So March did NOT go out like a lamb here in Minnesota. We actually got a bit of a snowstorm on Monday, though fortunately they’re gone by yesterday afternoon and it was sunny and warmer enough that I went for a brief walk before dinner last night. Fingers crossed for nice weather in April as I’ll be out and about frequently during MSPIFF!
MARCH VIEWINGS
(In the order of my rating)
FULL REVIEWS
Black Bag | Mickey 17 | Oh My Goodness! | Ex-Husbands
Bob Trevino Likes It | Snow White (2025) | Holland
REVIEWS COMING SOON:
The Penguin Lesson, My Uncle Jens
MINI REVIEWS
Titles marked with * (asterisk) are films directed by women
Nosferatu (2024)
Stunningly beautiful and atmospheric, I’m glad I saw this despite not having the stomach for horror movies. There are some really bloody and gruesome scenes, but overall it’s not as gory and terrifying as I thought. The cast is great, I was surprised by Lily-Rose Depp, who’s much better than expected. Love Nicholas Hoult, who’s been killing it this year with his talents and versatility. Bill Skarsgård’s Transylvanian accent is so hilarious that it took me out of the movie at times. It’s not exactly a criticism; it’s more of an observation.
This film was nominated for four Oscars—Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. It could’ve easily won in ALL of those categories. It’s definitely a standout among the crowded vampire genre.
This is my intro to Robert Eggers, but I’m not sure I could handle his previous work; perhaps The Lighthouse is the only one I’m still curious to check out.
Late Bloomers* (2023)
This is an interesting idea of a story of two strangers bonding despite an intense language barrier. Karen Gillan’s got comic chops, and she’s delightfully quirky. So is Malgorzata Zajaczkowska as a cranky elderly Polish woman who speaks no English. There are some funny and heartfelt scenes between the two, but overall, the script meanders and the movie goes longer than it needs to be.
Winner* (2024)
An amusing, based-on-true-story about an NSA contractor who’s jailed after leaking classified info on Russia meddling with the 2016 US election. Emilia Jones doesn’t look anything like the real Reality Winner, and her characterization makes her unlikable initially. That said, Jones is a talented actress, and her American accent is so convincing I often forget she’s a Brit. It’s the oddly upbeat tone that feels ill-matched for the gravity of the story. Still, it’s watchable for Jones and terrific supporting performances from Connie Britton, Zach Galifianakis, and Danny Ramirez.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
I missed this film when it first came out. I wasn’t blogging yet then, so it probably just fell off my radar. I decided to finally watch it because its Oscar-winning director, Ang Lee, is coming to MSPIFF this Sunday, plus it’s having its 20th anniversary this year.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are tremendous as star-crossed lovers Jack & Ennis in 1960s Wyoming, whose relationship transcends mere sexual attraction. Both actors convey their pent-up emotional longing effectively as they struggle to be together over two decades. The contrast between the lush, open vista of Brokeback Mountain (shot mostly in Canada) and the drab, colorless houses where they live is striking, representing the happiness + freedom they feel during their rendezvous and the anguish of their home life when they can’t fully be themselves.
I’m quite taken by Michelle Williams here as the long-suffering wife who loves Ennis deeply. As unfair as it is for Jack and Ennis, Alma is also a victim of the societal norms of that time. It’s a heart-wrenching film to be sure, but I don’t think it’s as perfect as some made it out to be. The biggest issue is Ledger’s constant mumbling, so much so that I had to turn on captions while watching this. The decidedly measured pacing allows plenty of time to ruminate and ponder on themes that still resonate to this day, but it can get pretty tedious at times. That said, I think this one should’ve won over Crash, but at least Lee got the Best Director win.
Excited for MSPIFF 2025!
In case you missed it, click on the image below to see a list of movies #directedbywomen I can’t wait to see next month!
52 Films By Women – 2025 Challenge
I am once again participating in this challenge. Per Women In Film (WIF) organization, the basic rules are simple: watch 52 films directed by women within one year and share what you watched on social media, using the hashtag #52FilmsByWomen to spread the word, and get more people talking about the women filmmakers that don’t always get attention.
This year is off to a strong start!! I watched a total of 4 new-to-me films #directedbywomen, which brings the year tally to 15 so far. I ranked them on Letterboxd; you can follow my #52FilmsByWomen list as I will be updating it regularly. I know that I will set this challenge on fire this month thanks to MSPIFF!! I’ll be seeing at least nine films from their Films By Women program.
TV WATCHES
Reacher S1 (Amazon Prime) | Nobody Wants This S1 (Netflix)
These two series couldn’t be more different from each other but I enjoyed both of them quite a bit. My hubby got me into Reacher, and I was intrigued by Nobody Wants This after reading the stellar reviews. They’re both worth the hype!
