Title: Arctic

Director: Joe Penna

Released: May 10, 2018 (premiere at Cannes), February 1, 2019 (released in theaters)

Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes

Available to stream on: Kanopy and Netflix

Overgård (Mads Mikkelsen) is doing everything he can to survive. His plane has crashed in the Arctic Circle and he’s living in the fuselage awaiting rescue. His days are spent ice fishing for food, trying to keep said fish out of the grasp of polar bears, and running a distress beacon hoping a search and rescue team will locate him.

A helicopter appears to be responding to Overgård’s distress beacon one day but falls victim to the weather and crashes when attempting to land. The pilot is killed in the crash, but the other passenger (Maria Thelma) is alive, unconscious and severely injured but alive.

Overgård tends to her wound and gets her situated in his plane while he goes to explore the helicopter wreckage. While there he finds supplies, the woman’s ID, and a picture of her family that he brings back for her. He continues to feed and tend to her, but her condition is not improving. Overgård makes the difficult decision to embark on a trek to a refuge, with the wounded passenger in tow, that is a few days away.

With limited resources, will Overgård be able to get the passenger to medical assistance?

Will Overgård himself be able to survive the trek?

Well, another week brings with it another movie with a very straightforward and lean plot. This is not a complaint by any means, I love a movie that doesn’t waste a lot of time with fluff. Instead, you know exactly what you’re in for and you buckle up for the ride.

After finishing Arctic (2018), it’s confirmed that I could watch Mads Mikkelsen watch the grass grow and be entertained. With there being so little dialogue, it fell on Mads to carry this movie through facial expressions and movements. Spoiler alert, he passed that test with flying colors. Much like Tom Hanks did in Cast Away, Mads had me captivated the entire time despite barely saying anything. You can see and feel the pain, anguish, and hopelessness that Overgård is going through. So much so, that you become emotionally invested in his outcome and well-being.

The beautiful cinematography from Tómas Örn Tómasson drives home just how alone Overgård and the passenger are in the Arctic Circle. Meanwhile, the music from Joseph Trapanese wonderfully twists that emotional knife a little deeper into you each time you hear it.

If you are a fan of Mads Mikkelsen, go watch this movie.

If you are a fan of survival movies, go watch this movie.

Shoot, even if you’ve already seen it, here’s your recommendation to go and watch Arctic (2018) again.

So, there are my thoughts, but what are yours?

Tell me what you thought of Arctic (2018) in the comments below or on social media!

Keep an eye on Bluesky and Threads/Instagram this Wednesday for a preview of what’s coming next Sunday for the letter “W”.

As always, you can see what else I’ve been watching over on Letterboxd.

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Title: Good Morning

Director: Yasujirô Ozu

Released: May 12, 1959 (Japan)

Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes

Available to stream on: Tubi, Max, and The Criterion Channel

Isamu (Masahiko Shimazu) and Minoru (Kôji Shitara) Hayashi love their sumo wrestling. Unfortunately for them, their parents refuse to buy a television set for their home. So, Isamu and Minoru frequently visit their neighbor’s home in order to watch tv. There’s only one problem, their mother, Tamiko (Kuniko Miyake), forbids them from going over there again because she believes the mother is a cabaret dancer.

Meanwhile, all of the mothers in the neighborhood are a bit on edge. The money collected for their women’s club monthly dues is missing. Fingers are pointed as to who the culprit could be and relationships amongst the club members become strained.

While all of this is happening, Mr. Hayashi (Chishû Ryû) and Minoru have a quarrel that sees Mr. Hayashi tell Minoru that he talks too much. While in their room together, Minoru and Isamu agree that they will go on a silent strike and refuse to speak until their home has a television set. The first to feel the impact of the silent strike is Mrs. Haraguchi (Haruko Sugimura). She believes that Mrs. Hayashi is having her boys disrespect her as a result of a misunderstanding regarding the monthly dues.

How far will Minoru and Isamu take their silent strike?

Will it end the way they’re hoping?

Well, this was an interesting watch.

We are given a very simple plot that gives a glimpse into life in suburbia in this Japanese neighborhood. It’s also very easy to draw comparisons to life in suburbia just about anywhere else in the world. This allows the viewer to relate to and/or see themselves in at least one of the characters that we encounter.

