Okay Films

"La Haine" is a French film that follows the lives of three young men of social underclass, in a span of 24 hours. The fellas consist of Vinz, who's a hotheaded Jew, Hubert who's a black boxer and easily the most self-reflective of his mates, and finally, Said who comes from an Arabic background and is the most inexperienced of the three, yet still very thuggish.

"La Haine" is able to erase our registered beliefs of Paris, by showing us the darker side of the city of lights; the suburbs, it's where our three main characters reside, and live their lives a day at a time.

It's quite difficult to describe the film's plot, and that's because it's almost plotless, we literally witness a typical day of these men's lives, and I have to say that it is in no way shape or form a dull watch, minute by minute you become extremely invested in these characters, their interactions with each other and their surroundings provided a realistic feel to the atmosphere, and that also has a lot to do with the incredible acting, especially by Vincent Cassel.

The movie being shot in black and white is perfect for it, I even think that it would of lost its touch had it been filmed any other way, it also made the viewing of the cinematography much more beautiful.

Mathieu Kassovitz is the director, and he is an absolute virtuoso to me, he shows a lot of his skill by brilliant camera techniques that simply amazed me.

There's a lot to take from this French masterpiece, and most importantly, I believe that the last minute of this film is an experience which every moviegoer has to undergo.

"La Haine" is a powerful film with a beautifully conveyed social message, and incredible directing and storytelling. This is a Full Price.

"The Imposter" is a documentary about a foreign man, tricking a Texan family into believing that he is their missing relative.

As soon as I read the description of this film, it jumped to the top of my watchlist, I needed to see this and its execution, it is too intriguing for me to resist, and now that I finished watching it, I have to say...I am slightly disappointed.

I don't want to give away anymore of the plot than I already have, because I believe that the best way to see this is by going in completely blind, but just in case you're doubtful, this is based on an actual true story, this is a prime example of the truth being stranger than fiction, it's really mind-boggling.

The intensity and mystery keeps getting built throughout the documentary and a sense of eeriness exists for its entirety, and it remains after so as well, mainly due to witnessing a real psychopath walking us through everything. There are some re-enactments scenes of the events and fortunately, they don't feel cheap or forced.

Despite a running time of 99 minutes, this film unnecessarily slows down at certain points, which is quite annoying, and I also have a hard time believing the authenticity of one specific footage, there are other minor issues that I have with the movie, but discussing them would be crossing spoilers territory.

Even though I only have a few nitpicks, I still found myself disappointed at the wasted potential of making a masterpiece, I think this would of been much better had it been a fictionalised character study of the crazy protagonist, who is by far the best part of this feature. Regardless, this is a visually beautiful documentary, with quite an interesting story to tell, and hidden tricks up its sleeve.

"The Imposter" is the equivalent of a mind distorter, it is an irresistible experience that I highly recommend you have. This is a high Matinee.

"I'm Not Scared" is an Italian film about a 9 year old boy, accidentally finding a missing kid, who's kept hostage in a deep hole set in an isolated town.

This film has been getting so much praise ever since it has been exposed to the public, and in my humble opinion, I don't think it deserves any of it. There are countless flaws that I don't understand how anyone could just dismiss.

First of all, the acting, of course this would of been an issue when you have a movie dominated by children, and every last one of them makes me want to cringe, don't get me wrong though, some of them are good child actors, but what most people seem to forget is that a good child actor doesn't translate into a good actor, and in this case, it translates to a bad actor.

Also, it doesn't really help that the main kid is really unlikeable, actually, pretty much every character is extremely unlikeable, there's almost nobody to root for, and I usually don't mind that, but this time it's clearly done unintentionally.

This isn't necessarily a horror film, yet for some reason, the director felt the need to squeeze in a poorly done jumpscare, plus, it doesn't even make sense in the world of the film, which is an immensely annoying tactic.

Mind you, there is quite the lack of logic, and some would explain it by arguing that we're dealing with children and ignorant adults who are all from a secluded town, that probably doesn't grant a decent education, but there are moments in this film where characters go against human instincts, and I have yet and probably won't get a rational explanation of it.

