In 2017 director David Lowery impressed audiences and critics with the film Ghost Story, the movie is an exploration of the supernatural and how people deal with grieve of losing a loved one. Lowery style is really hard to categorize because he likes to tell so many different stories with different styles.

His film The Old Man & The Gun is a fresh story about redemption and crime. Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford) is a wanted man, having broken out of San Quentin State Prison. On a particular robbery in 1981, he meets a woman who's truck is broken in the middle of the highway, which used as a decoy to hide from the police.

Later he invited her to have lunch with him. Jewel (Sissy Spacek) becomes fond of each other, leading to a relationship. Tucker continues a string of heist, with the help of two associates, Teddy Green (Danny Glover) and Waller (Tom Waits). His distinctive style of been nice to the bank tellers and play the respectful gentleman during robberies allow him to gain access to banks easily, take the money and run away without a problem, even without a gun. A police detective becomes interested in the case, John Hunt (Cassey Affleck) works for the Dallas police department and Tucker case becomes an obsession to him.

David Lowery deliver a great film where Robert Redford shines again for allegedly his last time on screen. Lowery create a film that can be easily confused a 70's masterfully he gest the style right, as all the elements in it.

Lee Chang-dong is the award winner South Korean director mostly focusing on dark stories of innocence lost, suffering and alienation. His key themes have been consistently about psychological trauma.

His latest film is the Spirit Award-nominated film Burning that tells the story of Lee Jong-su (Yo Ah-in) an aspiring writer who performs odd jobs to make a living. Jong-su father is a bovine farmer who is dealing with legal affairs in court forcing Jong-su to deal with the farm. One day Jong-su bump into Shin Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo ) a girl who works at a department store who used to be a childhood neighbor, Jong-so doesn't remember her but quickly start dating. After one of those dates, they had sex.
Hae-mi asks Jong-so to take care of her cat while she is in Africa, Jong-su comes every day to feed the cat but never sees it. He also starts masturbating in her apartment. During Hae-mi returns Jong-su comes to pick her up at the airport, where he meets Ben (Steven Yeun) who end up traveling with Hae-mi during a three days terror warning at the Nairobi Airport.

Jong-su doesn't like Ben, he even called him Great Gatsby, a privileged guy, with money who is also very mysterious. However, Hae-mi likes him, which makes Jong-su jealous and hard to compete.

As the story unfolds, Hae-mi disappearance makes Jong-su worried about it, he suspects of Ben and starts investigating.

It is hard to find a film like Burning, a South Korean psychological drama mystery with such a powerful performance and well-made movie. Lee Chang-dong delivers a dark film where the audiences will keep asking at the end, what really happens.

During the year 1943 Wolrd War II was coming to an end, so Benito's Mussolini government, which caused the Italian film industry to lose its center. As part of the Italian film industry evolution, Neorealism was born.

Italian Neorealism is the film movement that tells stories about the working class and poor people. This genre characterized by using nonprofessional actors is filmed on location and focus on the message of difficult economic and moral conditions.

It's not easy to put in this article the long list of movies that represent this famous genre, but I can mention movies like The Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D, Roma Open City, Rocco and His Brothers, La Strada, as part of the best of this list.

INew Italian filmmakers, still looking for portraying more modern stories into the world of neorealism, that is the case of female director Alice Rohrwacher.
Happy as Lazzaro tells the story of a group of people who lives in the state Inviolata., where 54 workers deal with a tobacco farm in a sharecropping arrangement where the habitats are constantly in debt, the farm is run by the notorious Alfonsina de Luna "Queen of Cigarettes"

From all the group of people on the farm, there is Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo) a good guy, who is so diligent and innocent that borderline into a saint. Lazzaro works on the farm who dutifully follows every command given to him by the Marquis and the heads of the estate. One day the marquise decided to bring her son Tancredi to the farm who quickly befriends Lazzaro realizing after a few days how her mother and the head of the state exploit the workers to the level of slavery.

