The Holdovers (2023)

This was a very charming movie and a pleasant way to spend two hours. I especially dug the way it revives that raw and gritty 1970s film aesthetic. 

A student is stuck at university over Christmas break with his strict, humorless teacher and the no-nonsense cafeteria lady, where he gets into trouble due to the boredom and frustration of his circumstances. This is the kind of film that grows on you and manages to win you over with an anti-holiday sentiment that somehow perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the season. I forgot how much I missed Paul Giamatti in a leading role like this because he commands every scene he's in, and it earned him a well-deserved Oscar win. The whole movie contains understated moments of brilliance which really hit home.

3½ wonky eyes out of 5

NEBRASKA [2013]

Director Alexander Payne is a master at crafting the bittersweet comedic drama and the black & white road movie Nebraska is a perfect example of that notion.
Driven by Bruce Dern's naturally great performance as a drunken old man who isn't quite all there, the film slow-burns it's way through a beautifully shot black & white countryside that mirrors the character's mind that's trapped in the past.  It's not a complicated story but it certainly is one that will harmlessly warm your heart, make you laugh and possibly force a single tear down your cheek.

4 air compressors out of 5

The Descendants (2011)

Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt) directs George Clooney (looking more and more like Cary Grant as he grows older) in this dramedy about a man coming to terms with his wife's imminent death. Faced with the prospect of being taken off life support (as per her will), it sends him on a journey across Hawaii, dealing with the emotions of friends and family and digging up buried secrets along the way. Even though the subject matter can be heavy at times, there are enough moments of well-placed levity to take you away from it all.

4.5 cold-cocked black eyes out of 5