The acting was good overall; however, Masahiko Shimazu as Isamu stole the show for me. His comedic timing was on-point in every scene that called for it.

Speaking of comedic timing, can we talk about the flatulence? The whole town needs to address whatever in their diet is causing them to be so gassy. Now I know, it’s easy to point to fart jokes and say that they’re used to capture a sense childhood innocence. But there was also a lesson learned: Never trust a fart.

Good Morning (1959) is cute, funny, and a brisk ninety-four minutes. This was the first movie of Yasujirô Ozu’s that I’ve seen but probably won’t be the last. If you’ve yet to see it, it gets a recommend from me.

Well, now it’s your turn. If you’ve seen Good Morning (1959), tell me what you thought of it in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Keep track of what else I’m watching on Letterboxd.

Wednesday on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram I’ll be posting who the crew member will be for the letter “U” and which movie they worked on that we’ll be reviewing next week.

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Title: Black Rain

Director: Ridley Scott

Released: September 22, 1989

Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes

Available to stream on: MGM+ and Paramount+

Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas) is an NYPD detective who is having a rough go of things. He’s behind on his alimony payments and is under the microscope of Internal Affairs. IA believes that Conklin and his former partner had sticky fingers during a drug bust where all of the money wasn’t accounted for.

Nick is out for a bite to eat with his new partner, Charlie Vincent (Andy Garcia), when they witness a Yakuza by the name of Koji Sato (Yûsaku Matsuda) walk in. After a few words with the Japanese men at a table, Sato kills them, takes a package, and takes off into the streets of New York.

Nick and Charlie are in hot pursuit and eventually apprehend Sato. While they’d both like to see Sato convicted and serve time in a United States prison before going back to Japan, unfortunately, that’s not what they get. Instead, they are to escort Sato back to Osaka, Japan by order of the Japanese Embassy.

Once they arrive in Japan, they are met by the local authorities who have Nick sign some paperwork before they take Sato into custody. Moments later, more local authorities come onboard the plane looking to take Sato into custody. Turns out that the first group weren’t police at all, they were Yakuza. That paperwork that Nick signed to turn over Sato, yeah that was nothing more than a bogus insurance policy.

Determined to bring Sato to justice, Nick and Charlie are paired with local Inspector Masahiro Matsumoto (Ken Takakura) and given strict instruction that they are there to observe, nothing more. Charlie seems to understand that while in Japan, he has to play by their rules. Nick, on the other hand, isn’t so quick to agree. Matsumoto does his best to try and get Nick to understand that his vigilante ways won’t get him far while he’s here. If he wants to see Sato brought to justice, Nick will have to play by the rules.

Can Charlie keep Nick out of too much trouble?

Will Nick fall in-line in order to bring down Sato?

Regardless, just be sure you watch your tail, cowboy.

Prior to this viewing, I had seen the title card for Black Rain (1989) when browsing but didn’t know anything about it. Honestly, I didn’t even know it was a Ridley Scott film. So, I was excited to be able to correct a Ridley Scott blind spot.

Yes, the argument could be made that Black Rain (1989) is just another ’80s buddy cop movie. I, for one, found it to be more enjoyable than most of the buddy cop offerings of the ’80s.

A big part of my enjoyment stemmed from the way that Director of Photography Jan de Bont shot this. It is vibrant in parts, uses darkness and shadows to its advantage in others, and has a gritty almost neo-noir feel to it throughout.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t buying Michael Douglas as Nick Conklin. It felt as though he was trying too hard to be the “plays by his own rules” NYPD cop. There wasn’t a natural feel to the way Conklin was portrayed and I don’t think that Douglas was the right person for that role.

Meanwhile, Andy Garcia stole the show for me. I found his portrayal as the lighthearted Charlie Vincent highly enjoyable. He provides the right amount of comic relief all while trying to get Nick and Masahiro to see eye-to-eye.

The action sequences, while nothing to write home about, serve their purpose and are still fun. We get a Hans Zimmer score that doesn’t heavily rely on percussion. And overall, Black Rain (1989) is a fun gem of an ’80s action flick that I don’t hear discussed enough.

By no means am I saying that you need to drop what you’re doing to run and go watch it. But the next time you aren’t sure what to watch, fire up Black Rain (1989).

Sometimes, you just got to go for it.