As the events in the film unfold, the spectators discover a story with pure Italian Neorealism but also Magic Realism to the level of the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Alice Rohrwacher delivers a critical message to slavery and work wages in the 21st century where people in some countries still been forced to work for nothing while privileges people enjoy the earnings. The film also exposed the human condition and how it's so important to find kindness in this world.

Five years ago a movie directed and produced a people of color won the Oscar for best film. The film 12 years a Slave is the third movie directed by Steven McQueen and explores the profound story of a man who just wants to be free.

Steven McQueen explores several subjects, like political prisoners and sex addiction. In his new movie Widows explores a wide range of subjects.

Harry Rawlings (Liam Neeson) is a famous thief who is killed in a robbery. His widow Veronica (Viola Davis) receive a threat from a crime boss Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), who Harry and his partners stole 2 million dollars. Jamal is in need of this money for an election he is running against Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell) the son of a wealthy man who has power all over Chicago.

Thanks to Harry's driver, Veronica found a notebook containing Harry's detailed plan for a new robbery, including a map and contact information of everyone involved. Veronica decided to carry out the plan in order to repay Jamal his money.

One of the most important parts of the plan is to recruit the windows of the guys involved in a robbery where Harry was killed. Linda Perrelli (Michelle Rodriguez) and Alice Gunner (Elizabeth Debicki) are part of this widows.

Based on a British TV series, windows explore a different side of a heist. Do not get confused with a film like Ocean's eight. These women are housewives or business owners who never done this before, but they are driven by the idea of regaining power and the capacity of being independent. Windows explore politics and the rough life in Chicago, it also gives you a strong message about the "me too" movement. The men represent corruption, power, and destruction, but women represent redemption.

During the years 1960 through 1970 a serial killer terrorized the town of Jersey in the U.K. Edward Paisnel was called Beast of Jersey who carried out horrific attacks against children and adults.

Director Michael Pearce grew up with these stories becoming his major inspiration or the film Beast.

In the town of Jersey in the UK, a series of murders are happening, several families around the town are affected and there is no end of sight. Moll (Jessie Buckley) is a 27th-year-old who works as a tour guide who also lives with her parents. Moll life is filled with repressions by a controlled mom who just wants to keep her at home taking care of her dad. During Moll's birthday, her sister hijacks her birthday announcing that she is pregnant of twins, Moll angry about the news leaves her birthday party and go to a night club where she meets a guy who later trying to take advantage of her. She is saved by poacher Pascal Renouf (Jonny Flynn).

Quickly Pascal and Moll start a relationship with discomfort from her family and suspicions surrounding the ongoing murder case. Moll confesses to Pascal she has a troubling past where she stabbed a classmate as a teenager claiming self-defense due bulling.

As the relationship grows between Moll and Pascal, the police consider Pascal a person of interest in these murders.

The film Beast in a good exploration of a serial killer from the point of view of relationships instead of a police investigation. Michael Pearce explores the darkest feelings of two lovers who are been excluded by society and are looking for a way to be happy but also express their anger against the world who is unfair to them. Jessie Buckley is amazing and is an actress that needs to be followed closely.

Noun. provocateur (plural provocateurs) One who engages in provocative behavior, taken from Wikipedia

This is a common theme in Gaspar Noé filmography. Noé an Argentinian/French filmmaker who became famous in for his film I Stand Alone. Gaspar Noé films are heavily inspired in Buñuel and Passolini who also loves provocation with a strong visual style.

If you see Irréversible, Enter the Void and Love, you can understand how Noé loves to portray his characters and what are they looking for: compassion, love, acceptance and of course drugs. His latest film Climax is the proof of another psychedelic trip with troubled characters who are searching these elements and more.

Climax tells the story from events that had to happen in 1996, a large group of dancers is celebrating a three-day rehearsal with a big party, before embarking on a tour to the US. The group is locked in an abandoned school while there is a big snowstorm. The dance group manager Emanuelle (Claude Gajan Maull) made sangria for the celebration which every almost every member of the dance group been drinking.

