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Room is the story of a mom (Brie Larson) and her son (Jacob Tremblay). Brie plays a single mom living in a small room and struggling to raise the kid. Their room is cramped and old, she has a hard time putting food on the table, and they cannot afford candles for the the kid's birthday cake. As the movie progresses, more complex and difficult aspects of their lives is presented to the audience. The kid has never left the room and TV is her only outlet to the outside world, which he does not believe in. The movie ultimately turns into a story about facing reality and accepting its harsh consequences. It becomes about opening your mind to new things even if they are inconvenient and hard to accept, even if they go against your intuition and believes. As the kid is struggling to accept the outside world, the mom does whatever she can to keep him safe and happy. But the mom starts to doubt her decisions and actions, too. She realizes that she was not necessarily the best mom and she could have done things differently. This time the kid protects the mom and keeps her happy. Director Lenny Abrahamson knows how to display the full range of emotions. "Room", as well as his previous work, gives you hope, disparity, joy, sadness, and everything in between.

"The Duke of Burgundy" is a movie about dynamics of sex between Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and her maid, Evelyn (Chiara D'Anna). But I would like to read more into it and think it is also a movie about guilt. The setting, characters, and order of events in the movie does not resemble anything in real life. The is no sense of time, there are no men around at all, and people have unusual professions. This all indicates that the the story is happening inside someones head. From the opening scene we see that Cynthia is cruel to her maid. She punishes the made with pithy excuses. At one point in the movie, we see her opening a big coffin-like box in the woods to find the maid's skeleton in it. It appears that Cynthia's cruelty killed the maid. Rest of the movie shows how Cynthia is coping with her guilt. She goes through a mental gymnastic to convince herself she is not guilty. She imagines what she could have done differently. She deceives herself into thinking that she was in love with the maid and did everything to prove her love. In her distorted narration of the events, her cruelty to the maid was not punishment, it was sexual favors.

I guess I am not a Paul Thomas Anderson guy. His movies never attracted me and trust me, I tried very hard. I am sorry PT Anderson, I love you but somehow your movies are not for me.

Let's be honest. Everybody at one point in hist life wants to be that smart boy in the bar who teaches a lesson to that **** **** who is picking on his friend.

It was fun to watch but I had two problems with it. It very obviously tricks the viewers into resenting the restaurant owner and it is the same old cliche story that we have seen over and over: "follow your dreams and they will come true"

This is a great movie about friendship. It is a sad movie but it is not manipulative at all. It cuts through many layers that makes us humans without glorifying us or shaming us. It just show how we, humans, are.

This is the perfect type of movie for me. An indie movie with great story, great performances, and great cinematography. I cannot ask for more. I cannot wait to see what Alex R. Johnson does next.

Ida is the story of a young girl living in a convent who is about to take her vows to become a nun. But she needs to visit her only relative, her aunt, before devoting herself to life-long chastity and poverty. When she goes to visit her aunt, she realizes that her childhood story is much deeper and elaborate than what she has been told. Her one day visit to her aunt soon turns into a long journey to discover her past and to reconcile with it. Ida's mom is not alive anymore but Ida resembles her in appearance and acts, which makes Ida's aunt takes Ida's love into her heart immediately. In one scene they are looking at old family pictures. Her aunt is telling her that her Mom once made a fancy stained glass for the cows to make them happy. Next day when they go see the glass, she adds, “That's Roza, fancy stained glass next to cow **** That is in essence Ida's life (or at least how her aunt sees it). Ida is a precious marvel surrounded in a terrible world. Her heart is strong and big but preoccupy with religious dogmas that does not let her enjoy her life. Ida never been anywhere, but she knows more than everybody else about life. Her aunt is “tenacious” but Ida is the one who handles difficult situations and makes the tough decisions. Ida looks naive but she talks, decides and acts wisely and firmly. You may or may not agree with her (I totally disagree with her) nonetheless you cannot help but to approve her decisions. She does not talk much but when she does, she hunts you. One of the key dialogues in the movie is this one: Boy: Ever been to the seaside? Ida: I haven't been anywhere. Boy: Come along then... You'll listen to us play, we will walk on the beach. Ida: And then? Boy: Then we will buy a dog, get married, have children, get a house. Ida: And then? Boy: [long silence] She shakes your core values with her simple short questions (E.g. “And then?”). It seems she does not know anything about life–she is a nun after all who grow up in an isolated convent in a village and hasn't been anywhere else–but unlike everyone else, she knows what she wants to do with her life. Everyone else is just part of a herd following the shepherd blindly. She is the “fancy glass”, everyone else is the “cow ****”. Everyone in this movie is depicted as a human, no more, no less. They all have strengths and they all crumble from time to time. Even the darkest characters in the movie still have a white spot left on their slate. Ida's aunt is a well-known “tenacious” prosecutor but sometimes she is clueless and desperate. The farmer's son is devoid of emotions and empathy but he shows mercy to Ida. Ida is a nun but she seeks carnal pleasure. Director Pawel Pawlikowski does something in 82 minutes that others directors need 3 hours to do. His camera does not move much except in the last scene because in this scene Ida is the center of the universe, she is the one that is carrying the world. She is walking on a road, the camera is facing her. It does not show where she is going because Ida is confident about what is going to happen next, it vaguely shows where she has been. She does not turn to look back because for Ida the past belongs to the past. The cinematography in this movie is exceptional. Every single frame in the movie is shot so artfully that it has the potential to feature on a magazine cover. All the shots from the character faces, all the catch lights in their eyes, the composition and the light vindicate to a cinematographer with absolute mastery. One of my favorites scenes in the movies is a shot a of a man digging a grave. The lights, the shadows, the dirt texture, and his facial expression all are phenomenally captured in this shot. Ida is a must see movie for anyone who loves photography and cinematography, or for anyone who wants to contemplate on life and what we are supposed to do in it, or for anyone who wants to explore the angelic and evil capacities of humans.