I was interested in Adolescence on Netflix as I love Stephen Graham, but I think I should be in the right mood for that; it seems a bit heavy and dark. Given the chaos we’re in now, I just want to watch something more lighthearted and fun. I’ll be watching AppleTV+’s The Studio next!
March 2025 Movie of the Month
BLACK BAG
This is an easy pick for this month. BLACK BAG is not only the best film I saw in March, but it’s the best movie I saw on the big screen this year so far! It’s getting rare to find a spy thriller that’s so well-directed and acted, especially one that fully realizes its captivating premise in just 90 minutes. I’m looking forward to rewatching it once it arrives on VOD.
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I saw Brokeback Mountain in the theaters 9 years ago but it was one of more unpleasant experiences I ever had in a movie theater. What happened was that the sound went out for about 10-15 minutes as myself and the audience couldn’t hear anything. It did ruin the film for me a bit but I still love it as I now own the 4K Blu-Ray from Kino.
I have seen everything Robert Eggers has done as I widely recommend all of his feature films. I was supposed to have covered him in my Auteurs series by now but I’m still stuck on David Lean.
I have heard about Winner which I do want to see but the problem is that the story about that person has already been told in Reality starring Sydney Sweeney.
BTW, any thoughts about the casting news on Sam Mendes’ four-part bio-pic series on the Beatles? I am writing something of a wishlist of what I want to see in this four-part bio-pic series.
Oh man!! I hate it when there’s audio issues in the theater! It has happened to me a couple of times, but with this one it’s worse, as you could barely hear Heath Ledger even when there’s no sound issues! The visuals are beautiful though!
I might try to give a couple of his films a try but I don’t think I can handle The Northman, that one looks extremely violent!
Oh I didn’t even know there is another movie about Reality Winner starring Sydney Sweeney, I actually have never seen anything with her in it.
I just saw the casting news about the four-part biopic series on the Beatles but not being a huge fan of the band, I guess I don’t really have a strong opinion one way or the other. My initial thought is that it’ll likely be popular as it stars many of ‘internet boyfriends’ especially Mescal, LOL. Curious to check out your post about your wish list!
Skarsgard’s accent Lol!.. R’s will be Rrrrrrolled!
Yeah!! And I didn’t think a vampire could be so talky!! LOL!
Brokeback Mountain is one of the most heartbreaking movies and yes, it should’ve won over Crash. I’m very envious that you’ll get to meet Ang Lee.
I’m super excited as well!! Where do you live, Patrick? Perhaps you can make a quick trip to MN during one of these film festivals!
Hi Ruth, I live in Melbourne, Australia, so I’m afraid a quick trip to the MSPIFF is rather out of the question. For now, anyway.
Oh wow, Melbourne, that’s cool! Australia is on my bucket list as my aunt lives in Sydney.
I’m glad you said ‘for now’ because hey, you should definitely visit MN one day! 🙂
I was vacationing in Miami for a few days and enjoyed the sun and heat. I got back last night and it was raining and snowing. I wish I was still back in South Beach. Lol!
I actually watched a lot of movies last month since I got a new projector. Caught up on some the movies I missed last summer, Furiosa, Twisters and The Fall Guy. Of all three, I think I enjoyed Twisters the most and I now understand why both The Fall Guy and Furiosa bombed at the box office. The Fall Guy couldn’t been a lot of fun had it was directed by someone who knows comedy. David Leitch is not talented enough to tackle that type of story, he’s good with action so I think he should just make straight up action movies. Furiosa has some great moments but it kind of uneven for a film set in the Mad Max universe.
Nosferatu is on my to watch list. I highly recommend The Witch for you next film of Eggers. It doesn’t have any gore or super violent scenes, it was just mostly atmospheric horror and it looks great for a film that costs less than $5mil. And Anya Taylor-Joy was very good in it.
I just finished season 3 of Reacher, not as good as season 2, which I think it’s the best one so far. Then finished Severance season 2. It has some very creative episodes and I look forward to seeing season.
If you could ask Ang Lee questions when he’s here, please ask him if he’s still pursuing the high frame rate tech for his films. He’s been trying to get people on board for several years and it’s not working. Since he’s accomplished the trifecta of filmmaking, he’s just making films that he wants to make.
That’s great that you’ve been enjoying some sunny vacation in Miami, Ted! Yeah, MN weather has been crazy LOL, but I think it’s gonna be nicer in the next week or so, thank goodness!
