A Japanese woman waits in a crowded platform for her train, she seems lonely and sad. Suddenly she feels someone behind her, it's a guy that just jump into the coming train. This is just the beginning of the film Oh Lucy!
Director Atsuko Hirayanagi developed the story of Oh Lucy! from a short film after winning several awards, so she decided to tell the story of Setsuko Kawashima as a full feature film
Setsuko Kawashima (Shinobu Terajima) is a lonely woman who works in a government, she is constantly bullying by her boss and coworkers, her life empty. One day, her niece Nika a young girl who has a troubled relationship with her mom Ayako (Kaho Minami) Setsuko sister, ask her to take over an English class that Nika is attending. If she leaves the course she will have to pay it back, that's why she needs her aunt to help her. Setsuko agrees to take the classes, but this experience will change her life forever.
The English instructor is John (Josh Hartnett) an American guy who rented an space in Japan to teach English in a place that looks like a brothel or a strippers club. John's method is to have casual English conversations and call his students with an American name. This is when Setsuko becomes Lucy, as part of the ritual Setsuko/Lucy will wear a blonde wig and her transformation will begin.
The story becomes complicated when Lucy meets another student name Takeshi/Tom and she is falling in love with John, but John is in love with Nika and they run away to Los Angeles.
Later that night Ayako, Nika's mom is looking for her after she discovers that Setsuko is helping her with the English class. After a long argument between Ayako and Setsuko (Family problems they had in the past), they decided to embark on a trip to Los Angeles in the search for Nika and John.
Oh Lucy! is a powerful film about the search for love, with a very bizarre story. The audience discovers a woman who is so lonely on the inside and the outside looking for love in the wrong place at the wrong time. The ending will be fulfilling to the audiences who hopes Setsuko have a better life.

Back in October 2016, my son was born. During those crazy nine months, my wife and I went thru the complicated process of choosing a hospital, doctor, midwife and other elements necessaries to the proper arrival of a baby. On that time we were living NY, so to make sure that things run smoothly due to the overpopulated city, you need to follow the concept of being the first one on everything or what we called: First come first serve. Finally, our son was born and everything went well, even we were lucky enough to have a window because he was born so early in the morning.
If you look to not so wealthy countries, the experience of having a child can be daunting and complicated. For instance in Manila, in the Philippines, the arrival of a child it's a whole different story. Welcome to the documentary "Motherland" set in the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital the film goes deeper into the worlds highest birth rate hospital.
Director Ramona S. Diaz uses this film as the window to the world on how 150 pregnant women ready to deliver, goes into the most overcrowded dormitory style wards, with the limitation of incubators, two female patient sharing beds with their babies and other critical things that will be impossible to believe in American hospitals.
Motherland follows the life at least 4 women, really poor, who are forced to stay in the hospital to pay for their medicine as well for the babies. The struggle of these patients husbands without a job or with really low income who cannot pay for a package of diapers.
The film in a cinema verité style creates an engaging story of these strong women who are able to survive this experience, but still you wonder who they are going to continue with their lives as a new mother after letting the spectators follow them in the hospital thought the film, with their struggle and strength to keep on going.

As we reach the end of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Is important to review one of the most impressive films of 2017.
The director Craig Gillespie who have a very unusual filmography from Lars and the Real Girl, Fright Night, Million Dollar Arm and The Finest Hours brings to life the story of one of the most controversial figure skater in recent memories.
I, Tonya is the biographical film about the life of Tonya Harding ( Margot Robbie). The film starts in 1970 when four-year-old Tonya (Mckenna Grace) is forced to skate by her abusive mother LaVona (Allison Janney) through Tonya's childhood LaVona makes sure she only focus on skating, first take her out of school and controlling her, even her love life. As she grows up she becomes the best under her coach belt Diane Rawlinson (Julianne Nicholson)
At the age of 18, Tonya starts dating Jeff Gillooly (Sebastian Stan), LaVona disapproves this relationship, but still, let Tonya move with Jeff in getting married. Their relationship is destructive, they fight constantly, reaching levels of violence. This situation becomes public, creating an image for Tonya family as "white trash" which affects her reputation as a skater because of her homemade costumes and choice of performance music.
The film uses a docu-style method with interview of the characters, telling their point of view of the events and happenings and also highlighting the famous "incident" ( Nancy Kerrigan attack)
I, Tonya is a fascinating movie, with action, dark comedy and an exploration of a controversial event in the history of US sports. Margot Robbie, Allison Janney, Sebastian Stan and Paul Walter Hauser are fantastic in their roles.