Thought the night the celebration turns intense after some of the dancers realized that there is something wrong with the sangria, later discovering that might be LSD.

Most of the dancers start feeling agitated, confused and even violent. The party evolve in a game of finding the responsible of the sangria alteration, punish the dancers that have not to drink the sangria.

Gaspar Noé technical achievements in this film are out of this world. The first music number is a smooth single camera trip without cuts that should be included in the list of best long shots in movie history after that Noé explores erratic handheld camera movements to intensify the drama and fear of the dancers under the effect of LSD.

Climax is not only a psychedelic movie but also a horror film that respectfully borrows the best of Dario Argento Suspiria, which is a reference at the very beginning of the movie when every dancer is been interviewed for the casting. The visual of a vintage TV set with books and VHS tapes connects the dots of every dancer personality and feelings.

The soundtrack is powerful as well the cinematography and art direction.

As we reach the 4th version of A Star is Born, is important to talk about how Hollywood approach to a remake, making sure that is trendy and perhaps ready for new audiences, people who are devoted to their smartphones, who go to music festivals, enjoy their tunes thru streaming services and probably will watch this movie from the comfort of their homes.

A Star is Born is the story of Jackson "Jack" Main (Bradley Cooper) a famous country music singer, who is dealing with drug addiction and alcoholism. His fame takes him to every concert venue across the US. Jack is supported by his half-brother Bobby (Sam Elliot) who is also his antagonist when it comes to finances.

After one show, Jack asks his driver to bring him to a bar and he finds himself in a drag bar where he sees Ally Maine (Lady Gaga) perform. Jack starts a conversation with her, looking for clues of how a person with such a powerful voice is not in the music industry. Ally confess her struggle to pursuing a music career.

Jack decided to help her by bringing on stage to sing with him. After that Ally becomes a sensation thanks to a youtube video of her performance. Jack and Ally start a romantic relationship and tour together, Ally meets a music producer who wants to take her as a pop star, the rest is history.

Bradley Cooper directorial debut of the 4th version of A Star is Born is a very energetic piece for a new generation of music fans, especially for Lady Gaga fans who are interested in this compelling story. Audiences get a good taste of a musician's life. But also see their struggle, especially with substances. The pressure of been famous and how success comes and goes.

A Star is Born to have amazing musical scenes, with strong editing and cinematography, however, the film lack between those musical numbers, trying to balance the weakness of a story that could be forgettable. The story of Ally and Jack sometimes takes to long to develop wasting time on unnecessary moments Cooper and Gaga have great chemistry on camera and there is no need to explain more.

For the past 80's years, we have seen so many cop movies where men lead, while women take to the role of the damsel in distress or the femme fatale. Films like Chinatown, Heat, Maltese Falcon, Seven, Lethal Weapon, Hell or Highwater, Internal Affairs are the proof that Hollywood rarely give an opportunity to a female to become a Sam Spade.

Karyn Kusama well know for directing Girlfight, The Invitation, the show Halt and Catch Fire and Eon Flux embarked in challenging task of making a film about a female detective hunted by her past who is looking for closure.

Destroyer tells the story of Erin Bell (Nichole Kidman) an LAPD detective who seventeen years ago participate as an undercover agent with her partner Chris (Sebastian Stan) in an operation to rob some banks. Chris and Erin join the gang lead by Silas (Toby Kebbell) who is a psychopath who loves to challenge other members to break them.

Erin and Chris develop a romantic relationship while undercover with Erin eventually becoming pregnant. Karyn Kusama masterfull use the no- chronological structure in the film to help the spectator to dive into Erin's life. In both periods of times, you see how much Erin and the rest of the characters have changed and literally been damaged by those seventeen years.

The film is raw and dirty something that to me is a major achievement by director Karyn Kusama, the rest of the cast is spot on as well. The makeup is amazing, the original score by Theodore Shapiro is the perfect ambiance for this powerful cop drama.

