“Black Widow” by Cate Shortland (2021)

Weak script, personages and message
Good images

Just your regular action movie with a bunch of regular super-heroes, always tidy and neatly dressed (except for one)
The images keep you watching, the humor is pleasant (but disappears in the last hour to give way for lots of talkative explanations to let us know why the villain is such a villain)
The rest is forgettable… but I’m not a Marvel fan (public and critics have loved it)
Bombastic music that doesn’t do any good to a general lack of nuances

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,9
Metascore 6,7
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,0
IMDB 6,9
TMDB 8,0
Critics average 7,0
Audience average 8,0

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz
Director: Cate Shortland
Writers:  Eric Pearson, )Jac Schaeffer, Ned Benson
Music by Lorne Balfe
Cinematography by Gabriel Beristain
Film Editing by Leigh Folsom Boyd, Matthew Schmidt

“On A Clear Day” by Gaby Dellal (2005)

Good humor

Feel-good movie with too many characterizations and un-worked facets to have a greater impact than entertaining

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,2
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 5,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 6,9
TMDB 6,5
Critics average 5,8
Audience average 6,9

Cast: Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn, Billy Boyd
Director: Gaby Dellal
Writer: Alex Rose
Music by Stephen Warbeck
Cinematography by David Johnson
Film Editing by Robin Sales, John Wilson

“Come Away” by Brenda Chapman (2020)

Excellent minority representation

A story for children with an ambitious script and many connotations, but irregularly directed and awfully static at times
Very special racially-mixed cast

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,9
Metascore 4,0
Roger Ebert 1,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 4,6
IMDB 5,7
TMDB 6,3
Average critics 3,4
Average public 5,5

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Carter Thomas, Ava Fillery, Derek Jacobi, Michael Caine
Director: Brenda Chapman
Writer: Marissa Kate Goodhill
Music by John Debney
Cinematography by Jules O’Loughlin
Film Editing by Dody Dorn

“The Mirror Has Two Faces” by Barbra Streisand (1996)

Good music

The good acting does not succeed to hide the clichés personages and the short-sighted script
Some good musical mix

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,8
Metascore —
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 6,7
Critics average 6,7
Audience average 7,0

Cast: Barbra Streisand, Jeff Bridges, Lauren Bacall
Director: Barbra Streisand
Writers: André Cayatte, )Gérard Oury,, Richard LaGravenese
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak
Director of photography Dante Spinotti
Film Editing by Jeff Werner

“The Last Letter From Your Lover” by Augustine Frizzell (2021)

Good gender content and expression

Interesting contrast between two women having a new relationship: one is a housewife in the 1960s, the other one a 2000s assertive young woman
The musical score using songs of the 1960s does not bring anything to the movie and makes it more of a cliché
Chaotic and bland direction

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,5
Metascore 5,7
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 6,8
TMDB 7,5
Critics average 5,8
Audience average 7,2

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Joe Alwyn, Wendy Nottingham
Director: Augustine Frizzell
Writers: Nick Payne, Esta Spalding, Jojo Moyes
Music by Daniel Hart
Cinematography by George Steel
Film Editing by Melanie Oliver

“Love That Boy” by Andrea Dorfman (2003)

Good dialogues, direction, music, message, and expression

A very enjoyable comedy

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,8
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 6,3
TMDB 7,2
Critics average 6,8
Audience average 7,1

Cast: Nadia Litz, Nikki Barnett, Adrien Dixon
Director: Andrea Dorfman
Writers: Jennifer Deyell, Andrea Dorfman
Music by Mike O’Neill
Cinematography by Thomas M. Harting
Film Editing by Michael Vernon

“Daughters of the Dust” by Julie Dash (1991)

A second week of first features

Good direction and gender content
Top images and minority presence

The Gullah, a community of African-Americans on Ibo Island off the coast of Virginia in 1902.
The women are all dressed in white and seem to be in charge.
A world of traditions that has difficulty integrating the modern world
The story is told as a patchwork of loose memories during a picknick by the sea
Sometimes too theatrical, and the music, though good, does not always fit the time and place

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,8
Metascore 8,1
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,2
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 6,9
Critics average 7,8
Audience average 6,9

Cast: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbarao
Director: Julie Dash
Writer: Julie Dash
Music by John Barnes
Cinematography by Arthur Jafa
Film Editing by Joseph Burton, Amy Carey

“To The Bone” by Marti Noxon (2017)

A second week of first features

Good personages, dialogues, minority presence, and expression
Excellent direction
Top gender content and message

An eye-opener for those who (like me) are not familiar with this disorder and the way people affected with it see the world, applying a very different kind of logic…
Remarkable is that a boy was included in this mainly female universe
Pity that some personages were a bit too furtively sketched

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 6,4
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 6,8
TMDB 7,2
Critics average 6,4
Audience average 7,0

Cast: Rebekah Kennedy, Lily Collins, Dana L. Wilson
Director: Marti Noxon
Writer: Marti Noxon
Cinematographer: Richard Wong
Editor: Elliot Greenberg
Composer: Fil Eisler

“Kuessipan” by Myriam Verreault (2019)

A second week of first features

Good personages, humor, images, music, and gender content
Excellent direction and expression
Top minority presence and message

Sober but impressive

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,4
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 7,2
TMDB 6,8
Critics average 8,4
Audience average 7,0

Cast: Sharon Ishpatao Fontaine, Yamie Grégoire, Étienne Galloy
Director: Myriam Verreault
Writers: Naomi Fontaine, Myriam Verreault
Music by Louis-Jean Cormier
Cinematography by Nicolas Canniccioni
Film Editing by Amélie Labrèche, Sophie Leblond, Myriam Verreault

“Violation” by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli (2020)

A second week of first features

Good images and music

Lengthy passages

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,0
Metascore 7,0
Roger Ebert 5,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,0
IMDB 5,4
TMDB 5,9
Critics average 6,3
Audience average 6,8

Cast: Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe
Directors: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
Writers: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer
Cinematographer: Adam Crosby
Composer: Andrea Boccadoro

“I Am Not An Easy Man” by Eleonore Pourriat (2018)

A second week of first features

Weak script and message
Good gender content

A variation on What Do Women Think?…  good premisses but no development and resolution.
A very bad script, a pretentious music that doesn’t fit, and paper thin personages… 

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,1
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 6,3
Critics average 7,1
Audience average 6,9

Original title: Je ne Suis pas un Homme Facile

Cast: Vincent Elbaz, Marie-Sophie Ferdane, Pierre Benezit
Director: Eléonore Pourriat
Writers: Ariane Fert(, Eléonore Pourriat
Music by Fred Avril
Cinematography by Pénélope Pourriat
Film Editing by Elise Fievet

“Sisters in Arms” (Red Snake) by Caroline Fourest (2019)

A second week of first features

Good script, personages, direction, images, and expression
Top gender content, minority representation and message

A tribute to Kurdish female fighters

IMDB 6,0

Original title: Soeurs d’Armes

Cast: Dilan Gwyn, Amira Casar, Camélia Jordana
Director: Caroline Fourest
Writer: Caroline Fourest
Music by Mathieu Lamboley
Cinematography by Stéphane Vallée
Film Editing by Audrey Simonaud

“Mountain Rest” by Alex O Eaton (2018)

A week of first features

Weak script and dialogues
Poor message

A woman, her daughter, her granddaughter, and her son sharing secrets that are veiled in mystery but are so empty when revealed…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,9
TMDB 6,0
Critics average —
Audience average 6,0

Cast: Natalia Dyer, Shawn Hatosy, Frances Conroy
Director: Alex O Eaton
Writer: Alex O Eaton
Cinematography by Ashley Connor
Film Editing by Kate Abernathy

“Sophie Jones” by Jessie Barr (2020)

A week of first features

Good script, personages, direction, images, music, and gender content

A 16-year-old girl mourns the death of her mother while discovering sex and losing her virginity. A chaotic world in which she tries to define herself, while the others have difficulty understanding her.
An integer movie without the usual cliches
Fine use of music

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 7,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 5,4
TMDB 6,0
Average critics 7,3
Average public 6,5

Cast: Jessica Barr, Katie Prentiss, Claire Manning
Director: Jessie Barr
Writers: Jessica Barr, Jessie Barr
Music by Nate Heller
Cinematography by Scott Miller
Film Editing by Naomi Sunrise Filoramo

“Land” by Robin Wright (2021)

A week of first features

Good script, personages, dialogues, direction, images,
minority representation, message, and expression

A simple message – helping others is a powerful way to help oneself – brought in a beautiful setting
“To survive you first have to die” could have been a second title

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,4
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 7,4
Critics average 6,8
Audience average 7,5

Cast: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Sarah Dawn Pledge
Directed by Robin Wright
Writing Credits: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam
Music by Ben Sollee, Time for Three
Cinematography by Bobby Bukowski
Film Editing by Anne McCabe, Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

“This Little Love Of Mine” by Christine Luby (2021)

A week of first features

Within the first 10 minutes you know how the movie is going to end and why…
Awfull colors, bland music, cardboard personages, stupid situations …
And for those who didn’t get it, the challenging message is ‘there’s nothing like home” … Did I forget to mention the colonialist touch?
Probably the best bad movie to ‘enjoy’ watching right now

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,5
TMDB 4,3
Critics average —
Audience average 4,9

Cast: Saskia Hampele, Liam McIntyre, Lynn Gilmartin
Director: Christine Luby
Writer: Georgia Harrison
Music by Jazz D’Arcy
Cinematography by Simon Harding
Film Editing by Charlotte Cutting

“Just Before I Go” by Courteney Cox (2014)

A week of first features

Good dialogues, direction, minority presence, and expression
Excellent script and gender content

There’s much more in every one of us than what one can see…
A clever script despite the overcharged feel-good ending that takes off a bit of the movie sharpness
Appreciated by the public, certainly not by the critics

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 2,5
Metascore 2,4
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 6,4
TMDB 6,5
Critics average 2,5
Audience average 6,6

Cast: Seann William Scott, Olivia Thirlby, Garret Dillahunt
Director: Courteney Cox
Writer: David Flebotte
Music by Erran Baron Cohen
Cinematography by Mark Schwartzbard
Film Editing by Roger Bondelli

“Honey Boy” by Alma Har’el (2019)

A week of first features

Good script, humor, direction, music, gender content, minority representation, and expression
Excellent personages, dialogues and images
Top message

To deal with alcohol abuse, a young male adult has to come to term with his youth and his relationship with his father

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,7
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,8
IMDB 7,3
TMDB 7,2
Critics average 7,9
Audience average 7,8

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe
Director: Alma Har’el
Writer: Shia LaBeouf
Music by Alex Somers
Cinematography by Natasha Braier
Film Editing by Dominic La Perriere, Monica Salazar

“Stockholm, Pennsylvania” by Nikole Beckwith (mother-daughter relationships 29b/29)

“Stockholm, Pennsylvania”
by Nikole Beckwith (USA, 2015)

First Feature

Good dialogues, images, and music
Excellent script, personages, and direction
Top gender content, message, and expression

A girl who has been kidnapped at a very young age and has spent all of her childhood with her abductor is suddenly ‘freed’ (now aged 22) and returns to her parents who are total strangers to her… She is lost and feels completely abandoned. Her mother who has lost her once realizes that she’s losing her a second time…
SPOILER ahead! To get her daughter back, the mother recreates the condition of dependence and attachment that the abductor had created in the first place in order to develop in her daughter a second Stockholm syndrome.
Great acting

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,6
Metascore 4,7
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,0
IMDB 6,0
TMDB 5,4
Critics average 4,7
Audience average 5,8

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs
Director: Nikole Beckwith
Writer: Nikole Beckwith
Music by Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum, Brian McOmber
Cinematography by Arnaud Potier
Film Editing by Joe Klotz

“Mouthpiece” by Patricia Rozema (mother-daughter relationships 29a/29)

“Mouthpiece”
by Patricia Rozema (Canada, 2018)

Good dialogues, direction and images
Excellent script and gender content
Top personages and message

A moving eulogy to mothers… but also more than that: the daughter is played by two actresses, not for a split-personality touch but to forge a mirror to the rich and complex person that was their mother… An emotionally rich movie

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,0
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 8,0
Average public 6,9

Cast: Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava, Maev Beaty
Director: Patricia Rozema
Writers: Amy Nostbakken, Patricia Rozema
Music by Amy Nostbakken
Cinematography by Catherine Lutes
Film Editing by Lara Johnston

“The Second Mother” by Anna Muylaert (mother-daughter relationships 28/29)

“The Second Mother”
by Anna Muylaert (Brazil, 2015)

Good personages, gender content, minority representation, message, and expression
Excellent script and direction
Top images

A pearl of a movie, light, delightful, and full of palpable tensions

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,0
Metascore 8,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,6
IMDB 7,8
TMDB 8,1
Average critics 7,9
Average public 8,2

Original title: Que Horas Ela Volta?