Just a movie to convince us that we should forgive Armstrong even though he used performance enhancement drugs and lied about it over and over and over. If you want to get a glimpse of arrogance, watch Armstrong in this documentary.

In the Avengers, all famous superheroes team up to save humans. The film has action, humor and a story but all of them are superficial and underdeveloped. The Avengers aims at catering all kind of audience (those who love superheroes, or actions, or comedies) but delivers a mixture that is none. The idea of superheroes never settled well with me. The idea that we, people, are helpless and need superheroes to save and protect us is a troubling idea to say the best about it. I really don't understand all the hype around this movie. 2 hours of your time is worth more than the laughter you get from seeing Hulk smashing Loki to the floor a few times (and that's the only good thing in the movie).

Thierry, an amateur film maker, decides to make documentary about famous street artists. But everything changes as he gets fame and attention. As we see events unfold, we have no way but to reconsider the meaning of art and artist. We also have to take a look at This is a marvelous take on art and what it means. What it means to be an artist. What are the rules and limits. How much art is truly art and how much it is a sensation driven by advertisement. This is not just a story about Terry and his success story as an artist, it is also a story about us. Because, we are the visitors of his gallery. We are the buyers of his art. We give him fame and wealth and fortune. One of the quotes at the ending of the movies summarizes it all, “The joke is on … uh … mm [us]”. And by us, I mean all of us (the artist, the visitors, the media, the promoters). We all to varying degrees are megalomaniacs. We oversell ourselves and our identities for personal gains. To reject this notion is just adding a layer of hypocrisy to the mix. But I argue it is fine. If a **** wants to call a piece of **** art and pay a humongous amount of money for them, they have the right to do it. It is also a criticism of Banksy's work. If there are no rules in art, what is the difference between Banksy and Terry (or between Banksy and Picasso) and if there are rules, who decides them.

I don't understand why this movie has such a high metascore. I watched the whole movie in hope that it gets better but it didn't. Don't waste your time.

In the opening scene, a man confesses to a priest that he will kill him next Sunday. As the priest is getting his matters together in one week, the audience gets to know more about him, his mass, and his town. In Calvary, all characters are troubled. The priest have had his midlife crisis which led him choose the path priesthood. His daughter is suicidal, depressed, and feels abandoned by his parents. The sack's marriage is in a free fall. The young beauty in the town is becoming uncontrollably promiscuous, the banker is devoid of emotions for his family and friends, the young boy has violent thoughts. The only untroubled character is the young widow even though she has faced a calamity recently. She knows how to cope, move on, and live. Her faith is genuine and authentic, even more so than the priest. Unlike the priest, she did not turn to God for help after she had a crisis. She believes genuinely and wholeheartedly, which makes her unbreakable and unshakable. Everything in this movie is set up correctly, introduced at a proper time, and adds to the movie in a later time. His dog, his daughter, the local bar, the church, etc. Each one unveils a crucial point about one of the characters and keeps the audience engaged. Calvary is not just a movie about a priest who may die in a week. It is more a movie about the unfairness of life and randomness of death. All the touched themes in Calvary make it a movie worth watching.

