Jorge Luis Borges

A remake of the timeless story of an assassin out to get Charles de Gaulle in the book, movie and iterations of the target in the remakes. Eddie Redmayne puts out an extremely strong and masculine performance with a generally good supporting cast, including the underutilized and absolutely beautiful Ursula Corbero. Lashana Lynch has settled into the role of a relentless chaser with instincts - in a role that looks so written on screen. The locations, cinematography, screenplay and direction are spotless - soundtrack is too shrill and apoplectic - just out of place. The main target Ulle de Charles is a two-dimensional idealist, and so are his cronies and the ever prominent, never present creation ‘River’ - he eventually gets finished off. The Jackal has a family in this movie and is prone to sentiment and feelings - they split, and the Jackal has an upside debt so there’s a second season. If they keep the same tempo and have Moby do the soundtrack, it will be eminently watchable!

Except for the one scene when the wife confronts juror #2, finding out that he did it, the rest of the movie is pedestrian at best - almost like the entire movie was shot by a second unit director. Shots go pop pop pop, as if they were saving precious film and were in a shoestring budget and a one week shooting schedule - just say the lines, well can it. What a letdown - I think Clint Eastwood’s direction started going south with Grand Torino. Just a few years before that he delivered the knockout Million dollar baby - he has lost track with choice of actors and a sense of directorial intensity that was in full bloom in movies like Unforgiven. Even Martin Scorsese stumbled big times with Irishman and got back on his feet with Killers of the flower moon - hope it goes that way for Clint - he deserves it.

A tight, well acted, shot and directed gem of a movie. Clive Owen in one of his best roles. Julia Roberts shot beautifully and looks beautiful without her America’s sweetheart smile. One of the early movies that cast Jude Law as the slithery, insecure character he perfected later in his career. Natalie Portman was just phenomenal. Clive Owen - his restrained anger, burning eyes, spewing venom through his clenched teeth - an absolute knockout performance. A doctor, photographer, a pedestrian writer and a free spirit from the old world and the new have serendipitous collisions.

Aldis Hodge and Isaiah Mustafa are great as a pair of friends and partners, the 8 hours go by relatively quickly and everybody around them play their parts well. The last episode with twists becomes a little predictable in the penultimate episode. Aldis Hodge plays the broody and restrained Alex Cross very well. While I understand there must be a reason to add to the mood etc, I literally had to squint through most of the episodes to see the characters with the lighting choices made by the cinematographers - I can’t even see white people clearly! The total opposite was the case with Rebel Ridge - another excellent thriller with a black protagonist, shot beautifully. The birthday party thrown by the killer where the screws are put on Alex Cross is reminiscent of the quiet terror in ‘Get Out’. Several storylines - while not perfect, they are tied together well and this would. It be possible with somebody without the gravitas of Aldis Hodge - an excellent casting choice. Looking forward to more of him with tighter, taut storylines and better cinematography. Also, DC is an underutilized cityscape in American thrillers - so looking forward to more of that as well!!

What a waste of time (ours and Stanley Tucci’s)! Every time Stanley Tucci tries to straighten up this shapeless lump, they cut to the wailing Brits - in the cellar, in the house, on the road and everywhere in between. For heavens’ sake!

I’ve watched this movie in parts and full several times after watching this for the first time 10+ years ago. It is one of Ridley Scott’s understated masterpieces. Penelope Cruz tossed away with garbage, Michael Fassbender’s failing plea with Ruben Blades in the final moments of the movie, the unnerving calm in Blades’ sermon, the brutal takedown of Brad Pitt in broad daylight, the absolute ruthlessness of Cameron Diaz and the cuckolded fury of Javier Bardem - it is an unforgettable ensemble of characters, situations and performances. The sheer intensity of the movie is absolutely brilliant and moviemaking at its original best. Five stars in every re-watch. Near-perfect.

Excellent production values. Cristin Milioti is the real star; Colin Farrell, under heavy prosthetics, lets his voice and craziness seep through. Rest of the cast is forgettable, as are the 8 hours of mother complex yarn and the recycled mobster ethos, mood, language and sentiments. All episodes feel like watered down versions of a Frank Miller dreamscape, and the potential for atmospheric pressure is wasted with the camera always landing on one character of another without really looking away at what’s around. Penguin in Batman movies is a midlevel nobody and there is no reason to have stayed too close to the original character - there could have been an original, fun and strong narrative arc and an origin story but the story and screenplay does not seem to try that hard to push the envelope. As some would say ‘a perfectly normal series’. We are left with wanting for more.

Aubrey Plaza (Laura Dern of the present times), Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, are totally miscast - the total opposite to almost all Coppola movies including the absolutely fresh and original cast of ‘Dreamers’. Adam Driver is a saving grace - he is fantastic - he has never put a foot wrong in the last several years! Amazing cinematography with extremely extremely tight, angular and fluid framing of one, few and many - just a masterclass on how to shoot for mood. Despite the endless list of casting flaws, it is amazing to see how original, untethered and utterly fascinating Coppola can be after all these years, decades and movies!

Wonderful cast - Cate Blanchette, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kevine Kline, Leila George and the rest do a phenomenal job. Excellent screenwriting, cinematography and very taut and disciplined direction by Alfonso Cuaron. It is a story of a mothers, fathers and sons - and boy, what a yarn they have spun. Cate Blanchette is a towering figure in actresses of this generation - she restrains the agony, pain and composure of her character with poise until the very last minutes. A gripping series.

George Clooney and Brad Pitt have decided to stay cool and half asleep at the same time throughout the movie, demanding the viewers to use two neurons or less over 90 min or so. There’s a kid with drugs, a DA who starts it all, a Croatian wedding party, Albanians and an unseen drugrunner called Lagrange, and a litany of trade notes comparison of techniques, contacts and specialists between foes-turned-bros George and Brad. A real beggar’s banquet. Hope they don’t end up making more dumb movies like this at this stage of their careers - especially Brad Pitt who is putting out fantastic entertainments as in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Bullet Train. Looks Apple TV+ wants to pay with big timers for the sake of it and not for what their (and our) time is worth.