Movies Graded

Director: Masaki Kobayashi Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita Runtime:   133  minutes Synopsis:  When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity. Verdict:  Considered a landmark in the Japanese jidaigeki genre legitimized by names such as Kihachi Okamoto or, more notoriously, Akira Kurosawa, Masaki Kobayashi’s “Harakiri” is a compelling 2-hour long watch that, instead of glorifying the Samurai code as many others do, questions its ethics and morals. Set during a time when desperate rōnins used to knock on the doors of palaces to request committing seppuku (or hara-kiri), a traditional suicide ritual, in their courtyards with the hopes that their masters would take pity on them and send them away with a few coins, the film tells the story of Hanshirō Tsugumo, the latest rogue s...

Director: Thomas Vinterberg Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp Runtime:   115  minutes Synopsis:  A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie. Verdict:  Is it safer to assume that an innocent person is guilty or to assume that a guilty person is innocent? Nearly a decade after its release, Thomas Vinterberg’s “Jagten” still haunts me to my core. The Oscar-nominated Danish film takes a powerful look at the destructive consequences on the livelihood of a kindergarten teacher wrongfully accused of inappropriate behavior around children. In a time where many careers are destroyed due to accusations made on social media, watching it nowadays feels more relevant than ever as it tackles a very sensitive topic that is only dividing our society further. And thi...

Stars: Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell Synopsis:  Following the events of 'Avengers: Endgame,' Sam Wilson/Falcon and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities -- and their patience. Verdict: You just know it's a Marvel project when a little blood on a shield comes as a surprise to a lot of people for being "too gruesome compared to the rest of the universe". I'm just kidding (or am I?), but that was a little funny moment that pretty much summed up my whole experience with the show: it's yet another painfully average Marvel piece of media that knows how to generate hype on the short term but that won't be talked about anymore in a month's time (is anyone still talking about "WandaVision"?). That is not to say that I didn't enjoy a few aspects of it, because I did find its tone to be more appropriate than the other Disney+ show that preceded it. It was as if the creative minds beh...

Director: Chantal Akerman Stars: Delphine Seyrig, Jan Dacorte Runtime:   202  minutes Synopsis:  A lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores, takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. However, something happens that changes her safe routine. Verdict:  On paper, “Jeanne Dielman” sounds like a cinephile’s worst nightmare. It’s a three and a half hours long feature entirely captured using a static camera, a multitude of long shots, minimal cuts, no musical score, and no proper narrative. It’s almost as if legendary Belgian director Chantal Akerman approached a random middle-aged woman on the streets and asked for her permission to record her life over the following three days. For 200 minutes, we passively watch the titular character - a widower who occasionally provides sexual favors for a limited number of clients to make ends meet for her and her teenage son - cook, clean her belongings, g...

Director: Lee Chang-dong Stars: Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, Jun Jong-seo Runtime:   148  minutes Synopsis:  Jong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby. Verdict:  From the fiery mind of renowned filmmaker Lee Chang-dong comes “Burning”, my personal favorite movie of 2018 and one that is best known for being the first South Korean submission to make the Oscars’ shortlist for Best International picture, paving the way for a “Parasite” raffle the following year. Clocking at two and a half hours and running at a snail’s pace, the film will test the patience of many of its audience, rewarding only those brave enough to look past its gorgeous-looking surface. The plot jumps between genre as it follows an awkward Jong-su rekindle with Hae-mi, a free-spirited young woman and childhood friend of ...

Director: Masaki Kobayashi Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Tamao Nakamura Runtime:   190   minutes Synopsis:  His ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival. Verdict:  Kaji's arc comes to a close in a harrowing way in the final two parts of what I firmly consider now to be one of the greatest trilogies of all time. His contributions at a labor camp and later on the battlefield have made him a shadow of what he once was. Only his love for Michiko and his socialist beliefs remain from the pacifist we've grown to admire in the first chapter of his story. He has become a product of the atrocities of war, a changed man who has to live with the burden of having killed soldiers who were thrown in situations similar to his. His psychologic journey resembles that of Dante in the Divine Comedy, where Virgil, representing conflict in his case, guides him from heaven (No Greater Lo...

Director: Masaki Kobayashi Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Kokinji Katsura Runtime:   181  minutes Synopsis:  As a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals. Verdict:  Since "Road to Eternity" is a direct continuation of "No Greater Love", there will be spoilers for its predecessor in this piece, so I advise you to click away if you still haven't seen it. Following the events of the first chapter in the "Human Condition" trilogy, Kaji, a pacifist whose ideals are tested during the final years of the Second World War, finds himself in the place he was most dreading: a training camp where he has to undergo his military service. His wife isn't there to comfort him, and he's treated miserably due to his sympathy towards Chinese prisoners, but that doesn't keep him from maintaining his anti-war philosophy alive. There, his biggest fears are materialized as he witnes...