Cast: Regina Casé, Helena Albergaria, Michel Joelsas
Director: Anna Muylaert
Writer: Anna Muylaert
Music by Vitor Araújo , Fábio Trummer
Cinematography by Barbara Alvarez
Film Editing by Karen Harley

“Aurora Borealis” by Marta Meszaros (mother-daughter relationships 27/29)

“Aurora Borealis”
by Marta Meszaros (Hungary, 2017)

Great personages, images, music, minority presence and message
Excellent script, direction and gender content

A movie that shows you how the past cannot be untangled.
Moving without any false note, it leaves you wondering what if it had happened to you… for even if it was another time, it’s still happening at this very moment somewhere in the world

IMDB 7,3

Original title: Északi fény

Cast: Mari Töröcsik, Ildikó Tóth, Franciska Töröcsik
Director: Márta Mészáros
Writers: Zoltán Jancsó, Márta Mészáros
Cinematography by Piotr Sobocinski Jr.
Film Editing by Annamaria Szanto

“Dirty God” by Sacha Polak (mother-daughter relationships 26/29)

“Dirty God”
by Sacha Polak (The Netherlands, 2019)

Good direction, images, gender content, minority presence and message
Excellent music and expression

The situations in which this young and once beautiful but now monstrous looking woman has to go through every day are so awful that you really wonder where she gets the strength to survive.
But what makes the story even more painful (!!!) is the stupidity of the world around her, of her world… At the end of the day, it might just be this hopeless stupidity that makes her unbreakable

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,4
Metascore 7,5
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,4
Average critics 7,5
Average public 6,3

Cast: Vicky Knight, Katherine Kelly, Eliza Brady-Girard
Director: Sacha Polak
Writers: Sacha Polak, Susie Farrell
Music by Rutger Reinders
Cinematography by Ruben Impens
Film Editing by Sander Vos

“Lost and Delirious” by Lea Pool (mother-daughter relationships 25/29)

“Lost and Delirious”
by Lea Pool (Canada, 2001)

Great direction, images and music
Excellent personages, dialogues and gender content

“A hymn to teenage idealism and hormones” (Roger Ebert)
The usual Lea Pool’s family situations – difficult but crucial mother-daughter relationships and absent fathers – play a role in the background

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,4
Metascore 5,3
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 6,9
Average critics 6,5
Average public 7,5

Cast: Piper Perabo, Jessica Pare, Jackie Burroughs
Directed by Lea Pool
Written by Judith Thompson
Music by Robyn Schulkowsky
Cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie
Film Editing by Michel Arcand

“The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” by Rebecca Miller (mother-daughter relationships 24/29)

“The Private Lives of Pippa Lee”
by Rebecca Miller (USA, 2009)

Good personages, dialogues, images, and message
Excellent direction and gender content

The relationship between an adult and a child is the main aspect of this movie, just like that of Rebecca Miller’s preceding one. The child’s guilt is not always central but often mentioned.
Other recurring themes: a dysfunctional mother, running away, insanity along the mother line, crucial mother-daughter relationship, strangely unobtrusive role of the fathers (except in “The Ballad of Jake and Rose”)
The best Rebecca Miller movie until now / Fantastic female lead!

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,2
Metascore 4,9
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,4
Average critics 5,6
Average public 6,4

Cast: Robin Wright, Alan Arkin, Mike Binder
Director: Rebecca Miller
Writers: Rebecca Miller
Music by Michael Rohatyn
Cinematography by Declan Quinn
Film Editing by Sabine Hoffman

“More Beautiful For Having Been Broken” by Nicole Conn (mother-daughter relationships 23/29)

“More Beautiful For Having Been Broken”
by Nicole Conn (USA, 2019)

Good personages, direction, images, and music
Excellent dialogues, gender content, minority presence, and emotional charge

Some far-fetched twists take the attention away from a beautiful story.

IMDB 5,9

Cast: Zoe Ventoura, Kayla Radomski, Cale Ferrin
Director: Nicole Conn
Writer: Nicole Conn
Music by Nami Melumad
Cinematography by Seth Wessel-Estes
Film Editing by Nicole Conn, David C. Eichhorn

“Little Forest” by Soon-rye Yim (mother-daughter relationships 22/29)

“Little Forest” by Soon-rye Yim (South Korea, 2018)

Good script, personages, dialogues, images and gender content
Excellent direction

A simple story, a very enjoyable movie
A milder movie in its political commitment than the previous “South Bound,” still the social angle is very similar in this story of a young woman – and her former classmate – who leaves the city to realize who she is.
This movie marks the social contrast between the city where others determine who you are and the countryside where there’s only you to do so. It also reinforces the original standpoint on the family that the precedent movie “South Bound” brought forward, in which the parents build for themselves an independent way of life, and stick to it even when their kids suffer from it. However, when they finally understand their parents’ choice, the children end up appreciating and valuing it.
Little Forest prolongs this theme: the mother has left her child without any apparent reason, and the child learns how to accept and honor her mother’s decision.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 7,0
Average critics —
Average public 7,0

Cast: Tae-ri Kim, So-Ri Moon, Jun-yeol Ryu
Director: Soon-rye Yim
Writers: Seong-gu Hwang, Daisuke Igarashi (manga)

“Ava” by Léa Mysius (mother-daughter relationships 21/29)

“Ava” by Léa Mysius (France, 2017)

First Feature

Great script, direction and gender content
Excellent minority presence and message

This subversive coming-of-age story shows how impermeable to social norms a young girl can be.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,9
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 6,7
Average critics 7,9
Average public 7,1

Cast: Noée Abita, Laure Calamy, Juan Cano
Director: Léa Mysius
Writers: Léa Mysius, Paul Guilhaume
Music by Florencia Di Concilio
Cinematography by Paul Guilhaume
Film Editing by Pierre Deschamps

“Proxima” by Alice Winocour (mother-daughter relationships 20/29)

“Proxima” by Alice Winocour (France, 2019)

Great script, personages, dialogues and message
Top gender content

A movie with double insight: an insider look at the training and the routine an astronaut has to follow before leaving earth; a take on how difficult it is for a female astronaut to combine her expected motherly role and the high intensity of a training set in a structure thought and made for men. The end credits make us discover all these ‘mothers’ who went on space missions.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,0
Metascore 7,5
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,3
Average critics 7,3
Average public 6,3

Cast: Eva Green, Zélie Boulant, Matt Dillon
Director: Alice Winocour
Writers: Alice Winocour, Jean-Stéphane Bron
Music by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Cinematography by Georges Lechaptois
Film Editing by Julien Lacheray

“Cafe Funiculi Funicula” by Ayuko Tsukahara (mother-daughter relationships 19/29)

“Cafe Funiculi Funicula” by Ayuko Tsukahara (Japan, 2018)

First Feature

Good personages, dialogues and direction
Excellent script

Foreign films sometimes confront us with reactions or expressions that seem strange to us. For example, as a European, I find the reaction of ‘shame’ in American movies – when a man is shocked when he unintendedly sees female nudity – extremely hypocritical, even though I’ve seen it so many times…) Anyway, very little of this in this Japanese movie (except at one moment, with the cat…)
A fantasy dealing with mature subjects!

IMDB 6,3

Original title: Kohi ga Samenai Uchi Ni

Cast: Kasumi Arimura, Motoki Fukami,
Director: Ayuko Tsukahara
Writer: Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Music by Masaru Yokoyama
Cinematography by Norimichi Kasamatsu
Film Editing by Ryûji Miyajima

“Sadie” by Megan Griffiths (mother-daughter relationships 18/29)

“Sadie” by Megan Griffiths (USA, 2018)

Good direction and music
Excellent personages and minority representation

A coming of age story in which a 13-year-old girl feels responsible for the people she cares for
Great acting by Sophia Mitri Schloss, her presence captivates

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,9
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 5,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,4
IMDB 5,7
TMDB 7,5
Critics average 6,0
Audience average 7,5

Cast: Sophia Mitri Schloss, Melanie Lynskey, John Gallagher Jr., Danielle Brooks, Tony Hale
Director: Megan Griffiths
Writer: Megan Griffiths
Cinematographer: T.J. Williams Jr.
Editor: Celia Beasley
Composer: Mike McCready

“The Lost Husband” by Vicky Wight (mother-daughter relationships 17/29)

“The Lost Husband” by Vicky Wight (USA, 2020)

Good personages, images, and message
Top minority representation

Although script and direction are at times a bit clumsy, the movie has lots of good things and a good feeling about it
A very diversified cast, from beginning to end
As for the title, a mysterious choice…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,1
Metascore 4,9
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,4
IMDB 5,6
Average critics 5,8
Average public 7,5

Cast: Leslie Bibb, Josh Duhamel, Sharon Lawrence, Kevin Alejandro, Georgia King
Director: Vicky Wight
Writer (novel): Katherine Center
Writer: Vicky Wight
Cinematographer: Aaron Kovalchik
Editor: Suzanne Spangler
Composer: Sherri Chung

“Unexpected” by Kris Rey (mother-daughter relationships 16/29)

“Unexpected” by Kris Rey (USA, 2015)

Good script and message
Excellent gender content
Top minority representation

A fine movie about the choices and decisions a pregnant woman has to make between her career and motherhood. The movie brings also the disadvantages African-Americans face into perspective, disadvantages that even their (Caucasian) teacher has difficulty fathoming.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 6,5
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 5,9
Average critics 6,9
Average public 6,2

Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean
Director: Kris Rey
Writers: Megan Mercier, Kris Rey (as Kris Swanberg)
Music by Keegan DeWitt
Cinematography by Dagmar Weaver-Madsen
Film Editing by Zach Clark

“The New Classmate” by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (mother-daughter relationships 15/29)

“The New Classmate” by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (India, 2015)

First Feature

Good script, personages, direction, images, and minority representation

A very worthy first feature!
The Indian title means “Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing” … which would have been much too difficult for Western audiences 🙂
Music at times too intrusive and childish: just like too many cooks spoil the broth, too many musicians handling the music spoil the score

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,5
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 8,4
Average critics 6,5
Average public 8,2

Original title: Nil Battey Sannata

Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Riya Shukla
Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Writers: Nitesh Tiwari, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Music by Naren Chandavarkar, Rohan-Vinayak
Music composed by Vinayak Salvi, Rohan Utpat
Cinematography by Gavemic U. Ary
Film Editing by Chandrashekhar Prajapati

“Set Me Free” by Lea Pool (mother-daughter relationships 14/29)

“Set Me Free” by Lea Pool (Canada, 1999)

Good dialogues, images, music, and minority presence
Excellent script, personages, direction, and message
Top gender content

As in Lea Pool’s later movies, the relationship mother-daughter is a central theme, shown as a key element to the development of the child, while the fatherly figure is depicted as a loser and a source of conflict / Excellent acting

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 8,0
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 7,1
TMDB 6,3
Critics average 7,6
Audience average 6,9

Cast: Karine Vanasse, Alexandre Merineau, Pascale Bussieres, Miki Manojlovic, Charlotte Christeler, Nancy Huston
Written and Directed by Lea Pool
Music by Robyn Schulkowsky
Cinematography by Jeanne Lapoirie
Film Editing by Michel Arcand

“The Rest of Us” by Aisling Chin-Yee (mother-daughter relationships 13/29)

“The Rest of Us” by Aisling Chin-Yee (Canada, 2019)

First feature

Good dialogues and message
Excellent gender content

Two mothers, two daughters, almost no male around, a lot of sharp moments
Good editing, although at times a bit too cryptic

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,4
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,5
Average critics 7,4
Average public 5,5

Cast: Heather Graham, Sophie Nélisse, Jodi Balfour
Director: Aisling Chin-Yee
Writers: Alanna Francis, Mark Van de Ven
Cinematography by Daniel Grant
Film Editing by Véronique Barbe, Aisling Chin-Yee

“Love Sarah” by Eliza Schroeder (mother-daughter relationships 12/29)

“Love Sarah” by Eliza Schroeder (UK, 2020)

