Sacred Celluloid

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History Without Sugarcoating

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), directed by Shaka King, is a film that's loud, charged and hits you in all the right places. This is the story of Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and William O'Neal, the FBI informant paid to infiltrate and ultimately topple his empire. This is one of those morally gray films. Even though you have a spineless FBI informant, betraying his people for his own interests, you can't exactly side with the 'revolutionaries' either. The Black Panther Party is one filled with corruption, abuse and torture and we see it on full display. We're not watching history from a rosy, safe distance, it is as real as it gets. Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton delivers a career defining, one of the most passionate in decades. He does not play Hampton as a saint or a symbol. He plays him as a man, a brilliant, funny and deeply human man, which makes his role all the more devastating. As the title states, this is a story about betrayal and about a government who will do anything to get their control over the people back. That fact alone makes this a furious watch.

source: imdb.com

All Departments Firing at Maximum:

Shaka King directs this film with a confidence and a command that is remarkable for a relatively young filmmaker. Sean Bobbitt's cinematography is gritty and immersive, pulling you into the streets of late 1960s Chicago. We can see an intimacy in the frames that feels almost documentary in its texture. Now, the score, it's marvelous. Nothing struck me harder than the soundtrack for this film. It is surprising, it makes itself known, it's not subtle at all. Mark Isham and Craig Harris composed a masterpiece that draws deeply from the soul and jazz traditions of the era, giving the film this constant undercurrent of both beauty and improvised chaos. Lakeith Stanfield as William O'Neal is as nervous as ever. He's done great in those kinds of roles before and he does so again. He shines as the weakling who you can't be mad at for being the weakling. He plays a man trapped between survival and conscience and he makes you feel every inch of that tension without ever asking for your sympathy, but earning it every time nonetheless. Jesse Plemons as FBI Agent Roy Mitchell brings bureaucratic heartlessness to his role that makes it one of the most frightening of his career.

A Story Just As Relevant Tomorrow:

Judas and the Black Messiah is not a film you enjoy in the traditional sense. It is a film you experience and then carry around with you. Fred Hampton was building something real and meaningful and the people in power were so afraid of it that they burned it down while he slept. Kaluuya took home a richly deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance, though the category placement remains one of the stranger decisions in recent awards history given that he is unambiguously the lead of the film. This movie will grow in stature with every passing year. As long as the conversations it is about remain unresolved, and they will for a long time, this film will always have something urgent and necessary to say. Shaka King announced himself here as one of the most important voices in American cinema and the industry needs to give him everything he asks for next.

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The Most Rebellious Film of the Decade

'The Trial of the Chicago 7' (2020), written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, is a film that will make your blood boil, agitate you, internally scream for justice. Based on the real trial that followed the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests in Chicago, it follows seven men charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot against a government that had already decided their verdict before the trial began. Aaron Sorkin is one of the sharpest writers in all of cinema. From 'A Few Good Men' to his Academy Award winning script of 'The Social Network', he's an absolute inspiration to screenwriters across the globe (including me). Every scene crackles with this electric, barely contained fury with the most diehard revolutionaries and the snappy interactions they have with each other. This is a courtroom drama that understands that the courtroom is not where the real fight is happening. The real fight is about who gets to control the story and alter history to make themselves look good. It's a feral, biting social commentary piece, more politically relevant than anything else in Sorkin's filmography.

source: imdb.com

Sorkin Conducting an Orchestra:

The casting director is a freaking genius because the roster assembled here is such an oddball-esque selection, and I love it. Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Mark Rylance are all operating at peak but it is Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman who completely steals the show. Who knew this comedian had serious acting chops? He is unbelievably charming, witty and contains unexpected emotional depth like any one of a kind revolutionary. It reframes everything you thought you knew about him as a performer. Mark Rylance as defense attorney William Kunstler brings this quiet fury every scene with his calculated character. Phedon Papamichael's cinematography moves with this urgent, restless energy that mirrors a bloody good Tarantino film with the twists of the courtroom. Alan Baumgarten's editing is relentless, cutting between the courtroom and the protest footage with a rhythm that builds crazy tension. It takes inspiration from the law dramas before it and maybe there's some Safdie sprinkled in there too. The non-linear structure that Sorkin employs here is used beautifully to give us so much by refusing to give it all at once.

