The Substitute: Failure Is Not an Option (2001)

After years of silence, trauma, and backlash, Rose McGowan tells her own story in this miniseries.

Unknown Origins promises a cool spin on superheroes and serial killers, but ultimately delivers cheap comedy.

With The Father, writer-director Florian Zeller- who wrote and developed the play upon which the film is based- pulls no punches as he confidently makes every effort to put the audience in the mind of someone whose grip on reality has all but vanished. It’s a dazzling testament to Zeller’s abilities as a director as he makes his first transition from stage to film appear as if he’s been working behind a camera his entire career. The dialogue he fashions with co-writer Christopher Hampton, along with the work of production designers Peter Francis and Cathy Featherstone, collectively makes the downward spiral of dementia startlingly tangible, doing so in a way that can be comprehended by everyone except the person it directly affects.

This captivating film can only be truly appreciated by seeing it firsthand. There are not enough words to describe the terrible beauty one experiences while watching it.

What seems like such a simple story of survival is so much more than that—it’s a story of family, and of war, and of destruction. It’s painful to watch, but not in a bad way. It makes its audience reflect on their own actions, and in how they are complicit in the sufferings of others as the adults in this film are. Grave of the Fireflies does not hold back from being heartbreaking, and it shouldn’t. It tells a message that needs to be heard decades after the war, and a story that cannot be forgotten by history.

Movie explained - Despite the glaring flaws present, Young Adult Matters is held together by the performances from Yoo Mi and Hani, who keep the story afloat. Though an interesting story, Young Adult Matters is worth watching solely for these performances. Among its brilliant performances is a messy, self-indulgent, and at times overwhelmingly brutal story with more potential than follow through.