“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

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

Two works by Ildikó Enyedi

A weekend treat!

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

“A Year Ago in Winter” by Caroline Link (2008)

Best movies seen in 2020

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

A boy in his late teen kills himself without leaving a note. His mother loses a son, his sister a brother, but as she once says, they both lost much more than a son/brother.. A powerful movie that shows without any superficiality how grieving is such a personal process

IMDB 7,2

Original title: Im Winter ein Jahr

Cast: Karoline Herfurth, Josef Bierbichler, Corinna Harfouch
Director: Caroline Link
Writers: Caroline Link (screenplay), Scott Campbell (novel)
Music by Niki Reiser
Cinematography by Bella Halben
Film Editing by Patricia Rommel

“Huis-Clos” (No Exit) by Jacqueline Audry (1954)

Tribute to Jacqueline Audry

A weekend treat!

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

In hell, an openly lesbian woman shares her space with a man who is a traitor and a coward, and another woman who is vain, adulterous and has committed infanticide. An extraordinary play (by Jean-Paul Sartre, 1944) that grounded existentialism, and an impressive direction by pioneer Jacqueline Audry

Rotten Tomatoes Audience 6,4
IMDB 6,8

Cast: Arletty, Frank Villard, Gaby Sylvia
Director: Jacqueline Audry
Writers: Pierre Laroche, Jean-Paul Sartre (play)
Music by Joseph Kosma
Cinematography by Robert Juillard
Film Editing by Marguerite Beaugé

“Radius” by Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard (2017)

Weak humor, direction, minority presence and message

Warning: spoiler ahead! 
The scenario of Radius, gives you science-fiction, gives you a thriller, gives you a guy with extraordinary powers, gives you mystery, and involves a twin-sister and a serial killer on top of it… not to forget a spark of romance…
But that doesn’t guarantee a good movie, especially when it’s all told in flashbacks that break the pulse of the thriller… A pity for an intersting story: a man and a woman cannot be too far from each other physically otherwise everyone who stands between them dies..

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

Cast: Diego Klattenhoff, Charlotte Sullivan, Brett Donahue
Directors: Caroline Labrèche, Steeve Léonard
Writers: Caroline Labrèche, Caroline Labrèche | 2 more credits »
Music by Benoît Charest
Cinematography by Simon Villeneuve
Film Editing by Steeve Léonard

“Chicken With Plums” by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud (2011)

The work of Marjane Satrapi

Good direction and music
Excellent images

A man in a loveless marriage decides to die when his wife breaks his violin… Various styles happily mixed, with lots of surprising images
Strong visual expression

Rotten Tomatoes Critics 6,8
Metascore 6,9
Roger Ebert 10,0
Rotten Tomatoes Audience 7,2
IMDB 7,0
Average critics 7,9
Average public 7,1

Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Mathieu Amalric, Isabella Rossellini, Maria de Medeiros
Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud,
Writers: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Music by Olivier Bernet
Cinematography by Christophe Beaucarne
Film Editing by Stéphane Roche

“A Year Ago in Winter” by Caroline Link (2008)

A German week

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

A boy in his late teen kills himself without leaving a note. His mother loses a son, his sister a brother, but as she once says, they both lost much more than a son/brother.. A powerful movie that shows without any superficiality how grieving is such a personal process

IMDB 7,2

Original title: Im Winter ein Jahr

Cast: Karoline Herfurth, Josef Bierbichler, Corinna Harfouch
Director: Caroline Link
Writers: Caroline Link (screenplay), Scott Campbell (novel)
Music by Niki Reiser
Cinematography by Bella Halben
Film Editing by Patricia Rommel

“An Inspector Calls” by Aisling Walsh (2015)

My Year’s Favorites (Aug. 2019-July 2020)

Good humor and images
Excellent personages and direction
Top script + content

An excellent adaptation of J.B. Priestley’s classic play about class, responsibility, guilt, honesty, and…
A world that will need a most terrible war to (almost) disappear

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

Cast: Sophie Rundle, Lucy Chappell, Miranda Richardson
Director: Aisling Walsh
Writers: J.B. Priestley (based on the play by), Helen Edmundson (adapted by)
Music by Dominik Scherrer
Cinematography by Martin Fuhrer
Film Editing by Alex Mackie

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

The work of Rebecca Miller (4/5)

 

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

The relationship between an adult and a child is a 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

“The Party’s Just Beginning” by Karen Gillan (2018)

Impressive First Features

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

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

Cast: Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard
Director: Karen Gillan
Writer: Karen Gillan (screenplay)
Music by Pepijn Caudron
Cinematography by Edd Lukas
Film Editing by Brett W. Bachman

“Queen of Hearts” by May el-Toukhy (2019)

2019 was a good year!