Easy to watch but lacks surprises
The movie transforms London into a (beautiful) village

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,5
Metascore 5,2
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,1
Average critics 5,4
Average public 6,9

Cast: Shelley Conn, Shannon Tarbet, Celia Imrie
Director: Eliza Schroeder
Writers: Jake Brunger (screenplay), Jake Brunger (story)
Music by Enis Rotthoff
Cinematography by Aaron Reid
Film Editing by Jim Hampton, Laura Morrod

“Homesick” by Anne Sewitsky (mother-daughter relationships 11/29)

“Homesick” by Anne Sewitsky (Norway, 2015)

Good gender content

With this third movie, a recurring theme appears in transparency, as a watermark, through the work of Anne Sewitsky: love does not respect any (social) boundaries. In her first movie, all the personages transgress these limits. In her second movie, the “taboo” concerns the love of a ten-year-old girl for a boy of her class. Finally, this third movie is about the incestuous love between a young woman and her half-brother. A series about trespassing love!
The Norwegian title of this third movie can be translated by “the nearest,”  a title that fits the movie much better than the official ‘public-pleasing ‘homesick’.
Again, an original musical score (although less so than in Happy, Happy)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,7
TMDB 4,9
Critics average —
Audience average 5,3

Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe
Director: Anne Sewitsky
Writers: Anne Sewitsky, Ragnhild Tronvoll
Music by Ginge Anvik
Cinematography by Daniel Voldheim
Film Editing by Christoffer Heie

“Fagara” by Heiward Mak (mother-daughter relationships 10/29)

“Fagara” by Heiward Mak (China, 2019)

Good dialogues

Could have been a nice movie about finding out where one belongs, if it wasn’t a movie that reenacts the core Confucian values of patriarchy with an omnipresent father who, beyond death, binds the whole network of women related to him (a wife and three daughters). Even his son-in-law and the restaurant staff seem to exist only because of him. Honor your father! is the message
The end confirms the emotional and dependent status of women (according to Confucianism).

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,3
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 6,7
Average critics 8,3
Average public 7,3

Cast: Sammi Cheng, Megan Lai, Xiaofeng Li
Director: Heiward Mak
Writer: Heiward Mak
Cinematography by S.K. Yip
Film Editing by Siu-Hong Chung, Heiward Mak

“Share” by Pippa Bianco (mother-daughter relationships 9/29)

“Share” by Pippa Bianco (USA, 2019)

Great minority presence and message
Excellent gender content

The quest for the truth of a sixteen-year-old girl who wants to find out what happened at the party where she got raped.
The movie takes you through the silent meander of the girl’s survival trajectory.
The director systematically avoids ‘sharing’ with the public what keeps the action moving (which, at times, is a bit frustrating), but instead concentrates on the internal struggles of the girl.
The movie has a great ending.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,2
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 5,4
IMDB 5,6
Average critics 8,2
Average public 5,5

Cast: Rhianne Barreto, Charlie Plummer, Poorna Jagannathan, Lovie Simone
Director: Pippa Bianco
Screenplay: Pippa Bianco
Director of Photography: Ava Berkofsky
Editor: Shelby Siegel
Original Music Composer: Shlohmo

“The Photograph” by Stella Meghie (mother-daughter relationships 8/29)

“The Photograph” by Stella Meghie (USA, 2020)

Good music, gender content and message

A double love story one generation apart in which one sacrifices the relationship to fulfill their self-realization
A movie about how difficult we find it to say what we mean, sometimes just saying the opposite of what we wanted to express
A movie with many facets – some barely sketched, like the photographic aspect – that could have been more condensed (like 20 minutes shorter…)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,4
IMDB 5,9
Average critics 6,8
Average public 7,2

Cast: Issa Rae, Chanté Adams, LaKeith Stanfield
Director:  Stella Meghie
Writer: Stella Meghie
Cinematographer: Mark Schwartzbard
Editor: Shannon Baker Davis
Composer: Robert Glasper

“Outside In” by Lynn Shelton (mother-daughter relationships 7/29)

“Outside In” by Lynn Shelton (USA, 2017)

Great dialogues, direction, images, minority presence and message
Excellent script and personages

A focused, “quiet, deeply empathetic film” (Allison Shoemaker)
Formidable performance by Edie Falco

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 7,6
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,6
Average critics 7,5
Average public 7,1

Cast: Edie Falco, Jay Duplass, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Schwartz, Aaron Blakely, Claudine Nako
Director: Lynn Shelton
Writer: Jay Duplass, Lynn Shelton
Cinematographer: Nathan M. Miller
Editor: Celia Beasley
Composer: Andrew Bird

Multiple facets of mother-daughter relationships (6/29)

“Destroyer” by Karyn Kusama (USA, 2019)

Unconvincing feminist plagiarism of a classic film noir, with a few good twists

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 5,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 6,0
Critics average 5,0
Audience average 6,3

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian Stan, Bradley Whitford, Toby Kebbell, Scoot McNairy, Toby Huss
Director: Karyn Kusama
Writer: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi
Cinematographer: Julie Kirkwood
Editor: Plummy Tucker
Composer: Theodore Shapiro

Multiple facets of mother-daughter relationships (5/29)

“The Meddler” by Lorene Scafaria (USA, 2015)

The power of being positive: many clichés and little else

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,0
Metascore 6,8
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,6
IMDB 6,3
Average critics 7,9
Average public 6,5

Cast: Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, J.K. Simmons, Jason Ritter, Billy Magnussen
Director: Lorene Scafaria
Writer: Lorene Scafaria
Cinematographer: Brett Pawlak
Editor: Kayla Emter
Composer: Jonathan Sadoff

Multiple facets of mother-daughter relationships (4/29)

“Angela” by Rebecca Miller (USA, 1995)

First Feature

Good dialogues

A young girl with a depressive mother and a stressed father takes her younger sister into a (religious) fantasy journey, torn between anger and guilt, heaven and hell
Some very amateurish aspects (have you seen the microphones?) but a movie that keeps surprising the viewer and that has a very expressive musical score
Nevertheless, there’s something that just feels wrong… Maybe it’s the fact that all females are having difficulties integrating the reality…

IMDB 6,4

Cast: Miranda Rhyne, Charlotte Eve Blythe, Anna Levine
Director: Rebecca Miller
Writer: Rebecca Miller
Music by Michael Rohatyn
Cinematography by Ellen Kuras
Film Editing by Melody London

Multiple facets of mother-daughter relationships (3/29)

“To The Stars” by Martha Stephens (USA, 2019)

A good coming-of-age-and-dealing-with my-bullies story… only that the script writer added another layer – as this was not enough! – through showing how tough life was for a lesbian in the 60s
Insipid music!

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,8
Metascore 6,0
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,0
IMDB 6,0
Average critics 6,4
Average public 7,5

Cast: Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Tony Hale, Lucas Jade Zumann,  Jordana Spiro
Director: Martha Stephens
Writer: Shannon Bradley-Colleary
Cinematographer: Andrew Reed
Editor: Nathan Whiteside
Composer: Heather McIntosh

Multiple facets of mother-daughter relationships (2/29)

“Mountain Rest” by Alex O Eaton (USA, 2018)

First Feature

Weak script and dialogues
Poor message

A woman, her daughter, her granddaughter, and her son sharing secrets that are veiled in mystery but are so empty when revealed…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,9
TMDB 6,0
Critics average —
Audience average 6,0

Cast: Natalia Dyer, Shawn Hatosy, Frances Conroy
Director: Alex O Eaton
Writer: Alex O Eaton
Cinematography by Ashley Connor
Film Editing by Kate Abernathy

Multiple facets of mother-daughter relationships (1/29)

“Come Simi” by Jenica Bergere (USA, 2015)

First Feature

Weak direction and message
Bottom score: music (2)

Pointless script, unbearable music…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,1

Cast: Jenica Bergere, Molly Shannon, Tawny Kitaen
Director: Jenica Bergere
Writers: Jenica Bergere, Doc Pedrolie
Music by Johnny Harris
Cinematography by Peter Mosiman
Film Editing by Jaceson Mann

“The Forty-Year-Old Version” by Radha Blank (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#1)

Good humor
Excellent personages, dialogues, images, music and gender content
Top script, direction, minority presence and message

A topper as cinema-vérité goes: not only is everyone and everything in the right place, but that you can’t imagine it any other way
A two-level movie: in one, an artist tries to stay true to her art and fails; in the other, she makes a movie that is itself the realization of an artistic expression unspoiled by compromises. The way Radha Blank succeeds in merging the two facets of a same message is an exceptional achievement.
Great scenes of rap battles.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,1
Metascore 8,0
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,6
IMDB 7,1
Average critics 8,3
Average public 6,9

Cast: Radha Blank, Oswin Benjamin, Peter Kim
Director: Radha Blank
Writer: Radha Blank
Cinematography by Eric Branco
Film Editing by Robert Grigsby Wilson

“On Body And Soul” by Ildiko Enyedi (2017)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#2)

Good gender content
Excellent script, personages, dialogues, music, message and expressiveness
Top direction, images and minority presence

Dreams and animals as go-between
A movie in which nothing is taken for granted
Loneliness is here expressed with a sobriety exceeding that of a Edward Hopper painting
Great editing and acting / beautiful song by Laura Marling

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 7,7
Average public 7,8

Original title: Teströl és lélekröl

Cast: Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Writer: Ildikó Enyedi
Music by Ádám Balázs
Cinematography by Máté Herbai
Film Editing by Károly Szalai

“I Like It Like That” by Darnell Martin (1994)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#3)

First Feature

Good script and images
Excellent humor, music and expression
Top personages, direction, gender content and minority representation

Lots of passion but very little tenderness (Otis Redding’s Try a Little Tenderness in the background)
Darnell Martin succeeded in making an energizing comedy during 100 minutes and 10 minutes of strong drama
Great acting by Lauren Velez

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,5
Metascore —
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,8
IMDB 6,9
TMDB 6,6
Average critics 7,5
Average public 7,4

Cast: Luna Lauren Velez, Jon Seda, Tomas Melly
Director: Darnell Martin
Writer: Darnell Martin
Music by Sergio George
Cinematography by Alexander Gruszynski
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“Born in Flames” by Lizzie Borden (1983)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#4)

First Feature

Good script and dialogues
Excellent direction and images
Top music, gender content, minority representation and message

In New York in the 1980s, a group of women fights for equality and freedom and promote an egalitarian feminist revolution, but they have first to get women to understand their second class citizen position in society and the oppression they support by remaining silent. Excellent political content

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,8
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,8
IMDB 6,4
TMDB 6,4
Average critics 6,8
Average public 6,5

Cast: Honey, Adele Bertei, Jean Satterfield
Director: Lizzie Borden
Writer: Ed Bowes
Cinematography by Ed Bowes, Al Santana
Film Editing by Lizzie Borden

“The Proposition” by Lesli Linka Glatter (1998)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#5)

Good script and humor
Excellent dialogues, images, gender content, and expression
Top personages, direction and message

An ambitious movie that realizes much of its potential. Its Shakespearean plot and twists are never too stretched to become ridiculous, especially since it is set in the 1920s, mainly because of the strongly delineated personages and excellent acting.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,5
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,2
TMDB 5,8
Average critics 4,5
Average public 6,1

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Madeleine Stowe, William Hurt
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter
Writer: Rick Ramage
Music by Stephen Endelman
Cinematography by Peter Sova
Film Editing by Jacqueline Cambas

“Closet Land” by Radha Bharadwaj (1991)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#6)

First Feature

Good dialogues, music, gender content and minority representation
Excellent script
Top direction, images and message

A very unusual movie about resisting torture with the strength of one’s mind, about refusing lies (very timely), about sticking to one’s values… Great acting and decors!
Not a critics’ favorite…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,6
Metascore 0,0
Roger Ebert 3,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,4
IMDB 7,0
TMDB 6,9
Average critics 2,8
Average public 7,4

Cast: Madeleine Stowe, Alan Rickman
Director: Radha Bharadwaj
Writer: Radha Bharadwaj
Photographed by Bill Pope
Edited by Lisa Churgin
Music by Richard Einhorn

“Prison Song” by Darnell Martin (2001)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#7)

Good script, dialogues and expression
Excellent message
Top direction, images, music, and minority presence

A second feature as explosive as the first one
A movie made 20 years before Black Lives Matter that has lost nothing of its scope and power and that so unfortunately still fits our time…
Great camera work