Prestigious filmmaker George P. Cosmatos director of films such as Rambo First Blood Part II, Cobra, and Tombstone have passed the torch to his son Panos Cosmatos, with two films in his filmography, Panos already gain the reputation as a horror film director.

His second film Mandy has received five stars review and also been nominated for the Spirit Awards for Best Cinematography.

Mandy tells the story of Red Miller (Nicholas Cage) a logger living with his girlfriend Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough) both of them have a very obscure past. Red as a veteran and alcoholic and Mandy with childhood experiences.

One day on her way to work, Mandy bumps into a van carrying a deviant cult named Children of the New Dawn, led by Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache) is immediately strike by Mandy's beauty.

Sanders ordered the kidnap Mandy with the help of his disciples and a The Black Skull, a biker group. That's when Mandy and Red end up been kidnaped from their home. Sanders order to torture Red while he is trying to seduce Mandy, unfortunately for him Mandy humiliated him in front of his disciples. Filled with rage and revenge Sand order to burn Mandy alive in front of Red.

This is when Red's revenge won't stop until he eliminated everyone from The Children of the New Dawn.

Panos Cosmatos a bloody story or love and revenge, the film is hypnotic and beautiful. The cinematography, music, art direction and editing are outstanding.

Nancy Freeman (Andrea Riseborough) lives at home with her disabled mother Betty (Ann Dowd) in upstate New Jersey. This is one of those towns where everything seems to be in slow motion. Overcast and perpetual winter. Nancy works at a dentist mill, she regales with tales of imaginary vacations that she swears she's been, for the audience is clear that this is not the truth.

For audiences seems pretty clear that Nancy is a person with a lot of issues who constantly lives the life of others. Suddenly her mom dies, she invents the idea after watching the news about the story of a missing girl for 30 years that she is the missing girl. This brings her to the house Ellen Lynch (J Smith-Cameron) and Leo Lynch (Steve Buscemi) where she takes advantage of their need to find the missing daughter and use them for her benefit.

The film Nancy is a good approach by first-time director Christina Choe delivering an impressive movie where Andrea Riseborough plays a disturbed person who can join the list of Hollywood female psychopaths in her search of stealing people's identity and live their life too.

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda well known for his work, as editor, screenwriter and director won the Palm d Ore at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 for the film Shoplifters.

The film tells the story of Osamu (Lily Franklin) a construction worker who lives in poverty with his wife Nobuyo (Sakura Ando) Shota (Kairi Jo) and an elderly woman Hatsue (Kirin Kiki). Osamu shoplifts store with Shota in order to survive and find enough food to eat for the rest of the family.

One day, Osamu and Nobuyo are walking thru the neighborhood when they find Yuri Hojo (Miyu Sasaki) locked in a balcony. The night is very cold, so they decided to rescue her for the night. Yuri lives with an abusive mom who doesn't take care of her.

The next day Osamu and Nobuyo decided that Yuri must stay with them because they feel she will be better with them. Yuri bonds with the family and learn how to shoplift too while at the same time the family learns on television that Yuri was reported missing and the police are looking for her.

Hirokazu Kore-eda explores with this movie some the incongruities in life. Yuri lives better with an adoptive life that are sorta social criminals who steal to survive than with her abusive mom who doesn't care about her.

Life is hard in any city of the world, however for a city like Tokyo always presented as a cosmopolitan city, to me is quite impressive to see the levels of poverty. The simplicity of this film seems to channel Yasujirō Ozu and his vision of social injustice in Japan as well as people's life seen by the eyes of spectators who want to be a fly on the wall.

Shoplifters is an eye-opening film that needs to be seen by an audience who deserve to hear stories about the struggle in Asian cities.

In 2013 a polish film won the academy award for the best foreign film, the film IDA was praised by critics as a masterpiece shot and black and white with a powerful message about religion.

Director Paweł Aleksander Pawlikowski has a career as a documentary filmmaker focusing on lyricism and irony earning a good reputation as a filmmaker.

