With This Ring

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With This Ring turned out to be a decent post iftar viewing. I like this type of easy going pro feminist rom com. 

The Business

The Business was on sale and I wanted to give Ms. Cole's novels a try so I did. And it was an ok novel but the style was a bit repetitive. This book could have been half as long and just as good. 

Kakegurui - Season I

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Kakegurui was one of the Japanese anime on Netflix and I decided to check it out because why not? And despite being interested in the story it didn't really appeal to me. Then there came the regular drama of the anime and I decided to check that our because why not? And I liked it a lot, quickly watching the short 8 episodes. But the story did not conclude so I think may be there will be other episodes in the future. 

2001: A Space Odyssey

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2001: A Space Odyssey turned out to be a film I appreciated more than I liked. 

The Killing of A Sacred Deer

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The Killing of A Sacred Deer is a film I was eager to watch. Because I kind of like The Lobster, the other film by director Yorgos Lanthimos. He certainly upped the ante and made a film not only very good to watch but also would cause a lot of discussion afterwards. The actors were all brilliant and it certainly did not go where I expected it would. Highly recommended. 

Sing

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Sing is one of those films where animals are treated like people. I must have liked those since despite not being a good film, I actually enjoyed it a lot. 

Going In Style

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Going In Style tells the story of three old men deciding to rob a bank because their pensions are unfairly taken away from them. And they succeed. Well in real life bank robbers are not really good guys but they seem to be having a blast and well liked by everyone in films and tv shows. 

La Casa De Papel

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La Casa De Papel is a much loved TV show I have only watched because of the Spanish. At least the production values are good and the actors unfamiliar so they seemed like real people. Not much of a fan (but the Spanish was good) 

Peaky Blinders - Seasons 1-4

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Peaky Blinders well since everyone raved about this one I decided to give it a try. And it is very good. The writing, the acting, the sets all very fine. It was entertaining to watch Tommy Shelby outsmart and out maneuver his opponents with each season. 

Canım Kardeşim

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Canım Kardeşim turned out to be sad. It is a slice of life story of two very close friends, who do not have regular jobs, live at a very poor neighbourhood and get by with small con jobs and are generally content with their lot in life despite their troubles. The little kid in the photo is the brother of the tall one. And when their father dies at night (probably due to a heart attack) the big guy now has to take care of the little dude who was not in his radar that much up to now. We see how they live and get by and one day the little guy's teacher calls them and wanted the kid checked out by a doctor since he is very dirty and constantly scratches. They took him to a bath house first and then to the doctor only to find out that he has leukemia with only one maybe two months to live. The little guy's heart's true desire is to have a television set. And we see how these two good friends try to make the last days of the kid very happy and obtain a TV to make his wish come true. It is very sad but not melodramatic. More like a slap in the face with each episode of social inequity and one misery after another told in a rather realistic manner. 

Köyden İndim Şehire

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Köyden İndim Şehire yine gayet eğlenceli geçti. Ancak ben galiba bu filmlerin sonlarını ya izlememişim ya hatırlamıyorum, bu sefer yine şaşırdım. 

Gülen Gözler

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Gülen Gözler is one of those films I watch during Ramadan to help pass the time and I didn't like it as much as I had the other films of this ilk. The reason for that is probably the majority of the family are scheming people who try to trick their authoritarian father who didn't hesitate to slap one of his daughters at one point in the film. Sener Sen was great though and the best part of the whole film. 

Tosun Paşa

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Tosun Paşa filmini hiç baştan sona izlemediğimi farkettim. Neyseki bu hata giderildi ve epey eğlendim izlerken. 

The Book of Henry

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The Book of Henry well, I guess I must be close to being on my period because this viewing definitely gained from it. Firstly of course I liked the cinematography, clean the way I like it and I liked the cast especially Naomi Watts. I hadn't liked this lady the first time I watched her in Mullholland Drive. I only got to like her when I watched The Painted Veil and now I love her. I also like the fact that she doesn't have plastic surgery to help her battle with age. She ages naturally and I love it. Ok and Jacob Tremblay what a good little actor that kid is. I have shed a lot of tears during this film but I think most of them were due to my hopefully upcoming period. 