Well, those are my thoughts on Black Rain (1989), but what are yours? Let me hear what you thought of it in the comments below or on social media!

You can stay up to date on what else I’m watching by following my Letterboxd.

Next week we’ll have the letter “T”. Keep an eye on Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram this Wednesday to see who the crew member is and what movie of theirs we’ll be reviewing.

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What does a production manager do, you ask? Well, a production manager wears a lot of different hats over the course of a production. They oversee location scouting, are in charge of budgeting, hire crew, secure any permits and releases, and this is just scratching the surface.

Now that we’ve got a better idea of Paolo’s responsibilities were, let’s get to Museum Hours (2012).

Title: Museum Hours

Director: Jem Cohen

Released: September 6, 2013 (Premiered August 8, 2012, at the Locarno Film Festival)

Runtime: 1 hour 47 minutes

Available to stream on: Kanopy and Mubi

Anne (Mary Margaret O’Hara) finds herself in Austria dealing with a family emergency. She has never been to Austria and has very little money on her while she’s there. What’s one place that you can visit, for a relatively inexpensive amount of money, and lose yourself for hours on end? A museum, of course.

While frequenting the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Anne encounters Johann (Bobby Sommer), a security guard at the museum. Johann has worked a variety of jobs prior to finding himself at the museum. However, he says he enjoys the museum the most because of the special quiet that one can find in a museum.

Johann and Anne explore not only the works within the museum, but the city of Vienna as well. As Johann shows us, there is art to be found all around us, no matter if it is in the city streets or on the walls of a museum. All you have to do is be willing to open your eyes to it.

The fun thing about doing this challenge is going in only knowing the Letterboxd synopsis of a film. I’ll have a general idea as to what I’m in for but nothing that will sway my overall view of a film prior to viewing it. Sometimes that means a film with an intriguing synopsis will absolutely blow you away, other times it can leave you frustratingly disappointed. Museum Hours (2012) manages to do both.

There is no music in this film. When we’re on the city streets, the only sounds are the hustle and bustle of the city. When we’re in the museum, rather than soft music or absolute silence, we get the audio of the museum guide as we journey through. This choice was a bold one that works well in getting the viewer to be more observant to what is around them. To get one to see that if you slow down and take in the moment, you’ll find that art is all around you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a famous painting, a work of art by an unknown artist who died poor and alone, or the architecture of a building. What matters is how the art is interpreted and absorbed by the viewer of it.

However, where Museum Hours (2012) lost me was the shoe-horned “plot” with Johann and Anne. I was so captivated by the sights and sounds of the city and the works on display in the museum. When we pivot back to Anne and why she’s there, it kind of took me out of it. Yes, I know that her reason for being there and what she’s dealing with plays into the larger themes that Jem Cohen is trying to get across.

That’s not to say that I didn’t find it interesting, quite the opposite actually. It’s just that the two types of stories didn’t seem to blend together in a complete way. I’d be interested in seeing more about Johann, his past, and his day-to-day interactions with complete strangers in the museum. Meanwhile, I’d also be interested in seeing more of the city of Vienna.

Unfortunately, the combining of the two left me frustratingly captivated from beginning to end.

Well, there you have it. Another letter in the books.

If you’ve seen Museum Hours (2012), I want to know what you thought of it. Tell me in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Next week we’ll have the letter “Q”. Want a sneak preview as to who the crew member will be and what movie we’ll be reviewing? Keep an eye out on Threads and Instagram this Wednesday!

As always, you can follow what else I’m watching on Letterboxd.

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Title: Lapsis

Director: Noah Hutton

Released: July 11, 2020 (South Korea – Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival)/October 1, 2020 (United States – Nashville Film Festival)

Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

Available to stream on: Kanopy

Ray Tincelli (Dean Imperial) is just trying to do what’s best for his younger brother, Jamie (Babe Howard). You see, Jamie suffers from CFS (Chronic Fatigue Symptom), and the treatments are expensive, to say the least. Unfortunately for Ray, he keeps striking out with his extra side hustles and attempts to turn a quick profit. Luckily Ray isn’t completely out of options just yet.

Quantum is a tech company that is on the verge of a monopoly on both software and hardware. In the “New Economy” the quantum trading market is the way of the future. The servers for Quantum are all connected by cables that are plugged into giant black cubes, strategically placed in low-populated and desolate areas. CABLR, the company that ensures all these cables are plugged in, happens to be hiring.