Pawlikowski comes back with another beautiful powerful film already winning awards around the world and competing at the Academy Awards for best cinematography, best foreign film, and best director.

Cold War tells the story of Wiktor Warski (Tomasz Kot) A sophisticated conductor and musicologist traveling through Poland with his producer Irena (Agata Kulesza) finding singers and dancers forced to play into the communist propaganda machine. During auditions, Wiktor meets Zuzanna "Zula" Lichoń (Joanna Kulig) a woman with a dark past but with so much talent.

Quickly Wiktor and Zula start an intense romance during the tour around Europe, where Wiktor ask Zula to escape with him out of the communist regime in Polland, the orchestrated plan fell apart because Zula never shows up. The couple is reunited again in Paris where Wiktor now have jazz and Zula still touring for the government of Polland.

The two become attached with each other & their ongoing relationship which morphs into an angst-riddled obsession that traverses Western & Eastern Europe.

Cold War is a masterpiece, with powerful performances, especially by Joanna Kulig. The cinematography is out of this world, you can easily freeze frame the film and is a perfect picture by an artist.

Pawlikowski borrows visual from the best and greatest filmmakers of all, you can see Bergman, Tarkovsky, Bresson, Varda, and Renoir. to tells this love story so destructive, like the whole Cold War itself.

Actor Paul Dano has gained such a reputation with powerful performances in films like There Will Be Blood, Little Miss Sunshine, Swiss Army Man, Prisoners, Youth, and the BBC Miniseries War and Peace. His debut as a director is an interesting take of married life in the eyes of a kid.

Wildlife tells the story of Jeannette Brinson (Carey Mulligan) and Jerry Brinson (Jake Gyllenhaal) a family who just moved to Great Falls, Montana with their teenage son Joe (Ed Oxenbould) Joe personality is always volatile, making him unstable on most of the jobs he is in. One day he is fired from a job at a golf course at a country club. He is offered the job back due to mistakes made by his boss, refusing it out of pride. Their relationship growth tense day today. Jeannette decided to find a job as a swimming instructor to help the family and Joe started working as an assistant in a photography studio.

Great Falls, Montana is very vulnerable to fire, so Jerry finds an opportunity working as a firefighter. Jeannette argues with Jerry because he enrolls on this difficult job, for her is a life or death experience where the firefighter spent so much time away from home.

Jeannette meets Warren Miller (Bill Camp) while she is teaching him how to swim, later becoming romantically involved. Jeannette leaves alone Joe several times to spend time with Miller. Joe argues with her several times about the affair but also questioning her relationship with Jerry.

Paul Dano is a strong start. Dano makes a good film with a strong cast. Ed Oxenbould as Joe is excellent. Wildlife is a story of love and dispairs in a small town where life goes on while nature is destroyed by sometimes the human hand and rescued at the same time.

It is hard to find filmmakers with such a sensitivity to tells stories and adapt someone material with respect. But when you find one, you are impressed with the results.
James Baldwin famous activist wrote a powerful novel under the name If Beale Street Could Talk, Director Barry Jenkins after winning the Oscar for best film on one of the most controversial award shows ever, decided to make a movie about Baldwin novel.

Clementine "Tish" Rivers (Kiki Lane) have a long time friendship with Alonzo "Fonny" Hunt (Stephan James), one decided to start a romantic relationship growing every day, unexpectedly Tish is pregnant of Fonny's child. The news comes joy for Tish family, especially for her mom Shanon Rivers (Regina King) but not well received on Fonny's family, especially Mrs. Hunt. One day Tish is harassed by an Italian guy at the store, Alonzo comes to rescue her physically throwing the man out of the store, but of course, a white police office appears and is trying to find an excuse to arrest him. A few days later, the same police officer arrests him with charges of raping a woman from the neighborhood. The case is really difficult to win, do the police officer testify against Fonny.