During the end World War II an artistic movement came to life as a response to Italy cultural change and progress. Directors such as Luchino Visconti, Robert Rosellini, Vittorio de Sica are some the directors responsible for creating the most compelling stories about poverty, social justice, politics.

In America, the exploration of this genre comes mostly from independent films. Spanish director Antonio Méndez Esparza brings with his second film "Life & Nothing More" the story of Andrew (Andrew Bleechngton) and Regina (Regina Williams) members of the black in Florida. Andrew is reaching adulthood his constant fights with his mother Regina to overcome the obstacles of an absent father and lost path in his life force him to becomes a dangerous individual. Challenging everything around him, from social injustice, temptations and his antagonistic relationship with his mother.

The film was shot with real-life people without professional experience, making "Life & Nothing More" a real-life document of how broken families survive every day in order to make it into the world.

Around the 700 B.C.E., the Greek Theater started and with him, the search the concept of drama. When the audience witness theater they, know are about to see a moving and emotional portrait of life itself. Happy moments, drama and an epic conclusion. For Charles Baudelaire French poet and philosopher, the idea of love, marriage, pleasure is deeply connected to the dramatic story of Iphigenia from the Greek mythology.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos, director of the award-winning films Dogtooth and The Lobster contain dark humor and the non-sugar coded truth about life with metaphoric representations of love and family. Is worth saying that his films contain dramatic stories mimicking the Greek drama and perhaps some of the ideas express by Baudelaire.
The Killing of the Sacred Deer is one of the most disturbing films I have seen in a long time compare to films like entering The Void, Serbian Film, and Funny Games.
Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) cardiothoracic surgeon is one of the most respect and highly skilled in his hospital. He is married to Anna (Nichole Kidman) and has two kids Bob and Kim. Steven secretly meets regularly with Martin (Barry Keoghan). As the story unveils the audience discovers every character motives, it seems like an unusual relationship borderline to love between Steven and Martin. But then the big revelation comes when the audience discovers that Martin's dad died in the operating room in the hands of Steven. Seems now like a relationship of guilt turning into revenge.
What makes The Killing of the Sacred Deer a very special film is how it dissects a family story of a successful couple living a very wealthy life with great kids and how a mistake will hunt you and chase till the end. The success cannot protect you from taking someone else life. Yorgos visual style mirrors Stanley Kubrick The Shining and Eyes Wide Shut. The camera travels with actors, follow them with distance but get close when is need it.

Scientists around the world are already talking about the staggering numbers of psychological problems generated by social media in people.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are among them, teenagers millennials, generation X, and adult, in general, use social media to express their feelings, express political opinions, been pretentious and sometimes live someone else life.
This last one is the subject of the first feature film by Matt Spicer Ingrid Goes West. Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) is an unstable person who lost her mother and she is dealing with thought times for this. She later discovered after seen some pictures on Instagram that her Charlotte did no invite her to her wedding. Ingrid gets furious and goes to the reception and attack her with pepper spray. Ingrid apologizes for the attack, the audience discovered that she is just creating an illusion of friendship a Charlotte just because she made a comment on Ingrid Instagram feed.
A few days later a lawyer presents Ingrid her mothers will be telling her she inherit a big amount of money, at the same time Ingrid discovered on Instagram a social media influencer Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen) after Ingrid comment on one Taylor's picture, she receives a reply from her motivating Ingrid to travel to California to meet Taylor using all the money she inherits from her mom.
This was the perfect excuse to pretend to be someone else and living a so-called "luxury life" thru the eyes of Taylor on her Instagram feed. Ingrid develops a friendship with Taylor involving deeper into her personal life using everything she has to be the "best friend of her"
Matt Spicer explores one of the major deviations of people using social media, the obsession with social media personalities, who are just someone with a million followers. People pretend to live peoples life by looking at their pictures and believing in an alternate reality. The fact you showing yourself as a successful, happy, active person with allegedly meaningful content doesn't really mean that you are on that stage in your life. You see it every day. A travel photo can be the best illusion of all, you show it to the world and followers think you are there, no matter if the picture was taken a year ago. It's all smoke and mirrors.
That's the real danger of social media. Someone like your content but is just self-gratification and acceptance of what you expose to your followers and your feed. That's what makes you happy and complete, not your wife, your child, your family.
Aubrey Plaza doe an excellent job as a mentally unstable person who just needs to be loved by someone of millions of people in the cyberspace. The film is just a nice comedy with a strong message to modern society.

"Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one owns death" this definition by Wikipedia is the perfect idea to talk about the documentary by Emmy winning filmmaker Lana Wilson The Departure which tells the story of Nemoto a Buddhist priest who works managing death workshops and suicide therapy. Nemoto lives with his wife, child, and his mother in a small town in Japan.
From the beginning of the film, we discover people affected by depression and suicidal thoughts who see in Nemoto the help they need. Who attended to this death workshops participate in an exercise which requires writing in pieces of paper things that are important to them in life, the exercise asks to withdraw one paper at the time leaving the most important things to keep with them until there is nothing left.
The audience understands how people forget what's important when they are alive, the subject becomes a big metaphor in the film. Nemoto helps so many people, but he forgets his own health. Through the film, he is confronted by his mother, his wife and also his own child who are so important to him. He seeks help doctors and medical test to figure out his illness but becomes clear, that his work is taking some toll on his own health.
Lana Wilson makes this powerful documentary about the value of life, what's important to each every one of us and how to understand that in order to help someone we need to examine ourselves first.

It's always good to find great surprises in films that are out of the Hollywood system. Just an independent movie with a simple story but with a well-crafted concept.
Kogonada is the Korean-American director famous for his video film essays on Vimeo. His first feature film "Columbus" is one of those rare moments when you find a director who is capable of creating an articulated movie on the first big break.
A famous Korean architect visiting Columbus, Indiana get sick and end up in a coma, his son Jim (John Cho) a Korean literature translator end up traveling there help his ill father. This movie is also the story of Casey (Haley Lu Richardson) a girl who works in at the library in Columbus, she also takes care of her mother suffering from drug addiction. But Casey aspiration is to leave this city and becomes an architect.
One day during cigarette break Casey meets Jim, they connect thru the city architecture. It's important to mention that Columbus, Indiana is a mecca for designers and architects, but also the perfect place to connect these to two characters with troubled relationships with their parents, but with an obsession and passion for the elegance, the perfection and the balance of every component in a single building.
Casey and Jim's connection help them to overcome the obstacles of feeling lost for not pursuing what they really love.
Columbus is one of those rare first films, that wow you, because of the detailed oriented direction, cinematography, original score, and performances.