Good script, dialogues, direction, images and music (8)

A middle-aged mother starts a relationship with her stepson, but pushes him to suicide to prevent him from destroying her family.
One critic saw Anne (Trine Dyrholm) as “one of the most complicated female villains of recent memory.” I saw a woman who seeks to fulfill unsatisfied sexual needs, but realizes when it’s too late that she will lose her daughters. The price to pay for her sexual escapade is too high, and she fights to the most dramatic end. A man who would have sex with the (adult) daughter of his ex-wife would not be punished as harshly…

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

Cast: Trine Dyrholm, Gustav Lindh, Magnus Krepper
Director: May el-Toukhy
Writers: Maren Louise Käehne, May el-Toukhy
Music by Jon Ekstrand
Cinematography by Jasper Spanning
Film Editing by Rasmus Stensgaard Madsen

“Mrs Dalloway” by Marleen Gorris (1997)

A Tribute to Marleen Gorris (3/5)

Good personages, direction (8)

Post World War One in the UK. A story that brings in parallel two personage whose experience relates to the old world: the soldier who suffers from PTSD and can’t enjoy that he’s still alive in the 20th century when his companion is dead; the cosmpolitan lady who still lives in the fancies of the 19th century and organizes parties to keep this world alive.

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

Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Natascha McElhone, Rupert Graves, Michael Kitchen, Alan Cox
Directed by Marleen Gorris
Written by Eileen Atkins
Based On The Novel by Virginia Woolf
Music by Ilona Sekacz
Cinematography by Sue Gibson
Film Editing by Michiel Reichwein

“Euphoria” by Lisa Langseth (2017)

Week of the Weak

Weak script (4)
Bad humor (3)
(but good music)

A terminally ill young woman choses to end her life in a place where (rich) dying people can have their last desires fulfilled.
Doesn’t put euthanasia into any perspective, just one of sadness…

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

Cast: Alicia Vikander, Eva Green, Charlotte Rampling, Charles Dance
Director: Lisa Langseth
Writer: Lisa Langseth
Cinematographer: Rob Hardy
Editor: Dino Jonsäter
Composer: Lisa Holmqvist

“An Inspector Calls” by Aisling Walsh (2015)

A British week: Aisling Walsh (2/3)

Good humor and images (8)
Excellent personages and direction (9)
Top script + content (10)

An excellent adaptation of J.B. Priestley’s classic play about class, responsability, guilt, honesty, and…
A world that will need a most terrible war to (almost) disappear

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

Cast: Sophie Rundle, Lucy Chappell, Miranda Richardson
Director: Aisling Walsh
Writers: J.B. Priestley (based on the play by), Helen Edmundson (adapted by)
Music by Dominik Scherrer
Cinematography by Martin Fuhrer
Film Editing by Alex Mackie

“Queen of Hearts” by May el-Toukhy (2019)

May el-Toukhy (2/2)

Top score: script, dialogues, direction, images, music, gender (8)

A middle-aged mother starts a relationship with her stepson, but pushes him to suicide to prevent him from destroying her family.
One critic saw Anne (Trine Dyrholm) as “one of the most complicated female villains of recent memory.” I saw a woman who seeks to fulfill unsatisfied sexual needs, but realizes when it’s too late that she will lose her daughters. The price to pay for her sexual escapade is too high, and she fights to the most dramatic end. A man who would have sex with the (adult) daughter of his ex-wife would not be punished as harshly…

Cast: Trine Dyrholm, Gustav Lindh, Magnus Krepper
Director: May el-Toukhy
Writers: Maren Louise Käehne, May el-Toukhy
Music by Jon Ekstrand
Cinematography by Jasper Spanning
Film Editing by Rasmus Stensgaard Madsen

