Stanislaus

Poppies offers a very strange story about how to cope with the loss of a loved one. A hallucinogenic battle between poppies and daisies!

A chameleon romance set in the metro that in three minutes manages to royally entertain and put a smile on the viewer's face that is almost mischievous. Darrel gives flirting another dimension!

Substance presents a gritty slice-of-life story that didn't grab me that much, but is still worth a watch thanks to the decent animation and a strong soundtrack.

Simple in story, but all the more pleasantly conveyed short with an interesting theme about love and its expression. A film that literally warms the heart.

Yuanfen will not impress you with its animation, because technically, it is not very good. This short relies more on the story and a rather nice twist. The bonus point is the musical score.

A film about two stars – one freshly ignited and the other slowly fading away. That being said, A Star is Born offers nothing new in terms of story, but it is still a believable and heartfelt film that offers a number of strong songs and compelling performances. Bradley Cooper as a tough and life-worn "cowboy" with inner demons made a great counterpoint to the seemingly fragile, insecure and inexperienced Lady Gaga and you can really feel the chemistry between them. Sam Elliott as a kind of moral compass was also convincing. At some point you begin to suspect how the whole thing will conclude, but I was still tense until the end. Personally, the sequence in the sanitarium got me the most. In the end, weaker, but still four stars!

I first came across Yorgos Lanthimos's work through The Favourite, and since I was intrigued by his distinctive (and somewhat twisted) directorial style, I decided to watch one of his earlier pieces. In terms of building up an uncomfortable atmosphere and the truly unnatural direction of the actors and odd camera amgñes, The Killing of a Sacred Deer highlights the director's unique aesthetic. However, while I didn't mind this style with The Favourite, and in fact found it suited to the historically distant time period, I wasn't as hooked in the case of Deer. The film builds on a very bizarre plot, which on the one hand feels offbeat and creepy, but on the other is just too weird for my taste. Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrell give convincing and strong performances, but in the case of the child actors I have to be critical, especially because of the robotic (which may have been the point) acting of Raffey Cassidy. Barry Keoghan is a chapter unto himself. I first saw him in Dunkirk and found him incredibly unlikeable, and I was seriously indifferent to his fate. I also found him unlikeable here, but in this case it added to a deeper appreciation of his character. The final ten minutes were very powerful and uncomfortable to watch, no question about it. The film is somewhere between two and three stars for me. I'll give it a thumbs up for now, but it's quite possible that I'll reconsider my opinion in time.

Roma initially takes a very slow, sometimes almost documentary-like look into the everyday life of the maid and the family she works for, while in the middle the atmosphere of the film seems to break, gaining in intensity and emotional and tense scenes, only to close quietly again at the end. Personally, I would have cut the first half a bit, as I found some of the shots and scenes to be emotionally long, but I understand that for Alfonso Cuarón this was a very personal and essential part of the film, which allowed the typical colour of 1970s Mexico to radiate from all sides. Cleo, the protagonist, doesn't have it easy in life, but she tries her best to fight adversity like a lioness and makes a very strong impression – Yalitza Aparicio played her role really convincingly. The child actors, or rather their characters, were very annoying and the character of Fermin wins the award for the most selfish coward of the century. I must not fail to praise the camera work and production design, namely the many very plastic scenes that worked with multiple planes at once. Despite a harder-to-digest beginning, Roma offers more than one strong scene, like fire on New Year's Day, the childbirth and trapped in the waves, and you can feel the director's great passion from the film. As a result, I'm hovering between three and four stars, but in this case I'll give it a boost. P. S. Cuarón clearly likes plane shots!

A peculiarly conceived short with an unmistakable French touch, which unfortunately lacks emotion. It's not funny, it's not serious, it's not informative, it's just bland. Only the animation and that French look deserve praise.

What is happiness and why does everyone long for it so relentlessly? Happiness captivates with its animation and music selection, as well as the message it conveys. Achieving happiness and fulfillment in a monotonously grey and ultra-consumerist society that is full of excess advertising, spoiled people/mice, and wickedness of all kinds is hard work, and even a souped-up sports car won't help.