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The top 10 best movie directors working today:
-Jacques Audiard -Sean Baker -Joon-ho Bong -Asghar Farhadi -David Fincher -Hirokazu Koreeda -Pablo Larraín -Ang Lee -Jafar Panahi -Jordan Peele AD VITAM ★★½☆☆ A French gendarme thriller. Not terrible but little is done well, from the fisticuffs, to the conspiracy, to the chases, to the political commentary. There are a couple of pluses, including a bold, lengthy flashback.  BLACK DOVES [season one] ★★★½☆ Engrossing espionage thrills. Think ALIAS with dry Brit wit. Keira Knightley’s best performance. And what chemistry with Ben Whishaw, who excels as a conflicted hitman. Action choreography and cast diversity should’ve been upped though.  I watched 49 seasons of television last year. My favourite TV shows of 2024: -THE BROTHERS SUN season 1 -THE DAY OF THE JACKAL season 1 -EXTRAORDINARY season 2 -FALLOUT season 1 -FARGO season 5 -A SHOP FOR KILLERS season 1  The Brothers Sun  Fallout EXPATS [mini-series] ★★★★★ The six episodes, filled with regret and guilt, are utterly compelling. Deals with class, race, gender, mothers-daughters. Impressively engineers conflicting feelings about the characters. (PS- How often this dichotomy: the rich/Caucasian are labelled as expatriates, while the poor/non-white are labelled as immigrants?)  Happy New Year!! My top 10 most anticipated movies of 2025 (in alphabetical order): HAVOC (director Gareth Evans) HIGHEST 2 LOWEST (director Spike Lee) JURASSIC WORLD: REBIRTH (director Gareth Edwards) LOVE HURTS (director Jonathan Eusebio) MATERIALISTS (director Celine Song) MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING (director Christopher McQuarrie) SINNERS (director Ryan Coogler) THE ACCOUNTANT 2 (director Gavin O’Connor) THE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM IS DOWN (director Ruben Östlund) THE SMASHING MACHINE (director Benny Safdie)
GHOSTED ★½☆☆☆ An unsatisfactory spy-rom-action-com. Better than KILLERS [2010] (not hard), but worse than even KNIGHT AND DAY. Chucking charismatic actors at the screen does not paper over the crevasses. TRUE LIES has its problems, but is still the benchmark.  WOLFS ★★☆☆☆ This crime-comedy needed another two gears. It starts plodding and never really gets going. Convoluted, uninspired, tired, relying too heavily on the star power. Director Jon Watt’s COP CAR was more taut.  DUNE: PROPHECY [season one] ★½☆☆☆ I love the DUNE trilogy of novels. Am not a fan of any of the movie or TV adaptations. This one is wooden. Outstanding visual effects do not compensate for the stilted dialogue. The actors are hamstrung by the dire script.  THE DAY OF THE JACKAL [season one] ★★★★★ That first episode! Reminds me of Fincher’s THE KILLER. I was skeptical when I heard about the show, because the 1973 film version still holds up as a first-rate thriller. However, this new adaptation is phenomenal. I even prefer it.  |
This website is written by Hemanth Kissoon.
Filmaluation is dedicated to arts culture, with a particular focus on film. I care about intelligence, quality and entertainment. Need some movie and TV show recommendations? See the drop down to the right of the Home tab. Enjoy. The vital ambitions of art and entertainment: - Perceptiveness - Illumination - The unexpected - Innovation Brains and soul are key; but adrenaline junkies do not fret, there is also much love for an experience that delivers a sucker-punch to the guts via stunningly delivered thrills. Noun, “filmaluation”: The evaluation of a film Verb, "to filmaluate”: To evaluate a film I am well aware how difficult it is to make a film, put on a stage play, create a television show, write a novel, let alone make something of note. (That appreciation doesn’t stop me from having high standards though.) This online magazine is edited by Hemanth Kissoon. Filmaluation is owned by Filmaluation Limited (Company number 8549302. Registered in England and Wales) Archives
April 2025
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