There are a few good elements in this feature, such as the pretty good score, the pretty good cinematography, some creepy and convincing imagery, an engaging story that definitely kept me interested, and nail biting scenes that would of been amazing with better performers.

Unfortunately, this is a very disappointing Italian movie that had so much potential, and I believe that it would of been phenomenal had it been put in the right hands. This is a Rental.

"Picnic at Hanging Rock" is an Australian film set during the Victorian times on St. Valentine's Day, where three young girls and a teacher disappear without a trace while on a school picnic at Hanging Rock, Victoria, leaving the worried town desperately trying to solve the mystery.

Based on Joan Lindsay's novel of the same name, "Picnic at Hanging Rock" manages to turn an ordinary girls school summer picnic, into a dreadful and haunting disappearance case that you sure want to help and solve.

My favourite part of the experience is listening to the music that flowed very well with the occurring events, which consisted of classical pieces from legendary composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, not to mention, the haunting panpipe music and other original compositions.

I'm a huge fan of slow burns and I found myself shocked at how bored I was during the second act of this film, where it kinda lost me for a while, and the reason for that was because of how uneventful and unexciting everything was. Another downfall is the fact that some of the actors miserably failed at their job, whenever some sort of emotion is supposed to be projected. There is also an annoying scene where the search party keeps calling for only two people, when there are four missing ladies.

The biggest attraction of this movie is its mystery and how uniquely well it is done, you crave and crave for answers and none of them are given to you without your own efforts and work, and I always like it when the makers trusts the audience by not spilling to them all of the film's guts.

The costumes add a lot to the realism of the time period, while also being the director's way of subtly conveying hints that help at clearing our foggy vision. And the cinematography is as expected, remarkable, the cinematographer manages to make a what is supposed to be a beautiful place and landmark, into a sinister location.

Despite its errors, this is a visually beautiful movie with a lot of originality and a haunting mystery case that will leave you puzzled....in a good way. This is a high Matinee.

"Miss Violence" is a Greek film about a family's disturbing and dysfunctional dynamic, where the granddad is a dominating patriarch that obsessively controls the remaining members of the household.

In the very first five minutes of the movie, we see a young girl celebrating her eleventh birthday, then suddenly, jumping off the balcony with a wide smile on her face, for the rest of the time you wonder the reason for such shocking behaviour, and once the cause is revealed, it definitely becomes harder to sit through the film.

I have mixed feelings towards "Miss Violence", I didn't completely hate it, but I can't call it a good film either, and the reason for that is the many illogical conveniences and actions that I can't dismiss, and the performances that range from fine to simply awful. Not to mention, there are some dark and repulsive scenes that are completely unnecessary.

The majority of the actors have pretty much the same job, which is sitting around with a blank face, and yet, they still managed to mess that up, most of them slip up here and there, but the kids...man the kids are just unnatural, to put it nicely. There's one scene where the youngest girl is slapping her brother, but you can clearly see how unconvincing it is, and the editor doesn't help at hiding the technical errors either, so what is supposed to be an effective scene becomes a comical one. Yikes.

I don't have much to say about this without crossing spoilers territory, and that speaks for itself, there isn't anything special about the film, sure it is very well made, and yes there are some strong but few scenes with great camera movements, but that isn't enough to save it from the deep whole it's already in. There are other better versions of this story out there that definitely deserve your time.

This is a prime example of a movie trying to be edgy but failing, it has redeemable qualities, but it's all been done before better. This is a high Rental.

"Black Dynamite" is a parody of the blaxploitation genre and an action comedy, following the former CIA agent Black Dynamite, who's looking for whoever's responsible for his brother's death.

During the 1970s, Black Dynamite is extremely persistent about getting rid of the town's drug dealers, especially after the recent death of his younger brother, so we're taken on a roller coaster of a journey with the protagonist, and we are subjected to the crazy obstacles he encounters.

This is the best spoof film ever made. Period. It has the most heart of any film from that genre, and it's also extremely witty, mainly due to the clever writing that immensely helped at realising numerous quotable scenes.

Michael Jai White steals the show just by his presence alone, he is perfect for the role of Black Dynamite, his character has become one of my favourites in film history because of all of the mixed elements it possesses.

