The Shrouds (2024)

A wealthy entrepreneur (Vincent Cassel, appearing very Cronenberg-y here) creates high tech grave plots that allow you to monitor the body after death, deep into decomposition. He chooses to mourn his wife in this way, preparing to be enshrouded beside her, were it not for a few hiccups along the way.

This is a very complicated movie to describe, and similarly, my feelings on it are multifaceted. It evokes a mood more than anything. There are mysteries abound that pass by and go unresolved. I suppose it's a film reflecting the endless unanswered questions that we create as part of the grieving process.

3 AI assistants out of 5

THE HOST [2013]

½ Wanderer out of 5

INGLORIOUS BASTERDS [2009]

Writer/director Quentin Tarantino's self-proclaimed masterpiece Inglorious Basterds seems to be a "love it or hate it" type of film.

Giving the WWII film a spaghetti western makeover, Tarantino dumps his morals out the window and inserts cartoonish entertainment, laughter and brutal violence into the holocaust days with a smug look on his face.  It might be an enjoyable ride for some, while others it's an offensive, disrespectful shit-bucket.  Depending on how you feel about the subject material is what will measure your enjoyment of the film.  Christophe Waltz's performance turns the long, drawn-out scenes into something worth watching.  Basically in the end, it's like a script from a high school student who has no idea what WWII was and then shot & edited by a film school art student, which gives it all a certain type of likeable flair.  

3½ Nation's Pride out of 5

MR. NOBODY [2009]

Belgium director Jaco Van Dormael takes pages out the Terrence Malick school of film-making in the slow-burning sci-fi Mr. Nobody.

At the core, it's a story about choices and the different paths they can lead to, on the surface it's about the last mortal man on Earth dying at the age of 118 and recounting his life.  Making careful use of colors, humour, music and several different  philosophies, Mr. Nobody at times is quite thoughtful and intriguing.  At others, it's a bit too artsy for it's own good and becomes tiresome in several patches.  

However if you have the patience for such a film (over 2½ hours), it is well worth seeking out.

3½ primary colors out of 5

Anything for Her (2008)

Aka: Pour Elle

French drama about the lengths a man will go to in order to protect and rescue the woman he loves from the system and from herself. How far is too far? He walks the fine line between fulfilling an objective and succumbing to an obsession. The two leads are utterly believable and even when the story hurries over a few things to keep the pace it remains matter-of-fact and extremely powerful.

3½ beatings in a back alley out of 5