What exactly does the job entail? Well, each contractor is assigned a route and along the way they unspool the cable and plug it into the cubes as they come across them. For each route accepted and successfully completed, you earn a set amount of money.

Sounds like a rather easy and straightforward way to earn some extra money, right? Maybe on paper.

As it turns out, humans aren’t the only ones that are assigned routes. CABLR also happens to be using robots to run the same routes. If a robot passes you on a route and completes it before you, you don’t receive the full payment.

Will Ray be able to complete enough routes to help Jamie?

Is there a way to outsmart the robots and eliminate the competition?

What if the fellow cablers along the trail aren’t as friendly as they appear?

Lapsis (2020) is one of those movies where after the end credits roll, you find yourself sitting there wondering if you fully grasped everything that just happened.

Noah Hutton wrote, directed, edited, and scored a clever science fiction film that pulls no punches in poking fun at the “gig economy”. It’s very easy to look at CABLR offering “financial freedom” and increased pay/better routes the more routes you complete and draw comparisons to Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Amazon, etc. Dangle the carrot in front of those who need help the most all while working to make them obsolete.

Full disclosure, when I first saw Dean Imperial as Ray, I wasn’t sure if I could get behind him as a protagonist. Boy was I wrong. As the story unfolds, we are gaining a better understanding of what exactly is taking place at the same time as Ray is. This allows you to connect with Ray’s character and align yourself “in his corner”, if you will.

It is tough to talk about Lapsis (2020) at-length without giving too much away. If you fancy yourself a dystopian sci-fi flick, definitely seek this out. If you’re on the fence, give it a shot anyways. It is a brisk 108 minutes and who knows, you just might surprise yourself.

So, there you have it. Those are my thoughts on Lapsis (2020), but what are yours? Tell me what you thought of it in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

See everything else that I’m watching and give me a follow over on Letterboxd.

As always, keep an eye on Threads and Instagram this Wednesday for a preview of what the letter “P” will have in store for us next week.

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Title: The Novice

Director: Lauren Hadaway

Released: June 13, 2021 (Tribeca Film Festival)

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

Available to stream on: Showtime

Alex Dall (Isabelle Fuhrman) is a freshman at Wellington College who decides to join the school’s novice rowing team. All it takes is one visit to a training class and Alex is obsessed. No matter what she’s doing or where she’s going, she’s thinking about rowing. “Arms body legs. Legs body arms. Arms body legs. Legs body arms.”

While Alex works hard to become the top novice, she is continuously bested by fellow-freshman, Jamie Brill (Amy Forsyth). Jamie is equally as competitive as Alex, especially since she views rowing as her path to an academic scholarship. There’s one big difference between them though; while Alex has to work hard and push herself to her limits in order to get better, rowing seems to just come naturally to Jamie.

Whether it is in practice with everyone else or alone during school breaks, Alex pushes herself to unhealthy limits in order to become the best. The goal is the varsity team, and nothing is going to stop her from achieving that goal.

Alex’s health, friendships, and overall well-being further deteriorate. But it is all worth it in the end as long as she proves, through hard work and tenacity, that she is the best.

Isn’t it?

What if I told you that this was the feature debut for writer/director Lauren Hadaway? Pretty wild, huh?

Isabelle Fuhrman is perfectly cast as Alex. There’s something slightly terrifying about her obsession, but at the same time, you are just as stressed as she is in hopes that she succeeds. You forget that “oh hey, it’s Esther from Orphan.” and instead are completely engulfed in the character of Alex Dall.

While Fuhrman gives an outstanding performance, there are three aspects of The Novice (2021) that really stole the show. The music, the sound, and the editing are all absolutely phenomenal. This makes a lot of sense as to why once you learn that Lauren Hadaway was the sound editor for Whiplash. While Lauren did have a hand in the editing here, let’s not overlook to the entire sound team, Alex Weston (composer), Todd Martin (director of photography), and Nathan Nugent (editor) who all deserve just as much credit.

I learned a lot about a sport I knew very little of. It was refreshing to see the “troubled artist” trope used with a student athlete being said troubled artist. Most of all, there is something to be said of a movie that is ninety-seven minutes long without a single ounce of fat on it.