The Call

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The Call well it started and progressed well until the silly end (well it was kind of satisfying but still not in tone with the rest of the film and didn't work). The first one hour was really good though and entertaining to watch. 

A Tale of Three Cities (San cheng ji)

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A Tale of Three Cities (San cheng ji) turned out to be a story of two lovers in time of war(s) I liked it and my mother liked it too. This is the type of film that would appeal more to female viewers I think. 

Burnt By The Sun (Utomlennye solntsem)

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Burnt By The Sun (Utomlennye solntsem) is a film that has been put into my radar many times but for some reason I have passed it by. It is just that I'm not particularly intersted in East European and Russian cinema. I didn't like the photos of the lead actor (also the film's director) either. So I passed that one over many times until it was on Digiturk and I saved it for a rainy day. This Ramadan weekend I decided to give it a go. And it started normally but at some point it just hit my heart like a hammer, I didn't see it coming and I enjoyed the pain. This film turned out to be great and I highly recommend it to everyone. I was crying and crying from that certain point and till the end. 

Mavi Boncuk

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Mavi Boncuk ilk izlediğimde beni gülmekten yerlere yatıran bir film olmuştu ama çok iyi yaşlanmadığını farkettim. Yine de çok sevdiğim oyuncular, güzel yapılan restorasyon ve youtube'da vicdan azabı olmaksızın izlemek çok iyi geldi. Oruçlu günlerde Arzu filme daha çok ilgi göstereceğim galiba. 

What Have I Done?

What Have I Done? was a bargain bin purchase and it didn't work for me this time. The story was interesting and I liked the protagonist but the storytelling was not to my taste and I have found an error and this normally would be a nuisance in a novel I like better but this time it really annoyed me. 

Welcome

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Welcome is a film I wanted to watch but couldn't since the disc I have purchased was faulty. And now that I'm over my Indian film craze, it is not that good a film however some parts made me laugh still. 

Last Bus To Woodstock

Last Bus To Woodstock turned out to be a novel I didn't really like at first, then slowly got better and better and yesterday I actually walked and read at the same time (which is becoming some kind of a not so safe habit). I'll keep reading more Inspector Morse novels I hope. 

The Edge of Seventeen

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The Edge of Seventeen turned out to be a funny and emotional teen film which was very well acted by all in it and I'm glad I have watched it. 

Uprooted

Uprooted I chose randomly and I'm so happy that I did. This ended up being a favorite novel, which I have stopped everything and read through the end. 

The Florida Project

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The Florida Project turned out to be not only as good as everyone says it is, it also ripped my heart out during the viewing and many tears were shed. This is one of the films that tells a story in a brilliant way and the child actors all are amazing, the grown up actors too but it is really more dependant on the performances of the children. I LOVED it, it is now one of my favorite films of all time. I love Sean Baker now and will look for more of his films. 

The Outsider

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The Outsider was at my Netflix viewing list but for some reason I didn't get around to it. I got this sense that  this film would not be to my liking. Sometimes I get this sense and I watch the film and I love it and this thankfully was one of those occasions. I only decided to watch because I started to re-read (listen to) Shogun and thought it would be a nice accompaniment. The story of a gaijin in the land of the rising sun. However Nick, our lead character is not Blackthorne, at all. We meet the guy in prison and I immediately think him wrongly accused or being victim of fate or something. Because he saves a guy from death by others' hands and because he is acted by Jared Leto who looks adorably cute and vulnarable. But as the film progresses we see that this guy was rightly prisoned since he is a psycho. As crazy as the rest of the yakuza he willingly joins to. The guy he saved is one of the second in commands and georgeous (acted by Asano Tadonobu who has aged amazingly well) and in 1950s Osaka he rises due to his violent tendencies and know when to shut up and when to cut his finger in apology. He also falls for the sister of Asano. But of course there is an antagonist (in a film filled with baddies he is even worse than them) and Nick has to deal with him. I loved the clean cinematography, the performances of everyone, especially Jared Leto's who was not really so cute after half an hour into the film. The tattoos were cool too, probably the only thing good about yakuza. 

