This was a huge hit in Hong Kong both critically and commercially, a feat made especially impressive by the fact that it is an independent production made with a very low budget. Unfortunately this is the kind of film that I categorically dislike as it relies on an outdated understanding of mental illnesses and how they are treated in modern times. The fact that this is really more of a romantic film than one about mental patients in general doesn’t absolve it of responsibility in misleading a large audience and it is very obvious that at no point did the filmmakers ever consult with actual doctors or psychiatrists in making it.

So this is obviously a tribute to Ingmar Bergman and can be expected to full of references to the director. Our cinephile friend liked it but I can’t say that I do. It’s nice to see it set on Fårö, the director’s favorite island, but apart from that this seems very shallow with not even the film within the film being very interesting. The references too are disappointing, basically acting as a kind of repository about trivia of Bergman’s life rather than any attempt to emulate his work or his themes.

Well, it’s not everyday that you get a film that unabashedly champions the drinking of alcohol, but this really is what this is. The premise of this film by director Thomas Vinterberg about a group of middle-aged men who take to drinking to improve their lives sounded promising to me but I thought for sure that they would get their comeuppance at the end as is traditional. Indeed there are consequences but it’s hard to argue that the ending isn’t a net positive for the protagonists. I’m all for artistic freedom and this film is very watchable, but socially I feel that this film sends all the wrong messages.

This is another one of those films that has almost no plot, adapted from a short story by Herman Melville but transposed to a completely different setting and cast of characters. I don’t much care of what plot there is but I did find it fascinating in how this feels almost like a documentary, a sort of anthropological study of the soldiers featured here from an outsider’s perspective and even living in an exotic locale. I don’t believe that I will ever be a big fan of director Claire Denis but I do admit that her films are interesting.

This is a nearly two and a half hour long documentary about a musical duo that I’ve never heard of and you probably haven’t either. But it was directed by Edgar Wright and it’s listed as one of the best films of last year so that’s enough to get me onboard. This duo consisting of two brothers have been around for a while and while they have a large cult following, they have never achieved success on a global scale. This supremely entertaining film strives to serve as a comprehensive record of their career and tries to show that they have had an outsized influence on other artistes that you will have heard about.

Films about the mental degradation that comes with age aren’t novel but this one does add something new: the subjective experience from inside the mind of the afflicted. Anthony Hopkins turns in what some have called the performance of a lifetime and given the kind of career he has had, that is saying something. This is a small scale film as befits an adaptation from a play with small sets and a small cast but it is exceptional at what it does with director Florian Zeller being himself the playwright of the original play.

This is one film that I did watch long ago but I barely have any memories of it. By now this is a cult classic but as is so often the case was a commercial failure on its release. It is best characterized as John Carpenter attempting to make a 1980s style wacky Hong Kong movie. My favorite part about it however is that it draws heavily on Chinese folklore but manages to more or less respect the source inspiration, casts a white man as the hero but doesn’t elevate him above his Chinese co-stars, making it a woke film that is far ahead of its time.