To Catch a Thief (1955)
Little did I know I would be escaping into a romance novel with a sprinkle of mystery set in the idyllic Côte d’azur which most mesmerized me. If you’re expecting typical Hitchcroft, forget it for it’s a much lighter fare.

The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Not quite to the standard you expect from Studio Ghibli and it felt more like a last hurrah when I found myself noticing too many similarities between this and many of his previous works. It’s messy, it’s disjointed, it’s surrealistic, and it’s absurd; it’s Miyazaki turned up to 11 and seems to be made for the Miyazaki acolytes.

Plane (2023)
Plane promises the viewer will see Gerard Butler as a pilot forced to save his passengers in hostile situations alongside unlikely companions and it delivers precisely that.

My Blueberry Nights (2007)
Legendary director Wong Kar-Wai’s first foray into the western market and it is disappointing. Let me clarify, it’s not bad, yet it is knowing that it’s from WKW, like your straight-As student suddenly handing in a C. Everything seemingly felt contrived and I don’t know if it’s the language or the actors or both.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Superstars Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s style of composition is obvious in this operatic rock musical which is surprising given its shoestring budget as we are now accustomed to Buzzing blockbuster affairs in musicals like Wicked, Wonka, and even Joker 2. Despite it appearing as a college production at times, the Mystifying and energetic numbers and a dash of Hosanna ensures Everything’s Alright.

The Graduate (1967)
Watch this for its surprising cinematography, if you’re a fan of Simon & Garfunkel, and a specious glimpse of the 60s for its protagonist is anything but likable and its message is painfully dated.

Land of the Gods (Dev Bhoomi) (2016)
A simple story of the few days a man spends attempting to reconcile with his past set in the backdrops of the Himalayans and immersed in their Indic traditions.

Mayhem (2017)
Ignore the thin veneer of a premise and forget your logic and this movie succeeds in exactly being average on all fronts in this self-contained take of 28 Day’s rage virus.

Movies at the top of the list does not necessarily signify the top movie is a masterpiece while the bottom being a calamity, it simply means I enjoyed it more (or less) than the other movies of the week. Using a previous week’s review as a prime example, the gap between the best and worst movie of that week is <1 point on a 10 point scale.

The abomination that is Thor 4 at 3/5 while Deadpool 4 and GotG 3 at 2.5/5 are at odds with my scoring which calls into question how compatible his tastes are to mine.

Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
A symbiotic tale between Sidney Falco, a sycophantic press agent who will do anything short of murder to climb the “golden ladder” and J. J. Hunsecker, the powerful columnist who marionettes others in his machinations. There’s a lot to applaud from the cinematography to acting with special notice to its clever dialogue as it’s chock full of memorable lines (eg. “match me, Sidney”, “you’re a cookie full of arsenic”, etc.). An excellent example of film noir.

I Saw the TV Glow (2024)
A clearly divisive film as the friends I watched with did not enjoy it yet I did. One of their (many) criticisms was it should not have been labelled as “horror” to which I begrudgingly agreed as it’s not horror in the conventional sense. What it does beautifully is the 80s aesthetics coupled with its themes and allegories which can be interpreted in a myriad of ways so that where your mind is at that point in time will determine the enjoyability of this film.

The Last Duel (2021)
The unreliable narrator reigns in this Ridley Scott film reminiscent of Rashômon. The subtle retellings from one character to the next ensured the audience’s rapturous attention and despite it dragging in parts (a cut of 30-45min would be perfect) and the odd choice of speaking English in this medieval French setting, it was altogether enjoyable.

Piece by Piece (2024)
The entire movie is on how successful and wonderful and artistic Pharrell is through scenes of famous friends interviewed interspersed with his songs that sounds vaguely dissimilar. Yet another clichéd biopic that attempts to break the formula by using phantasmagoric Lego and fails as even the customary third plot point is woefully anemic. At least Lego visuals are still nice.

Movies at the top of the list does not necessarily signify the top movie being a masterpiece while the bottom is a calamity, it simply means I enjoyed it more (or less) than the other movies of the week. Using last week’s review as a prime example, the gap between the best and worst movie of that particular week is <1 point on a 10 point scale (low 7s - low-mid 6s).

Odd Thomas (2013)
A small town comes under threat and its native supernatural sleuth must save it. Although not ground-breaking in any sense, it has heart and is quite delightfully charming with its small town characters and setting with hopeful young love.

The Awakening (2011)
This period horror/thriller sends a professional skeptic into a haunted boarding house to unearth the truth behind hidden ghosts. Though it’s mostly formulaic horror, its capable protagonist and cinematography and atmosphere carries the film even if the ending is weak.

My Spy (2020)
I erroneously thought I had watched this before watching the sequel late last year as the premise sounds vaguely alike to every other family spy movie. I thoroughly did not enjoy the sequel but this original was (surprisingly) decent with enough action and laughs for little and big kids alike.

The Order (2024)
The Order takes a look at the white supremacist movements that are unfortunately still relevant in this day and age. It’s a solid film though hampered by its indecisiveness of wanting to be realistic in one scene while becoming pure dramatization in the next.

The Legend of Hei (2019)
If Flow wasn’t adorable enough for you, this film will surely fulfill that itch whilst incorporating more (traditional) story-telling elements. The artistic choice of melding classic and modernity was enjoyable though I wish it was more detailed during the finale. This is the latest “cat movie” I’ve watched in recent weeks and I unabashedly adore this the most.