Ink Mage (A Fire Beneath The Skin)

Ink Mage turned out to be fast and furious (like the film franchise). Not much of world building or charactarisation and despite loving the female lead and the idea of tattoos giving one power, I will not continue the series. The reader's performance was uneven, usually great but often strangely dividing the sentences. 

I See You

I See You was entertaining but the reading experience was a bir uneven for me. Some parts of it really took me in and some parts of it I was yawning. I liked I Let You Go a bit better than this one. Still it is not a bad novel in the least. 

The Notebook

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The Notebook well it has turned out that I had never actually watched this film from beginning to end, I just watched a huge part of it. So I have never understood the love for it. Well after thinking Ryan Gosling is a very good actor, I gave this one another go and I was crying so much I swear my tearduct spurted two teardrops at the same time more than once.

I don't have a crush on Ryan Gosling or anything (not like my Ben Affleck or James MacAvoy phases) but he really is a good actor. 

Joint Security Area

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Joint Security Area is a film dear to my heart and I'm very glad to see that I still liked it as much after so many years. This film is a bit melodramatic but I love it. Having been to the actual DMZ area I know about the tension and the mood of the locale and they conveyed it perfectly. Song Kang Ho is probably one of my all time favorite actors. He has an inherent talent and he is so good in this shadowing the rest of the cast who are all wonderful actors themselves. Anyway I loved it again. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love

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Crazy, Stupid, Love I have watched once before and remember not liking but having been in the mood for a romance film and liking some of the cast I decided to give it a go. This may actually be one of the few rom coms that I dislike. Nothing is good in it except Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei. 

I Wish (Kiseki)

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I Wish (Kiseki) was welcome surprise at a 'films around the world' viewing list at Blutv so of course I gave it a go and as many Koreeda films, it moved me and made me glad that I watched it. 

Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

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Thomas Crown Affair the remake is an all time fave. I love that the two leads are equally smart and capable and good looking. The soundtrack is lovely and the sets and locations wonderful. I actually like this better than the original. 

Manhunt

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ManHunt reminded me that I have been long away from Hong Kong/Chinese cinema that I didn't even know JohnWoo made a film. That Aaron Kwok film with the non aging killer truly ended HK cinema for me I suppose. Anyway this was like a John Woo film made by a quarter of John Woo. No feelings ever came true and one of the best things about John Woo films (one which, Hard Boiled is actually my all time fave action film) is that the sentiments come through the action there is melodrama along with it. Here they tried to do the same thing but for some reason it didn't work. I'm not going to blame the actors since they all did a great job, except the son of the main baddie. I know the actor but I couldn't find his name right away. It was entertaining enough that I watched it without falling asleep but it didn't move me at all.

Pachinko

Pachinko I took a chance with and I'm so happy that I did. It is a great novel that involves a lot of issues, feelings and points of views but does it all without crowding your head. I immediately wanted to get the other novel of Ms. Lee Min Jin. 

Avengers:Infinity War

Avengers:Infinity War ended up being more entertaining and engaging than I thought it was going to be. I actually liked it a lot. However it is necessary to watch at least The Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor: Ragnarok, Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther before going in. 

Die Hard

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Die Hard just does not get old. It is still one of my all time fave films even after so many viewings (RIP Alan Rickman). 

Candy Jar

Candy Jar is one of those lacklustre Netflix films (yeah these deserve their own sub classification). It is a YA film and I didn't enjoy it but I finished it.