“How to train your dragon” is the story of a furious dragon, Toothless, and a genius dragon fighter, Hiccup. Dragons constantly raid Hiccup's town, steal the live stock, and set the houses on fire. Hiccup's father is leader of the town, a legendary dragon fighter, and Hiccups role model. Hiccup craves to be like his father but he lacks the essential skills to fight dragons. He is clumsy, cowardly, and weak. Still he relentlessly practices to become a dragon fighter even though nobody takes him seriously. “How to train your dragon” is the story of a young boy searching for his identity; searching for who he wants to be and how to become it. It is a story of perseverance. It shows when traditions and conventions are hindering you, they should be changed or abandoned. When Hiccup fails to become a dragon fighter by following the traditional and conventional methods, he questions their authenticity, meticulously examines them, refines them, or even completely rejects them and devises new unorthodox ways. The myths fascinate him in the fantasy world but do not blind him in the real world. “How to train your dragon” is full of sublime messages and themes but it is not a heavy handed movie for the elite. Quite conversely, it is an extraordinarily fun movie to watch, a movie that even toddlers can enjoy. The graphic design is phenomenal, soundtracks are captivating, dialogues are fluid and seamless, and it has a remarkable story to tell. This is indeed one of the best achievements in the history of animations.

“The Fault in Our Stars” is the love story of Hazel and Augustus, two teenagers with terminal cancer who meet in a support group. It is based on a book by the same title written by John Green. Hazel, played by Shailene Woodley, and Augustus, played by Ansel Elgort have two completely different characters. Hazel is very pessimistic, depressed, asocial, and melancholic. Augustus is optimistic, cheerful, convivial, and funny. As their love story progresses their characters change. Hazel starts to see bright sides of the world and Augustus gives up his super ambitious dreams and becomes more realistic. Not every director is brave enough to step into the territory of showing the daily life of terminally ill people but this territory is also easily manipulative. Josh Boone should be praised for his courage for directing “The Fault in Our Stars” and puts many engaging moments and a good takeaway message in the movie but it does not mean his work has no shortcomings. The main problem with the movie is the poor script adaptation. The movie relies less on the visual presentations and more on Hazel's monologues to narrate the story. Instead of seeing events in the movie, we mostly hear them (or we see them and then unnecessarily hear them). A better script adaptation could have transformed more of the oral narrations into more engaging visual narrations. Moreover, cliché sentences like “I love you” and “You are beautiful” appear in the movie over and over without adding anything new to the story. The ultimate message of the movie is excessively highlighted with excessive dialogues and performances. The second problem with this movie is far-from-perfect performances. The supporting actors and actresses in the movie pull out good performances but the leading actor and actress are not convincing. The Augustus' ever-present smile and his never-disturbed coolness feels unreal and sometimes annoying. Still, it seems the script is to blame here. Performances are not the only part of the movie that feel fake and unreal. The whole story about Hazel and Augustus's last wish and how they consummate their love is so fake that I couldn't help but to keep closing my eyes through it.

Hiccup, the main character of the movie, lives in a small viking town called Berk. Thanks to his studies and constant analysis of dragons, people of Berk now a lot more about dragons and understand them better. They are living peacefully with tamed dragons until a group of dragon hunters arrive from a neighboring place. From then the story gets twisted and we unpredicted events unfold. Hiccup constantly pushes to solve the problems with conversation and dialog unlike most vikings in his town who are ready to fight and use violence. He relentlessly engages with the “enemies” and keeps a discourse with them. He constantly studies them and tries to understand them. There are two strong themes in the movie that made me love it. The first theme is the relation between humans and animals which symbolically represents the relation between any two group of adversaries: two races, two ethnicities, followers of two religions, or even two nations. Through the movie, when a group studies and understands the other group, animosities subside, mutual respect flourishes, and the common cores of both groups bind them together. In the call for understanding other groups, this movie implicitly asks us to throw away all the preconceptions and dogma and look at them, judge them, and treat them fairly and justly. The second strong theme in the movie is Hiccup's constant search for his identity. He is confused about who he really is and why he is different from all other vikings. But he also ceaselessly searches and seek what he wants to do with his life. He is fearless when he faces challenges and new experiences. How to train your dragon 2, is a phenomenal movie, the kind that you have wait years for to come and the kind that will fill you with joy whenever you remember. It is extremely fun to watch with an amazing story and unbelievable cinematography. It is a kids movie for adults. After watching this movie, all you want to do is flying and pondering on the questions that it touches.

