Reviews

Beautiful short that brought tears to my eyes. How absurd it is, to delay the pleasure of life to your retirement, which may never come, and might not happen as planned.
Wonderful animation and narration.

This documentary is almost perfect. The cinematography is amazing, the storyline almost scripted. The close access of the film team to the characters is remarkable. I’m struggling to give it five stars because it’s almost too good to be true. It looks like it’s not a vérité doc. For example, was the film team really in the right spot at the garbage dump when the farmer spotted and caught the injured stork? Or was this re-enacted?
It was utterly surprising to me this doc didn’t get shortlisted for the 2026 Oscars, as the story is more unique and beautifully executed than some of the other 15 shortlisted docs.

Streamed on Disney Plus, one year after watching it in a cinema. It’s just as good one year later! Even my husband, who has never heard of Timothée Chalamet, and who does not like Bob Dylan, was very impressed with the film. Acting was so great, my husband said we now have to watch The Brutalist, because we can’t understand why Chalamet did not receive the Best Actor Oscar in 2025.

Watched this documentary by the talented Vancouver filmmaker Yuqi Kang with great interest. The filmmaker got close access to Chinese immigrant farmers in Alberta, and illustrated the difficulties of growing and especially distributing "Chinese" produce in the province.
It wasn't easy to find a screening link via Google, I had to ask the filmmaker where the film is available on the TELUS platform.

Still holds strong but I can’t take the violence anymore. I was stronger in the past. Also, the girl’s mental health issues are more obvious today.
Natalie Portman is very strong in this film.

Heartbreaking. Everyone talking about withholding support from Ukraine should watch this film about these heroic young soldiers.
It's a very different film from the director's previous Oscar winner. Recommended.

I’m ashamed to say I had never heard of Sally Ride before, even though I'm a space fan. Blame my European upbringing. Sally Ride was an amazing woman and astronaut. The film also carefully revealed one of her greatest secrets in a respectful way.

Watched this film only because of its Oscar nominations and its convenience of being a Netflix film.
While I adore Guillermo del Toro's quirky personality and his passion of cinema, I often don't quite enjoy his films.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was awful, and so, I did not have high hopes for Frankenstein.
It's better than expected, because the production value and the crafts are magnificent. With the exception of the animals in the film, who look like unrealistic puppets.
But the story is so dull. I don't empathize with the actor Oscar Isaac for a moment. Of course, he has to play a vain fool, rather than a genuis.
Jacob Elordi is OK as the creation, and Lars Mikkelsen is quite good.
But because we know the story already from previous films, watching this film was a sleep-inducing experience. Big yawn.

I made it only 45 minutes into this film. Could no longer stand the chaotic plot, foul language and bad acting. Which is sad, with the award-winning cast and all. I can see fans are enjoying this, and good for them. But not me. This was 🥱.

Clicked on this film at random because I love airplane movies. The plot was okay but the execution was cheap. Luckily, it’s a short movie. 🛩️

Fascinating drama about a young girl in Afghanistan whose life takes a turn when she encounters a Western film crew in her village.
Directed by Afghan actress Nelofer Pazira-Fisk, this film comes across as quite authentic (as far as I can tell), with a keen eye for details and culture. The team makes the most of what looks like a low-budget Canadian co-production shot in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
The film is available for free streaming on nfb.ca (in Canada).

I was very curious about this film, as I am a huge fan of dinosaurs and the world’s natural history museums are my happy places.
It started out well, with great cinematography and interesting doc subjects.
The most interesting aspects to me were the restoration and auction experts talking about their trade. I would have liked to see more of that and less about palaeontologists and locals in the field.
I did occasionally lose interest when the plot meandered into colonialism and repatriation (similar to debates about art works.) I assume it’s politically correct these days to inform audiences about these aspects but it took away from the interesting aspect of the marketing and sales of dinosaur bones.
I never saw the film at a local festival or cinema in Vancouver, so I’m happy it’s now streaming on Crave.

Still a great film upon second watch. Excellent actors, especially Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler. The screenplay by Bernd Eichinger is excellent, as is the direction by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The crème de la crème of German actors are cast.
The story of the director’s downfall is remarkable and dramatic. Today’s dictators should watch this film carefully.

I mainly watched the film because it’s Oscar-nominated. Though it starts out quite slow, I was mesmerized by the turn of events around 1 hr 15 minutes into the film. I loved the music scene where generations past, present and future dance to the sound of Sammie’s guitar. That moment stood out to me. The second half of the film is not bad. Certainly more intense than Part I. I can see the massive talent of everyone involved. But it’s not the best film of the year for me.

Well done documentary about a day in the life of women’s health practitioners and the (white male) protesters who make their workplace hell.
I feel for the courageous staff and patients, and you can feel the bond between the filmmaker and her friend, the clinic’s security officer.
Formally, this documentary is not particularly innovative or cinematic but it’s great the message made it as far as the Oscars.

I was fortunate enough to watch this film at a free screening during the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with star Jessie Buckley.
While I understand the solid underlying story about William Shakespeare’s family, the film plot takes an awful long time to get going. It’s only when the Shakespeare children are a bit older (and tragedy occurs) that there is some schwung to it. The best part of the film is the finale: the Hamlet play seen from the POV of Shakespeare’s wife Agnes. That’s brilliantly directed and acted. However, the agony of childbirth and grief comes across as too theatrical (meaning, as if Buckley was acting on a theatre stage rather than in a movie.) But perhaps the interchange between life, theatre and movies is what Chloé Zhao’s film intended, in the end. 🎭

I only went to see this film because I absolutely wanted to watch a screening at the Riviera Theatre in Santa Barbara, California.
I thought a documentary about Kim Novak might be the right fit.
The film was quite disappointing. A boring fluff piece, narrated mostly by Novak herself, meandering in her memories about her work as an actor (interesting) and a visual artist (not very good).
No critical questions were asked, none about Kim but also not about the Hollywood system, which she vaguely criticizes without going into details.
The film clips of her cinematic oeuvre were well researched and edited.
The title refers to the film Vertigo, which made her famous.
Not really a film I’d recommend unless you’re a fan of old Hollywood.

Watched this snowed-in obstacle course during a flight. Really appreciated Emma Thompson (great US accent) and the amazing landscape. But the plot was bonkers and boring.

I hadn’t heard anything about the film before I randomly clicked on it on Netflix. It’s a thriller, well written, edited and directed. Much better than usual Netflix films. Only at the end credits, I noticed it’s a Kathryn Bigelow film. Great job. Frustrating ending though.

I’m not a big fan of films mostly told through narrators. This is a sad, contained story. Not bad, but not very exciting either. A kind anti-hero.