“Hush Little Baby” by Hella Joof (2009)

Hella Joof (1/2)

Top: gender (10)

Excellent movie showing different facets of child abuse

Cast: Malou Reymann, Stephanie Leon, Julie Grundtvig Wester
Director: Hella Joof
Writers: Ida Maria Rydén, Hella Joof
Music by Povl Kristian
Cinematography by Kim Høgh
Film Editing by Cathrine Ambus

“Une Histoire Banale” by Audrey Estrougo (2014)

The work of Audrey Estrougo (2/3)

gender + message 10

Inside the destructive consequences of rape

Cast: Marie Denarnaud, Marie-Sohna Condé, Oumar Diaw
Director: Audrey Estrougo
Writer: Audrey Estrougo
Music by James Edjouma
Cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman
Film Editing by Céline Cloarec

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (2010)

Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (2/4)

A suicidal teen finds out in a psychiatric ward how lucky he is to be who he is
Like in their other movies, the main personage finds what motivates him only after having gone to the end of his obsessive quest

Cast: Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts
Directors: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
Writers: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Music by Broken Social Scene
Cinematography by Andrij Parekh
Film Editing by Anna Boden

“Set Me Free” by Lea Pool (1999)

A year’s favorites review

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

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 Evening Dress” by Myriam Aziza (2009)

A year’s favorites

= First Feature =

A 12-year-old girl transforms a crush she has for a (female) teacher into an obsessive jealousy. Unable to talk about it with anyone, she locks herself up in an inextricable situation. One hopes that the situation will ultimately resolve itself in a positive way, although everything points out towards a dramatic end.
Cleverly brings the position of the teacher into perspective
Great performances!

Cast: Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Lio, Sophie Mounicot
Director: Myriam Aziza
Writers: Myriam Aziza, Sophie Bredier
Music by Martin Wheeler
Cinematography by Benoît Chamaillard
Film Editing by Ariane Mellet

“Waking Madison” by Katherine Brooks (2010)

The psychological damage brought by religious extremism and sexual abuse

Cast: Imogen Poots, Elisabeth Shue, Taryn Manning
Director: Katherine Brooks
Writer: Katherine Brooks
Music by Klaus Badelt
Cinematography by Rob Sweeney
Film Editing by Richard Byard, Stuart H. Pappé

“The Party’s Just Beginning” by Karen Gillan (2018)

first feature

Impressive insight in Karen Gillan’s first feature

Cast: Karen Gillan, Lee Pace, Matthew Beard
Director: Karen Gillan
Writer: Karen Gillan (screenplay)
Music by Pepijn Caudron
Cinematography by Edd Lukas
Film Editing by Brett W. Bachman

“Nelly” by Anne Emond (2016)

The complex personality of a prostitute who became a successful writer (Nelly Arcan), rendered in a complex cinematographic puzzle

Cast: Mylène Mackay, Marie-Claude Guérin, Simon Alain
Director: Anne Émond
Writers: Nelly Arcan, Anne Émond
Cinematography by Josée Deshaies
Film Editing by Mathieu Bouchard-Malo

“Zurich” by Sacha Polak (2015)

A morbid, uninspired, and pointless story!

Cast: Barry Atsma, Martijn Lakemeier, Tristan Göbel
Director: Sacha Polak
Writer: Helena van der Meulen
Music by Rutger Reinders
Cinematography by Frank van den Eeden
Film Editing by Axel Skovdal Roelofs

“MDMA (Angie X)” by Angie Wang (2017)

first feature

The first hour is fireworks, the last half hour (starting with a long and boring Christmas scene with Christmas music) a boring bland story that transforms the lead into an inconsistent character. A pity!
The abundant racial cliches and a girl who returns to her daddy in the end left me with a bitter taste

Cast: Francesca Eastwood, Elisa Donovan, Pierson Fode
Director: Angie Wang
Writers: Angie Wang, Angie Wang
Music by Pei Pei Chung
Cinematography by Brett Pawlak
Film Editing by Jeff Castelluccio, Robert Schafer

 

“Pin Cushion” by Deborah Haywood (2017)

first feature

A sad movie on the theme of “Bullying Kills”