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,2
IMDB 6,3
TMDB 5,3
Average critics —
Average public 6,9

Cast: Danny Hoch, Elvis Costello, Q-Tip
Director: Darnell Martin
Writers: Darnell Martin, Q-Tip
Cinematography by Alexander Gruszynski
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“Polis” by Maïwenn (2011)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#8)

Good script, dialogues and images
Excellent personages
Top direction, gender content, minority presence and message

Raw, documentary-like movie inside a Paris police force that deals with sex offenders and minors
Strong emotions, not for the fainthearted

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,8
Metascore 7,4
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 7,3
Average critics 6,8
Average public 7,5

Original title: Polisse

Cast: Karin Viard, JoeyStarr, Marina Foïs, Maïwenn, Emmanuelle Bercot
Director: Maïwenn
Writers: Maïwenn (screenplay), Emmanuelle Bercot (screenplay)
Music by Stephen Warbeck
Cinematography by Pierre Aïm
Film Editing by Yann Dedet, Laure Gardette

“Eve’s Bayou” by Kasi Lemmons (1997)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#9)

First Feature

Good dialogues, music and minorities presence
Excellent script, personages, direction, images,
gender content and message

The complex story of two sisters (14 and 10) who have put their father on a pedestal and cannot accept the fact that he is but just a man.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,5
Metascore 7,8
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,6
IMDB 7,3
Average critics 8,4
Average public 8,0

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Meagan Good
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Writer: Kasi Lemmons
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography by Amy Vincent
Film Editing by Terilyn A. Shropshire

“Nomadland” by Chloé Zhao (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#10)

Good script, dialogues, music, gender content and expression
Excellent personages, direction and message
Top images and minority representation

A movie about how ephemeral life is and how everything we have is inside us

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,9
Metascore 9,4
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,6
TMDB 7,7
Average critics 9,4
Average public 7,8

Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May
Director: Chloé Zhao
Writers: Jessica Bruder (based on the book by), Chloé Zhao (written for the screen by)
Music by Ludovico Einaudi
Cinematography by Joshua James Richards
Film Editing by Chloé Zhao

“All About Actresses” by Maïwenn (2009)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#11)

Good dialogues, humor, gender content, minority presence and message
Excellent personages and expression
Top script and direction

Famous French actresses exposed in their daily life by their friend Maiwenn who does not spare herself from criticism

IMDB 6,7

Original title: Le Bal Des Actrices

Cast: Jeanne Balibar, Romane Bohringer, Julie Depardieu
Director: Maïwenn
Writer: Maïwenn (as Maïwenn Le Besco)
Music by Gabriel Yared
Cinematography by Pierre Aïm
Film Editing by Laure Gardette

“Zero Dark Thirty” by Kathryn Bigelow (2012)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#12)

Good personages, humor, images and music
Excellent script, dialogues and gender content
Top direction

As often before, Kathryn Bigelow has made a sober film of dramatic events that could have givem way to much more exuberance in emotional situations as in historical perspective(s)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,6
Metascore 9,5
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,4
Average critics 8,5
Average public 7,7

Cast: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Mark Boal
Music by Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography by Greig Fraser
Film Editing by William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor

“My Little Sister” by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#13)

Good script, dialogues, images, and message
Excellent personages, direction, music, and expression
Top gender content

A woman takes care of the last days of her dying twin-brother… No dirty secrets, no family score-setting, just the attachment and love that she devotes to her brother, the emotions building up as he gets worse, leading her to surpass herself to keep him alive…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,1
Metascore 7,8
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 7,6
Critics average 7,5
Audience average 7,1

Original title: Schwessterlein

Cast: Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Marthe Keller
Directors: Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
Writers: Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
Music by Christian Garcia
Cinematography by Filip Zumbrunn
Film Editing by Myriam Rachmuth

“Babyteeth” by Shannon Murphy (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#14)

First Feature

Good script and gender content
Excellent personages, direction, music, message, and expression
Top images

The sad story of parents that are confronted with their terminally ill child, told in a very unusual way

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,6
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,2
TMDB 6,8
Average critics 8,0
Average public 7,3

Cast: Eliza Scanlen, Michelle Lotters, Toby Wallace
Director: Shannon Murphy
Writer: Rita Kalnejais
Music by Amanda Brown
Cinematography by Andrew Commis
Film Editing by Stephen Evans

“American Splendor” by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2003)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#15)

First Feature

Good dialogues
Excellent personages, images and minority presence
Top direction and music

The continuous life struggles of Harvey Pekar, as a man and as an artist, told mixing live action and animation, actors and real personages, fiction and documentary, all of this perfectly engineered. A very special movie…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,3
Metascore 9,0
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,4
TMDB 7,2
Average critics 9,1
Average public 7,5

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Harvey Pekar
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Writers: Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner
Music by Mark Suozzo
Cinematography by Terry Stacey
Film Editing by Robert Pulcini

“10,000 Saints” by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2015)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#16)

Good personages, humor, images, music, gender content, minority presence, and expression
Excellent script, dialogues and direction

The first half-hour is great, tense, constantly bouncing
This third feature by Berman and Pulcini brings some interesting perspective to their second movie, The Nanny Diaries, in which uninvolved motherhood and attachment are central themes. 10,000 Saint deals with uninvolved fatherhood and attachment “a sensitive and interesting film” [Sheila O’Malley]
Great acting by Ethan Hawke

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,2
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 5,8
IMDB 5,9
TMDB 5,9
Average critics 6,6
Average public 5,9

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Writers: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Based on the novel by Eleanor Henderson
Music by Garth Stevenson
Cinematography by Ben Kutchins
Film Editing by Robert Pulcini

“Mouthpiece” by Patricia Rozema (2018)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#17)

Good dialogues, direction and images
Excellent script and gender content
Top personages and message

A moving eulogy to mothers… but also more than that: the daughter is played by two actresses, not for a split-personality touch but to forge a mirror to the rich and complex person that was their mother… An emotionally rich movie

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,0
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 8,0
Average public 6,9

Cast: Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava, Maev Beaty
Director: Patricia Rozema
Writers: Amy Nostbakken, Patricia Rozema
Music by Amy Nostbakken
Cinematography by Catherine Lutes
Film Editing by Lara Johnston

“The Broken Hearts Gallery” by Natalie Krinsky (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#18)

First Feature

Good script, personages, direction, images, music and minority presence
Excellent dialogues, humor and gender content

Original romance setup with excellent dialogues
Somewhere disappointing because the movie eventually falls into the trap of the inevitable and too obvious romance

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 5,7
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,4
IMDB 6,1
Average critics 6,2
Average public 7,3

Cast: Geraldine Viswanathan, Dacre Montgomery, Utkarsh Ambudkar
Director: Natalie Krinsky
Writer: Natalie Krinsky (screenplay)
Music by Genevieve Vincent
Cinematography by Alar Kivilo
Film Editing by Shawn Paper

“The Second Mother” by Anna Muylaert (2015)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#19)

Good personages, gender content, minority representation, message, and expression
Excellent script and direction
Top images

A pearl of a movie, light, delightful, and full of palpable tensions

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,0
Metascore 8,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,6
IMDB 7,8
TMDB 8,1
Average critics 7,9
Average public 8,2

Original title: Que Horas Ela Volta?

Cast: Regina Casé, Helena Albergaria, Michel Joelsas
Director: Anna Muylaert
Writer: Anna Muylaert
Music by Vitor Araújo , Fábio Trummer
Cinematography by Barbara Alvarez
Film Editing by Karen Harley

“On The Rocks” by Sofia Coppola (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#20)

Good personages, music, gender content, minority representation and message
Excellent humor, direction and images

Suspecting that her husband cheats on her, a woman in her late thirties asks the help of her father (Bill Murray gives a fantastic dimension to his personage), a macho womanizer who takes advantage of the situation to try to take his daughter away from her husband
A bitter-sweet comedy on the theme of ‘no matter what, your heart belongs to daddy” in which the mixture of jealousy and guilt though is depicted with much finesse
Sofia Coppola’s eye for detail and care for veracity create a context with a very real texture to the wealth of these high-class New Yorkers…
Fun

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,5
Average critics 7,8
Average public 6,4

Cast: Bill Murray, Rashida Jones, Marlon Wayans
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Sofia Coppola
Music by Phoenix
Cinematography by Philippe Le Sourd
Film Editing by
Sarah Flack

“My King” by Maïwenn (2015)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#21)

Good script, dialogues, humor, images, music, gender content and message
Excellent personages, direction and expression

A movie about passion and the pains of love, a love story full of surprises
Vincent Cassell in one of his best performances

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,7
Metascore 6,8
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 7,1
Average critics 7,4
Average public 7,3

Original Title: Mon Roi

Cast: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Bercot, Louis Garrel
Director: Maïwenn
Writers: Etienne Comar (screenplay), Maïwenn (screenplay)
Music by Stephen Warbeck
Cinematography by Claire Mathon
Film Editing by Simon Jacquet

“A Very Curious Girl” by Nelly Kaplan (1969)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#22)

First Feature

Good personages, dialogues, humor, music, and message
Excellent script and direction
Top gender content and minority representation

Very enjoyable but corrosive movie about discrimination and hypocrisy in a French village not yet touched by the sexual revolution of the sixties but in which sex plays a central role

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,0
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,9
TMDB 6,6
Average critics 4,0
Average public 6,8

Original title: La Fiancée du Pirate

Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Georges Géret, Henri Czarniak
Director: Nelly Kaplan
Writers: Nelly Kaplan (story), Claude Makovski (story) | 5 more credits »
Music by Georges Moustaki
Cinematography by Jean Badal
Film Editing by Noëlle Boisson, Nelly Kaplan, Gérard Pollicand

“In Darkness” by Agnieszka Holland (2011)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#23)

Good script, direction, gender content and message
Excellent personages and minority representation
Top images

A movie that shows, without Hollywood artifacts, the slow transformation of a man who takes advantage of the war to make money on the black market by selling the valuables left behind by the Jews, to become a more conscious and engaged person who, without really wanting to, will go to extreme length to hide 11 Jews from the Nazis.
Nominated for an oscar

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,6
Metascore 7,4
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 7,3
Average critics 7,1
Average public 7,6

Cast: Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Fürmann, Agnieszka Grochowska
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Writers: Robert Marshall (book), David F. Shamoon
Music by Antoni Lazarkiewicz
Cinematography by Jolanta Dylewska
Film Editing by Michal Czarnecki

“Our Friend” by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#24)

Good dialogues, images, minority presence and expression
Excellent script, personages and direction
Top content

A movie that brings three personages together… The spectator is taken from one to the other, until one realizes that it’s the event itself – unique and powerful, even though extremely sad – that is central to their being and staying together until…
A movie whose mysterious attraction is uncovered slowly, even though we know almost right from the start what it’s all about.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 5,7
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,0
IMDB 7,3
TMDB 6,7
Average critics 6,8
Average public 7,7

Cast: Dakota Johnson, Casey Affleck, Jason Segel, Isabella Kai, Violet McGraw
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Writers: Brad Ingelsby
based on the article entitled ‘The Friend’ by Matthew Teague
Music by Rob Simonsen
Cinematography by Joe Anderson
Film Editing by Colin Patton

Gabriela Cowperthwaite has also directed

“Rocks” by Sarah Gavron (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#25)

Good script, direction, images, gender content, message and expression
Excellent personages
Top minority presence

Rocks is the name of a girl in her teens who has to care for her younger brother after their mother suddenly disappears,,, A story about surviving physically but also emotionally; a story about loyalty, loyalty towards family, loyalty towards friends…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,8
Metascore 9,6
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 9,2
Average public 7,7

Cast: Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali, D’angelou Osei Kissiedu
Director: Sarah Gavron
Writers: Theresa Ikoko
Music by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Cinematography by Hélène Louvart
Film Editing by Maya Maffioli

“Talk To Me” by Kasi Lemmons (2007)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#26)

Good dialogues, humor, images and music
Excellent personages, direction and minority presence

The story of a friendship, with its complementary motivation and inevitable disappointments

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,9
Metascore 6,9
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,3
Average critics 7,5
Average public 7,7

Cast: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bruce McFee
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Writers: Michael Genet, Rick Famuyiwa
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography by Stéphane Fontaine
Film Editing by Terilyn A. Shropshire

“I’m Your Woman” by Julia Hart (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#27)

Good personages, images, music, gender content and minority representation
Excellent script, direction and expression

Great: the movie gets slowly thicker, and the action picks up in the last half hour or so
Beautiful acting by Rachel Nrosnahan / enjoy the camera during the disco attack
One of the most original thrillers I’ve seen in a long time

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,9
Metascore 6,3
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,2
TMDB 5,9
Average critics 7,3
Average public 6,1

Cast: Rachel Brosnahan, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Arinzé Kene
Director: Julia Hart
Writers: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz
Music by ASKA
Cinematography by Bryce Fortner
Film Editing by
Shayar Bhansali, Tracey Wadmore-Smith

Also directed by Julia Hart:

“Cadillac Records” by Darnell Martin (2008)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#28)

Good script, personages, direction, images, and expression
Excellent minority presence
Top music

Great story about the transition from blues to rock and roll
“The great Chess roster included Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry and Little Walter. They first made Chicago the home of the blues, and then rhythm and blues, which, as Muddy said, had a baby, and they named it rock ‘n’ roll.” [Roger Ebert]

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,1
Metascore 6,5
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,2
IMDB 7,0
TMDB 7,2
Average critics 6,7
Average public 7,1

Cast: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé
Director: Darnell Martin
Writer: Darnell Martin
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography by Anastas N. Michos
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“I Am Woman” by Unjoo Moon (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#29)

First Feature

Good script, personages, images and music
Excellent direction
Top gender content and message

The 1960’s setting puts patriarchy in plain sight right from the start.
The movie shows the continuous struggle a female artist, Helen Reddy, has to go through to fulfill her ambition and escape a seemingly ineluctable domestic role.
A biopic with music leading the story. Nicely done!