If you have not seen The Novice (2021), please use your arms, body, and legs to fix that.

Well, those are my thoughts on it. But what are yours? Tell me what you thought of The Novice (2021) in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

So, what will be next for the letter “O”? We’ll have Ori Gilady (Hairstylist) and the movie of Ori’s being reviewed will be Lapsis (2020).

Want to get a sneak peek at what’ll be coming up for the letter “P”? Keep an eye on Threads and Instagram this Wednesday!

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Title: Perfect Sense

Director: David Mackenzie

Released: January 24, 2011 (Sundance)

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes

Available to stream on: Tubi and Kanopy

Michael (Ewan McGregor) is a chef at a busy upscale restaurant. One day, when stepping out back on break, Michael bums a smoke from Susan (Eva Green), who lives in a flat adjacent to the restaurant.

Susan works as an epidemiologist. She is currently investigating a new epidemic that is causing people to lose their sense of smell. Before the sense of smell goes, people are overcome with grief. When the grief subsides is when one realizes so is their sense of smell. But it gets worse. Every memory that you have that is in any way linked to a specific smell, well those memories begin to vanish as well.

Being that Michael works so close to where Susan lives, they begin chatting as they see each other before eventually becoming involved with one another. They are very cautious and try not to be the reason the other becomes infected. One night, in the kitchen of Michael’s restaurant, Susan bursts into tears. Later, while consoling her in bed, Michael too breaks down. Cut to the next morning and neither one of them has their sense of smell anymore.

Meanwhile, the epidemic continues to evolve. After the sense of smell, next up is the sense of taste. Like before, there are warning signs. A sudden onset of anxiety followed by insatiable hunger. Once the hunger fades, you realize you no longer have the sense of taste.

As quarantines take effect, Michael and Susan realize that they’re in this together until the end, whatever that might be. They, along with the rest of society, begin to adapt to life without certain senses.

But there is only one problem with that.

What happens when you run out of senses to lose?

As someone who considers themselves a fan of both Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, I really wanted to like Perfect Sense (2011). If we are only going to look at Max Richter and his score, then yes, I really liked Perfect Sense (2011). In fact, his score is arguably the best part of the movie. Consistently good from beginning to end.

However, the same cannot be said for the movie itself.

Watching this through 2023 eyes is pretty wild. An epidemic that results in the loss of smell? Hits a little close to home, eh?

The idea of losing all of your senses, one by one, and not knowing when it’ll happen until you randomly succumb to the odd behaviors that occur right before the sense goes, that’s absolutely terrifying. There is a thriller movie for the ages in there somewhere that I was so hoping we’d lean hard into. Instead, we got a half thought-out love story thrown onto us.

We are expected to be invested in the relationship of Susan and Michael but aren’t given nearly enough to want to be invested in them as individuals, let alone a couple. I’m not saying I wouldn’t be here for that story. Ewan and Eva had good chemistry, yeah, let’s explore that more. But don’t try and force that story into the epidemic story and have it be the focal point.

Perfect Sense (2011) needed to decide what type of movie it wanted to be. Unfortunately, we weren’t given enough substance or time to warrant combining the epidemic thriller with the love story. Extra half a star for Max Richter’s work.

Have you seen Perfect Sense (2011)? What did you think of it? Tell me in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Well, there you have it. Thirteen letters down and thirteen left to go. Next week we’ll have the letter “N”. Want to get a sneak peek at who the crew member will be and what movie of theirs we’ll review? Keep an eye on Threads, Instagram, and if you’re over there…Bluesky, this Wednesday.

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Title: Monument

Director: Jagoda Szelc

Released: August 2, 2018 (Poland – New Horizons Film Festival)

Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

Available to stream on: Shudder

A large group of young adults are ready to start their internship at a secluded resort. We’re led to believe that they should consider themselves lucky for the opportunity of interning there. When they arrive, they find themselves to be slightly disoriented before realizing that the driver is no longer in the van. Almost immediately upon arrival they realize this won’t exactly be a walk in the park.

The Manager (Dorota Lukasiewicz) is quick to inform the interns that things are going to be different now. Their names, they don’t matter. Every boy will have the same name, same thing goes for every girl. Each individual will get a turn at doing each task in the hotel. These tasks can range from doing laundry, cleaning rooms, working in the kitchen, cleaning the grounds, or even being on garbage duty.

