in order of disappearance (2014). directed by hans petter moland.

last year i was on a frenzy to watch all things that i could lay my hands on stellan skarsgard. i have been a long time fan, and the interest was reignited when i watched river (2015) not netflix. of course, this also led to the discovery of hans petter moland, a norwegian director that has spark my passion for scandinavian movies.  

i am a fan of dark comedies. this is a story full of contrasts, the white snowy landscape where nothing moves which should not be mistaken for the dearth of life in the form of violent drug lords, clumsy small time crooks and a grieving father who just can't let go. 

do me a favour and skip liam neeson's frame by frame adaptation of this movie (title cold pursuit (2019)), and give this a watch instead. skipping hollywood once a in a while often feels like a breath of fresh air. 

velvet buzzsaw (2019). directed by dan gilroy.

i find this movie delicious. a lot of people on social media shared their distaste for it - that the film lacked structure, it's dull, that there is no climax - it seems like they don't like dark comedies. 

whether or not this film is well done, is another question altogether. 

to me, this film is rather straightforward. it is playful, like a lot of dark comedies, teasing us with the most unlikable people and in the most impossible situations. and in this case - the stuck up art community is put under the spotlight - gallery owners, art critiques, ambitious personal assistants who want to climb the ladder to fame and riches. these are not nice people, which makes us doubt if they like art at all. 

watch this if you are into dark comedies. 

glass (2019). directed by m. night shyamalan.

i think the movie could have been better. i love unbreakable (2000) which ranks among my favorite movies of all times. it's like a central story is missing, which makes the central characters less engaging. despite a repeat fine performance from james mcavoy, the message is not coming through. the fact that it needed to be spelled out to the audience at the end of the movie shows that the film could benefit from another round of thought process. with the current product, it feels like it rushed for production to sell tickets. 

i still think shyamalan could deliver a much more superior story than this.