With this being a parody, it capitalises on its ability of making fun of itself while also not being a plotless, braindead film, in fact "Black Dynamite" uses its capabilities the best it can.

Everything is a laughing stock from the straight acting, to the vintage soundtrack, to the characters goofy names, to the cheesy yet clever dialogue, not to mention, the intentional technical mistakes that cause immense laughter.

My favourite scene from the film has to be in the diner, where a group of characters draw a shocking conclusion after some really hard thinking, I've never laughed out loud as much as I did during a segment of a movie until this came, it will definitely stick with me for life. And there are countless of other similar scenes that are just as ridiculously funny.

The only negative I can think of on the top of my head, is the fact that I kinda guessed where it was going during the last act of the movie, which reduced the amount of effect certain final scenes could of had on me, but they were still amusing regardless.

This movie is a blast from start to finish, there isn't a single dull moment with Black Dynamite around, you will be entertained, charmed and involved by his tale, and I cannot wait to sit through it again, next time with a bunch of friends. This is a Full Price.

"Tangerine" is a comedy about best friends Sin-Dee and Alexandra, embarking on a journey, for the purpose of finding out the truth about a scandalous rumour. What happens next is an avalanche of ridiculous events that you don't want to miss.

This episode is set in Tinseltown on Christmas Eve, where two transgeder woman who just happen to be prostitutes are our main focus, Sin-Dee and Alexandra. After 28 days of jail time, Sin-Dee reunites with her bestie, only to find out that her pimp has been cheating on her, therefore, they embark on a mission to figure out the girl's and the pimp's whereabouts.

This is quite an impressive film considering it was all shot on an iPhone by Sean Baker, who also made the decision to add the tangerine tint to the movie, which adds to the impact it delivers, I can't call this a beautiful film because it simply isn't, but it's definitely better looking than the majority of Hollywood's disposable garbage.

At the same time, I can't give this flick a pass just for its gimmick, in fact, it is heavily flawed, starting with the amateurish "acting" by everybody, especially Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Sin-Dee's character.

There are some really good jokes and a bunch of hilarious scenes, but for quite some time, "Tangerine" takes the easy way out and decides to spit out the cheap, usual and trashy lines that are considered quote on quote "jokes".

In some scenes, the editing gets very annoying because it's really choppy for no good reason, it felt like an amateur music video which is not good.

Despite all the negatives, I kinda found myself enjoying the majority of this flick, like I said there are some really good scenes to enjoy, the hyperbolic plot adds to the comedy, and having real trans women throughout the film is a nice touch, there is some obvious fake "action" going on, and it may also get too cheesy during the final scene, but I don't mind all of that, plus the whole thing is only 88 minutes short.

Some would consider "Tangerine" to be a bad movie, some would even call it a great one, I found myself to be sitting right in the middle while understanding both perspectives, it's an okay film. This is a Matinee.

"To Take a Wife" is an Israeli-French drama film about the unhappy marriage of Viviane, an orthodox Jewish woman who desperately seeks a way out of her broken relationship with her husband.

This is the first film of its trilogy, the following two being "The Seven Days" and "The Trial of Viviane Amsalem", I happen to be a big fan of the latter, therefore I decided to check out the rest of the story's arcs at some point, good thing I did because I am optimistic about this being one of my favourite trilogies of all time.

The main character's household is an absolute mess, we see her physically and emotionally struggle throughout the movie, by facing obstacles in the form of her husband, her children, her neighbours, her ex-lover and so on and so on...The first scene aptly captures the trauma Viviane is going through just by her facial expressions, it truly sets the tone for the rest of the film.

The film by no means tries to portray Viviane as the perfect wife, the victim or the saint, which I highly praise, in fact, you quickly realise that the cause of the marriage being in a distorted shape goes both ways, the two lovers are simply incompatible.

The flaws of the film take the form of the acting, Ronit Elkabetz doesn't give an as strong performance as the one in "The Trial of Viviane Amsalem", she sometimes tends to overdramatise her showing during emotion requiring scenes, and I'm glad she learned from her work and was able to generate a masterful presentation during the latter film, all of the children/teenagers are okay at best, and in certain parts undeniably awful, fortunately, none of them take a huge portion of the screen time. There are other minor issues, but I think that they're negligible.