Congrats on your new projector! Must be fun to catch up on action movies. I actually enjoyed The Fall Guy, and Furiosa was great as well but not better than the first one.
Ok I might check out The Witch as I do love Anya. The one I don’t think I can watch is The Northman, boy that looks violent even from the trailer!
I’m not sure I’ll continue with Severance, I prefer more upbeat shows as life is depressing enough LOL. I started watching The Studio, it’s funny but also frustrating to watch as Seth Rogen’s character sabotaging his own projects.
Oh I’m sure someone will ask him about the high frame rate thing, I’m not that technical so probably shouldn’t be asking something like that, ahah. I’d like to know if there’s a genre he still wants to tackle as he’s pretty much done everything.
You know I thought The Northman was going to be this ultra violent film but it wasn’t that bad, he cut away most of the gruesome stuff. So, if you want to check out that one too, I think you can handle it. It’s not anything violent like a QT’s or Scorsese’s film.
Surprisingly Severance season 2 expanded on the idea of the first one and didn’t repeat stuff. So it was refreshing to see that in a show but I can understand if you don’t want to continue, the show’s pacing is still an issue.
I love The Studio, I was laughing so hard on each episode. This is what The Franchise on Max should’ve been. Get people who knows comedy while showing outsiders what’s really going on behind scenes of how movies are getting made. Rogen’s character is the typical studio head. Many of them do want to make good movies but they have to report to the studio’s CEO and make him and their shareholders a lot of money. The Kool Aid thing cracks me up. Lol! Bryan Cranston is hilarious, he’s basically playing a combination of Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and Warner Bros’ CEO David Zaslav. I hope the show continues and they get Chis Nolan and/or David Fincher to appear as guest stars/directors in some episodes. The whole thing with Martin Scorsese is great and that actually happened to him. A studio bought one of this scripts many years ago so they can kill the project! Lol.
Ok we’ll see if I can muster up enough courage to see The Northman, ahah.
Yeah, The Studio is funny but also cringe-worthy by design. That Kool-Aid thing is hilarious and Cranston is perfect in the role! Can’t stand Zaslav, hope the series makes fun of him even more later on.
WOW, I didn’t realize they did that to Scorsese. I kind of had an inkling that it actually happened in real life, oh boy!!
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Yes, March was madness with it’s weather here too, culminating in a thrilling (NOT) ice storm.
You sure got a lot of movies in.
You know, I never did see Brokeback Mountain, either. I do hate mumbling in films and tv.
Did you ever see The Mambo Kings? I call it The Mumble Kings! Hard to know what’s going on.
Good for you on 52 Women In Film!
I’d like to see The Studio, as well. Lol….I’ll have to!
Hey, I did watch all 4 episodes of Adolescence. The first episode is the best. It’s quite fabulous. There are NO graphic scenes. It drags at times, while it’s exposing hearts and minds. It was not what I thought it would be like, considering the subject matter.
Yes, the camera work is fantastic. Each episode is 1 long take. It’s so impressive, that it’s easy to start watching, then wander into figuring out how they moved that camera.
If Adolescence does not win an EMMY for Outstanding Cinematography, then I don’t know, I just don’t know. There is no award for camera work per se, and it’s not like some of the fabulous images in Shogun, or Slow Horses or like that, but it is a feat!
X💥X
I still can’t believe you got an ice storm in late March!! Hopefully weather is improving now, like here in MN. I’m thrilled for this week-long stretch of sunny days with above-than-normal temps, woo hoo!!
I haven’t seen The Mumble Kings, LOL! I wish I don’t have to turn on caption, though I’m used to it as I’m watching a ton of foreign-language films.
You gotta see The Studio!! I think since you worked in the industry, you’d be able to relate to a lot of it.
Man, now you got me interested in Adolescence! I heard the interview with Stephen Graham on NPR promoting it, and it does sound really good. No graphic scenes is good, I can’t handle those anymore. Wow I didn’t realize each episode is one long take, how did they manage to do THAT?? Now I gotta see it for myself. I sure hope it’ll get an Emmy nomination! I think Graham is a phenomenal actor but now he can add ‘showrunner/creator’ to his CV, wow!
Ruth, I’ve been making a post on Art Gowns (live on Friday) so I am behind over here on Glam.
I’m really wanting to see “The Studio”, and I will, but I don’t have Apple TV. So, I’ll be watching on my computer screen.
I have a code now for all Apple TV shows! If I had a smart TV I could just use the code on that.
You must see “Adolescence”!
Like I said, it’s easy to stop watching the show, and get into analyzing the camera’s movements. There is definitely handing the camera off from handheld to a dolly to a drone.
You have to see it to believe it! XO
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