Democracy Doesn't Back Down:

What is remarkable about The Trial of the Chicago 7 is how little it feels like a period piece. Sorkin has made a history lesson with immense style in his cutthroat nature. He is still very much in his golden years as a writer-director. The relationship between state power, protest, race and justice hits hard in our times just as it was in 1968 and the confidence in the filmmaking shows that they're very aware. It received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The final scene of this film rivals any law drama conclusion, including "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH" which was of course by Sorkin himself. It will give you chills the first time and goosebumps on every other watch. Aaron Sorkin made something here that is more urgent and rebellious than any film coming out today with the same subject matter. It deserves to be spoken about in those terms without apology and I'm sure that's exactly what'll be achieved soon.

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A Bittersweet Glimpse of Ireland

Martin McDonagh's latest film, The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) asks a question so simple and so quietly horrifying that it lodges itself in your brain and refuses to leave. What do you do when someone who was your best friend decides, without warning, that they just don't want to know you anymore? They don't want anything to do with you simply because they woke up that day and thought you were a minor, cancerous piece in their life. That is the entire film. Colm just doesn't want to be friends with Pádraic anymore. No betrayal. No dramatic falling out. He just decides one day that life is short and Pádraic is dull and that's that. It sounds almost comedic and it frequently is (like any solid Martin film), but he lets that premise curdle into something genuinely dark and deeply human at a pace that feels completely effortless. This is simple observation turning into a full blown idea at the highest level. This film has no business being so interesting despite this practically schoolboy premise. Few writers have that talent, to invite you into their epic slice of life.

source: imdb.com

Two Men and an Island:

Colin Farrell has upped his performances, one over the other for decades now. What he does with Pádraic is incredibly subtle and incredibly brave. He plays a man whose entire identity is built around being liked and being kind (in his words), and watching that identity collapse in real time is genuinely sad. Pádraic is just so vulnerable as a person and we see that anxiousness on full display. Brendan Gleeson as Colm is equally extraordinary, somehow making a man doing something cruel feel completely understandable and even sympathetic. We're fed with two viewpoints and as an audience member, you really can't decide whose side you'd be on. The island of Inisherin itself functions as a third character. Ben Davis shoots this landscape in a way that makes it feel simultaneously stunning and suffocating, this tiny windswept rock where there is nowhere to hide and nothing to do but sit with your own misery. Long empty roads with nobody to distract you from that horrible voice in your head. Carter Burwell's score is mournful and sparse in a way that perfectly mirrors the bleakness of the island setting without ever overpowering a scene.

The Small Situations Stay With Us:

This movie hit like all other McDonagh films. I was amazed at the scale and consequence presented in this tiny package of daily life. A small Irish film about two men having a falling out on a tiny island somehow ended up with eight Academy Award nominations and became one of the most talked about films of its year. What McDonagh tapped into is something seldom explored. The specific and strange pain of losing someone who is still alive and simply chose to walk away. It is so open to interpretation when it comes to its morality. Some people watch it and see themselves as Pádraic. Others finish it and sit in uncomfortable silence because they recognise themselves in Colm. That split is exactly what makes it a masterpiece. No grandiosity, but absolutely enormous in what it leaves you with.

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A Farewell to the Gangster Era

The Irishman (2019), directed by Martin Scorsese, is a film that only someone who has spent an entire lifetime pioneering a genre could possibly make. This three and a half hour epic is about time, regret and the absolute hollowness of a life built on violence and loyalty to people who never deserved it. Robert De Niro plays Frank Sheeran, a truck driver turned mob hitman who ends up being part of the biggest mysteries in American History. Alongside him are Joe Pesci, returning from a near decade long retirement, and Al Pacino stepping into the Scorsese universe for the very first time (shocking). The fact that this cast exists in the same film together already tells us that we're in for a legacy film, one for the ages no matter how stacked your filmography might be. These are old masters operating at the absolute peak of their craft and the result is a fantastic take on one of the great American stories.

source: imdb.com

Techy Senseis:

The de-aging technology used in this film was genuinely revolutionary in the industry. New software was straight up invented for the CGI used in the main characters. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is patient and measured in a way that perfectly mirrors the film's meditation on mortality. It doesn't have that signature Scorsese flashiness because this isn't a flashy film. It's a conclusion to a lifetime of consistently creating the best media in a field. This does not look or feel like a Netflix production, it looks like a film that belongs in the same breath as Goodfellas and Casino. The editing by Thelma Schoonmaker, Scorsese's longtime collaborator, is masterful in the way it controls time across this enormous runtime. The film never once feels slow, Steven Zaillian's script is hilarious, witty and bloody entertaining. The score and needle drops are used with precision and love for the source material, shaping incredible cinematic moments. Scorsese assembles every technical element here with the confidence of someone who has nothing left to prove.

A Swan Song for Gangster Cinema:

This is not a film that glorifies its world the way younger directors might or even how Scorsese has before. We get a glimpse of that life and he shows you the benefits and the drawbacks. There are numerous conundruns presented like "Yeah you'll be rich and powerful but your daughter might never talk to you again". The final act of this film is a quietly devastating stretch of cinema. A 40 minute conclusion that rightfully destroys the people who cheated life way too much. That ultimate conclusion of punishment sticks with you. It received ten Academy Award nominations and won none, classic treatment for Scorses his whole career but, oh well. The Irishman does not need awards to validate what it is. This is Scorsese's final word on the world that made him famous and it is as mournful as cinema gets. A man forced to face the looming thought of death can either succumb to the sadness or understand that coming danger instead and make something out of it. It still shows that Martin is just as happy with what he's doing now and I believe that'll translate to a far longer and fruitful life. Can't wait to watch his new horror movie.

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No Filter, All Killer, No Filler

Marriage Story (2019), written and directed by Noah Baumbach, is a film that will quietly destroy and scar you. This is a divorce film masquerading as a love story, or maybe a love story masquerading as a divorce film. Either way it is one of the most emotionally precise portrayals of people trying to separate without ruining themselves emotionally, financially and the kid they have between them. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson play Charlie and Nicole, two people who clearly still love each other deeply and are somehow still tearing each other apart anyway. That contradiction is exactly what makes this film so unbearably real. It doesn't make perfect sense, these people are not running on clear logic. But instead of yelling "why would you do that?" at the screen, we understand their destructive decisions and hope they recover from them. Baumbach draws from what is clearly a deeply personal place and the result is a screenplay so sharp and so honest that it almost feels intrusive to watch. There is no villain here. That is what hurts the most.

source: imdb.com

Leaving a Melancholic Mark:

Adam Driver is a fantastic actor but he clearly put so much of his creative fuel on this one. The range he covers across this runtime is just so symbolic of his care and passion. Scarlett Johansson delivers her most ambitious performance as well and matches Adam at every beat, forcing him to try and match her genius. There is a scene in an apartment where they finally say everything they have been holding back for the entire film and it is one of the most uncomfortable and brilliant scenes in modern cinema history. Randy Newman's score is melancholic in a way that never overplays the emotion.

Understanding People at their Most Vulnerable:

What separates Marriage Story from every other film in its genre is that it never takes sides and it never loses its love for both of these people even as they wound each other. It is a film that understands human beings at their most complicated and most contradictory. It received six Academy Award nominations and Laura Dern took home Best Supporting Actress, completely deserved. But the film itself is bigger than any award. This is the kind of movie that people watch at specific moments in their lives and it means something completely different each time. It will be watched by couples, by divorcees, by people who have never been in love, and it will wreck all of them equally. We will either understand it, relate to it or be completely terrified by what the complicated concept of love has in store for us. Noah Baumbach made something genuinely timeless here and it sits comfortably among the finest films of the 21st century.

