shelter (2010). directed by måns mårlind & björn stein

not bad. has an interesting plot and quite well directed. scary at some points. 

evil dead (2013). directed by fede alvarez.

i do not enjoy this at all. i do not like too much blood in my movies - so it was my brother's fault for recommending this movie. he has a thing for b grade stuff. enough said. 

to the wonder (2012). directed by terrence malick.

when watching malick, one has to have a frame of mind reserved only for watching terrence malick. 

because he doesn't care about making making movies the way we are all accustomed to. i think it is largely a matter of taste. i like moving pictures often employed in his films - my brother called it "the slideshow". it is effective to show loneliness and isolation, as often experienced by characters in malick's movies. 

relationships depicted in this movie seemed forced and full of burden. i don't know why it is like that. sure i understand both partners have to work on it - but to start something on a basis that is so fragile, and trying to sustain that love (?) is just as simple as not feeling anything anymore. at times i feel ben affleck character is so lazy. stop breaking people's heart with your face, man. 

mud (2012). directed by jeff nichols.

nichols and his insights of the people in the deep south. kampung people of the big USA. the adults are defeated, the children are full of romance and idealistic. this coming of age story is almost perfect. 

a royal affair (2012). directed by nikolaj arcel.

when it comes to using religion to establish the powers that be, that just sounds too eerily familiar. i mean this film is set in the 18th century, which makes me think that history is just a repeat of bad things that happened elsewhere right here at home.  

killing them softly (2012). directed by andrew dominik.

in a way it reminds me of the coen brothers' crime capers, in some ways not. it is a drama of how the crime economy works - the small guys, the junkies, those who hook them up, the middle men, the bosses. typical of bosses who wants things done without knowing exactly done, it is the middle men who are the kings of the road. 

be patient when watching this one. 

prisoners (2013). directed by denis villeneuve.

it is not everyday that you can see a helpless, so tough alpha male in the form of hugh jackman. this story is an american small town nightmare of missing children, and the realism it brings in portraying everybody involved has got to be one of its strongest points. the bereaved parents and their unending sadness, their need to do something even though it doesn't really bring anything good, the disintegrating family unit breaking under pressure, the small town cops trying to close the case despite their lack of resources. the lurking evil underneath the banal landscape of suburbia. everybody is stressed out and no one can keep it on their own. the story has a really good cast - hugh jackman and jake gyllenhaal in top form - gyllenhaal slightly over weight with a little tummy - a dilligent cop who doesn't get all the help that he should be but trying to solve the puzzle. 

in a way everybody is in some sort of prison - physically, mentally, emotionally - due to revenge, ambitions, disappointments. the human condition - can be a gloomy one.