Aloners (2021) Review: Why It Aged Like Milk

I went into Aloners with genuine interest. The premise sounded solid: a young woman who has built her entire life around solitude, works a draining job, lives alone, and starts questioning everything after her neighbor dies unnoticed in the next apartment. On paper it felt relevant. Watching it in 2026, it just feels outdated.

The movie wants loneliness and isolation to feel heavy and alarming. …

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) Review: four trips to the cinema in Ukraine

I Watched Avatar: The Way of Water Four Times Because Ukraine Kept Losing Power

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) — my review, and the strange story of finally managing to watch it from beginning to end in Ukraine during the winter of 2022.

Most movie reviews follow a familiar pattern: you go to the cinema once, watch the film, go home, think about it for a few hours, and write down your thoughts. …

The Reader (2008) Review: Love Is Apparently Not Very Logical

In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which I wrote about before, there was this idea that some people simply aren’t meant to stay together for their whole lives. For whatever reason, they meet at one particular point, cross paths, and then go their separate ways. To make that idea work, Benjamin Button needed three hours of fantasy melodrama. The Reader, thankfully, doesn’t need …

Frost/Nixon (2008) Review: A Brilliant Duel of Wits, Even if Hollywood Gets the Final Say

What strikes you most about this film is the unfiltered outrage of the American public over the fact that Nixon resigned but NEVER APOLOGIZED to the people. To be honest, this leaves a mixed impression. On the one hand, a plot device like this feels a bit like cheesy, over-the-top Hollywood melodrama. On the other hand, it makes you stop and think: could it be that years spent living in a …

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Review: Beyond the Clock - A Critical Analysis of Time, Romance, and Human Identity

F.Scott Fitzgerald’s original short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a sharp, satirical fable. At its core lies a hyper-exaggerated critique of societal norms—specifically, the absurd lengths to which ordinary people go to enforce conformity. A standout moment in the book captures this perfectly when Benjamin casually mentions to his wife, Hildegarde, that people are telling him he …

Dune (1984) Review: A Beautiful Failure Caught Between Lynch and Hollywood

Dune (1984): A Beautiful Failure Caught Between David Lynch and Hollywood

There are two fundamentally different ways to approach David Lynch’s Dune. The first is to see it as an ambitious artistic blockbuster—a rare studio film from the 1980s that wasn’t trying to entertain teenagers as much as provoke philosophical reflection. Many viewers were willing to project Frank Herbert’s …

The Elephant Man (1980) Review: When Compassion Becomes a Spectacle

David Lynch’s second feature film, like Eraserhead, was shot in black and white. This time, however, the cinematography is far more refined. Rather than relying on harsh contrasts to create an unsettling atmosphere, Lynch carefully balances light and shadow to guide the viewer’s attention. The monochrome palette is used to emphasize facial expressions and emotional nuance rather than …

Eraserhead (1977) Review: David Lynch's Nightmare of Fear, Fatherhood, and Guilt

One of the many stories surrounding David Lynch’s Eraserhead claims that the film was inspired by a single verse from the Bible. As always, Lynch never confirmed which one. Throughout his career he avoided giving definitive explanations for his work, preferring to discuss broad ideas or his creative process rather than handing audiences a ready-made interpretation. Eraserhead is a film that …

Lost Highway (1997) Review: David Lynch's Nightmare of Escaping Yourself

Lost Highway marked the beginning of an entirely new phase in David Lynch’s career. After several years away from directing following Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me—a period spent producing other filmmakers’ projects, working in television, and serving on festival juries—Lynch returned with a film that reflected on the creative crisis that accompanied the height of his commercial …

Fast & Feel Love (2022) Review: When Chasing Your Dream Costs You Time

The film is packed with references to movies like Parasite by Bong Joon Ho. The music, editing, and even some of the camera angles deliberately recreate one of Parasite’s most iconic scenes. Even the title and poster design parody Fast & Furious, turning it into Fast & Feel Love.

The entire movie is essentially a parody of Fast & Furious—its over-the-top heroics, constant …