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A Match Within at Lightning Speed

Marty Supreme (2025), directed by Josh Safdie in his first solo feature in over a decade, is an electric power trip. Fast, to the point and bloody interesting. Loosely based on real life table tennis champion Marty Reisman, it follows Marty Mauser, a young New Yorker with a dream nobody respects, as he goes to hell and back pursuing greatness on the international ping pong circuit. In this epic character study, we see the embodiment of unshakable ambition and how they interact with the world around them. In practice it is one of the most intoxicating and propulsive films in recent memory. Timothée Chalamet has never been better. He plays Marty as this permanently agitated, deeply selfish, endlessly watchable tornado of a human being. It's just so entertaining and fascinating to see a human behave that way. Much like Challengers before it, this is a sports film that has absolutely nothing to do with sport and everything to do with obsession, ego and the wreckage ambition leaves behind.

source: imdb.com

Athletes and Artists at the Highest Level:

Darius Khondji shot the film mostly on 35mm using vintage lenses to recreate the atmosphere of 1950s New York and the results are just stunning. Every frame feels lived in and textured. Daniel Lopatin's score paired with an eclectic soundtrack of 1980s synth music including bands like Tears for Fears and New Order of all people, playing against a 1950s setting is a daring and brilliant creative decision. The supporting cast is this wonderfully bizarre collection of actors and non-actors. Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler the Creator, Kevin O'Leary and Fran Drescher all bring that same flawed eye candy to the screen. This is Safdie operating at the peak of his powers and the film has that unmistakable quality of a director completely in control of his own singular vision.

A Night at the Oscars That Changes Nothing:

Despite nine Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, Marty Supreme walked away empty handed on Oscar night. It is a snub that will be talked about for a long time, not unlike what happened with Challengers. But this film didn't need the Oscars for publicity. It grossed over 179 million dollars worldwide, making it the highest grossing A24 film of all time, and that word of mouth is not slowing down. This film is going to live on the internet for a while and then transition onto the next big medium among the coming generations. People are going to be pushing it on their friends for years. Much like Uncut Gems before it, the Academy's indifference only adds to its tale. Josh Safdie has announced his solo era with a statement that is impossible to ignore and Chalamet has delivered the definitive performance of his lifetime. That is more than enough.

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Nolan's Still Got It

There were few movies that I was excited for as much as Oppenheimer (2023). I avoided every trailer like the plague and analysed Nolan's previous works just to make predictions on how good this one would be. I've been following his work since my early teens so of course my expectations were high and he still somehow blew me away. When I left the theatre in tears despite not really having a reason, I knew this one was special. The title doesn't lie, Oppenheimer is about the man himself, the infamous bombs act as more of a piece of his life story. Since Robert Oppenheimer had one of the most eventful lives in human history, the film reflects that perfectly. This is a 3 hour biopic that wastes no second in its runtime. It feels like 9 hours of footage being condensed into this smaller package and you just get so much out of it. A 3 hour, dialogue heavy, non-linear biopic about the father of the atomic bomb somehow became the highest grossing non-franchise film in years and that is entirely down to the sheer gravitational pull of Nolan's reputation and vision.

source: imdb.com

Controlled Chaos:

Cillian Murphy, after years of being one of cinema's most reliable supporting actors, finally gets the lead role he deserved. His Oscar was no surprise to me. His portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer is deeply internal and flawed just like the main man himself. The ensemble surrounding him, Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and an endless roster of recognisable faces, all show up and deliver at the highest level, because well, it's Nolan. Ludwig Göransson's score is one of his most unique. It builds with this relentless, almost mechanical urgency that mirrors the moral spiral at the centre of the story perfectly. Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is so creative, there are frames in this film so enormous and overwhelming. Despite its grandiosity, the practical effects all tell us more about Oppenheimer's emotional state.

A Film That Brought Back Oscar Worthy Cinema:

I believe Seth Rogan said it best. The entire movie industry can be changed in one day, and that's exactly what the crew did with this film. THe industry is far better for having Oppenheimer in it. We have seen a shift to big budget incredible films since it was released. What elevates Oppenheimer beyond pure spectacle is that it is ultimately a film about consequence and the unbearable weight of genius. Nolan poses a question he never fully answers and that's exactly the point. Was this man a hero, a villain or simply a force of nature that history required? That moral ambiguity is what will keep people coming back to this film for generations. It swept the Oscars, taking home Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor among others, and for once the Academy got it completely right. This is Nolan's masterpiece and a genuine landmark in blockbuster filmmaking.

