Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Poster for the movie ""

We finally finished reading the first Harry Potter book with Ella as her bedtime story this week, so Friday was a special movie night treat where she got to watch the movie for the first time. And my treat was to watch her watching it. She had the biggest smile on her face. I think this is going to be on heavy rotation in our house while we start to read the second volume every night…

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Hidden Figures

Poster for the movie ""

This was such a fun movie. It is indeed “based on a true story”, and an important one, but it never feels preachy or heavy in any way. The main three actresses are all excellent (there should be a special oscar for Octavia Spencer‘s loving-but-disapproving side glance), and Kevin Costner does his best trademarked 50s-man-in-crisp-white-shirt role since JFK. It would make a great double bill with The Right Stuff…

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Your Name.

Poster for the movie "Your Name."

If you are looking for something different, this is one of the best Anime films to come out in years. Its hand-drawn animation is stunningly beautiful, the main characters don’t feel like caricatures and the story is both funny and moving. This movie really felt like a breath of fresh air, and I can’t recommend it enough. Try and track it down, it is well worth it!

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Julieta

Poster for the movie "Julieta"

I confess that I have been unfaithful to Pedro Almodovar recently. I really had no interest to watch his latest movie, and I still haven’t seen the previous one either. If sometimes Almodovar is a bit too “out there” for you, this is one of his less brash and more nuanced movies. A beautiful and touching slice of life, wonderfully told, with two superb central performances, this was one of the best movies of the year, without a doubt.

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La La Land

Poster for the movie "La La Land"

We watched this last night, and I can’t get it off my head. From the director of Whiplash (who by the way, is 31 years old…) comes an all-singing, all-dancing hommage to the musicals of yesteryear. It is nostalgic, yet modern and fresh, romantic, but realistic, joyful and bittersweet at the same time. It is a masterpiece, and a tour de force from Emma Stone. This movie is going to win a ton of awards, and it will be all deserved.

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Rogue One

Poster for the movie "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

At first, I was going to give this one a pass. And then, I started to hear good things about it. Great thing about it, even. So, I grew curious, and went… Wow, what a treat. This will be my second favourite Star Wars movie, I am sure. Take note, George Lucas. This is how you make a prequel. Oh, and those last few frames were just the perfect ending.

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Arrival

Poster for the movie "Arrival"

The best movie of 2016. Don’t let yourself be discouraged even if you are not a fan of Science Fiction in general. This is about so much more than aliens. It’s not like anything you have seen before. It is touching, both tense and slow paced, a rare example of a big spectacle movie that will make you think long after the end credits roll. After Sicario and this, Denis Villeneuve is most definitely a director to watch for.

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Hunky Dory

Poster for the movie "Hunky Dory"

I was listening to some David Bowie the other day, and it just reminded me of this great little movie. So many good tunes, so much good energy, a very sweet story, and a movie that really should have been seen by more people. So if you haven’t seen it yet, seek it out! and if you have, come back to it for the music, for the sun, for the memories and for the feelgood feelings.

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Boyhood

Poster for the movie "Boyhood"

I realize that I haven’t posted here in quite a while, but it took a very special something to shake me up and bring me back here to share my love for a movie that has stuck with me, and that I still think about every day since I saw it three weeks ago… Filmed over twelve years with the same actors, this would be an amazing achievement in itself, but forget about the gimmick, this is not what makes Richard Linklater’s film special. It is all the small moments, the casual conversations, the stolen glances, the music, that all add up to a masterpiece. I didn’t want it to end. Try to catch it in cinemas, I doubt anything better will come out this year.

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No

Poster for the movie "No"

Once again this year we went on an Oscars movie-watching binge, and this one may have flown under the radar but it is well worth seeking out. A fun comedy about the Chilean referendum against Pinochet’s regime (maybe I am not selling this very well), it might look like it was filmed with an 80s Betamax camera (because it was, so that the archive footage fits perfectly with the rest) but it punches well above its weight.

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