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,0
Metascore 5,4
Roger Ebert 3,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,2
IMDB 6,1
Average critics 5,1
Average public 7,2

Cast: Evan Peters, Chris Parnell, Danielle Macdonald
Director: Unjoo Moon
Writer: Emma Jensen
Music by Rafael May
Cinematography by Dion Beebe
Film Editing by Dany Cooper

“Habana Eva” by Fina Torres (2010)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#30)

Good script, personages, direction, dialogues, gender content, and expression
Excellent music and message

As in Fina Torres’ first feature Oriana, a story of old houses and love, past and present… In both movies, houses that have to be sold or destroyed escape destruction because of the people who live in them and the stories they hide
Also in both movies, a woman torn between the two men she loves… and when she’s asked to choose, she simply decides to keep them both or none of them…
Very dynamic direction

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,3
IMDB 6,0
TMDB 7,0
Critics average —
Audience average 6,8

Cast: Prakriti Maduro, Yuliet Cruz, Juan Carlos García
Director: Fina Torres
Writers: Jorge Camacho, Julio Carrillo
Music by Barbara Cohen
Cinematography by Héctor Ortega
Film Editing by Robin Katz

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” by Celine Sciamma (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#31)

Good script, direction, minority representation and expression
Excellent images and music

A delicate intimacy predominates though at times clouded by a forced dramaturgy
Highly appreciated movie by critics and public 

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 9,0
Metascore 9,5
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,2
IMDB 8,1
TMDB 8,3
Average critics 9,5
Average public 8,5

Cast: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami
Director: Céline Sciamma
Writer: Céline Sciamma
Music by Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, Arthur Simonini
Cinematography by Claire Mathon
Film Editing by Julien Lacheray

“Cuties” by Maima Doucouré (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#32)

First Feature

Good personages, dialogues, music, gender content,
minority presence and message
Excellent direction

An 11-year-old girl is caught between the African traditions of her family and the modern-day world, between the childhood that she leaves behind and the unknown of becoming a woman and discovering her sexualized body
Note the enormous discrepancy between public and critics’ score!

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,0
Metascore 6,7
Roger Ebert 10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 2,4
IMDB 3,0
Average critics 7,9
Average public 2,7

Original title: Mignonnes

Cast: Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou
Directors: Maïmouna Doucouré, Denny Shoopman
Writer: Maïmouna Doucouré (screenplay)
Music by Nicolas Nocchi
Cinematography by Yann Maritaud
Film Editing by Stéphane Mazalaigue, Mathilde Van de Moortel

“Working Girls” by Lizzie Borden (1986)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#33)

Good personages, dialogues, minority representation, and expression
Excellent direction
Top gender content

A day in the life of a sex worker…
but in the end, it’s not about sex, it’s all about power (Oscar Wilde), for it’s not enough for these men to pay for a woman’s body, they want to possess all of her… Of course, there’s no way they’re going to get anything else than what they paid for, and even if they pay more, as most of them offer, they won’t get more than her body.
A great mix of sex and gender roles…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,2
Metascore —
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,5
TMDB 5,7
Average critics 7,4
Average public 6,1

Cast: Louise Smith, Ellen McElduff, Amanda Goodwin
Director: Lizzie Borden
Writers: Lizzie Borden
Music by David Van Tieghem
Cinematography by Judy Irola
Film Editing by Lizzie Borden

 

“Oriana” by Fina Torres (1985)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#34)

First Feature

Good music, gender content, minority presence, and expression
Excellent images
Top direction

Among the many secrets an old hacienda holds – it’s not an horror film – a story of love and passion told through the eyes of three generations of girls/women.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 6,7
TMDB 4,9
Critics average —
Audience average 6,5

Cast: Doris Wells, Daniela Silverio, Rafael Briceño
Director: Fina Torres
Writers: Antoine Lacomblez, Fina Torres
Music by Eduardo Marturet
Cinematography by Jean-Claude Larrieu
Film Editing by Christiane Lack

“In Bloom” by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross (2013)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#35)

First Feature

Good script, personages, direction and images
Top gender content and message

A world of women in which men are either away at war or drunk.
The story of two girls who have just gone through puberty and are obliged to play their adult female social role without having the possibility of a “coming of age”
A good account of how the rich life of girls is transformed into a life of slavery as they become women, and a good representation of patriarchal rule in all its non-sense

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,2
Metascore 7,2
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 7,6
Average critics 7,2
Average public 7,6

Cast: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria, Zurab Gogaladze
Directors: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß (as Simon Gross)
Writer: Nana Ekvtimishvili
Cinematography by Oleg Mutu
Film Editing by Stefan Stabenow

“Days of Gray” by Ani Simon-Kennedy (2013)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#36)

First Feature

Good personages, images, music and content
Excellent direction

Hats off to the director for having succeeded in showing a totalitarian society with less than 10 personages and not one word said!
Great costumes and use of objects
By the way, the movie is dated 2013 but it could have very well been filmed today, in our (not yet post) COVID-19 world.

IMDB 6,8

Cast: Viktoría Rós Antonsdóttir, Davið Laufdal Arnarsson, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir
Director: Ani Simon-Kennedy
Writers: Hrafn Jonsson, Ani Simon-Kennedy, Cailin Yatsko
Music by Hjaltalin
Cinematography by Cailin Yatsko
Film Editing by Perry Blackshear

“Wander Darkly” by Tara Miele (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#37)

Good script, personages, images and message
Excellent expression
Top direction

Deconstructing a relationship after a fatal accident / using death to recover life

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,4
Metascore 6,8
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 5,7
Average critics 7,3
Average public 6,9

Cast: Diego Luna, Sienna Miller, Beth Grant
Director: Tara Miele
Writer: Tara Miele
Music by Alex Weston
Cinematography by Carolina Costa
Film Editing by Tamara Meem, Alex O’Flinn

“Guncrazy” by Tamra Davis (1992)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#38)

First Feature

Good script, personages, images, humor, gender content, and expression
Excellent direction

Another version of Bonnie and Clyde in which two individuals who haven’t been emotionally close to anyone before find each other and give meaning to each other’s life
Very good acting
Not a big success: is it because the main male character is impotent? 🙂

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,5
Metascore 6,9
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 5,5
TMDB 5,2
Critics average 6,2
Audience average 5,6

Cast: Drew Barrymore, James Le Gros, Robert Greenberg
Director: Tamra Davis
Writer: Matthew Bright
Music by Ed Tomney
Cinematography by Lisa Rinzler
Film Editing by Kevin Tent

“Dirty God” by Sacha Polak (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#39)

Good direction, images, gender content, minority presence and message
Excellent music and expression

The situations in which this young and once beautiful but now monstrous looking woman has to go through every day are so awful that you really wonder where she gets the strength to survive.
But what makes the story even more painful (!!!) is the stupidity of the world around her, of her world… At the end of the day, it might just be this hopeless stupidity that makes her unbreakable

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,4
Metascore 7,5
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,4
Average critics 7,5
Average public 6,3

Cast: Vicky Knight, Katherine Kelly, Eliza Brady-Girard
Director: Sacha Polak
Writers: Sacha Polak, Susie Farrell
Music by Rutger Reinders
Cinematography by Ruben Impens
Film Editing by Sander Vos

“Grand Central” by Rebecca Zlotowski (2013)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#40)

Good personages, images and gender content
Excellent direction and music

Using a nuclear plant as background provides added tension and insecurity to a love story that is born out of the attraction between two bodies

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,5
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 6,9
Average public 6,3

Cast: Tahar Rahim, Léa Seydoux, Olivier Gourmet
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Writers: Gaëlle Macé, Rebecca Zlotowski |
Music by Robin Coudert
Cinematography by Georges Lechaptois
Film Editing by Julien Lacheray

“More Beautiful For Having Been Broken” by Nicole Conn (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#41)

Good personages, direction, images and music
Excellent dialogues, gender content, minority presence and emotional charge

Some far-fetched twists take the attention away from a beautiful story.

IMDB 5,9

Cast: Zoe Ventoura, Kayla Radomski, Cale Ferrin
Director: Nicole Conn
Writer: Nicole Conn
Music by Nami Melumad
Cinematography by Seth Wessel-Estes
Film Editing by Nicole Conn, David C. Eichhorn

“The Party is Over” by Marie Garel-Weiss (2017)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#42)

Good script and direction
Excellent personages, minority representation and message

Strong acting, elliptic end

IMDB 6,5
TMDB 6,1

Original title: La Fête est Finie

Cast: Zita Hanrot, Clémence Boisnard, Marie Denarnaud
Director: Marie Garel-Weiss
Writers: Marie Garel-Weiss, Salvatore Lista
Music by Pierre Allio, Ferdinand Berville
Cinematography by Samuel Lahu
Film Editing by Guerric Catala, Riwanon Le Beller

“Picture Day” by Kate Melville (2012)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#43)

Good script, personages, dialogues, direction, gender content and minority presence
Excellent message

A movie that penetrates you slowly while it builds its personages up thoroughly
A coming of age story that reaches deeper and goes further because it avoids superficiality and cliches
A movie that shows that intimacy is not a consequence of sex but of knowing each other

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,1
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 6,3
Average critics 6,1
Average public 6,7

Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Spencer Van Wyck, Steven McCarthy
Director: Kate Melville
Writer: Kate Melville
Cinematography by Celiana Cárdenas
Film Editing by Dev Singh

“I Love You, Stupid” by Laura Mana (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#44)

Good script, personages, dialogues and direction
Excellent gender content and message

The world of dating and sex in the 21st century through the eyes of a thirty-plus guy
One of the few movies that tackles the ‘masculinity problem’ without weighing too much on its toxic aspects

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,5
Metascore 0,0
Roger Ebert 0,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 5,8
Average critics 1,8
Average public 6,4

Original title: Te Quiero, Imbecil

Cast: Quim Gutiérrez, Natalia Tena, Alfonso Bassave
Director: Laura Mañá
Writers: Abraham Sastre, Iván Bouso
Music by Javier Bayon, Luc Suarez
Cinematography by Sergi Gallardo
Film Editing by Paula González

“Palo Alto” by Gia Coppola (2013)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#45)

First Feature

Good direction, images, music, message and expression
Excellent personages and gender content

A boy and a girl are attracted to each other but do not know how to get closer
Besides, the movie shows with much nuances how difficult it is to be a teenager, when you don’t know who you are, what you want, and you are just as unsure of the others as you are of yourself

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,2
Metascore 6,8
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 6,8
Average public 6,3

Cast: Emma Roberts, James Franco, Jack Kilmer
Director: Gia Coppola
Writers: Gia Coppola, James Franco (book)
Music by Devonté Hynes, Robert Schwartzman
Cinematography by Autumn Durald
Film Editing by Leo Scott

“Fits And Starts” by Laura Terruso (2017)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#46)

First Feature

Good personages, direction, music, diversity and message
Excellent gender content