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#oppenheimer #christophernolan #cillianmurphy #robertdowneyjr #emilyblunt #imax #oscars #movies #films #ludwiggoransson #hoytevanhyotema #bestpicture #classic

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The Scariest Film of the 21st Century

Hereditary (2018), directed by Ari Aster in his feature film debut, is the kind of film that makes you genuinely angry that you'll never have that first watch again. What makes that even more remarkable is that this is a first film. A debut. Ari Aster walked into the indie Hollywood scene and immediately made one of the most terrifying and technically accomplished horror films ever put to screen. It follows the Graham family as they begin to unravel following the death of their deeply secretive grandmother. What starts as a grief drama slowly, horrifyingly, reveals itself to be something far darker and more sinister than you could ever prepare yourself for. This film portrays the truest sense of the word horror. He lets the tension build and build until you genuinely cannot take it anymore, and then he does something even worse than what you were expecting.

Grief as a Weapon:

What separates Hereditary from every other horror film in its era is that the horror is rooted entirely in real, devastating human emotion like loss and secretive resentment. The kind of family issues that mess you up for life. Toni Collette gives the performance of a lifetime. The range she displays in this movie is just absurd. Alex Wolff matches her at every turn, carrying the film's traumatic moments, so well that it's hard to watch. The horror in this film hits so much harder because you actually care about these people before Aster starts destroying them brutally. Pawel Pogorzelski's cinematography is doing something special here. The way the camera moves through the Graham household is deliberate and suffocating. It reinforces the film's theme of these characters being trapped, like tiny figures in a dollhouse with no control over their fate (If you know, you know). Colin Stetson's score is a perfect anxiety inducer. It never lets you breathe. The sound design works hand in hand with it to keep you in a permanent state of dread and worry.

source: imdb.com

Haunting Generations in Style:

This movie has already cemented itself as the definitive horror film of its decade. You can already trace its influence through everything that came after it. Even Ari takes back certain details from the film and employed it in his later projects. It gave A24 the horror credibility that they still carry to this day. Much like The Exorcist before it, Hereditary is the kind of film that gets passed around in hushed tones. Someone always knows someone who watched it and couldn't stop thinking about it for a week. That word of mouth legacy is what keeps a horror film truly alive. Ari will wreck the brains of generations of teenagers to come. Ari Aster announced himself to the world with a statement so freaking loud. No filmmaker wouldn't be jealous of how incredibly talented he is despite being so young when the film came out. I've been following Ari's films for a while now, his next few features were just as interesting and I think there's far more to come.

For more information, visit my Instagram Profile alexander_.philip

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An Architectural Marvel

The Brutalist, directed by Brady Corbet in 2024 is a 4 hour epic of film. There is nothing you can say to dispute the fact that this is a passion project of the highest regard. With a budget of just 10 million dollars, being completely shot on film and also within a very short timespan, this movie has dedication in every aspect. Adrien Brody and his co-stars give the performance of a lifetime in this film, every scene is just elevated with their transformations into these flawed characters. The Brutalist is about a visionary architect who flees post-war Europe in 1947 to establish a place for himself with the American Dream. We see his ups and very low downs along this character study piece. This movie is shocking, hilarious, sweet, inspiring and tragic all at the same time while maintaining its sense of purpose completely.

 source: imdb.com

Masterpiece of the Spatial Sense:

This movie looks incredible. The sense of environment that Brady Corbet has works so well for this film. There are such unique approaches to capturing the landscape around the architectural marvel that is worked on through the story of this film. Adrien Brody adopts his character completely. This film is completely centered around the main character and he is in pretty much every scene. He brings a feeling of innocence and sympathy to a person who otherwise lives a troubled life who gets himself into terrible situations. Lol Crawley showcases his experienced knack for lighting as the cinematographer. The 70mm gives the visuals such a rustic look suitable for the time period The Brutalist is set in. Daniel Blumberg reportedly did the whole score with a live orchestra as they saw the film playing in front of them, with big chunks of it being memorised. The soundtrack is not only grand but it caters to the main character’s personal innocence in his mad surroundings. Brady truly assembled a team of artists of the highest caliber.