Each individual has been stripped of all identity, trained to care about nothing but the upkeep of the resort and the satisfaction of the customers. However, strange behaviors begin to emerge. Behaviors and actions that are out of the norm for each character and ones that they can’t seem to explain.

What is it that is causing these behaviors?

Does it have something to do with the resort itself?

Is it a result of the Manager and her training?

Or is there something more sinister behind it all?

Sometimes you come across a movie that you know you’ll need to watch two or three times before you are able to fully wrap your head around it, such is the case with Monument (2018).

First and foremost, it is impressive that this was made as part of a graduation film for acting students from the Łódź Film School in Poland. We’re told this upfront in the opening credits but fear not, don’t let the fact that this is a “student film” fool you. Despite there not necessarily being a “lead” character, you find yourself, at the very least, mildly intrigued by, and invested in, each character and their outcome.

Writer and director Jagoda Szelc is now on my radar. The atmosphere created in Monument (2018) is what drives the movie. All throughout you find yourself just as disoriented as the characters on the screen. Not only will you feel disoriented, but you’ll also carry an uneasy feeling of dread for the length of the film. You feel tense when someone’s work is questioned, you hold your breath when you see a dark hallway, you’re kept on edge the entire time.

Despite streaming on Shudder, this is not your “typical” horror movie. It’s not a blood fest. There is no clear cut “bad guy”. And in the end, the payoff is entirely up to you and your interpretation of the film.

For that reason, Monument (2018) is definitely deserving of at least one viewing. Although, I wouldn’t blame you if you went back for a second or third viewing either.

Well, there you have it. That’s what I thought of Monument (2018), but what about you? If you’ve seen it, tell me what you thought in the comments below!

You can follow me across social media and see what else I’ve been watching on Letterboxd.

Keep an eye on Threads and Instagram this Wednesday to see the crew member we’ll spotlight for the letter “M” and the movie they worked on that’ll be reviewed.

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Title: The Guilty

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Released: October 1, 2021

Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes

Available to stream on: Netflix

Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an LAPD officer assigned to the overnight shift at the 911 call center. No, it’s not his normal assignment. He’s working the call center while awaiting a court date for an on-duty incident.

What’s the incident? Well, we aren’t quite sure. The good news for Joe though, the court date is tomorrow. All he has to do is get through one more shift and it’ll all be behind him.

During his shift he receives a call from an Emily Lighton (Riley Keough). Emily sounds terrified and is talking as though she’s speaking to a child. Joe catches on and advises her to keep acting like she’s talking to her child while he asks her yes or no questions.

Joe is able to determine that Emily has been abducted by the father of her children in a white van and that the children are not with her. That’s it, no more details. Not enough to be able to track down the van. Joe calls Emily’s home number and a little girl named Abby answers. Abby reveals that she is six years and nine months, she’s home with her brother, and that daddy took mommy.

Continuing to talk with Abby, Joe is able to get the father’s, Henry Fisher (Peter Sarsgaard), cell number. Using that, he’s able to track down the license plate number of the white van. Joe calls Henry, who says very little, and hangs up when Joe begins asking questions accusing Henry of taking Emily.

Miraculously, Emily is able to get back on the line with Joe. Joe instructs her to put her seatbelt on and yank the hand brake as hard as she can. You can hear the screeching of tires and then the line goes dead.

Will the police and paramedics be able to get to Emily? What about her children?

But more importantly, what about Joe’s court date?

In a movie where the whole premise is “guy is working at a call center and is very determined”, you need to have a lead who can put the movie on his/her back. This is exactly what we got here with Jake Gyllenhaal. His subtle changes in tone along with his facial expressions keep you hanging on every word, which is good considering all but maybe 2 minutes don’t have Jake’s face and/or voice in it.

I was not aware of the original, a Dutch film from 2018 of the same name. So, while I can’t speak to how true to the original it is, I can speak to how it stands as its own thing. While I enjoyed the movie overall, my biggest gripe is with Joe’s story.

An officer’s pending court date over an incident that landed him where he is for the entirety of the film, that deserves a little more attention. Yes, we ultimately find out what happened. Yes, we see how the weight of the incident weighs on Joe. However, it is hard to believe that the whole Emily situation was enough for him to have his own come-to-Jesus moment and decide to change his approach to his court appearance.