An ironic view on the world of writers (the successful ones and the others) in New York
At times a bit compelled (isn’t that inherent to irony?) but lots of surprising moments

IMDB 6,0

Cast: Wyatt Cenac, Greta Lee, Maria Dizzia
Director: Laura Terruso
Writer: Laura Terruso
Music by Jay Israelson
Cinematography by Benjamin Rutkowski
Film Editing by Robert Grigsby Wilson

“Planetarium” by Rebecca Zlotowski (2016)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#47)

Good script, personages, dialogues and music
Excellent direction

Fascinating movie, although I can’t really put the finger on why I couldn’t stop watching… Maybe it’s just because, as it is said in the end, it suggests expectations that you better not have, but that you should never losing hope.
Nice musical score

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,8
Metascore 4,4
Roger Ebert 5,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 4,8
IMDB 4,6
Average critics 4,7
Average public 4,7

Cast: Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Writers: Rebecca Zlotowski, Robin Campillo
Music by Robin Coudert
Cinematography by Georges Lechaptois
Film Editing by Julien Lacheray

“Getting To Know You” by Joan Carr-Wiggin (2020)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#48)

Good personages, dialogues, direction, gender content, message, and expression
Excellent script

An interesting game of mirrors with one woman having to choose between two men on the one hand, and one man having to choose between two women on the other hand, all of it taking place in the same space and within a couple of days.
Fine acting by Natasha Little

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,7
TMDB 6,0
Average critics —
Average public 5,9

Cast: Natasha Little, Rupert Penry-Jones, Rachel Blanchard
Director: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Writer: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Music by Kenneth Harrison
Cinematography by Bruce Worrall

Also by directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin

“The Sky Is Pink” by Shonali Bose (2019)

Favorite 52 movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#49)

Good personages, humor and gender content
Excellent script, dialogues, direction and message

After one hour, you wonder what is still to be said in the second hour of the movie, but surprise, it gives you the best part, bringing the personages and their relationship closer
Some insipid songs make the score most annoying
A movie that has been well liked by the public, but not so by critics

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,1
Metascore 5,5
Roger Ebert 0,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,8
IMDB 7,5
Average critics 3,9
Average public 8,2

Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim
Director: Shonali Bose
Writers: Shonali Bose, Juhi Chaturvedi (hindi dialogue) | 1 more credit »
Music by Mikey McCleary
Cinematography by Andrew Alderslade, Nick Cooke, Kartik Vijay
Film Editing by Manas Mittal

“Promising Young Woman” by Emerald Fennell (2020)

Favorite (52) movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#50)

First Feature

Good dialogues, humor and message
Excellent script, direction and expression
Top images, music and gender content

Because the system takes the side of the perpetrator, she decides to take justice into her own hands…
A brilliant construct… will probably become a classic

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,0
Metascore 7,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,6
IMDB 7,5
Average critics 7,6
Average public 8,1

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie
Director: Emerald Fennell
Writer: Emerald Fennell
Music by Anthony Willis
Cinematography by Benjamin Kracun .
Film Editing by Frédéric Thoraval

“Little Miss Sunshine” by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (2006)

Favorite (52) movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#51)

Good script, personages, humor, direction, images, minority representation and message

An ‘existential’ comedy over an extended dysfunctional family, set as representing the ‘natural state’ and put in contrast with the fake and illusionary surrounding world that is imposed as representing normality

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,7
Metascore 8,0
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,6
IMDB 7,8
Average critics 8,2
Average public 8,2

Cast: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Michael Arndt
Music by Mychael Danna, DeVotchKa
Cinematography by Tim Suhrstedt
Film Editing by Pamela Martin

“Mickey And The Bear” by Annabelle Attanasio (2019)

Favorite (52) movies screened between Aug 20 and May 21 (#52)

First Feature

Good script, direction, gender content, and message
Top minority presence

Good first feature about an 18-year-old girl who has to chose between caring for her father (a veteran with PTSD) and a life of her own

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,7
Metascore 7,9
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 5,6
Average critics 8,1
Average public 6,6

Cast: Camila Morrone, James Badge Dale, Calvin Demba
Director: Annabelle Attanasio
Writer: Annabelle Attanasio
Music by Angel Deradoorian, Brian McOmber
Cinematography by Conor Murphy
Film Editing by Henry Hayes

“When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit” by Caroline Link (2019)

Good dialogues and minority representation
Excellent personages

A good story but the direction could have been more dynamic… just as the music. All in all, a bit boring

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,3
Metascore 4,7
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,8
IMDB 7,1
TMDB 6,8
Critics average 6,0
Audience average 7,6

Original title: Als Hitler das Rosa Kaninchen stahl

Cast: Riva Krymalowski, Marinus Hohmann, Carla Juri, Oliver Masucci
Directed by Caroline Link
Writers: Anna Brüggemann, Judith Kerr, Caroline Link
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Cinematography by Bella Halben
Film Editing by Patricia Rommel

“Spare Room” by Jenica Bergere (2018)

Two movies by Jenica Bergere

Weak script
Excellent minority representation

A movie with everyone saying they are sorry, and not much more to say…
Minorities are well represented: Down syndrome, racial diversity

Cast: Skyler Samuels, Martin Sensmeier, Cole Sibus
Director: Jenica Bergere
Writer: Laura Greenman Heine
Music by Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley
Cinematography by Alan Caudillo
Film Editing by René Besson

“Come Simi” by Jenica Bergere (2015)

Two movies by Jenica Bergere

First Feature

Weak direction and message
Bottom score: music (2)

Pointless script, unbearable music…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,1
Average critics —
Average public 6,1

Cast: Jenica Bergere, Molly Shannon, Tawny Kitaen
Director: Jenica Bergere
Writers: Jenica Bergere, Doc Pedrolie
Music by Johnny Harris
Cinematography by Peter Mosiman
Film Editing by Jaceson Mann

“Double Dad” by Cris d’Amato (2021)

A movie with an acceptable start but that should have lasted one hour less

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 5,6
TMDB 7,1
Average critics —
Average public 6,4

Original title: Um Pai no Meio do Caminho

Cast: Eduardo Moscovis, Maisa Silva, Roberto Bonfim
Director: Cris D’Amato
Writers: Marcelo Andrade, Renato Fagundes
Cinematography by José Roberto Eliezer
Film Editing by Bernardo Pimenta

“By The Time It Gets Dark” by Anocha Suwichakornpong (2016)

Two movies by Anocha Suwichakornpong

Weak script
Good images

Still wondering what this movie is all about…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,0
Metascore 7,3
Roger Ebert 0,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 5,2
IMDB 6,4
TMDB 5,6
Critics average 4,8
Audience average 5,7

Original title: Dao Khanong

Cast: Visra Vichit-Vadakan, Arak Amornsupasiri, Achtara Suwan
Director: Anocha Suwichakornpong
Writer: Anocha Suwichakornpong
Music by Wuttipong Leetrakul
Cinematography by Ming-Kai Leung
Film Editing by Lee Chatametikool, Aacharee Ungsriwong

“Mundane History” by Anocha Suwichakornpong (2009)

Two movies by Anocha Suwichakornpong

First Feature

Weak script
Good images and music

Anocha Suwichakornpong is certainly not the most accessible director. Mumdane History, her first feature, giives a good idea of why her work is so peculiar. Mundane History is easier to grap than her second feature: the same personages are used from the beinning to the end, and the editing makes the story not less but more comprehensible. The story, however, remains a mystery to me.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,7
TMDB 5,2
Critics average —
Audience average 6,1

Cast: Arkaney Cherkam, Paramej Noiam, Anchana Ponpitakthepkij
Director: Anocha Suwichakornpong
Writer: Anocha Suwichakornpong (screenplay)
Cinematography by Ming-Kai Leung
Film Editing by Lee Chatametikool

“In Between” by Maysaloun Hamoud (2016)

A week of first features

A Weekend Treat!

Good script, humor, images and music
Excellent personages, dialogues, direction, minority presence and message
Top gender content

The various facets of the patriarchal world experienced by three Israeli Palestinian women
“… an actual fatwa was issued against Hamoud—the first against a Palestinian in 70 years—for her depictions of homosexuality, intoxication and drug use. That—combined with no less than Isabelle Huppert declaring the women featured in “In Between” as “heroines of our time” while presenting an award at Cannes last year—is as good a recommendation you can get.” Susan Wloszczyna

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,7
Metascore 7,8
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,4
IMDB 7,3
Average critics 8,1
Average public 7,4

Original title: Bar Bahar

Cast: Mouna Hawa, Shaden Kanboura, Sana Jammalieh, Mahmoud Shalaby
Director: Maysaloun Hamoud
Cinematographer: Itay Gross
Editor: Nili Feller, Lev Goltser
Composer: M.G. Saad

“Before You Know It” by Hannah Pearl Utt (2019)

A week of first features

A series of scenes that have very little to bind them together, with too many things going on

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,7
Metascore 6,1
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,6
IMDB 5,1
TMDB 5,4
Average critics 6,8
Average public 5,7

Cast: Hannah Pearl Utt, Ayden Mayeri, Oona Yaffe
Director: Hannah Pearl Utt
Writers: Jen Tullock, Hannah Pearl Utt
Music by Ryan Tullock
Cinematography by Jon Keng
Film Editing by Kent Kincannon

“Summerland” by Jessica Swale (2020)

A week of first features

Good images, gender content, minority representation and expression

A story that could have had more impact without the historical (WW2) setting and the superfluous flashback

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,5
Metascore 5,6
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,0
TMDB 7,8
Average critics 6,1
Average public 7,6

Cast: Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Penelope Wilton
Director: Jessica Swale
Writer: Jessica Swale
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Cinematography by Laurie Rose
Film Editing by Tania Reddin

“Flowers From Another World” by Icíar Bollaín (1999)

A week of first features

Good script and direction
Excellent gender content and message
Top minority representation

A good balance between drama and comedy

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,2
IMDB 6,9
TMDB 4,7
Average critics —
Average public 6,3

Original title: Flores de Otro Mundo

Cast: José Sancho, Luis Tosar, Lissete Mejía
Director: Icíar Bollaín
Writers: Icíar Bollaín, Julio Llamazares
Music by Pascal Gaigne
Cinematography by Teo Delgado
Film Editing by Ángel Hernández Zoido

“Going The Distance” by Nanette Burstein (2010)

A week of first features

Good dialogues

Falls flat after 30 minutes… Fortunately the dialogues provide some rebound

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,8
Metascore 5,1
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6.6
IMDB 6,3
TMDB 6,0
Average critics 5,5
Average public 4,1

Cast: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Ron Livingston
Director: Nanette Burstein
Writer: Geoff LaTulippe
Music by Mychael Danna
Cinematography by Eric Steelberg
Film Editing by Peter Teschner

“Guncrazy” by Tamra Davis (1992)

The work of Tamra Davis (3/3)

First Feature

A Weekend Treat!

