Jarrett the Cinephile

Greta Gerwig's latest film is a lot of things: it's one half of the global #Barbenheimer movie phenomenon; it's the first ever live-action Barbie movie produced and distributed by a major American studio; it's also Greta Gerwig's biggest and most mainstream blockbuster, for now. Still of Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) in Barbie (2023) Credit: Warner Bros. To tell you how big this film is, how successful it is at the box office, and how many people gush over this film, is not the point of this piece, and all of which has already been covered in other publications worldwide. This review intends to share with you whether it thinks Barbie (2023) has lived up to its expectations and box office success. The answer? Overall, yes. But not perfectly. Based on her previous works and the impression she's had on people's minds, making a film called Barbie  and it being a "groundbreaking" film that explores gender roles and expectations and so o

Hoshikawa: Are we reborn? Left: Hoshikawa - played by Hinata Hiiragi; Right: Minato Mugino - played by Sōya Kurokawa (Source: Gaga Corporation and Toho Co.) Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda returned to the Cannes Film Festival with his latest feature film " Monster " (2023) after making a stop in neighboring South Korea last year with " Broker " (2022). Kore-eda's productivity can be considered relatively high despite the state of the industry as a result of COVID-19, having made two feature films (on top of some television work) during the pandemic. It is also interesting to note that, speaking of these two films, they signify a departure from Kore-eda's filmmaking comfort zone - considering " Broker " (2022) was essentially a Korean film, and " Monster " is his first feature film where he did not direct a screenplay he wrote (I may have to confirm again on this). " Monster " also featured the late Japanese compos