As Memorable as a Good Building:

Just like Laszlo's architectural works, this movie will withstand the test of time. It’s an integral piece in a growing filmography for a young director like Brady Corbet who I’m sure will go on to do great things just like he has here. The film was awarded 3 Oscars out of a whopping 10 nominations. This film is just so rich and gives the viewer so much to think about. No matter how unfamiliar you are with Jewish culture, there will always be something new for one to learn with a repeated viewing. It feels nothing like its 4 hour runtime and honestly you might find yourself wishing it was longer. This is an achievement in filmmaking that’ll taught in classrooms as an important history lesson. It proves that with a regular budget, you can have zero compromises and still deliver a masterpiece if you’re just that passionate about what you’re doing. I’m dying to see what this seasoned cast and crew do next.

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A Freaky Feminist Trip

Poor Things (2023) completely caught me off guard in the best way. Yorgos Lanthimos crafted this bizarre tale around Emma Stone's unstoppable performance, turning a Frankenstein-inspired story into the a liberating journey. It's about Bella Baxter, revived with a baby's brain in an adult body, who sets off on a transformative adventure across continents on her voyage to self-discovery. —it's mesmerizing and had me hooked from start to finish. Lanthimos is a master of the genre that he brought to the mainstream. 'Greek Weird Wave' is a category of film seldom seen, but when Lanthimos is releasing a new film, you know it's gonna be a fun trip with something you never think you'd enjoy watching.

Abnormal with a Side of Filmmaking Genius Lanthimos nails the surreal vibe with those signature wide-angle lenses and fantastical sets that feel like a dream from another era. The skies created with visual effects have this cotton candy texture to it that add to the whimsical nature of this film. Stone brings such raw joy and discovery to Bella, perfectly complemented by Mark Ruffalo's over-the-top suitor and Willem Dafoe's unforgettable mad scientist performance. The score by Jerskin Fendrix weaves these quirky strings and brass that mirror her growth so well, while the editing serves the humour of this incredible adapted script so well. The source material for this movie which is the book, is understood by the filmmakers here perfectly. Whatever strange way you imagined the book while picturing it, I assure you, this is weirder, and that's awesome.

Source: imdb.com

This'll be in our Heads for a Long Time: That signature Yorgos style filmmaking is all over this thing. The slow zoom ins and outs, the freaky dialogue and characters, the strong social commentary that somehow exists behind bizarre scenes. Poor Things dives into self-discovery, freedom, and challenging conventions with this perfect mix of whimsy and wisdom that feels timeless. It earned Oscars for Production Design, Score, and Costumes, and you can already see its influence on bold storytelling in the years after. This is truly Yorgos at his best and I believe it sits as an incredible crown jewel for one of the strongest filmographies of the 21st Century. Much like The Favourite, it'll be the film that sparks endless discussions in film forums, social media and late-night chats with the poor friends you roped into watching it, proving Lanthimos' genius for making the strange feel essential. This was my first my first introduction to Lanthimos and he has now turned into one of my favourite directors. I'll surely keep coming back to this thing and I'm sure anyone else would too. For more information, visit my Instagram Profile alexander_.philip

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Deviancy has Never Looked this Cool

Challengers surprised me, it truly did. Luda Guadagnino as director chose Justin Duritzkes, a newcomer's script to make a tennis film. Challengers is perhaps the most energetic film of the 2020's. I cannot imagine a more cocaine-fueled experience off the top of my head and that's hilarious, because there's no cocaine in this movie. Challengers is a sports/romance film about a crazy love triangle between two best friends and a girl who they end up fighting over. Instead of just being a tiny love spat, this fight over the girl lasts for over a decade, breaking their friendship in half. The characters, played by Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor and Zendaya, are all so messed up and selfish in the most entertaining fashion possible. The characters are really the core strength of this film. You just can't look away from them. The interactions between them are so electric, unpredictable and fun. It's impossible to stop watching this movie in the middle, you just have to finish it.

