Felipe Aguilera

The premise of "Conclave" is interesting and captivating: learning from the inside about the process after the death of a Pope, especially if the reason for their death is not entirely clear. The politics, intrigue, secrets, and significance of the decisions provide great intensity to the film. Unfortunately, as the minutes pass, the questions open up, new variables are presented, more ambitions and new conflicts arise in a group of characters who, despite being very well played by a very good quality cast, end up losing focus and becoming a mixture of secrets, mysteries, and ambitions that, although they ground the human and imperfect side of the church, also lose the intensity and the search to decipher a mystery that apparently, was not necessary to discover. Rather, it's a path that provides reasons to eliminate some successors, turning the film into a kind of Ecclesiastical Reality Show without further transcendence.

"A Real Pain" delves into the complex emotions experienced by a Jewish couple visiting Poland. The film explores the contrast between the weight of Poland's historical significance, particularly its ties to the Holocaust, and the personal struggles of the couple. The couple, having established themselves in the United States and belonging to different generations, each perceive and interact with the world in their own unique way. Despite their generational differences and varied life experiences, both individuals share an underlying vulnerability and a capacity for deep emotion. The film highlights the challenges they face as they navigate their personal relationship while confronting the historical and cultural complexities of their surroundings. Being a co-production financed by the Polish government, conditions, demands, and a clear intention to promote tourism, historical weight, and Poland in general are clearly seen. However, Jesse Eisenberg manages to deliver a coherent and satisfying story.

Bob Dylan is one of those artists that I could classify as legendary, however, I do not know him. I have never seriously immersed myself in his songs, lyrics or history. So, my approach to “A Complete Unknown” had a side of discovering the film on its own merits, but also why Dylan is so influential in the history of modern music. More than a full biography, this is focused on a particular era of his life, and his influence in the musical scene overall. It is clearly not a common biopic, more than an interesting scope into his rise, his personality, and the challenges of an artist to express his own voice no matter what, challenging the folk scene that introduced him to stardom. Another remarkable aspect of the film is the realization that even with his enigmatic and very hermetic persona, the movie achieves to show with his connections a lot of aspects of his life, and how he resonates with Sylvie Russo, his romantic partner. The collaboration and deep connection with the singer Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, his most important supporter in his early days and Albert Grossman, his manager who personifies the good, great and disgusting of the music business. I must admit that I have not stopped to check what the director James Mangold has done. But after quick research, I realize that the success of this movie is not a coincidence, the myth of Dylan of the impressive performance of Timothée Chalamet, is the talent to confront a story, a human view into a legend. He did a great job with Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, in Ford vs Ferrari showed us the humanity behind the engineering and search for success in the automotive competitions and even in Logan, a fiction action movie for sure, he achieved to present the violent and rough comic character in the most human possible way yet.

This Wes Craven thriller is short, precise, and has a good premise. It caught my attention because it stars the 2005 versions of Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, both actors who would go on to have successful careers. During an airline flight, Cillian, a dangerous mercenary criminal, targets Rachel, a supervisor at a prestigious hotel. Rachel is trying to place a prominent and key politician in a room for a terrorist attack. However, during the trip, she will also try to save her father, the politician, her hotel colleagues, and her life. A tremendous challenge. An interesting race against time adventure, which has a better premise than it’s sad and disappointing ending. If you need to enjoy a short, light movie with a good premise, it's an appealing option, but I have no doubt that there are better options available today to be surprised by. However, as one always has to get something positive out of what they do, I learned that “Red Eye” refers to flights that depart at night and arrive at their destination in the early morning or morning. They are called this because passengers often arrive with red eyes due to lack of proper sleep during the night. Fascinating.

This film is innovative and creative enough to be worth recommending. The plot presents a series of surprises, good performances, and a highly original storyline. The adventure begins when Tess heads to an Airbnb at night, only to discover that it is already occupied by a man named Keith. As it was late, and raining, and there didn't seem to be much choice, she decides to accept spending the night with the already established tenant, however, something strange is in the air. With secrets that gradually become clear, presenting and giving us various surprises related to the origins of the property. Due to the multiple surprises in the film, I will not go into any detail. However, I can assure you that it is a contribution in a world full of a very repetitive horror genre. From the hand of Zach Cregger, Barbarian is a hopeful and useful experience for all those looking for something new.

An Argentine horror film that has been making a lot of noise lately has arrived at Netflix. As a horror film enthusiast, and because I like Argentines, I decided to give it a chance. 100 minutes later, I can confirm that it is one of the most powerful horror films I have seen recently. Not only because of the unexpectedly violent graphic content, but also because of the feeling of hopelessness and despair that the protagonists experience when facing a powerful wave of demonic possessions. The story is undoubtedly simple, but it works effectively. In a small town, a stranger appears mutilated in the middle of a field belonging to a pair of brothers. Searching for a reason, they discover that he was a “cleaner” who was going to attend to the supposed possession of Uriel, a young man who shows grotesque marks of being under a demonic presence. As a result, they decided to eliminate the threat, moving his body from his place of residence, only generating an increasingly painful sequence. It is not a movie for everyone, and its bloody and violent action will not be enough for a quiet movie night. “When Evil Lurks” currently presents an excellent and refreshing horror alternative for those fans who are seeking a terrible experience in the “good sense” of the word.