Thomas, played by Mathieu Amalric, is a play writer who cannot find a good director to direct his plays. Hence, he decides to direct his own play but he becomes frustrated when none of the auditioned actresses is capable of pulling out the main role. Sitting alone late at night in a theater, a new actress, Vanda, played by Emmanuelle Seigner, walks in as he is about to close and leave. Vanda seems to have no idea what the script is about and is old for the role but Thomas auditions her. As they read more of the play, Vanda's talent shows up. She incrementally gains control over her performance, stage, and even Thomas, who is the director and ultimate arbiter. As the audition progresses, the line between reality and the theatrical performance blurs out. The events in the play find ties to the events in the real life of Thomas and he hands over control of the stage to Vanda who emerges as goddess. Toward the end of the movie, Thomas finds a change to gain the control back and drive the audition (and his real life which is completely intermingled with the play at this point) but Vanda cunningly flips the role and retain the control. The power dynamics between Vanda and Thomas are interesting subjects to ponder on but the movie does not give any clue on what they mean. Deciphering of hidden messages in the movie is left completely to the viewer. Questions about this movie can linger in your mind for days after watching it. Performances in Venus in Fur are great and the blurring of reality and fantasy is interesting but the movie is lofty for the general audience and pointless for the critics. I cannot imagine what type of audience may enjoy this movie.

Joel, played by Jim Carry, skips work and goes for a walk on a beach in a cold winter day. He meets Clementine, played by Kate Winslet, and falls in love with her while both are unaware of a common past that connects them together. In their relationship, Joel and Clementine experience love, happiness, intimacy as well as hate, sadness, and insecurity. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not a just love story, it is spectacular take on why we love and hate others, why we remember and forget, and why we make connections and we break up. Joel shares his most intimate and private moments of his life with Clementine to stay connected to her, moments that makes him feel embarrassed, weak, or insecure (for example, the flashback to the bird scene). These little details in their relationship seems unimportant in short run and their efforts to stay connected seems futile because they are not changing anything immediately. In the long run, however, these trivial moments are the main reason behind their behavior, decisions, moods, and emotions (for example , Jim Carry decision to take a different train). The more they open up and the more private moments they share, the stronger the bond between them becomes. This movie complements the Joel and Clementine story with other characters' stories who are experiencing similar problems in their relationships. The development of their story makes this movie even more engaging, and extremely fun to watch. Kirsten Dunst' character and her relation with her colleagues, particularly, questions morality of certain actions that seem innocuous and helpful in first glance but can have unintended consequences.

Boyhood is a movie shot with the same cast over 12 years. As the main character grows from a kid in elementary school into a young adult, he understands himself and the world around him and gains more control over it. While the idea of growth is a fascinating subject, this movie fails to build an engaging story around it. In Boyhood, milestone moments in life are overshadowed by mundane events. High school graduation is overshadowed by a talk with a friend after graduation ceremony. Marriages and divorces are overshadowed by talks over dinner table. The movies seems to be very valuable for the director, Richard Linklater, and the cast who helped with the script and the mundane moments that are overemphasized seem to have personal connections with the cast. If you similar connections with similar moments in life, you will love the movie, otherwise there is not much to love in Boyhood.

Life Itself is a documentary about the life the legendary film critic, Roger Ebert. The movie is based on his autobiography, which is also titled "Life itself". The movie is full of intriguing and personal moments in the life of Ebert and events that led to his death. Growing up outside USA, I never watched Ebert's TV shows ("Sneak Previews" and "At the Movies") and I never read his critics (on Chicago Sun-Times). This movie shed some light on Ebert's life and showed me why he was such an influential figure. But at the same time, I could not care about Ebert more than any other successful professional person I know. The movie shows what an exceptional critic Ebert was, and at the same time, shows he was not very different from any other ordinary man. If you like cinema and history of it or if you like movies about movies, Life Itself is the right movie for you. Otherwise, Life Itself can be boring and you will leave the theater asking your self "Why should I care about Ebert?"