If Beale Street Could Talk is presented in a nonlinear structure making the film so enjoyable because you witness Tish and Fonny relationship from the very beginning and at the same time you see them struggling while Alonzo is in jail, fighting for justice.

The powerful vision by Barry Jenkins gives the actors the opportunity to kind break the 4rth wall by looking at you, asking you to feel their love, their pain, and suffering. Every detail in If Beale Street Could Talk is so well put out, from music, art direction, editing, and cinematography, is like all these elements are merged perfectly and evenly. The performance of the cast as a whole and individually is groundbreaking, due chemistry, and direction. This film is a great document on how till this day, police brutality against people of color lives on without enough consequences.

In 1977 Italian director Dario Argento directed a supernatural psychological horror film which became a cult classic. Dario Argento is always been labeled as a horror film director. He has inspired some many filmmakers including the award-winning Italian director Luca Guadagnino.

Suspiria directed by Guadagnino is a different take on Argento's version.
Susanna "Susie" Bannion (Dakota Johnson) an aspiring American ballerina arrives at Berlin in 1977 for an audition at the Tanz Dance Academy. Susie is able to get accepted quickly without no formal training, later she auditioned with Madame Blanc (Tilda Swinton) who is the artistic director and choreographer of the Tanz Dance Academy.

Susie's arrival comes at the same time when Patricia, a student disappears mysteriously, creating a sense of despair in some of the students and for the audience as well.

Another student, Olga accuses the matrons of the Academy for Patricia disappearance. While trying to escape, Olga gets trapped in one room without the possibility to leave. At this point, we see that there is a supernatural connection between Susie and where the Academy lives. Olga gets possed by Susie's movement in parallel scenes until Olga's body is broken by the rigorous physical movements from Susie.

The film advance into a hypnotic trip where the spiring ballerinas are practicing for the final show, Guadagnino creates a supernatural spectacle borderline into bizarre. To me, it felt like watching a European version of Black Swan where the ballerina is the hero but at the same time the enemy. Tom Yorke provided a powerful soundtrack and Tilda Swinton bring her talents to the test, plating two opposite characters (NO SPOILER HERE)

Films about racial conflicts, gentrification, and segregation are one of the most popular styles of films helping emerging directors to tells stories that mean a lot to some minorities who need a voice to be heard. Do The Right Thing, Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, Boyz in the Hood, New Jack City, and Stright Out of Compton are some of the film brought by directors like John Singleton and Spike Lee.

The new movie Blindspotting made by the Mexican Director Carlos Lopez Estrada tells the story of Collin (Daveed Diggs) a convicted felon is reaching his last three days of his probation. His longtime friend Miles (Rafael Casal) is a short-tempered guy who loves to get in trouble. Collin and Miles work at a moving company in Oakland.

One day after work Collin stop at a red light and witness the murder of a white civilian by the police. For Collin witness, this very troubling situation haunts him, especially under the circumstances he is living. Miles presence complicates things even worst because he carries a gun for protection and his erratic behavior escalate.

Blindspotting is a powerful poetic film about life in the hood and the way white policeman sees people of color, a common problem that continues without a solution on sight. The films express the daunting experience of African America who lives in the neighborhood where they don't feel safe and they are always feeling a threat around them.

Movies have a very peculiar relationship with productions about astronauts. Always conflicted, troubling and nothing to lose mentality follows the space travelers from the core mission to their conclusion.

When astronauts face their reality up there, is when they find what they are missing, characters who are reckless, adventurous, genius or perhaps risk takers.
Gravity, 2001 Space Oddisey, Armageddon, The Right Stuff, The Martian, Planet of the Apes, Red Planet, The Cosmonauts are among the films presenting these courageous people.

Director Damien Chazelle embarked in one of the most ambitious films ever. The story of how Neil Amstrong reached the moon on First Man.

Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) is an X-15 pilot facing a very difficult time because his daughter is going thru treatment for a brain tumor. Amstrong is working very hard to figure out the problem by cataloging her symptoms and feverishly, sadly she died. After the loss of his child, he signs up for project Gemini, which is the beginning of the space program to orbit around the earth. Neil, his wife Janet (Claire Foy) and their son Rick move to Houston for Gemini. This is the beginning of a hard 5 years for Amstrong, their family and the rest of the astronauts who join the program, where controversy surrounds, the death of crew members due to test in several missions, the public protesting about the miss use of federal funding to send people to space without a clear vision from NASA and the inscrutability in the information provided to family members about the health of the astronauts.

Damien Chazelle does a great job laying out his vision about the space program, the technical aspects of the film are outstanding. However, the story felt short due to a lack of constant rhythm in the script. First Man started with a great pace but then slow down, come back again, and in the most important part of the story, is to short to enjoy it.

Clair Foy plays a strong wife and mother, that when she appeared on the screen can show everyone who is charge even the chief of the astronaut office.

First Man presents a hidden message about how our current administration is promoting the famous "Space Force", a project that none knows where is going and why we need it is just another excuse to get money to protect us from something that we don't know. According to the film, the '60s people were starving and without money for their necessities but the most important thing was to send "Whitey to the Moon"

Director Yorgos Lanthimos is well known for his perverse style and approach to his movies. From Dogtooth, The Lobster, and The Killing of the Sacred Deer. Lanthimos focus on complex characters living in difficult situations with unexpected solutions.

His last two movies explore the love, grieve and revenge. Now in his new movie The Favourite he explores the complex web of power and the true nature of envy.

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) a woman with fragile health and not interest in governing Great Britan and Scotland. Queen Anne is more interested in superficial and eccentric activities, like duck races and play with her 17 rabbits which represent the child she had lost over the years. Her confidant Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) and also lover uses her power to influence the queen and manipulate her decisions.

Until one day Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham (Emma Stone) arrives in search for employment. Is important to mention that Sarah and Abigail are the queen's cousin. At first, Abigail works as a scullery maid in the palace. Quickly she realized that the queen is in bad shape. Abigail seeks an opportunity to gain flattering with Sarah and potentially Queen Anne by using some herbs to cure her inflamed legs, which works for the queen and help Abigail to become Lady of the bedchamber.

At this point, Sarah and Abigail fight for the queen Anna affection, quickly becoming a game of control, deceive and manipulation where England is at stake.

Lanthimos masterfully presents a well-crafted film leaning towards comedy, his previous approach leaning towards drama leave the spectators breathless, while this movie presents a challenge the audience who are impressed by unexpected visual styles, like extreme wide angle views, stunning art direction, and costume design.

Don't me wrong The Favourite is a good film, but not as powerful as The Lobster, and The Killing of the Sacred Deer who seeks less elaborated art direction and costumes and focus more in the characters. The Favourite presents nuances and visual metaphors in several scenes used as a tool to make the audience understand, however, The Favourite could be a little bizarre for audiences who are looking for a period piece with conventional storytelling style. The film has three powerful female characters who can survive in the 1700 era, the question is how queen Anne, Sarah and Abigail could do in the midst of the Metoo movement.

It is always a very recurrent subject in movies to explore the lives of writers. Depressed, conflicted, out of money, crazy, obsessed, a long list of issues that most of the time is the fuel for their work. The long list of films goes on, from Misery, Adaptation, Midnight in Paris, Manhattan, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Hours, Naked Lunch, The Shining, Ruby Sparks and The Great Beauty.

Writers are considered virtuosos but also people who have a messed up life, searching the next best-selling novel. One writer, in particular, gain success not by creating her work but by using other people's work and falsified their persona.

Writer Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) living in N.Y. and suffering from writers' block after the success of her novel Estée Lauder. Lee is one a really rough patch, dealing with financial troubles and alcoholism.

She is unable to finalize a deal to secure funding for a new biographical book she is forced to sell her personal possessions to pay the rent and make a living. One of the items she has the sell was a letter written by the actress Katherine Hepburn, unable to sell it to a good price she decided to start researching about the writer Fanny Brice and then she finds a letter from Brice folded in a book.