Good script, personages, images, humor, gender content, and expression
Excellent direction

Another version of Bonnie and Clyde in which two individuals who haven’t been emotionally close to anyone before find each other and give meaning to each other’s life
Very good acting
Not a big success: is it because the main male character is impotent? 🙂

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,5
Metascore 6,9
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 5,5
TMDB 5,2
Critics average 6,2
Audience average 5,6

Cast: Drew Barrymore, James Le Gros, Robert Greenberg
Director: Tamra Davis
Writer: Matthew Bright
Music by Ed Tomney
Cinematography by Lisa Rinzler
Film Editing by Kevin Tent

“Half Baked” by Tamra Davis (1998)

The work of Tamra Davis (2/3)

Weak script, personages and message
Good music

Some funny moments provide no excuse to watch this movie
Well appreciated by the public, not much by the critics

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,6
Metascore 1,6 !!!
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,2
IMDB 6,7
TMDB 6,4
Critics average 3,1
Audience average 7,1

Cast: Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Díaz, Jim Breuer
Director: Tamra Davis
Writers: Dave Chappelle, Neal Brennan
Music by Alf Clausen
Cinematography by Steven Bernstein
Film Editing by Don Zimmerman

“Skipped Parts” by Tamra Davis (2019)

The work of Tamra Davis (1/3)

Good personages, dialogues, humor, and minority presence
Excellent gender content

A twisted and unrealistic story but within a comedy’s parameters

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,6
IMDB 6,3
TMDB 6,0
Average critics —
Average public 6,3

Cast: Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mischa Barton
Director: Tamra Davis
Writers: Tim Sandlin (novel), Tim Sandlin (screenplay)
Music by Stewart Copeland
Cinematography by Claudio Rocha
Film Editing by Luis Colina, Michael R. Miller

“10,000 Saints” by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2015)

The work of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (3/3)

Good personages, humor, images, music, gender content, minority presence, and expression
Excellent script, dialogues and direction

The first half-hour is great, tense, constantly bouncing
This third feature by Berman and Pulcini brings some interesting perspective to their second movie, The Nanny Diaries, in which uninvolved motherhood and attachment are central themes. 10,000 Saint deals with uninvolved fatherhood and attchement… “a sensitive and interesting film” [Sheila O’Malley]
Great acting by Ethan Hawke

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,2
Metascore 6,2
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 5,8
IMDB 5,9
TMDB 5,9
Average critics 6,6
Average public 5,9

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Writers: Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman
Based on the novel by Eleanor Henderson
Music by Garth Stevenson
Cinematography by Ben Kutchins
Film Editing by Robert Pulcini

“The Nanny Diaries” by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2007)

The work of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2/3)

Good dialogues, direction, images and expression

The rich mix of images that are found in American Splendor is only used at the beginning of the movie, and a little bit at the end… The rest falls flat, but the anthropological touch gives the movie a fresh and original look
Certainly less adventurous and challenging than their first feature despite interesting themes such as attachment and parenting

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,0
Metascore 4,6
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,6
IMDB 6,2
TMDB 6,2
Average critics 5,3
Average public 6,3

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Paul Giamatti
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Writers: Emma McLaughlin , Nicola Kraus
Music by Mark Suozzo
Cinematography by Terry Stacey
Film Editing by Robert Pulcini

“American Splendor” by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (2003)

The work of Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (1/3)

First Feature

Good dialogues
Excellent personages, images and minority presence
Top direction and music

The continuous life struggles of Harvey Pekar, as a man and as an artist, told mixing live action and animation, actors and real personages, fiction and documentary, all of this perfectly engineered. A very special movie…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 8,3
Metascore 9,0
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,4
TMDB 7,2
Average critics 9,1
Average public 7,5

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Shari Springer Berman, Harvey Pekar
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Writers: Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner
Music by Mark Suozzo
Cinematography by Terry Stacey
Film Editing by Robert Pulcini

“I Like It Like That” by Darnell Martin (1994)

Tribute to Darnell Martin (4/4)

A Weekend Treat!

First Feature

Good script and images
Excellent humor, music and expression
Top personages, direction, gender content and minority representation

Lots of passion but very little tenderness (Otis Redding’s Try a Little Tenderness in the background)
Darnell Martin succeeded in making an energizing comedy during 100 minutes and 10 minutes of strong drama
Great acting by Lauren Velez

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,5
Metascore —
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,8
IMDB 6,9
TMDB 6,6
Average critics 7,5
Average public 7,4

Cast: Luna Lauren Velez, Jon Seda, Tomas Melly
Director: Darnell Martin
Writer: Darnell Martin
Music by Sergio George
Cinematography by Alexander Gruszynski
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“Prison Song” by Darnell Martin (2001)

Tribute to Darnell Martin (3/4)

Good script, dialogues and expression
Excellent message
Top direction, images, music, and minority presence

A second feature as explosive as the first one
A movie made 20 years before Black Lives Matter that has lost nothing of its scope and power and that so unfortunately still fits our time…
Great camera work

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 9,2
IMDB 6,3
TMDB 5,3
Average critics —
Average public 6,9

Cast: Danny Hoch, Elvis Costello, Q-Tip
Director: Darnell Martin
Writers: Darnell Martin, Q-Tip
Cinematography by Alexander Gruszynski
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“Cadillac Records” by Darnell Martin (2008)

Tribute to Darnell Martin (2/4)

Good script, personages, direction, images, and expression
Excellent minority presence
Top music

Great story about the transition from blues to rock and roll
“The great Chess roster included Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James, Willie Dixon, Chuck Berry and Little Walter. They first made Chicago the home of the blues, and then rhythm and blues, which, as Muddy said, had a baby, and they named it rock ‘n’ roll.” [Roger Ebert]

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,1
Metascore 6,5
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,2
IMDB 7,0
TMDB 7,2
Average critics 6,7
Average public 7,1

Cast: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé
Director: Darnell Martin
Writer: Darnell Martin
Music by Terence Blanchard
Cinematography by Anastas N. Michos
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“Wish You Well” by Darnell Martin (2013)

Tribute to Darnell Martin (1/4)

Weak music and poor direction
Top minority presence

A sketchy story that doesn’t get anywhere
Most children in this story have lost their parents, and you would think that’s a theme important enough to get deeper into it, but midway in the movie comes a new theme – an evil mining company wants to buy all the beautiful mountain land…
Boring music, infuriating editing, but the landscapes are nice 🙂

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 6,9
Average critics —
Average public 7,0

Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Mackenzie Foy, Josh Lucas
Director: Darnell Martin
Writers: David Baldacci
Music by Paul Cantelon
Cinematography by Frank Prinzi
Film Editing by Eric Wais

“Murder In A Small Town” by Joyce Chopra (1999)

The work of Joyce Chopra (2/2)

Weak script
Good humor

Some surprising moments but a story whose main goal is to put Gene Wilder in the limelight

IMDB 6,5

Cast: Gene Wilder, Mike Starr, Terry O’Quinn
Director: Joyce Chopra
Writers: Gilbert Pearlman, Gene Wilder
Music by John Morris
Cinematography by Bruce Surtees
Film Editing by Peter C. Frank

“Smooth Talk” by Joyce Chopra (1985)

The work of Joyce Chopra (1/2)

First Feature

Good humor, music and message
Excellent script and images
Top direction and gender content

Laura Dern is magnetic here as a 15-year old girl who wants to discover love, sex and boys, and who tries her best to keep what she provokes under control… a story that so many girls go through.
Towards the end, there’s a 23-minute long scene (23 minutes !!!) in which an older and experienced man (Treat Williams) tries to convince Connie (Laura Dern) to let him be her first lover … And it’s not only about what is said but also what emanates from their bodies… Hypnotic!
A movie with imperfections (uneven personages and dialogues), but exceptional in many ways

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,6
Metascore 7,4
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,2
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 7,6
Average public 6,2

Cast Laura Dern, Treat Williams, Mary Kay Place, Elizabeth Berridge, Levon Helm
Directed by Joyce Chopra
Story by Joyce Carol Oates, screenplay by Tom Cole
Music by James Taylor
Edited by Patrick Dodd
Photographed by James Glennon

“36 Fillette” by Catherine Breillat (1988)

Tribute to Catherine Breillat

A Weekend Treat!

Great script and images
Excellent dialogues, personages and direction
Top gender content

A movie announcing three of Catherine Breillat’s favorite themes: women’s sexuality; lies and sex; age and sex.

In her urge to discover sex, a 14-year-old girl provoques the world around her while going through unbearable frustrations, not knowing how to deal with her desires… until she gets to the “other side” and finally loses her virginity.
Not a ‘pleasant’ movies (the dialogues!) but a powerful one!

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,1
Metascore —
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,6
IMDB 6,0
Average critics 8,0
Average public 6,3

Cast: Delphine Zentout, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Etienne Chicot, Diane Bellego, Jean-Francois Stevenin, Olivier Parniere
Written and directed by Catherine Breillat
Music by Jean Minondo
Photographed by Laurent Dailland
Edited by Yann Dedet

“Perfect Love” by Catherine Breillat (1996)

Tribute to Catherine Breillat

Good images and music
Top gender content

Even though the age difference between the two lovers, they build a regular relationship that tries to find its cruising speed but that ends up limiting instead of empowering the other
The camera gives you time to see, and even stops to give you time to listen, especially the poignant Scottish lied by Beethoven (The Lovely Lass of Inverness)

IMDB 6,3

Original title: Parfait Amour

Cast: Isabelle Renauld, Francis Renaud, Laura Saglio
Director: Catherine Breillat
Writer: Catherine Breillat
Cinematography by Laurent Dailland
Film Editing by Agnès Guillemot

“Fat Girl” by Catherine Breillat (2001)

Tribute to Catherine Breillat

Good direction
Great personages
Top gender content

Just as in 36 Fillette, we follow a not-even-sixteen-year-old girl and her still younger sister as they have their first sexual experience that ends up unexpectedly
A movie with the usual Catherine Breillat themes – female sexuality, age differences, virginity – in which everyone is lying to seduce someone else

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,4
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 6,5
Average critics 7,6
Average public 6,8

Original title: A Ma Soeur

Cast: Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero De Rienzo
Director: Catherine Breillat
Writer: Catherine Breillat
Cinematography by Giorgos Arvanitis
Film Editing by Pascale Chavance

“Brief Crossing” by Catherine Breillat (2001)

Tribute to Catherine Breillat

Great script, gender content and message
Excellent personages, dialogues, direction and images

A movie with some of Catherine Breillat’s favorite themes: female sexuality; lies and sex; age and sex

“On a ship we are above the law” says the young Thomas. It perfectly illustrates this brief encounter between a woman around 30 and a 16 year-old boy as they cross the Channel / him by pretending to be older and saying that she’s his mother to get drinks from the bar / her by pretending that she’s single to catch this minor into her nets
The story of a boy who doesn’t know who he can be in front of this experienced and provocative woman / the story of a woman who can be anything she wants in front of this ‘untouched’ boy
Despite her feminist discourse, the woman acts like a femme fatale, (beautifully) playing all the tricks she knows to catch her prey… But she honestly warns us: sex is a game of power, and there’s no room in it for tenderness…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,6
IMDB 6,8
Average critics —
Average public 7,7

Original title: Brève Traversée

Cast: Sarah Pratt, Gilles Guillain, Marc Filip
Director: Catherine Breillat
Writer: Catherine Breillat
Music by Patrick Chevalier, D’Julz, Marc Filipi
Cinematography by Eric Gautier
Film Editing by Pascale Chavance

“The Last Mistress” by Catherine Breillat (2007)

Tribute to Catherine Breillat

Great direction

A movie about love and passion and how one can feel passion for someone and
love for someone else
However, according to Catherine Breillat, sexual passion wins in the long run.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,7
Metascore 7,8
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,8
IMDB 6,2
Average critics 7,8
Average public 6,5

Original title: Une Vieille Maitresse

Cast: Asia Argento, Fu’ad Ait Aattou, Roxane Mesquida, Claude Sarraute, Yolande Moreau, Michael Lonsdale, Anne Parillaud
Written and directed: Catherine Breillat
Based on the novel by Barbey D’Aurevilly

“The Key That Should Not Be Handed On” by Dinara Asanova (1977)

A historical treat!

Good script, personages, dialogues and direction
Excellent message

A poetic coming of age story in the USSR, in which girls and boys are discovering new freedoms. This leads to a generational conflict between the teachers who defend the traditions and their students.
A movie about trust and understanding the other

IMDB 7,1

Original title: Klyuch bez prava peredachi

Cast: Elena Proklova, Aleksey Petrenko,
Director: Dinara Asanova
Writer: Georgi Polonsky
Music by Evgeniy Krylatov
Cinematography by Dmitriy Dolinin, Yuri Veksler
Film Editing by Galina Subayeva

“Born in Flames” by Lizzie Borden (1983)

A Weekend Treat!

