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#Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald "Your eyes are like salamander's – that's my clumsy love confession. 'Lunatic leaves coward' – her deadliest curse. Trading relatives makes my guilt manifest before the Boggart. A blood pact makes my love reappear in the Mirror of Erised. The Sorcerer's Stone can grant immortality, Nagini will eventually become a beast, a love spell can't guarantee forever, and Finite Incantatem can't stop nuclear disaster. I hear the wizarding world also has its share of love, hate, and helplessness. In the Muggle world, my Hogwarts letter was lost in the mail again this year."

#Don't Look Up Pretty liked it. The satire is firing on all cylinders, every hit is a fastball. Low-brow humor? No problem, the key is the freedom to mock, why not? The material on the other side of the planet, just a quick scan, is enough to fuel 10 hours of satire. Who dares to do that? The comments referring to "post-pandemic era," we're not even close. Next year might not even be "post." After two years of COVID ravaging the world, the only thing I don't doubt is: if another global crisis hits, humanity will still be this hopeless. The space after the comet's devastation feels like a joyful carnival, the annihilation of human civilization just a fart in the cosmic wilderness. The most touching moment was actually...

#Don't Look Up Pretty enjoyable. The satire is relentless, throwing straight punches all the way. Embracing low-brow humor is fine, especially when there's the *freedom* to critique – why hold back? The sheer amount of material from the other side of the world could fuel ten hours of scathing satire, but who dares to do it? I see comments mentioning the "post-COVID era," but we're nowhere near that. It's still a long way off, and next year might not bring "post-" status either. After enduring two years of the COVID rampage, the only thing I'm certain of is this: another global crisis will find humanity just as incorrigibly flawed. The comet-ravaged space resembles a gleeful carnival in its wake, and the obliteration of human civilization is just a cosmic fart in the endless universe. The most touching moment, incredibly, was...

#Don't Look Up The negative reviews for "Don't Look Up" largely stem from two issues. Firstly, its satire is too broad, targeting too many people and institutions. Secondly, while marketed as a comedy with actors giving exaggerated performances, it simply isn't that funny. The genuinely humorous moments are mostly contained within the trailers. A comedy that fails to deliver on laughs is bound to irritate audiences. However, the most valuable aspect of this film is the genuine pessimism and anger of its creators. They are left with a sense of hopelessness; capable of identifying the problem, yet utterly unable to solve it, resulting in a feeling of profound helplessness.

#Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald In the realm of Hollywood's fantasy epics, "Fantastic Beasts" arguably boasts the strongest cinematic feel and stylistic flair. The visual presentation, encompassing costumes, set design, and special effects, is as captivating as in the first installment—especially the IMAX enhanced scenes, which remain explosively impressive. However, J.K. Rowling's screenplay unfortunately detracts from the overall experience, with plot threads and transitions feeling arbitrary and causing frustration. This film attempts to broaden the narrative scope, incorporating real-world allusions to the tensions between Germany, France, and England leading up to World War II, but the integration feels somewhat disjointed. The extensive ensemble cast proves challenging to manage, leading to a sense of disarray and underdevelopment of many plot points. Ultimately, it serves as a visually stunning yet narratively uneven bridge between installments, resembling a lavishly produced but somewhat unremarkable transitional chapter.

#The Seed of the Sacred Fig B+. Who would've thought this would be the most terrifying thriller in the main competition? Starting from heated political debates, it gradually extends the suffocating tentacles of psychological manipulation, before plunging into a *Shining*-esque nightmare of survival in the third act. It's no longer a speculation of "when the iron fist comes down," because the iron fist is in every corner of the system, and in everyone's heart. Plot logic takes a back seat, replaced by a visceral experience of violence through imagery. The escape and rebellion tangibly represent the extreme hardships and resilient vitality faced by Iranian women. By juxtaposing this with real footage at the end, it completes the crucial connection between genre expression and real-world concerns, blurring the lines both within and beyond the film.

#The Seed of the Sacred Fig That dinner table scene is absolutely brilliant. The daughter's relentless questioning clashes head-on with the father's insistence on maintaining authority. And the ending, the placement of that gunshot, is exceptional. It's not aimed at the father, but at the crumbling earth beneath his feet. As he's swallowed by the collapsing soil, it symbolizes the burial of the old, the outdated, and the barbaric, finally consigned to the ruins.

#Magnolia {B+} Once again, I am completely subjugated by PTA's terrifying control over imagery: even more "possessed" tracking shots than in *Boogie Nights*; a fuller and more sustained use of a single melodic theme; multiple instances of exquisitely executed six-way parallel editing; and his masterful ability to direct actors (especially Tom Cruise, delivering perhaps the best performance of his career). Even though I know PTA is still self-indulgent, I can’t help but go mad with him. Multiple lives, interwoven and fragmented; overflowing with craftsmanship, yet preaching morbidly; character alienation, emotional breakdown; the rain of frogs, a modern miracle; unbelievable, yet mundane as ever. After watching this film, I...

#Ferdinand I actually cried at the end... Maybe it's because I needed a movie like this to heal me right now. Realizing the unfairness and the dog-eat-dog nature of this world, holding onto your true self even in the face of seemingly unchangeable fate, perhaps that's a way to find inner peace.

#Don't Look Up It's amusing at first, but the laughter fades when you realize it's basically a recap of the last two years. Casting Meryl Streep as a Trump surrogate had to be intentional. My main gripe is that the film, like the people it satirizes and even myself writing this review, drips with arrogance.