Directed and starring Miranda July, The Future introduces us to Sophie and Jason. They are in their 30s who are at a point in their lives where, searching for a way to bring new experiences to their relationship, they decide to adopt a cat. However, they must wait another month before receiving it. Consequently, a countdown begins in which they focus on enjoying the “freedom” of their 30 days before facing this arduous responsibility. This drives not only the possibility of discovering new experiences or activities, but also extreme acts such as quitting their jobs or completely disconnecting from their surroundings. It is a funny and absurd work that manages to expose the very present problem of avoiding the commitments and responsibilities of modern times. With a novel and unusual narrative structure, this film can be very fascinating or tremendously unpleasant. In my case, it became an excellent opportunity to not only laugh for a moment, but also to examine and consider the current fragility of the modern concept of couple, family, and the responsibilities that it implies.

This documentary focuses on Sergio Chamy, an 83-year-old senior citizen who is hired by a private investigator to go undercover in a nursing home. The goal is to confirm whether a client's grandmother is being mistreated. With a hidden camera and a small spy device, Sergio becomes another member of the home's community, establishing bonds of trust with the residents and staff of the place. Offering a realistic, funny, and sometimes sad perspective on old age, loneliness, love, and the capacity for happiness of those who are sometimes forgotten. “The Mole Agent,” with an innovative and fun way of exposing the reality of life in a nursing home, is an excellent opportunity to immerse ourselves in the forgotten world of the elderly and the legacy they can offer us. A magnificent testimony, with a remarkable message about the passage of time, wisdom, and the wonder of human relationships at all times in our lives. In my opinion, Maite Alberdi is, possibly, one of the most interesting documentary filmmakers of recent times.

I had never had the opportunity or the intention of immersing myself in this classic film from the late 70s. One of the most significant and important works of cinema, directed by Ford Coppola, the brilliant director responsible for The Godfather saga, and I dismissed it because I'm not very enthusiastic about “war” movies. A few days ago, thanks to a magnificent suggestion and clarification, that obstacle was removed, and I plunged into the middle of the jungle. The selected version was “Apocalypse Now Final Cut.” Released to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary, with extended scenes and a 4K restored adaptation of the original film. A true visual pleasure that is only possible, undoubtedly, due to the level of production, photography, and audiovisual quality of the original production. The magnitude of this project and the level of detail are simply overwhelming, even at times exaggeratedly detailed. Scenes by air, land, and sea. Multitudes of people in each shot, wild animals, war machines, and an endless number of elements that take us on a tremendous modern odyssey. The tragic and intense odyssey of Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) searching for Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in the depths of Cambodia immerses us step by step, relentlessly, into the depths of the dark of human nature. From the team's reconnaissance and journey upriver to the depths of the jungle, we discover facets of humanity when it is pushed to a limit situation. From the most courageous, through the absurd and terrible, often at the same time. Apocalypse Now is a very difficult journey to escape. With great scenes that disturb, surprise, and immerse us in a realm of moral questions in which the senselessness of war, the loss of morality, and the psychological impact that affects both its victims and its victimizers are exposed. For 40 years, Apocalypse Now has been a brilliant, extensive, and intense work that gives us the opportunity to contemplate the depths of human nature, and it maintains a profound meaning in the present day.

The Curse is a dark comedy series starring Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder, and Benny Safdie. It focuses on the adventure of Whitney (Stone) and Asher (Fielder) as they try to start a family while starring in an HGTV television show called “Flipanthropy”. They seek to help residents of Native American communities create a modern, sustainable, and politically correct housing complex. Of course, good intentions backfire when they collide with reality. Accusations of cultural insensitivity, misappropriation, labor mismanagement. And with the involvement of Dougie, an eccentric producer who wants to amplify the dramatic factor of the series. He pushes his focus at the expense of the real estate project, the well-being of the inhabitants, and — of course — the stability of the starring couple. With a mix of criticism of modern culture, social media, the fight for likes, and the presentation of a false and empty life, the show takes us through an uncomfortable, intense, and sometimes absurd rhythm, but one that undoubtedly invites us to analyze and question how we seek to “feel like better people,” the motives behind some initiatives, and of course, the whole farce surrounding the concept of “reality” or “influencer.” Strongly recommended, with magical, absurd, and sometimes hilarious notes. The Curse has been one of my biggest surprises this year. It has a cinematic style that fascinatingly blends innovative production with Safdie in charge, with the concept of the absurdity of reality and human behavior that Nathan Fielder has been offering for years.