Ivan Locke , played by Tom Hardy, drives one night from Birmingham to London. During his trip we hear him making phone calls to his colleagues, family, and his mistress. The story never leaves the car and we see nobody else , which makes the movie dragging every now and then. The film explores many aspect of modern life, humanity and even up to a certain point, ideas such as free will and fate. Ivan Locke is a professional civil engineer who is working on a big construction project. He had an affair with a woman in the past who is giving birth to his baby on the night that the story of the movie takes off. Locke is driving to London to be with his mistress and his newborn baby. Locke's struggle to fix things is a symbolic representation of what we, human beings, struggle with in life: the desire to have control over what happens around us and to us, the desire to fix and compensate for our mistakes in the past, the desire to have a happy family, the anger that we carry with us from our parents because they weren't responsible enough or because they made terrible decisions that immediately and significantly affected us and it seems they do not care. Locke is talking to his dad—or to his own past—in the rear mirror of his car. He is constantly instructing and lecturing his dad that he will and fix everything. Locke is self driven, firm, and assiduous. Nothing can stop him, neither his boss, nor the long ride, nor the drama of his family. He chooses where to go and how to go and forces everything follow. Locke's story and his journey in the end, is also the story and journey is the story and journey of his father, and why his father did what he did. The movie leaves you with the this question that “How the Ivan's father was like?” Was the a reckless irresponsible man who didn't care what would happen to his family and kids. Or was he really self driven yet mired in troubles---like Ivan who has to make wrong decisions despite what his will. Locke's drive and his adventure also raises this question that, as humans, how much should we fight to determine our destiny, or should we let it go, should we just give up and kneel to the merciless forces of destiny and fate, which are not under our control. And if yet, to what extend should we fight back and sacrifice?

Nebraska is indeed the best movie of 2013 and one of the best movies of all times. It is beautifully shot, solidly directed, and admirably acted. On the surface, Nebraska is the story of a senile man who thinks he has won a million dollar prize and he wants to travel to Nebraska to claim his prize. But in reality, Nebraska is a review on the meaning of the relationship between a father and his soon. It is the story of a road trip that reveals many unseen sides of the father to his son and vice verse. Nebraska reminds us that dignity and respect are universal values that everybody deserves to have. It's also a harsh criticism of greed and wanton. It is fun to watch, it is tough provoking, and every time you think about it, you will like this movie more.

The missing picture is a an eye opening movie to the atrocities that happened in the 1970's in Cambodia. The story is narrated in a stop motion way with small clay-made figures but the figures never move. Despite the inherent unrealistic sense that a clay figures generally impose on a movie, The Missing Picture does not fail to capture the horrendous crimes shown in this movie. The movie is well directed and the narrator voice adds a personal connection to the story. This movie is heartbreaking, and provocative at the same time. It is very easy to emotionally manipulate the audience when the story of a movie is heartbreaking but the Missing Picture does not manipulate the audience. It opens a window to one of the darkest periods in history of mankind. This window is eye-opening and discomforting but reminds us of what we are capable of doing once we ignore the basic rights and dignity of individuals.

Cousin Jules is the story of life of a couple living in a rural place where they are busy living their mundane and uneventful lives. Nothing interesting happens around them, nobody visits them, and nothing changes. They do the most menial tasks and the most joyous parts of their life seems to be drinking coffee together. The movie is mostly dialogue-free but not boring. You always want to see what happens next. You are constantly craving for a change in their lives. When the husband shaves in front of a mirror, you start to think that maybe a guest would come or he would go to visit a friend. But nothing happens. Shaving is just another routine task that he does everyday. Cousin Jules is a timeless reflect on our live. It is a touch on what it means to be a human, why life is worth living. We may live in a more modern time compared to the old couple in this movie but we are not much different from them anyway. We get up every morning like them, groom, prepare food, eat, work, and eat everyday. What do we do compared to this old couple that makes our lives more meaningful?

Ernest & Célestine is a movie that symbolically compare and contrast two enemy-by-blood groups. The movie starts with fun and entertaining scene about the about early indoctrination of young mice kids. This movie shows education system, law enforcement system, and justice system can become indifferent, or even hostile, to core values of humanity.

The Unknown Known is a documentary about Donald Rumsfeld, the former Secretary of Defense and one of the leading minds behind the Iraq war. Errol Morris does a fantastic job interviewing Rmsfeld. Questions that Morris asks Romsfeld and gives him enough time not only to respond, but also to think about his responses and express how he feels about them. Very often Romsfeld answers a question in a way that he think is smart and elegant then he reacts to his own response with a smug smile but his answers are more nicely worded sentences with no substantial meaning and significance. I'm not giving a high score to this movie because it does not reveal anything interesting about Romsfeld's career and the truth behind the war. The movie, however, shows how the course of Romsfeld's carrier could have been different and how it could make a difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of people.