Cast: Lily Newmark, Joanna Scanlan, Loris Scarpa
Director: Deborah Haywood
Writer: Deborah Haywood
Music by Natalie Holt
Cinematography by Nicola Daley
Film Editing by Anna Dick, Nick Emerson

“Set Me Free” by Lea Pool (1999)

5 Fridays with Lea Pool (1)

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

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

“Close-Knit” by Naoko Ogigami (2017)

Slow, charming

Cast: Tôma Ikuta, Kenta Kiritani, Mugi Kadowaki
Director: Naoko Ogigami
Writer: Naoko Ogigami

“Oh Lucy!” by Atsuko Hirayanagi (2017)

first feature

Cast: Shinobu Terajima, Josh Hartnett, Kaho Minami, Koji Yakusho, Shiori Kutsuna
Director: Atsuko Hirayanagi
Writer: Atsuko Hirayanagi, Boris Frumin
Cinematographer: Paula Huidobro
Editor: Kate Hickey
Composer: Erik Friedlander

“The Evening Dress” by Myriam Aziza (2009)

first feature

A 12-year-old girl transforms a crush she has for a (female) teacher into an obsessive jealousy. Unable to talk about it with anyone, she locks herself up in an inextricable situation. One hopes that the situation will ultimately resolve itself in a positive way, although everything points out towards a dramatic end.
Cleverly brings the position of the teacher into perspective
Great performances!

Cast: Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Lio, Sophie Mounicot
Director: Myriam Aziza
Writers: Myriam Aziza, Sophie Bredier
Music by Martin Wheeler
Cinematography by Benoît Chamaillard
Film Editing by Ariane Mellet

“Grace Of My Heart” by Allison Anders (USA, 1996)

Excellent original music, great personages

Cast: Illeana Douglas, John Turturro, Eric Stoltz, Matt Dillon, Patsy Kensit
Written and Directed by Allison Anders
Music by Larry Klein
Cinematography by Jean-Yves Escoffier
Film Editing by James Y. Kwei, Harvey Rosenstock, Thelma Schoonmaker

“Nena” by Saskia Diesing (Netherlands, 2014)

A heavy subject treated with lightness

Cast: Abbey Hoes, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Gijs Blom
Director: Saskia Diesing
Writers: Saskia Diesing, Esther Gerritsen
Music by Paul Eisenach
Cinematography by Aage Hollander
Film Editing by Barbara Toennieshen

“Country Strong” by Shana Feste (USA, 2010)

Great performance by Gwyneth Paltrow / Intelligently directed
This movie deserves more recognition

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester
Written and directed by Shana Feste
Music by Michael Brook
Cinematography by John Bailey
Film Editing by Carol Littleton, Conor O’Neill

“Beyond The Lights” by Gina Prince-Bythewood (USA, 2014)

“stings and stuns”

Cast: Minnie Driver, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Danny Glover, Jordan Belfi, Nate Parker
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writer: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Cinematography: Tami Reiker
Music by Mark Isham
Film Editing by Terilyn A. Shropshire

“Strange Weather” by Katherine Dieckmann (USA, 2016)

Excellent acting, good dialogues, contrived script

Cast: Holly Hunter, Carrie Coon, Kim Coates, Glenne Headly, Johnny McPhail
Director: Katherine Dieckmann
Writer: Katherine Dieckmann
Cinematographer: David Rush Morrison
Editor: Madeleine Gavin
Composer: Sharon Van Etten

“A Girl Like Her” by Amy Weber (USA, 2015)

Extremely and often unbearably realism! The director and her crew play an active part in the movie, giving it a documentary touch that strengthens its impact.

Actors: Lexi Ainsworth, Hunter King, Jimmy Bennett
Director: Amy S. Weber
Writer: Amy S. Weber
Music by David Bateman
Cinematography by Samuel Brownfield
Film Editing by Todd Zelin

“The Levelling” (Hope Dickson Leach, UK 2016)

Depressingly slow moving drama filled with silences

Cast: Ellie Kendrick, David Troughton, Jack Holden
Director: Hope Dickson Leach
Writer: Hope Dickson Leach
Music: Hutch Demouilpied
Cinematography: Nanu Segal
Editing: Tom Hemmings