 1958 novel Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris by Paul Gallico. This delightful film follows an older woman who brings her dream of going to Paris and wearing a Dior dress to fruition. I saw this movie a long time ago and really enjoyed it.

In 1957 London, Mrs. Ada Harris (Lesley Manville), a widowed cleaning lady, becomes obsessed with one client’s haute couture Dior dress; it inspires an ambition to buy her own Dior dress. After unexpectedly receiving a war widow’s pension, she travels to Paris to do so. She stumbles into a showing of Dior’s 10th-anniversary collection and is befriended by André (Lucas Bravo), the Dior accountant, and Natasha (Alba Baptista)

Aftersun is a coming-of-age drama written and directed by Charlotte Wells. The film follows an 11-year-old Scottish girl, on vacation with her father at a Turkish resort on the eve of his 31st birthday. I can add Aftersun to the list of movies I never heard of until it was nominated for an Academy award.  I absolutely did not like Aftersun. I think I’ve discovered I don’t much like films that are categorized as coming of age. I don’t feel this way without reason, I just really didn’t like Aftersun.

Set in the early 2000s, Eleven-year-old Sophie Lesley Patterson (Frankie Corio) takes a summer holiday to Turkey with her loving 30-year-old Scottish father Calum Aaron Patterson (Paul Mescal). Sophie records the holiday on a MiniDV camera, the footage of which is interspersed throughout the film. Over the course of the holiday, Sophie observes the teenagers on the Turkish resort…

“To Leslie” is an independent drama directed by Michael Morris (in his feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Ryan Binaco. Inspired by true events, the film is about a single mother who is an alcoholic and uses up all the prize money she received after winning the lottery.
This is another movie I had never heard of until the 95th Oscar nominations. After seeing  “To Leslie”, I think it was a shame that it was not widely distributed and shown in multiple theaters.  I found this movie to be outstanding.

Leslie (Andrea Riseborough)is a troubled and manipulative alcoholic from West Texas who won $190,000 in a local lottery, only to squander the winnings on liquor and drugs. Six years later, Leslie is destitute, living a peripatetic life in motels and on the streets. After being kicked out of a residential motel, she reunites with her estranged 20-year-old son

Empire of Light is a British drama directed, written, and co-produced by Sam Mendes. This drama is set in an English coastal town in the early 1980s and tells about the power of human connection during turbulent times. Aside from Olivia Coleman being one of the greatest actresses of our time, I also liked the trailer, which made me want to see this movie.  I thought the film was well done.

Hilary Small (Olivia Coleman) works as a duty manager at the “Empire Cinema”, Margate, on the north coast of Kent, England. Hilary struggles with bipolar disorder and lives alone. She has been prescribed lithium by her doctor and is having extramarital sex with her boss Donald Ellis (Colin Firth). A new employee, who is a British Black man,  Stephen (Michael Ward) comes on board at the Margate cinema. Stephen lives with his mother Delia (Tanya Moodie) who works as a…