source: imdb.com

Firing on all Cylinders in Every Aspect: I believe this movie has a point, where it shows the viewer that this is something special. That point, is when the musical score kicks in. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have always been one of my favorite score composers. I truly think this is their best work yet. My smile would not fall off my face one I heard their unique house music blend as a musical score. On paper, that makes absolutely no sense but you need to see how it works in this movie. It's just incredible and it'll stay in your head forever. There are multiple tennis matches in this film, each are filmed in a different way. The style of filmmaking in each match brilliantly serves the story on a subconscious level. There is a very distinct colour palette that I think works really well for the story, the pacing is at lightning speed, this movie is 2 hours long but it feels like 30 minutes. Another thing that really stands out is the incredible editing. The way the scenes are put together in its expert non-linear structure just tells us the story in the best way possible. It keeps you guessing and you just cannot possibly predict what happens next. A Major Snub that Will be Remembered for a While: This film somehow got zero academy award nominations. Normally that'd mean that the movie wouldn't get the after-release publicity that it deserves but that's okay because there are loads of people on the internet (like myself) who just can't stop praising this film. I talk about it all the time with friends and when I had just seen it, I recommended it to almost every film lover I know. That is how this movie will stay relevant, it'll be an internet classic. I'm so glad Luca Guadagnino decided to be adventurous with this one, it's truly an achievement in filmmaking in my eyes and as if 'Call Me By Your Name' wasn't enough, he really topped it with this one.

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Emotionally Scarring... In a Good Way

Coralie Fargeat's latest film 'The Substance' was an insane move on all fronts. A movie that wishes to bring back body horror should in no way do as well as this works. This movie, is absolutely bonkers and to this day I can't believe how memorable its absurdity is. The movie follows a middle-aged, has-been actress (played by Demi Moore) who's losing her place in the industry due to the cruel reality of aging. She ends up finding a service that allows the human body to create a younger duplicate of itself. The duplicate that is created (played by Margaret Qualley) looks far more pleasing and beautiful to the public eye. She's able to regain her success and rise to the top once again. As the story progresses, we are met with waves of weird occurrences that at one point don't feel weird anymore, but just downright horrifying.

source: imdb.com

Being Glued to the Horror: First of all, the look of this film is incredible. It's extremely visceral with high curvature on the lenses, a very David Lynch move. The highly contrasting colours give it that futuristic environment that we know and love from an excellent sci-fi movie. This movie wears its influences on its sleeve. Coralie Fargeat herself stated that there's no writing L.A. without studying Mulholland Drive. Other than having that Lynchian-esque world building, Cronenberg is all over this film. His signature body horror prowess that was so entertaining that it entered the mainstream is exactly what is achieved here. It takes a genre that is barely seen in the public eye and makes it so addictive and endearing that anyone with a love for horror would enjoy this feature film. The way this film was advertised, with its understated confidence brought loads of people to theatres. The sound design is hilarious. Dennis Quaid's character is sometimes seen eating food and the audio just makes it sound like he's munching in your ear. It contributes to the weirdness of the film and really shows what you're soon to be in for.

Our Most Disgusting Classic Yet: This film proves that you don't need massive blockbuster movie budgets to make money. The Substance had a budget of around 17.5 million dollars, and it made 80 million overall in the box office. That's a massive win for an independent filmmaker like Fargeat. Due to how unique this movie is, nobody expected it to be award nominated but I'm so glad we were wrong. It got 5 Academy Award nominations, including a win in Makeup and Hairstyling, well deserved! It also did well in other award ceremonies and now everyone who was involved in this passion project now has a good reputation in the industry. I believe this film will be a classic that will also act as a coming-of-age milestone. Just like 'The Exorcist' and 'The Shining', teenagers will find the The Substance, freak out and tell their friends about it. This cycle will repeat for decades to come. If you're bored of the horror nowadays and think the glory days are over, then you're absolutely wrong and check this monster out.

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A Multiversal Powerhouse

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) is a film written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. What started as a bizarre indie science-fiction project quickly evolved into an Oscar sweeper. This movie felt like an absolute lightning strike. It was chaotic, emotional, hilarious, and unexpectedly profound all at once. Led by a career-defining performance from Michelle Yeoh, the film follows Evelyn Wang, a struggling laundromat owner who discovers she must connect with alternate versions of herself across the multiverse to save reality. The film dominated awards season and went on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with several others.