In another light, there is a positive factor that extremely works which is the film's authenticity, and its realistic view on the problems married couples face, it is also able to blend in religious ingredients with the story that makes the plot as a whole well grounded.

"To Take a Wife" is a well written drama that bumped my urge to watch the final piece of this trilogy, its realistic take on the day to day issues the characters encounter, is what lessens the weight of its weaknesses. This is a high Matinee.

"Krisha" is an American drama film about Krisha, an elderly woman returning to her family on Thanksgiving, after a long time being away from them due to addiction. On her break, she had finally put herself back together, but during the festivities, tension rises and old wounds are reopened, leading to madness and bedlam.

This magical film was shot by the first time director Trey Edward Shults in a span of 9 days, the entire set was basically his mother's house, his relatives and friends are pretty much the whole cast, and his budget didn't even exceed a $100,000, the fact that this movie is as great as it is, is an incredible accomplishment in itself.

"Krisha" opens up with a close-up of the main character's hopeless face, which is a great way to set the tone for what's to come. The amount of well choreographed and stabilised long takes, prove how substantial the potential of the director is, not to mention the outstanding and unique camera work that surprisingly doesn't come off as pretentious, but instead, helps at describing the state of the lead role.

Krisha Fairchild does a phenomenal job at playing a recovering addict, who's lost and doesn't know her way back despite her tries, the subtle and small efforts put by the actress add to the authenticity and mystery of her character's tale, the rest of the family are also incredible despite being unprofessional and inexperienced as actors, it may show sometimes but it's still so forgiveable.

The special score plays a huge factor in this feature, it goes along with the characters movements, actions and state, without it I don't think the film would be as exceptional as it is. The aspect ratio changes throughout the duration of the movie, and as expected, it is another factor in building the eerie atmosphere, and it also hints to Krisha's interior feelings and mental shape. I was also taken aback by the eye drooling cinematography and how beautiful each scene looked.

This is the realest horror film without having any horror elements in it whatsoever, it excels at building enormous tension, and it tackles frightening situations while also connecting with the audience on a personal level.

Ambitious is what "Krisha" is, it succeeds at being a raw and extraordinary take on an already told story, it is sometimes comedic and other times very unsettling, yet it somehow perfectly worked. This is a high Full Price.

"Waltz With Bashir" is an Israeli animated biography of the film's director, Ari Folman, who plays himself and goes on a journey to reconstruct his own memories of his experience as a soldier in the 1982 Lebanon War.

As we follow Ari Folman through his voyage, we meet a bunch of his former companions during the war, who he interviews, and each time we collect with him partial pieces of the full story, we get a full view of the re-told events in the form of fascinating animation.

This incredible documentary has a unique and artistic way of presenting itself, the surreal animation style with illustrations similar to comics makes it much more engaging and interesting, it also gives the director enough room to play and convey his message in a way that wouldn't have been as efficacious in a live action movie.

The soundtrack also is an enormous factor in this feature, it consisted of a combination of 80's and classical music, not only are they fitting and emotional but they're also purposeful as well.

This is by no means a bash Israel/Lebanon/Palestine movie, the point isn't to put the blame on anyone, it simply puts on screen the pointlessness of a war face to face with its devastating and crucial results.

Despite the film's subject not being anything new, it still manages to pull out some originality using its unique techniques, it also puts the audience in the shoes of guilt full soldiers, who spend the rest of their lives being haunted by the horrors of the battlefield, this approach adds to the honesty and sincerity of the movie, meanwhile, the ending is a hard hitting reminder of the brutal reality.

"Waltz With Bashir" is a well crafted and powerful piece of art, its ambiguity touches a deep nerve of truth that many war documentaries fail to reach. This is a Full Price.

"Incendies" is a Canadian mystery-drama film written and directed by Denis Villeneuve, and it is about a twin sister and brother desperately trying to fulfil their mother's death wishes, which consist of travelling to the middle east and seeking the truth about their family's history.