First Feature

Good script and dialogues
Excellent direction and images
Top music, gender content, minority representation and message

In New York in the 1980s, a group of women fights for equality and freedom and promote an egalitarian feminist revolution, but they have first to get women to understand their second class citizen position in society and the oppression they support by remaining silent. Excellent political content

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,8
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,8
IMDB 6,4
TMDB 6,4
Average critics 6,8
Average public 6,5

Cast: Honey, Adele Bertei, Jean Satterfield
Director: Lizzie Borden
Writer: Ed Bowes
Cinematography by Ed Bowes, Al Santana
Film Editing by Lizzie Borden

“Working Girls” by Lizzie Borden (1986)

Good personages, dialogues, minority representation, and expression
Excellent direction
Top gender content

A day in the life of a sex worker…
but in the end, it’s not about sex, it’s all about power (Oscar Wilde), for it’s not enough for these men to pay for a woman’s body, they want to possess all of her… Of course, there’s no way they’re going to get anything else than what they paid for, and even if they pay more, as most of them offer, they won’t get more than her body.
A great mix of sex and gender roles…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,2
Metascore —
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 6,5
TMDB 5,7
Average critics 7,4
Average public 6,1

Cast: Louise Smith, Ellen McElduff, Amanda Goodwin
Director: Lizzie Borden
Writers: Lizzie Borden
Music by David Van Tieghem
Cinematography by Judy Irola
Film Editing by Lizzie Borden

“Layla M.” by Mijke de Jong (2016)

Good personages, direction, images and minority presence
Excellent message

The story of a passionate and idealist teen jihadist who suddenly realizes her ideals were misplaced
Nora El Koussour has a good screen presence

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,6
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 6,7
Average critics 7,6
Average public 7,3

Cast:  Nora El Koussour, Ilias Addab, Hassan Akkouch
Director: Mijke de Jong
Writers: Jan Eilander, Mijke de Jong
Music by Can Erdogan
Cinematography by Danny Elsen
Film Editing by Dorith Vinken

“Frailer” by Mijke de Jong (2014)

Good script, personages, dialogues, direction and gender content

Documentary-like movie that follows a woman who is dying of cancer and gets frailer and frailer while surrounded by her (female) friends.
A touch of cinema-vérité certainly not to the taste of everyone although everything is filmed ‘smoothly’

IMDB 7,0

Original title: Brozer

Cast: Marnie Blok, Lieneke le Roux, Leonoor Pauw
Director: Mijke de Jong
Writers: Jolein Laarman
Music by Rutger Reinders
Cinematography by Ton Peters
Film Editing by Dorith Vinken

“Wander Darkly” by Tara Miele (2020)

Good script, personages, images and message
Excellent expression
Top direction

Deconstructing a relationship after a fatal accident / using death to recover life

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,4
Metascore 6,8
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 5,7
Average critics 7,3
Average public 6,9

Cast: Diego Luna, Sienna Miller, Beth Grant
Director: Tara Miele
Writer: Tara Miele
Music by Alex Weston
Cinematography by Carolina Costa
Film Editing by Tamara Meem, Alex O’Flinn

“Getting To Know You” by Joan Carr-Wiggin (2020)

Good personages, dialogues, direction, gender content, message, and expression
Excellent script

An interesting game of mirrors with one woman having to choose between two men on the one hand, and one man having to choose between two women on the other hand, all of it taking place in the same space and within a couple of days.
Fine acting by Natasha Little

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience —
IMDB 5,7
TMDB 6,0
Average critics —
Average public 5,9

Cast: Natasha Little, Rupert Penry-Jones, Rachel Blanchard
Director: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Writer: Joan Carr-Wiggin
Music by Kenneth Harrison
Cinematography by Bruce Worrall

Also by directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin

“The Proposition” by Lesli Linka Glatter (1998)

Two features by Lesli Linka Glatter (2/2)

A Weekend Treat!

Good script and humor
Excellent dialogues, images, gender content, and expression
Top personages, direction and message

An ambitious movie that realizes much of its potential. Its Shakespearean plot and twists are never too stretched to become ridiculous, especially since it is set in the 1920s, mainly because of the strongly delineated personages and excellent acting.

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,5
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,2
TMDB 5,8
Average critics 4,5
Average public 6,1

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Madeleine Stowe, William Hurt
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter
Writer: Rick Ramage
Music by Stephen Endelman
Cinematography by Peter Sova
Film Editing by Jacqueline Cambas

“Now And Then” by Lesli Linka Glatter (1995)

Two features by Lesli Linka Glatter (1/2)

First Feature

Good personages, gender content and message

A group of four 12-year-old girlfriends discover that things are not always as they seem to be. Their childhood world of playing and believing is over…
Interesting work despite a chaotic direction

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,0
Metascore 5,0
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,2
IMDB 6,8
TMDB 6,8
Average critics 5,0
Average public 7,3

Cast: Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter
Writer: I. Marlene King
Music by Cliff Eidelman
Cinematography by
Ueli Steiger
Film Editing by Jacqueline Cambas

“Battlecreek” by Alison Eastwood (2017)

Two features by Alison Eastwood (2/2)

Good minority presence

We’ve already been through this story before – a guy and a girl have to solve the problems of their past before thinking of a future together.
But in this version, the message is “you just have to kill your demons to be free”, and killing here is meant psychologically (mother-son) as well as in a real murder (set of course in a self-defense framework): an all too easy way out for a story whose premises deserved much better.
The direction is a bit fragile and the use of space at times too theatrical

IMDB 5,7

Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Delroy Lindo, Paula Malcomson
Director: Alison Eastwood
Writer: Anthea Anka
Cinematography by Dane Lawing
Film Editing by Gary Roach

“Rails And Ties” by Alison Eastwood (2007)

Two features by Alison Eastwood (1/2)

First Feature

Good personages, direction and message

A melodramatic story with a message that reminds us that it’s our capacity not to obey the rules and follow our instinct that make us human

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 4,6
Metascore 4,4
Roger Ebert 6,3
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,8
IMDB 6,7
Average critics 5,1
Average public 6,8

Cast: Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer
Director: Alison Eastwood
Writer: Micky Levy
Music by Kyle Eastwood, Michael Stevens
Cinematography by Tom Stern
Film Editing by Gary Roach

“The Short History of the Long Road” by Ani Simon-Kennedy (2019)

Two features by Ani Simon-Kennedy (2/2)

Good script, direction and minority presence

An original coming of age story

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,0
Metascore 6,0
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,5
IMDB 6,4
Average critics 6,5
Average public 7,0

Cast: Sabrina Carpenter, Maggie Siff, Danny Trejo
Director: Ani Simon-Kennedy
Writer: Ani Simon-Kennedy
Music by Morgan Kibby
Cinematography by Cailin Yatsko
Film Editing by Ron Dulin

“Days of Gray” by Ani Simon-Kennedy (2013)

Two features by Ani Simon-Kennedy (1/2)

First Feature

Good personages, images, music and content
Excellent direction

Hats off to the director for having succeeded in showing a totalitarian society with less than 10 personages and not one word said!
Great costumes and use of objects
By the way, the movie is dated 2013 but it could have very well been filmed today, in our (not yet post) COVID-19 world.

IMDB 6,8

Cast: Viktoría Rós Antonsdóttir, Davið Laufdal Arnarsson, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir
Director: Ani Simon-Kennedy
Writers: Hrafn Jonsson, Ani Simon-Kennedy, Cailin Yatsko
Music by Hjaltalin
Cinematography by Cailin Yatsko
Film Editing by Perry Blackshear

“I Love You, Stupid” by Laura Mana (2019)

International update

A Weekend Treat!

Good script, personages, dialogues and direction
Excellent gender content and message

The world of dating and sex in the 21st century through the eyes of a thirty-plus guy
One of the few movies that tackles the ‘masculinity problem’ without weighing too much on its toxic aspects

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 5,5
Metascore 0,0
Roger Ebert 0,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,0
IMDB 5,8
Average critics 1,8
Average public 6,4

Original title: Te Quiero, Imbecil

Cast: Quim Gutiérrez, Natalia Tena, Alfonso Bassave
Director: Laura Mañá
Writers: Abraham Sastre, Iván Bouso
Music by Javier Bayon, Luc Suarez
Cinematography by Sergi Gallardo
Film Editing by Paula González

“Marlina The Murderer In Four Acts” by Mouly Surya (2017)

International update

Good humor, direction, images, gender content, and minority presence

A feminist version of a spaghetti western (inclusive a score à la Ennio Morricone) transposed in the landscape of the Sumbese Kampung (Indonesia)

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,8
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert 7,5
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,8
IMDB 7,0
Average critics 7,7
Average public 7,4

Cast: Marsha Timothy, Yoga Pratama, Dea Panendra, Egy Fedly, Haydar Salishz
Director: Mouly Surya
Writer: Rama Adi, Garin Nugroho, Mouly Surya
Music by Yudhi Arfani , Zeke Khaseli
Cinematography by Yunus Pasolang
Film Editing by Kelvin Nugroho

“Nobody’s Watching” by Julia Solomonoff (2017)

International update

Good personages, direction, images and content

An Argentinian celebrity comes to New-York to get rid of what made him famous in his country, only to find NY and its anonimity too difficult to survive
An existantialist movie in which nobody’s watching… but everyone is a mirror

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,4
Metascore 7,9
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,2
IMDB 6,6
Average critics 4,8
Average public 6,9

Cast: Guillermo Pfening, Rafael Ferro, Paola Baldion
Director: Julia Solomonoff
Writers: Christina Lazaridi, Julia Solomonoff
Music by Sacha Amback, Pablo Mondragón
Cinematography by Lucio Bonelli
Film Editing by Pablo Barbieri Carrera, Karen Sztajnberg, Andrés Tambornino

“Breath” by Narges Abyar (2016)

International update

Good script, personages, direction and images

Growing up in pre-revolutionary Iran

IMDB 7,7

Original title: Nafas

Cast: Mehran Ahmadi, Pantea Panahiha, Sareh Nour Mousavi
Director: Narges Abyar
Writer: Narges Abyar
Music by Masoud Sekhavat Doust
Cinematography by Saed Nikzat
Film Editing by Sajjad Pahlavanzadeh

“The New Classmate” by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (2015)

International update

First Feature

Good script, personages, direction and images

A very worthy first feature!
The Indian title means “Zero Divided by Zero Equals Nothing” … which would have beem much too difficult for Western audiences 🙂
Music at times too intrusive and childish: just like too many cooks spoil the broth, too many musicians handling the music spoil the score

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,5
Metascore —
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 8,4
Average critics 6,5
Average public 8,2

Original title: Nil Battey Sannata

Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Riya Shukla
Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Writers: Nitesh Tiwari, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Music by Naren Chandavarkar, Rohan-Vinayak
Mmusic composed by Vinayak Salvi, Rohan Utpat
Cinematography by Gavemic U. Ary
Film Editing by Chandrashekhar Prajapati

“The Party is Over” by Marie Garel-Weiss (2017)

International update

Good script and direction
Excellent personages, minority representation and message

Strong acting, elliptic end

IMDB 6,5
TMDB 6,1

Original title: La Fête est Finie

Cast: Zita Hanrot, Clémence Boisnard, Marie Denarnaud
Director: Marie Garel-Weiss
Writers: Marie Garel-Weiss, Salvatore Lista
Music by Pierre Allio, Ferdinand Berville
Cinematography by Samuel Lahu
Film Editing by Guerric Catala, Riwanon Le Beller

“Babyteeth” by Shannon Murphy (2019)

a week of first features

a weekend treat!

Good script and gender content
Excellent personages, direction, music, message, and expression
Top images

The sad story of parents that are confronted with their terminally ill child, told in a very unusual way

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,6
Metascore 7,7
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 8,0
IMDB 7,2
TMDB 6,8
Average critics 8,0
Average public 7,3

Cast: Eliza Scanlen, Michelle Lotters, Toby Wallace
Director: Shannon Murphy
Writer: Rita Kalnejais
Music by Amanda Brown
Cinematography by Andrew Commis
Film Editing by Stephen Evans

“Mickey And The Bear” by Annabelle Attanasio (2019)

a week of first features

Good script, direction, gender content, and message
Top minority presence

Good first feature about an 18-year-old girl who has to chose between caring for her father (a veteran with PTSD) and a life of her own

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 7,7
Metascore 7,9
Roger Ebert 8,8
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,6
IMDB 6,6
TMDB 5,6
Average critics 8,1
Average public 6,6

Cast: Camila Morrone, James Badge Dale, Calvin Demba
Director: Annabelle Attanasio
Writer: Annabelle Attanasio
Music by Angel Deradoorian, Brian McOmber
Cinematography by Conor Murphy
Film Editing by Henry Hayes

“It Had To Be You” by Sasha Gordon (2015)

a week of first features

Good music and gender content

Another movie that forwards the message that marriage is the ultimate goal of any ‘serious’ love relationship
And though the movie tries to renew the theme to make its gender content acceptable, it is, in my eyes, no excuse…
SPOILER: What if she had convinced the guy not to get married and be happy together after all…

Rotten Tomatoes Critics —
Metascore 6,8
Roger Ebert —
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 5,8
IMDB 5,5
TMDB 5,6
Average critics 6,8
Average public 5,6

Cast: Cristin Milioti, Dan Soder, Halley Feiffer
Director: Sasha Gordon
Writers: Levi Abrino, Sasha Gordon
Music by Sasha Gordon
Cinematography by Bobby Webster
Film Editing by Amanda Laws