Mickey 17 (2025)
Written and directed by Bong Joon Ho of Parasite fame, one can’t help but expect something greater than what Mickey 17 delivers. The premise is interesting and is suitably absurd but the great tragedy of it all is nothing is explored leading to missing profundity resulting in an average film.

Moana 2 (2024)
Moana 2 is everything you come to expect from Disney, a safe, family-friendly film in a familiar cookie-cutter mould that doesn’t enthral nor fully disappoints. Its mediocrity permeates throughout the entire movie including each of its musical numbers.

Venom: The Last Dance (2024)
I remember watching Venom and although average, it was fun and the humour between the symbiote and Hardy was there. The latest Venom has a quarter of the fun and the humour all fell flat. I do need to draw attention to Juno Temple as the constant bulging-eyed stare on her expressionless face was absolutely jarring every time her character was on screen.

That makes sense but it is prohibitively expensive at nearly $4,000USD which is more than double the price of every other foldable phone. None of the other ones are a trifold though.

Plus Huawei does not come with Google services preinstalled and requires additional steps to do so.

My friend actually has 2 (and 1 regular smartphone) and dailies the Galaxy Z Fold 6. She uses it for work and media consumption and loves it so much she’s mentioned wanting the Huawei Mate XT.

I see the appeal for people who wants/needs the screen real-estate but it isn’t required for regular users. Ultra/Pro models of phones being in a similar position of irrelevancy for people not obsessed with having the best camera.

Sing Street (2016)
A beautiful coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of 1980s Ireland and the eclectic soundtrack of the generation while paying homage to it with fun original tracks plus wardrobe to match. I wholeheartedly recommend this film to anyone especially those a fan of music and I might even prefer it over Once.

Magnolia (1999)
Separate seemingly unrelated stories runs parallel and lightly weaves together into this tapestry where the weather matches the pace. Everybody was wrenching in this drama-filled ensemble but Tom Cruise may have stolen the limelight with his portrayal of the chauvinistic grifter T. J. Mackey.

The Lodge (2019)
There are certain ubiquitous elements to horror that are missing - or misses the mark - so it did not properly resonate with me. However, I can envision why some may recommend the film and a cursory search seems to show such a divide.

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
“What a movie” is the best remark I could give to this film that would have worked better without its popular titular character. It manages to alienate fans from all camps with an ending that nullifies and it being a jukebox musical does not do it any favours. It is a sequel that did not need to be made and now sours the memory of Joker.

It’s using global numbers so it would actually be #4 after Ne Zha 2, Détective Chinatown 1900, and Captain America: Brave New World. It is #2 domestic though.

I haven’t! Would you recommend I watch it before Your Name?

I adored Perfect Days for those exact reasons yet Suzume’s attempts to pull at the heartstrings felt blatant and a little hollow and is why I chose the word “gratuitous”. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I entered without prior expectations of greatness or if I had a personal connection to the 2011 earthquake that so permeates throughout. Don’t get me wrong, the film to me was decent but the romance was shoehorned and it wasn’t cohesive enough to live up to the hype. I do intend to watch eventually Your Name as it’s widely believed to be his magnum opus and I would love to see a more compelling Suzume.

I can see how as it was almost so ridiculous and fun it could be a cult film but it missed the mark IMO. There’s no copyright on formats so by all means use it!

Dial M for Murder (1954)
This classic is full of twists and turns you see coming as 70+ years of film has invariably duplicated aspects of the classic yet still does not detract from the experience. Another timeless film from Hitchcock.

The Cutting Edge (1992)
Watching this movie was a stroke of serendipity. There is absolutely nothing original in this romantic comedy yet the chemistry between the leads are evident and their acting brings it to reality truly making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Suzume (2024)
This is sadly my first movie I’ve seen of Makoto Shinkai and I understand why he has a following. It is gorgeously animated and the gratuitous use of magic hour helped with the theme (and visuals). The story is simple and cute but too many unanswered questions and plot holes ensured it did not live up to its hype.

Doghouse (2009)
Reminiscent of Shaun of the Dead but unfortunately holds none of the wit and charm while carrying a misogynistic undertone. The comedic bits and their varied “zombies” made it watchable.

Terrified is on my (very long) watchlist so I now must also add When Evil Lurks.

Ne Zha 2 (2025)
The highest grossing movie you’ve never heard of. This was put on my radar from the other site and despite my reservations of seeing a foreign film in theatres (I know, it’s likely my Hollywood-centric roots), this is what a cinematic experience is as the last animated film I had this much fun was Into the Spider-Verse. It is beautifully animated and I felt every emotion without feeling forced (the woman next to me cried twice). A few scenes had odd pacing and some jokes were clearly lost in translation, but I am now waiting for the IMAX (re)release in the NA market.

Patton (1970)
The most feared general of Nazi Germany from the US, or so the movie claims. We now know this to be false but historical inaccuracies aside, this film holds up to the test of time and explores the man behind the impetuous but talented general in a rose-tinted biopic.

Flow (2024)
A cute story of society and survival featuring not just the internet’s favourite, a cat, but also includes a social media craze, the capybara. With Ne Zha 2 fresh on my mind, it might be unfair to compare its quality of animation as it only had 5% of its budget, but the animation was jarringly subpar at times as if it was an animated film from the 2000s. I do applaud the director’s choice in making it free of dialogue and keeping anthropomorphisizing to a minimum, the latter I would love to see more of.

Sri Asih (2022)
The second movie in Indonesia’s home-grown attempt at the MCU - DCEU as it’s essentially Wonder Woman? - is exactly as predictable and formulaic as you come to expect. Better than Wonder Woman 1984 at least.