In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.
Showing posts with label Hong Chau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Chau. Show all posts

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

The Sheep Detectives (2026)


I love a good mystery. A kindly old shepherd is found murdered, and his flock, who he used to read detective novels to every night, take it upon themselves to solve the crime by nudging the unwitting humans in the right direction. It's a lot better than it sounds. Emotionally resonant and heavier than expected for a family film, it's surprisingly moving and likely to bring a tear to your ewe.

3½ clouds out of 5

Monday, 16 February 2026

Wuthering Heights (2026)


Adapted for the screen many times, this "fresh" take on Emily Brontë's Victorian era romance borrows the basic concept and takes great liberties.
Catherine and Heathcliff are foster siblings who grow up penniless but infatuated with one another. The intensity of their relationship endures the turbulence of jealousy, avarice and betrayal. Anyone who knows the source material knows this is not a happy story, but it's a dreary rendition. Visually, it pleases the senses, but it's substantially more style than substance. This is a dreadfully depressing and protracted melodrama about doomed love, though not as "horny" as originally advertised. It's more of a sick tease than anything.

2 broken eggs out of 5

Tuesday, 17 December 2024

The Whale (2022)


Darren Aronofsky brings us this masterful adaptation of the play of the same name. Charlie (an Oscar-winning performance by Brendan Fraser) is a morbidly obese 600-pound man who hides away from the world in his apartment with his on-again nurse. He teaches an online English course to students (with the webcam off) and binge eats at the cost of his own health and the relationship to his daughter. If you've ever been stuck in this vicious cycle of trauma, the material will speak volumes to you. This is an excruciatingly painful movie to endure, but essential to an empathetic understanding of human suffering. That being said, I never want to see it again. My poor heart can only take so much.

4½ honest words out of 5

Sunday, 24 November 2024

The Instigators (2024)


A crime caper involving a half-baked scheme and a couple of dopes who are ill-equipped to deal with it. It's enjoyable in all of its incompetence and is capably carried on the shoulders of its charismatic leads. With an all-star supporting cast, it's not a bad way to spend 90 minutes, but it's the type of disposable entertainment you won't remember a day or two later.

2½ therapist hostages out of 5

Friday, 15 November 2024

Kinds of Kindness (2024)


A deeply twisted absurdist tragi-horror-comedy that required two separate viewings for me to finally process my feelings about it. Essentially three separate stories, starring the same group of actors playing different roles each time, you have to search to find a common thread. The theme here being the fucked up ways people show appreciation and gratitude. At times, it might feel like weird for weirdness' sake, but sometimes that's just what you crave. If you enjoy Yorgos's previous work, this may strike the right chord within you.

4 tennis racquets out of 5