Film 2389 - Druk

Intro: I wanted to watch this movie since it won the Oscar back in 2021, but I never found the right time. So it was nice to share this moment with Yegor.

Film 2389: "Druk" (2020), Thomas Vinterberg
Watched: From the TV
Language: Danish
Watched with: Yegor
Thoughts: I enjoyed 'Another Round', especially its interesting premise and Mads Mikkelsen's performance.
There's a lot of drinking and spiriling in the name of 'research', to test if being slightly drunk on a daily basis actually unlocks creativy and confidence. It sounds fun at the beginning, but the plan obviously derails quickly enough.
As a personal note, I also enjoyed witnessing how the Danish school system works, so different from my experience in Italy.
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe, Maria Bonnevie.
Box Office: $21.7 million
Worth a watch?: It has its moment of fun, but definitely this is not the fun ride it would appear to be. So better be prepared for it.
Awards: 1 Oscar win for Best International Feature Film and an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Nominated for 4 BAFTAs (for Best Direction, Actor in a Leading Role and Original Screenplay), it won for Best Film Not in the English Language. Nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Foreign Language Film; it won Best Foreign Film at the César Awards.
Key word: Experiment.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 2371 - How to Date Billy Walsh

Intro: I think I was on one of my IMDB search/down the rabbithole moment searching for Tanner Buchanan after the final season of "Cobra Kai" came out.

Film 2371: "How to Date Billy Walsh" (2024), Alex Pillai
Watched on: My computer
Language: English
Watched with: No one
Thoughts: I'll be honest, I watched the movie just because I thought it was a gay or borderline-gay coming of age romcom. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Although it's a very avarage (aka watchable) movie, nothing about this screams original. "How to Date Billy Walsh" tries really hard to be a lot of things, many of which we've seen before, resulting in a mishmash that doesn't really work, yet is not necessarily bad. It's giving "Sex Education", "Heartbreak High", "Never Have I Ever" and "Mean Girls" (and more, even "Carrie"!) vibes, yet never as good or iconic.
I think the biggest issue here is that this film is trying too hard to channel someone else's 'personality', trying to be edgy and funny, but also smart and quirky, and it doesn't really work because there's no original point of view. Again, it's not a terrible movie, but a very forgettable one it is indeed.
Cast: Sebastian Croft, Charithra Chandran, Nick Frost, Guz Khan, Lucy Punch, Kunal Nayyar, Tanner Buchanan.
Box Office: /
Worth a watch?: Perfectly watchable, even if you're not really paying attention.
Awards: /
Key word: Love Doctor.
Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1517 - Lady Bird

Intro: I was so into this movie without even had a clue about it, but I loved the fact that this is an all-women project and the movie got ravishing reviews. Not to mention all the nominations that it got from the latest award season...

Film 1517: "Lady Bird" (2017), Greta Gerwig
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: I really have to say that I wasn't impressed by "Lady Bird". Greta Gerwig directorial debut can be fun sometimes and it is surely solid when it comes to the plot, but in the end I didn't enjoy it that much. Probably my expectations were too high for a movie that got so far with reviews and awards. And most of the time it's hard to match what you would like to see with what you're actually seeing;
I am definitely in love with Saoirse Ronan, she really can act! I think she deserves her Golden Globe as Best Actress even though an Oscar win would have been difficult to imagine, mostly because of the other performances nominated this year. Anyway I prefer her in "Brooklyn", where she is simply divine. A round of applause also to Laurie Metcalf, absolutely perfect in this role;
I find a little bit difficult to see where does Gerwig Best Director nomination comes from. Nolan in "Dunkirk" is amazing and was about time that Guillermo del Toro's talent got recognised, but "Lady Bird" directorial effort is not any different from other coming-of-age comedy-drama movies we see almost everyday;
I think this is a decent film that works mostly because of its great cast and a story that sounds really true even though it's fiction. It's easy to relate with Lady Bird McPherson, a senior student at a Catholic high school in Sacramento, that struggles to find herself in a world that she doesn't see as her own. She needs to find her way through school, parents expectations, friends, dreams and all that stuff teenagers must experience while they try to figure it out what they'd like to be in adult life. Apart from that, "Lady Bird" isn't that amazing, even though it has its moments.
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges, Timothée Chalamet, Beanie Feldstein, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lois Smith.
Box Office: $78.5 million
Worth watching?: I was expecting something else or, probably, I was just expecting too much. Anyway I find "Lady Bird" a very normal film that deserve a chance, even though it's not that great as the critics want you to believe.
Awards: Nominated for 5 Oscars (Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Original Screenplay), 4 Golden Globes (winning Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy and Best Actress) and 3 BAFTAs (Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Best Leading Actress).
Key word: College.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi

Film 1516 - Wonder

Intro: I was curious to see this movie, an unexpected huge box office hit that I didn't know anything about until it hit the theatres.

Film 1516: "Wonder" (2017), Stephen Chbosky
Watched: my laptop
Language: English
Watched with: Fre
Briefly: a nice movie with an heartwarming story, "Wonder" works well thanks to its cast. Jacob Tremblay is a talented young actor (he's Brie Larson kid in "Room") able to lead this project on his own shoulders; Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson are an unexpectedly well matched married couple on the screen and, of course, they know how to act;
apart from the acting point of view, this picture is filled with feel-good vibes and good intentions, even though you can tell from the start where the plot is gonna lead you. You know that the poor kid with the facial deformity (Treacher Collins syndrome) will struggle at school, as you already know that at the end he will find he's way through the pain. He'll be always different, but he'll manage to make friends and survive his first school year. So, as I was saying, "Wonder" tells you a great story, even an empowering one, but fails to deliver something new to watch.
Cast: Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Jacob Tremblay, Mandy Patinkin, Daveed Diggs, Izabela Vidovic.
Box Office: $305.9 milion
Worth watching?: The perfect choice if you're looking for a decent movie with a feel-good vibes heart. It is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio.
Awards: Nominated for 1 Academy Award (Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling) and 1 BAFTA Award (Best Make Up/Hair).
Key word: Friendship.
Did you like it? Buy it HERE!

Trailer
#HollywoodCiak
Bengi