Lee finds inspiration in Brice to forge letters written by deceased writers, which she starts selling at a good price. The scam lasts longer than she thought but some buyers suspect when one letter suggest the sexuality of a famous writer. Her friend Jack Hock ( Richard E. Grant) a drug dealer help her to sell more letters after Lee is blacklisted by her buyers.

Marielle Heller directs a very powerful story about a writer struggles to survive in the savage this savage world where art meets lies. Melissa McCarthy finally showed me that she can perform besides comedy, without using physicality to prove she can be talented. Richard E. Grant is the perfect sidekick and supporting role. Both have a well deserved Oscar nomination.

When you hear the term Femme Fatale yo think of Rita Hayworth, Sharon Stone, Barbara Stanwyck, Lauren Bacal, and Lana Turner. These women were sophisticated characters, mysterious and seductive.

It is hard to picture really young girls playing a Femme Fatale, but after seeing the film Thoroughbreds I think is possible to label Amanda and Lily.

In a suburban Connecticut upper-class family, Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) lives with her mom Karen (Kaili Vernoff) and her stepdad Mark (Paul Sparks) a wealthy and abusive man, whom she hates.

Amanda (Olivia Cooke) been friends with Lily for years, but then grew apart after the death of Lily's dad. Amanda is a complex person who suffers from an unspecified mental disorder making her emotionless. She was also charged with animal cruelty after euthanized her crippled horse with a knife. One day Karen fixed a paid meeting between Lily and Amanda pretending to be a tutoring session, Amanda figured out it is paid very quickly. Later they meet by mutual agreement. The friendship grows back but with one single interest, Amanda proposes to Lily to kill Mark.

Cory Finley makes his directorial debut with this film, Thoroughbreds borrow from the great Alfred Hitchcock the complexity two characters planning a murder but in a young kids upper-class environment. The film is really well made, great performances and carefully directed to deliver an intense thriller. It reminds me of the early days for director Ryan Johnson and his film Brick, which is a film noir murder mystery in a high school.

One morning the Castleman are woken up by a sudden call from The Nobel Prize, announcing that Joseph (Jonathan Pryce) has won the literature award. His wife Joan (Glenn Close) react happily but some reservations of his husband victory.

This is the story of the film The Wife. The film takes place in 1992 with the family living in the seaside of Connecticut with two kids. One of them Susannah already married and expecting a baby, the other one named David, an aspiring writer trying to follow in the footsteps of his dad.

The film cuts back to 1968 when young Joan (Annie Starke) meets with his professor young Joseph ( Harry Lloyd) already married and with a kid, always trying to take advantages with his students. Joan is interested in Joseph, but she doesn't want to become a homewrecker, however, Joseph flirts with her constantly, causing them to fall in love and subsequently Joseph leaves his wife and son for Joan. The film cuts again to 1992 when Joan, Joseph, and David travel to Stockholm for the award ceremony. During this trip is when the spectator-witness Joan frustration for Joseph victory and his mistreatment on his son David.

Director Björn Runge creates a parallel between Joan and Joseph earlier an apparent happy times versus their older times when the burden of being a beloved wife takes its toll. Joan was also a very talented writer, but she sacrificed all for the success of his husband while she stayed home taking care of the kid's. At the same time, Joseph is playing the famous writer flirting with girls and getting involved with every woman he can. The big revelation right by the Noble Prize ceremony comes when the audience discovers that Joan is the author of Joseph work, while he is just an editor of Joan's work, the pure irony of knowing that the award is false.

Over the curse of 100 minutes, we are reminded of the powerful role of women in the development of a healthy family, but also how much sacrifice they do, leaving behind careers and dreams to be as big as their husbands. Their sad story is represented in the younger years of Joan in the 1950s when women are trying to succeed in the misogynist world of men.

Glenn Close creates a powerful character who is capable show much emotion and communicate t the audience by staring at the camera in a blank stare.