That gripe aside, The Guilty (2021) is a fun ninety minutes. There’s tension throughout, twists that you might see coming but may not expect, and Jake Gyllenhaal shines. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s definitely worth at least one viewing.

Well, there you have it. Another letter in the books. What did you think of The Guilty (2021)? Tell me in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

Follow me on Letterboxd to see what else I’m watching.

Keep an eye out on Threads and Instagram on Wednesday for the reveal of who we’ll be covering next Sunday for the letter “K” and which movie we’ll be reviewing.

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Whoa, hang on a second. What the heck is a Picture Car Coordinator?

Any car that shows up on-screen in a movie is the responsibility of the Picture Car Coordinator. But responsible how? Well, in our case, Gilles Camy made sure that the vehicle(s) got to set, that they were customized as needed for the scene, and that they were all in good running order. So, now that we have a better understanding of what Gilles Camy does, let’s get to Athena (2022).

Title: Athena

Director: Romain Gavras

Released: September 2, 2022, at the Venice Film Festival and September 23, 2022, on Netflix

Runtime: 1 hour 39 minutes

Available to stream on: Netflix

Abdel (Dali Benssalah), an Algerian-French soldier, announces at a press conference outside of a police station, that his brother, Idir, has passed away. The reason for the press conference? Idir, who was only thirteen years old, is believed to have died at the hands of policemen who beat him and left him for dead.

Observing quietly from the back of the crowd is Abdel’s other brother, Karim (Sami Slimane) along with a group who look to Karim as a leader. Abdel is urging everyone to remain calm and protest in a peaceful manner, however, Karim has other ideas.

He, and the youth that comprise his group, are tired of the unchecked police brutality that keeps occurring against them. Peaceful protests have not produced any results. Once he sees his opening, Karim launches a Molotov cocktail. As one would expect, chaos ensues. Karim and his group storm the station, stealing guns and a police van. Now armed with guns, the youth flee back to their suburb of Athena and prepare for battle.

Karim has an entire community that stands behind him and is ready to fight alongside him. He believes that the only way justice can be served is if the officers responsible for his brother’s death are publicly identified. If getting those answers requires violence and unrest along the way, so be it.

However, Abdel is not convinced that violence is necessarily the right answer. He believes that cooler heads will ultimately prevail. He’s also hesitant because he’s herd that the police have reason to believe a far-right group is behind the murder of Idir, not the police themselves. The extremist group carried out the vicious attack as a war to incite racial unrest.

But this isn’t the first time the community has had issues with the police. Trust is everything. And the trust between the police and the residents of Athena was broken a long time ago.

So, how can the residents of Athena be expected to believe anything that the police tell them?

How much blood will have to spill for peace to prevail?

Go.

Watch.

This.

Movie.

Even if nothing in the brief and simplified synopsis sounded interesting to you, you need to watch Athena (2022) for the camera work and editing alone.

The way that Matias Boucard shot, and Benjamin Weill edited this is nothing short of jaw dropping. You feel like you are right there in the middle of the action from the first frame all the way through the end credits. However, it’s not done in a herky-jerky way where you find yourself feeling nauseous. Instead, you feel as if you’re standing side-by-side with whoever is the focal point of the scene.

What’s better than a film that’s shot incredibly well? One that is also brilliantly edited. So many of the scenes, like the beginning where Karim launches the Molotov cocktail, are designed to look like one-shots. Well, spoiler alert, they aren’t. Everything is masterfully edited together to make it look as seamless as possible.

You could have only given me the cinematography and editing, and I would have had fun watching Athena (2022). But, Romain Gavras, Elias Belkeddar, and Ladj Ly made sure we also were given a story that would keep us captivated. Despite being swept up in the chaos unfolding, we also find ourselves having varying degrees of emotional investment in each main character.

Please, if you have not seen Athena (2022), fix that as soon as possible.

So, that’s what I think, but what about you? What are your thoughts on Athena (2022)?

Let me know in the comments below or by reaching out on social media!

By now, you know what’s next. Keep an eye out on Threads and Instagram on Wednesday. That is when next week’s crew member for the letter “H” will be revealed along with the movie they worked on that we’ll be covering.

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