Hollywood likes to portray the state of Florida as a flashy, colorful, a city filled with sun, hot bodies, pure joy, and happiness. Films like Scarface, Magic Mike, Bad Boys and even the TV show and movie Miami Vice, presents a Florida as the place to be.
But in 2016 Barry Jenkins directed a film presenting another side of Florida, Moonlight is the story Chiron and his 3 stages of his life living a very difficult time. In a way, this movie connects in the same universe of Sean Baker's The Florida Project. This is the story of Six-year-old Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) who is living in the hotel Magic Castle with her mother Halley (Bria Vinaite), the hotel is close to Walt Disney World the ultimate scenario to presents social criticism against the stereotypical happy life that Disney always introduce to us.
Living in Magic Castle is not fun, is a hotel imitating the colors of flashy Florida, in a poor apartment complex, where guest lives paycheck to paycheck, it's probably close to living in a project in Chicago or New York. Moonee's friends are neighbors from other hotel rooms where parents work in dinners nearby, stealing food for their kids in order to have a decent meal, Moonee is a rascal like the other kids, they steal and misbehave. Magic Castle manager is Bobby Hicks (Willem Dafoe) a guy with a good heart who tries constantly to do his job, he sometimes becoming these kids caretaker and also the voice of consciousness to their parents.
Halley's skills as mother are not the best, she is always harassing tourist to sell them cheap perfume in order to pay the rent, unfortunately, business isn't doing that that well, so she ends up offering her service as a prostitute, which Bobby quickly discovered, as well some of the guests at Magic Castle.
Sean Baker breakthrough film Tangerine have similarities to The Florida Project, both have complex characters living in a place who treat them badly, the just try to survive, but destiny has something else in mind. This is a perfect cast for a powerful film about justice, love, and destiny.

During the 1950's a filmmaker, Edward D Wood Jr. created the most bizarre and strange piece of American films ever made. Based on the stock footage, his genius and a group of outlaws actors. His creations mostly were guerrilla-style filmmaking, low budget and focusing on horror. After a few years, he has declared the worst director of all time His work is now considered cult movies and people wait in line to see it on the big screen, even directors like Tim Burton did a biographical piece about him.
None have ever come close to do what he did, until the late 90's, when a character named Tommy Wiseau, make what is now considered one of the works films for all The Room.
The Disaster Artist is the biographical comedy-drama film directed by James Franco about the friendship of Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) and Tommy Wiseau (James Franco) who meet in San Francisco, studying acting, later quitting everything to move to Los Angeles and make it in Hollywood.
Hollywood has always loved a good story about them, making films, the success, and failures of filmmakers, actors, and the Hollywood system.
What makes interesting The Disaster Artist is sort of a Robert Alman-eske type of film where several Hollywood starts decided to collaborate and pay tribute to a mysterious director, Wiseau who at this point none knows where he is from, where the money for The Room came from and how is Tommy.
The film starts in 1998 when Gregg and Tommy meets, their journey to L.A. their attempt to be in Hollywood, the production of the film, until it's premiere. Tommy Wiseau is fascinating and James Franco makes a great impression on the character, his mannerism, and his fake laugh.
The Disaster Artist delivers a great film about friendship, Hollywood and how to be successful in the industry making a really bad film.

Around the year 1981 AIDS was clinically observed in the USA. Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired deficiency syndrome is a disease that already counts as many of 36.7 million people infected and living with the disease. This subject it's been covered in plays, TV shows, and films.
Dallas Buyer Club, Philadelphia, Longtime Companion, Rent, Savage Nights, Milk and the TV show Angels in America. Most of this films talk about a specific character been ill, but the subject of activism to bring attention to the disease is perfectly portrayed in the French film 120BPM (Beats per Minute)
Director Robin Campino tells the story of ACT UP movement in Paris in the year 1990. 120BPM (Beats per Minute) presents the members of ACT UP protesting in a government presentation which ends wrong when one of the members of the group attack a politician with a water balloon filled with fake blood. The accounts of these events are told from several points of view in flashback mode, this drives the audience to understand that the groups work together, but there is a conflict of emotions while operating. ACT UP next protest is inside the office of Melton Pharma a company responsible for making clinical trials of HIV patients. The groups infiltrate inside the offices, throwing fake blood destroying private property demanding the release of these results. During one of the meetings, the plot of the film shifts to the story of Sean (Nahuel Pérez) and Nathan (Arnaud Valois)
Robin Campino has the complicated task of making a movie about AIDS and homosexuality without falling into the clitchés of a dramatic narrative from the very beginning. The film is driven by actions, by certain violence need it for a social movement who needs to be heard by the government. Campino also explores the joy and the positive side of have AIDS and how these people embrace this new stage in their lives. The film is powerful and becomes a great document about the fight against AIDS and how you fight it on the streets and classrooms by telling people to protect themselves without any tabú.