The Nature of Everything Everywhere All at Once: At its core, the film is not really about the idea of a multiverse. It’s about family, regret, generational trauma, and the crushing regret of unrealized dreams. Every universe explored in the film reflects a version of the protagonist shaped by a different decision at some point in her infinite timelines. The film moves from absurd comedy to devastating emotional depth in seconds. One moment you’re laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of a scene, and the next you’re confronted with existential dread and nihilism. The film’s humor is outrageous, but its messages are beautifully sincere.

source: imdb.com

Why it Will Be a Classic: When thinking about modern movies destined to become classics, Everything Everywhere All at Once feels inevitable. It perfectly captures the spirit of overstimulation, and existential anxiety. Beyond its themes, the film represents a shift in mainstream cinema. It proved that bold, original storytelling can still succeed on a massive scale. Its influence is already visible in contemporary filmmaking, particularly in how directors blend genres and embrace emotional sincerity alongside spectacle. It’s endlessly rewatchable. Each viewing reveals new details, new emotional beats, and new interpretations. I am certain that years from now, this film will likely be studied not just for its creativity but for its cultural impact

For more information, visit my Instagram Profile alexander_.philip

[sacredcelluloid]

A Korean Culture Shock

Parasite (2019) is a film written and directed by Bong Joon Ho. His 7th film was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. Being the first international movie to win Best Picture at the Oscars, Parasite quickly transitioned from arthouse director project to a household name. Everyone who watched the movie simply raved on and on about it. I’d say it deserved all the praise it received and more. It’s truly a one of a kind film.

The Nature of Parasite:

It was celebrated as an excellent commentary piece on classism and the way the lower class has to hustle just to make something of themselves. Every character is practically a psychopath of varying degrees. They’re wildly interesting and hard to take your eyes away from. Usually one would assume that an obscure Korean film that swept award shows is a boring artsy undertaking for niche audiences. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Parasite has one of the most entertaining plots in film history, one that everyone should experience for themselves without knowing anything beforehand. Not only is it a biting commentary piece, the movie is absolutely hilarious. Bong Joon Ho has showcased his ability to make you laugh in the most gruesome of situations, but that skill is on full display here. Every scene in this film is so memorable, it’ll practically get embossed into your memory.

Source: imdb.com

Why it Will be a Classic:

When I try to think of a movie in recent times that will turn into a classic. Parasite is close to the top of my list. The movie has aged beautifully, it’s commentary is relevant to this day and you can see it’s influence live though cinema. It brought Korean cinema into the mainstream light after the industry's previous boundary pusher Oldboy 2003, a film that had similar cultural status but not at the magnitude of Parasite. I believe this film will be studied for a century, it’s influence still breathes through the industry and I can’t wait to see what incredible films it can be an inspiration to.

For more information, visit my Instagram Profile alexander_.philip

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Sacred Celluloid

2025’s Undeniable Classic in the Making:

One Battle After Another is the latest addition in Paul Thomas Anderson’s extensive and critically acclaimed filmography. His 10th and first big budget project is no different. Just a few months after release, it is widely being regarded as one of the best films of the decade and a fantastic boundary pusher for the rest of cinema. Despite being more commercial than his previous arthouse films, he is able to offer the mainstream audience a new experience and keep them hooked simultaneously.

What’s so Great About It:

There is love and care in every corner of this movie. The cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Infiniti Chase, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and co. deliver themselves incredibly. The score by Jonny Greenwood is offbeat, weird but grand and intense at the same time. The cinematography is mature and minimalist, the kind of perfect you see by masters in their craft. This movie is edited so cleanly, the first hour of the movie just constantly has music playing and it builds tension so well. The story is electric, fast paced and despite its 2 and a half hour runtime, it feels like 10 minutes. The film has received Oscar nominations in almost every single eligible category and the work the team put in is getting its deserved recognition.

Source: Imdb.com

Why is this a classic:

Despite its technical prowess, at its core One Battle After Another is a simple story in the complicated, turbulent environment of America. The explosive surroundings of the Bob and Willa Ferguson makes their love seem all the more strong when its able to survive among gunfire and explosions. There is excellent commentary on immigration status, vigilantism, government corruption and fatherhood. The relevancy of this movie is shocking and even more so when you find out that Paul started writing it almost 20 years ago. His mind has always been one of the most unique in cinema and there is no reason why this movie won’t be a certified classic like his others. Such a powerhouse of a director has plenty of steam left in him and I can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next.

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