Matko and his son Zare live on the banks of the Danube river and get by through hustling and basically doing anything to make a living. In order to pay off a business debt Matko agrees to marry off Zare to the sister of a local gangster.

This is a movie I watch every few years and always enjoy it as much as I did the first time. A great coming-of-age movie, but this time in a hyper-realistic masterpiece directed by Kusturica. With well defined characters, a story that’s so unbelievable only people from the Balkan can believe it and a story that will literally glue you to the screen. Seven popcorns.

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A family is deeply affected by the father’s extramarital affairs and the turbulent consequences of the Tito-Stalin split.

This is one of the older movies made by Emir Kusturica and while not as funny (or as fun) as hos newer movies, but it’s just as deeply rooted in the post-World War II reality with all its balkan influences and culture. A portal into the past, definitely worth watching. Five popcorns and goes to the Movie Vault.

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A highly sophisticated program, Ares, is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission.

Oof. Big oof. I tried to keep my expectations low, but I was still a bit let down. I’m going to say it from the get go: the story is bad, the acting is shit, the story is whatever. On the other hand, it is a visual treat, the special effects are absolutely great, they went absolutely bonkers with the vehicles, the editing, the visual effects. Another thing where the movie is only adequate is the soundrack. Composed by Nine Inch Nails, it feels appropriate for the movie we’re watching, but it somehow falls off the mark when compared do Daft Punk’s counterpart from Tron: Legacy. Which reminds me, time to re-watch the older movies. Is this a good movie? Fuck no. Is this a FUN movie? Fuck yeah. Movies like this is why I don’t use “stars” and I use “popcorns” for ratings. Two stars. Five popcorns.

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Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 20 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant Quorra, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous. Meanwhile, the malevolent program CLU, who dominates the digital world, plans to invade the real world and will stop at nothing to prevent their escape.

We won’t talk too much about the story, although it’s a pretty decent one, now we’re talking about visuals. This movie is so immersive and well made, it makes you believe The Grid is real and the internet looks like that. The visual effects are absolutely great, and the music signed by Daft Punk make it one of the best soundtracks in modern cinema. If entertainment is an art, then this movie is a masterpiece. Definitely seven popcorns for a movie that is in my opinion one of the most fun movies of all time.

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Hacker/arcade owner Kevin Flynn is digitally broken down into a data stream by a villainous software pirate known as Master Control and reconstituted into the internal, 3-D graphical world of computers. It is there, in the ultimate blazingly colorful, geometrically intense landscapes of cyberspace, that Flynn joins forces with Tron to outmaneuver the Master Control Program that holds them captive in the equivalent of a gigantic, infinitely challenging computer game.

I first saw this in 2010, when I’ve heard about the release of its sequel. And while it’s severely dated, it’s a great insight into what people would think the digital world of the future would be (hello Multiverse). A great cyberpunk classic. Five popcorns.

Do you believe in the users?

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A collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.

Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Elvis Costello, Guillermo Diaz, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Martha Plimpton, Paul Rudd altogethr in a classic cult movie at the turn of the Millenium. They don’t make movies like that, great real stories, good music, nice vibes. This is over 25 years and it shows how much the world has changed. A great watch, six popcorns and it goes into the Movie Vault.

If you relax, you can have a good time. Even if you smell like dog shit.

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A charismatic criminal, while on the run from the police, hides in a hidden space of a toy store. There, he adopts a new identity and becomes involved with an employee, beginning a relationship as unlikely as it is risky.

The Fugitive meets The Notebook. It’s light-hearted dark comedy with drama elements, about the true story of Jeffrey Manchester, and it’s starring Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Juno Temple, Peter Dinklage, and is directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine). Five popcorns.

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In a desolate world, a young girl devoutly guards an egg of unknown origin, and encounters a boy carrying a cross who begins to question the nature of his faith and his mysterious mission.

Written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, this is a surreal dark fantasy set in a dystopian future. It’s bizarre, but it’s also properly made, setting a tone and vibe that will lead Mamoru Oshii to write and direct Ghost in The Shell (among others). It’s a hard to watch movie because of the slow tempo, often off-beat, and while the story could fit properly in a short one third of the time, the details and composition of this make it feel more like visual poetry than an animated movie. It requires a particular mood, and if you’re in that mood, it’s a great experience. Four popcorns.

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A group of teenage boys compete in an annual contest known as “The Long Walk,” in which they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot.

I should have read the synopsis before watching this, as it’s directed by Francis Lawrence. The gist of the movie is that you’re watching the Hunger Games and the game is “walking”. While the reviews praise it, it’s just a m mediocre movie. There are some decent moments in some of the actors’ performances, but that’s it. The tension builds up, and then everything gets flat and ends up with an unexplainable fizzle, just like many of the movies based on books by Stephen King. It’s so bland, not even Mark Hamill can raise the level, as he’s severely under-utilized and it’s mostly a cameo. Three popcorns because it’s an okay watch as background noise, but that’s it.

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An accidental killing leads a man down a dark hole of intrigue and murder. Just as he finds love and freedom, one phone call brings back the nightmare.

After trying a few other series based on novels by Harlan Coben, this one managed to stick with me. It’s dark, thrilling and keeps you at the edge of your seat. However, I am starting to see patterns in Coben’s work and they do become annoying, because while he creates some nice puzzles and mysteries that overlap and interconnect, the entire universe feels overly complicated and convoluted and it requires suspension of disbelief. The series is well made, another good hit by Oriol Paulo, it’s a nice watch, but too much Coben in one sitting can get tiring quickly. Four popcorns.

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The secrets and lies of suburban families are made public by the appearance of a stranger.

Good thriller based on the novel by Harlan Coben. I didn’t read the book, but the movie is pretty solid. It’s interesting enough to keep you binging, although you need to suspend disbelief here and there. The writing is not stellar, but the series is a good watch over the weekend. The cast is absolutely great, featuring a lot of good British actors, the production is also nice as well. Three popcorns.

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Fifteen young women break barriers in one of the most demanding sports in the world, in an effort to bring a female driver back to the Formula 1 grid.

It’s nice to see women in racing, but at the moment you can see the immense gap between these girls and other racers. It’s nice they have a ramp of their own, but unfortunately, the sport needs more than this. The series itself is “eh”, as it’s too much fluff and not enough racing. It’s a good idea to show a bit of background of each racer, but there’s just too much behind the scenes rather than focusing on the racing and their motivations. And. Too. Much. Damn. Bianca. Bustamante. Two popcorns. Women deserve better.

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