Denis Villeneuve is rapidly becoming one of my favourite directors of all time, he hasn't made a wrong step yet, and hopefully he continues this path, because I have to say that this phenomenal film has to be his best achievement so far.

"Incendies" tells the fascinating and tragic backstory of Nawal Marwan, while also going back to the present day, and following her children's foot steps through their journey of unlocking their family's mystery, so the movie has a non-linear plot that surprisingly doesn't get confusing or puzzling, mainly due to how well crafted everything is.

Lubna Azabal plays Nawal and gives a baffling performance, she truly is the shinning star of this picture, her character is desperately searching for peace and love which ultimately isn't found for a cheap price, therefore, this woman faces devastation all throughout her journey, and you genuinely feel as though you've gone on an actual trip as well with these characters by the end of the movie.

The film is based on a play of the same name, and the Lebanese civil war, where right-wing Christian militias massacre Muslims and Muslims massacre Christians right back, and it does not shy away from showing the brutality and harshness of the events, there are a chunk of war scenes that are simply shocking and unforgiving.

The cinematography and the soundtrack are both another aspects where the film excels, the imagery of the middle east sucks you right into the atmosphere, while the music blends right in with the heavily impactful scenes.

The only thing that is holding me back from calling this an extraordinary film and giving it a perfect score, is some of the conveniences and coincidences it makes us believe, but nonetheless, none of them are too far fetched or significant enough to ruin the experience.

"Incendies" is a powerful and hard hitting piece of film with a terrific script and outstanding performances, sticking through it all is definitely an emotional, uncompromising and relentless experience. This is a high Full Price.

"Persona" is a Swedish psychological drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, and it follows an actress who one night stopped speaking in the middle of her performance, and has been silent ever since.

Persona or "The Poem in Images" is a very confusing motion picture, coming out of it, you realise that not everything about it is supposed to be taken literally, which creates a deeper meaning to its mystery, although I have only watched the film once, I was still able to take enough of it and make my own interpretation of the events.

There are minor spoilers ahead so be aware:

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WARNING: "Spoilers, be aware !" spoilers below

To me, this movie is about accepting our hidden shadow, or the darker side of our personality and soul, where all of our sinister fantasies and thoughts hide from the public's eyesight. Once the mute Elisabet Vogler (played by Liv Ullmann) start getting taken care of by nurse Alma (played by Bibi Andersson), their persona start merging together, and Ingmar Bergman does an incredible job at conveying the idea of "two in one" via the dialogue between these two characters, and through time, it becomes pretty clear that Elisabeth is the person while Alma is the persona.

To me, this movie is about accepting our hidden shadow, or the darker side of our personality and soul, where all of our sinister fantasies and thoughts hide from the public's eyesight. Once the mute Elisabet Vogler (played by Liv Ullmann) start getting taken care of by nurse Alma (played by Bibi Andersson), their persona start merging together, and Ingmar Bergman does an incredible job at conveying the idea of "two in one" via the dialogue between these two characters, and through time, it becomes pretty clear that Elisabeth is the person while Alma is the persona.

The performances are fantastic to say the least, Liv Ullmann plays Elisabeth, a silent actress who doesn't speak for 98% of the film, so she is given a difficult task which is to portray all of her emotions through facial expressions, while Bibi Andersson plays Alma, a nurse who doesn't stop talking for the entirety of the movie, their characters are polar opposites yet extremely similar at the same time.

The nickname "Poem in Images" is given deservedly so, the cinematography is amazing especially for the film's time, it is a major part of the movie that helps at clearing the mysterious happenings, but also summons clouds as a barrier for the purpose of making truth seekers paths more difficult.

With all of that being said, is this a pretentious film ? Yes and No. Maybe my opinion will change after a second watch, but right now I definitely feel as though there were some sequences that were just for shock value with no interior context, but fortunately I believe that the average viewer can still apprehend the general idea and the theme of the movie at first viewing.

This complex feature is a study that deserves to be analysed, I congratulate the director, the cinematographer and the actors for bringing this artistic piece to life that is in need of several viewings for a proper understanding. This is a Full Price.