Okay Films

"Caché" is a French film, it follows a married couple searching for the source of a bunch of mysterious video tapes that keep getting left on their porch, the delivered cassettes get more personal by the day, creating disruption and unbalance in the family's life.

After previously watching "Funny Games" and "Benny's Video", I had no doubt in my mind that I would dislike "Caché" just as much as I disliked the former two, considering they are all directed by the same person, fortunately, Michael Haneke proved me wrong.

Even though the audience is constantly teased by the mystery of the surveillance footage and its origins, that isn't the intended main focus of the film, in fact, knowing the identity of the sender becomes irrelevant by the end of it all. The movie seems to be essentially more about a man's haunting and hidden guilt, his skeletons in the closet, a broken marriage, paranoia, distrust, the clear divide between each social class and the history of Algeria and its impact on France. The viewer understandably gets distracted by the occurring events, and doesn't seem to notice the main message of the film, the bigger picture.

There is some outstanding acting in this picture, especially by Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche and Maurice Bénichou, they work really hard to help build tension and suspense throughout the film, successfully so.

Michael Haneke trusts his audience enough to search for clues and try to piece this puzzle together, by not just dumbing everything down, and that to me is very appreciated.

The more I think about "Caché", the better I like it, and I'm confident that after a second watch it would go down as one of my all time favourites.

"Caché" might not be everyone's cup of tea, in fact it may even anger you, but it is extremely well done for its intended audience, and also has enough going on to hold anyone's interest. This is a high Full Price.

"Under the Shadow" is an Iranian film set during the 1980's when Tehran was war torn, it follows a mother and a daughter who are being haunted by a mysterious evil, and they have to fend for themselves to survive through the nights.

There's a lot of similarities between this and another over-hyped horror film called "The Babadook", except "Under the Shadow" is worse, way worse.

There are two main characters, the mother is played by Narges Rashidi who does a fairly good job at portraying a left-wing female in Iran, meanwhile the young girl is played by Avin Manshadi who's just simply bad at acting...I know, I know, she's just a child but that excuse is insignificant when the movie is trying to be as realistic as possible, while also having a kid that doesn't match up with the character it's supposed to be in that universe.

Speaking of realism, this film fails at showcasing that, by having a moron as the lead. The mum is so ridiculously stupid it's not even funny, at one point she decides to still stay in her apartment after a damn missile hit the flat she's living in, and there are countless of similar situations such as the former that make me want to facepalm myself.

Supposedly, this is a horror film, but yet I wasn't scared by it whatsoever, why ? Because most of the "scares" are a bunch of annoying and predictable jumpscares. And that ending...please, LAUGHABLE !

I have to admit though, there are a few cool shots here and there due to the cinematography, but other than that this movie is a flop.

"Under the Shadow" would of been better off as a drama rather than a worthless horror flick, it immensely disappointed me. I recommend anyone who's planning on watching this to just take a nap instead.

"The Skin I Live In" is a Spanish film that follows Robert Legard, a plastic surgeon who is obsessed with creating the perfect skin that can withstand any damage, and he uses a woman as a human guinea pig to fulfil his obsession.

Where do I start ? This is an emotionally and intellectually challenging film, it does not shy away from showing taboo subjects to its audience, and while it does come across as if it's just for shock value, there is a deeper ulterior motive to it.

The score, cinematography and production design are absolutely spectacular, they significantly add to the film's eeriness, but what ultimately stands out the most is the two leads performances, Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya's chemistry together is very intriguing and interesting to watch, whenever they're in a scene, a sense of discomfort and uneasiness crawls under my skin.

The happenings in this motion picture are simply disturbing, they're presented in a nonlinear fashion which boosts the intensity and the viewer's desire to piece this puzzle together.

I didn't once feel bored during the running time of the movie which is two hours, but I do think that the first act could of been a little bit chopped off and better handled. I also think that the movie isn't as complex as it tries to be, which leads to the lack of crave for a second watch, but that doesn't necessarily hurt the overall quality of the film.

"The Skin I Live In" is a beautifully directed, amazing psychological thriller that will easily stick with your soul after viewing. This is a Full Price.

"Mother" is a South Korean film about a mother who is desperately trying to prove her son's innocence and lack of involvement in a young girl's murder case, therefore she searches for the real killer to bring him back to justice.

One of the best things about "Mother" is how well the drama and the humour mashes together, and it does so in such a captivating way, the director does an excellent job at making a hilarious yet heart clenching film.

Hye-ja Kim's portrayal of a poor, caring mother is one of, if not the best I have ever seen, she plays a character who is willing to stop at nothing for the purpose of freeing her dear son, who's greatly played by Bin Won, they only have each other to count on and lean on, which makes for a compelling relationship that gets you easily invested.

We follow this mother step by step to the key of this case, and we feel her distress and struggle throughout the journey, and once she finally arrives to her final destination, a shocking discovery is found that leaves the audience staggered.

Once this multi-layered movie hits its end, I was left admiring the subtle and smart connected ties that were made, and some thought-provoking scenes that are simply an example of the fascinating art of cinema, and yes I am talking about the opening and ending sequences.

This incredibly told story deserves to be seen immediately ! With its moving score, enthralling cinematography, clever screenplay and thick plot, it leaves no room for technical mistakes, which makes this one of the best dramatic thrillers I have ever watched. This is a HIGH Full Price.