Okay Films

"Mommy" is a French Canadian film about a 46 year old mother dealing with her beloved son who suffers from ADHD, they immensely struggle through their day to day life but with the presence of their new neighbour Kyla a balance is achieved in the family, together they face an emotional roller coaster of challenges.

I already knew I would like this film beforehand but god was I so wrong, the brilliance of this movie had me and my expectations blown away and a big reason for that was the actors performances, the three leads managed to work extremely well together and individually, their characters have such an authentic and charismatic relationship with each other but also intriguing and entertaining characteristics that make each of them stand out single handedly, they really carried this picture to excellence.

Xavier Dolan should be praised eternally for making this masterpiece, he is the director and the writer which is pretty admirable, I will definitely be checking out his other works from now on.

The movie has a unique 1:1 aspect ratio and no it's not done just for the sake of being different for no contributing reason, in fact it's purpose becomes very apparent once you reach a certain moment in the film.

The best adjective to use when describing "Mommy" is alive, and that's because it truly has a pumping heart, it sticks with you after the credits have rolled, and so does the emotional effect it delivers. I am not embarrassed or hesitated to say that I cried during "Mommy", in fact I got teary-eyed just by thinking about it long after it was over.

There aren't many films that I'm willing to give such rating to but "Mommy" easily deserves it, it has amazing performances, storytelling, cinematography, dialogue, soundtrack and most importantly it delivers a lasting impact on the viewer. This is a Citizen "****ing" Kane !

"Funny Games" is a shot for shot remake of the 1997 Austrian predecessor, it also has the same director/writer of the original, it is about a family of three being haunted by two psychopaths in their own home.

It's been years of me hearing about how ground-breaking this film is and now is finally the time to experience it myself....such a dull, empty and dry experience it was.

I'm usually not fond of horror movies, wait is this even considered a horror movie ? I don't know and I don't care, but anyways... that's because the vast majority of them is an exact replica of another, most of the time they're badly acted, poorly made and just a big waste of time, gladly this was the opposite of the generic "horror" film you would expect but it still managed to feel like a complete waste of time.

People praise this film till the wheels fall off because of the director's intent of making it in the first place, which was expressing a political statement that I kinda agree with, but couldn't he just tweet about it instead of making an hour and fifty one minute long remake ?

The lack of gore is thought to be the issue for people who didn't like this, but for my case I actually didn't mind that whatsoever. I feel as though "Funny Games" would've been less painful to sit through had it been shorter, and by that I mean for it to literally be an hour long maximum !

It also reminded me of another "horror film" called "Resolution" which I enjoyed much better, the difference between the two is that the later has more depth to it's characters and a heart which "Funny Games" lacks.

The only redeeming quality about this feature is the acting and the cinematography, but even that couldn't save the movie for me. There are also a couple of mistakes that I couldn't help but notice, which took me out of the film, even though I was never really invested in it in the first place.

At the end of the day, "Funny Games" bored the hell out of me, while I do usually love and praise similar films to it, it somehow still managed to drop the ball. This is a Rental.

"The Rabbi's Cat" or 'Le Chat Du Rabbin" is a French animated film directed by Joann Sfar, who also has written the book it is based on with the same title. It takes place in Algeria during the 1920's, where a cat suddenly knows how to talk in human language, after devouring a parrot.

This film takes many risks and wears them as a badge of honour, the first of them being the animation style that is deprived of the usual Hollywood tropes, instead it uses the pen and ink technique in a stylized manner, which is a gorgeous view for the audience.

Second, it tackles intimidating subjects such as the relations between people from different religions, and the film is also courageous enough to not shy away from pointing out the flaws of each faith, you might not agree with the message that the movie delivers, but you still have to give credit when it's due, and plus it is told in such a charming and humorous fashion that leaves you admiring Joann's work.

"Le Chat Du Rabbin" is no where near being a masterpiece though, it has many weaknesses, with the one standing out the most is its inconsistency that is visible in different fields, the film sets some rules to inform the viewer of its world nature, yet it constantly flip flops between breaking and following them, moreover, this action is committed in various forms throughout the movie.

I'm not fond of the pacing as well, and that's because the plot ridiculously jumps all over the place. The film's saving grace is the charming cat, but during a portion in the middle, he's no where to be seen in the scene, I personally thought that his absence hurt the overall quality and reduced the glamour the film was producing.

With the amusing dialogue and characters, "The Rabbi's Cat" achieves its pretentious goal, but the inconsistency and pacing prevents it from finishing in a better place, therefore...This would be a Matinee.

"Ida" is a Polish film set after world war two, it follows a young orphan that just before taking her vows as a Catholic nun, she has to meet what's left of her lost family, her aunt Wanda. Together they embark on a journey to find their relatives final traces.

Where "Ida" shines the most is in the cinematography department, it is a stunning picture to look at, so just for the visual experience alone it deserves to be seen.

The two main characters are portrayed very ably and correctly for their time, Agata Kulesza as Wanda is one of the highlights of the film, I tend to really enjoy when a character balances its partner in crime and she did just that for Ida.

I have a large amount of respect for the movie and its ambition regardless of its flaws, one of the issues I have with it is the pacing, for only an 82 minutes running time, "Ida" does feel drawn out a bit during a few scenes, I also would of liked more depth to Agata Trzebuchowska's character, and I say that because I think I would of enjoyed the ending much better had she been given more self centred scenes.

Speaking of the ending, I thought the idea behind it was a brilliant way to conclude the film, unfortunately I didn't think it was executed to it's fullest measure. There are also some moments that were deprived of logic and didn't make much sense to me. This is a good movie, but it could of been better.

Once again, "Ida" is a beautiful film to look at, a massive portion of it looks like a prepossessing photograph, but there are other elements to it that hold me back from calling it a great film. This is a Matinee.

"Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem" is an Israeli drama film and come to find out, it is also the third of a trilogy. It's about Viviane Amsalem, trying to win the battle for her divorce in front of a religious court, after she had grew sick of her husband.

I've watched multiple films that are entirely set up in a single room, but only "12 Angry Men" could execute that concept excellently, now, I can say that "The Trial of Viviane Amasalem" did so as well. The whole movie is filmed in a small courtroom (except for a few brief scenes), but that never lead me to feel bored or anything close to that, in fact the longer the film was going, the more engaged and gripped by it I was.

The key to greatness in my opinion is always the acting, here Ronit Elkabetz plays Viviane magnificently, she does a phenomenal job at showing her emotions subtly and in a sensational manner, the supporting actors all did a great job too.

The stupendous dialogue makes this drama feel so raw and intense, yet surprisingly funny at times, there are some colourful characters in this picture that add the much needed and appreciated humour.

It's clear that the film makers wanted to communicate a powerful message to the audience, and I think they executed its delivery pretty well.

This being a third in a trilogy doesn't limit the enjoyment you can have through the film without watching the preceding two, I actually think it was better for me to view it the way I did, since it does leave some things to my interpretation and imagination, also I will definitely be checking out the previous films of this story, just to see more of these characters.

"The Trial of Viviane Amasalem" is a thought-provoking, heartfelt experience that I recommend everyone to go through. This is a Full Price.